maybe we like to write about nature
because there is a hidden longing
to be in harmony with it again.

LISTENING TO NATURE SINGING
Andrew Juma
Hearing the wind  whistle  among the trees,
In the wee morning hours,

Or  the chirping birds' acappellas,
Among dripping leaves,

And the waterfalls cascading Rocky cliffs,
Clearly one believes that
Man has not written the best of songs,
Among non/ living things.

Nature is an orchestra
For everyone to enjoy
The leaves falling in time,
conducting the whistle
of the wind. Branches
groan a deep bass,
Birds peep high melodies
And the water twinkles till the end
Nature is a orchestra
For everyone to enjoy

A field of dandelions
One hundred weeds
Or one thousand wishes
Your choice

I thought I knew love in first grade when a certain little second grader caught my attention and I caught his. I thought I knew love in fifth grade when I had a guy to call mine and play one on one basketball with. I thought I knew love in sixth grade when I developed a crush on my dorky best friend. I thought I knew it when, in eighth grade, I fell for a guy, then despite his rejection, became friends with him. Several times in ninth grade I thought I had it figured out, each time the same person, each time a different story. I thought I knew love when we went to homecoming together, when I spent months just staying his friend for his sake, when I was rejected once again by this friend of mine.

I thought I knew love, what it was. But love is none of those, not for me, anyways. Love was when, after all this, after I decided maybe love wasn't real, my heart showed me a friend of mine. Not attractive to society's standards, but who am I to judge when he has a heart of gold and the kind of personality that makes me want to be myself? Love is when you find someone you don't want to change yourself for. Instead you want to be your truest, most beautiful self, and, without ever realizing, they help you accomplish that.

That. That is love.

I began to love myself,
Foreign though it be.
But suddenly I've realized,
How much it means for me.

As I began to love myself,
I found it rather hard,
To love myself and realize,
How beautiful my flaws are.

As I went on loving myself,
I grew into it fast.
I started to put myself first,
Instead of always last.

I grew self-love and confidence,
And realized one day,
That as I loved myself,
I started loving others the same way.

As I began to love myself,
Foreign though it be,
I saw myself as beautiful,
And fell in love with me.

you turn me
into someone
I am not-
but-
the only time I am myself
is with you.

you are the sunshine:
with a small taste
I feel
radiant,
effortless,
full.
with too much,
I get burnt.

like a moth
to a light-bulb;
I seek you.
I will fry myself-
I will burn-
just to feel your warmth.

the hot sunshine
in the desert
forms
a mirage,
an oasis,
a luscious stream of water
to quench
my endless thirst.

when I am close enough
to reach it,
I realize there was
nothing.
all along-
my paradise-
nothing
but the hot,
dry sunshine
and my
never-fulfilled desire.

engulf my planet,
fatal fireball,
disguised as an
angel from afar;
I want my skin to melt
in your
blistering light,
like a candlestick.
I want to
melt into a puddle
of who I once was.

I don't know how to live without you.