They are a reminder,
A reminder
that the future is full of surprises.
A raging mystery unmatched.
Every drop of water
that splashes upon the reflection
has the opportunity
to create a wave.

Not all the same.

Some will rage
                            and some will ripple,
but either way
                            the water’s face
will be forever changed.

Don’t think too hard;
                            the beauty of it all
will never be lost.
                            We are surrounded by it.
It looks up at us,
and we watch it capture eyes.
Unending, ceasing to amaze,
can’t be stopped.

A ripple or a wave
                            whatever it may be
will always--always
                            affect its surrounding.

And, drops of water are
always splashing somewhere.

Throw a rock
In river

and the rip-
ple will fade.

The river,
it moves on.

Yes, time stops
for no one

But it does
not forget

about the rock
that was thrown.

It's still there
sitting at

the bottom;
out of sight

out of mind.
As time moves

on, and more
ripples made.

Clouds flat as pancakes line the sky
hovering over rivers and lakes,
roaming across prairies and bluffs
Seasoned with a bitter sweetness.

Some trees less lively than others,
Some blaze with a unique aura.
Wild reeds and wild weeds ride the wind--
Brown and rusted like train track bolts.

Signs for a woodshop boutique lead
down a road prancing deer wander.
Sun rays hint shades of light through cracks
Revealing a scene to be seen.

The red, the orange, the yellow-green.
Brown, sleeping stalks of corn in rows
And the scare crow standing tall in
The middle, still in nights silence.

Lifeless leaves falling to the ground
Leave colored murals on footpaths
Soon to be covered with sheets of
Snow as nature prepares to sleep.

Sometimes its a shame to be black
We claim we're in it together
But the unity we lack

We belittle each other
Even though we all came
From the same father

Our ancestors fought to bring us to where are now
But how we choose to separate each other is foul

Light skins and dark skins
Doesn't matter we still have black skin
We need to begin
To listen

Build our race
So that every black person is safe
Racism is still real
And I cannot begin to explain how I feel

The black race is still frowned upon
Because our values are lost and gone

Let us begin to better each other
Build each other
Help one another
To get farther

Teamwork is essential
We have to realise our potential

It is a shame
How we let each other suffer
It breaks my heart
To see hungry child lost by a mother
When we have rich people
Who are greedy
In their fast cars speeding
Having no conscience or feelings
Because they won't even give to the needy
Lord Jesus I'm screaming
Please change the world
Make everyone start believing
That africa can rise
If we stop ignoring the cries
Of the poor
Revitalise the land
Before it dies
I know we can
If we keep our eyes on the prize

We can build africa
Make africa a staple
If only we work together
Bring something bigger to the table

We were blessed to be born on this beautiful land
So let us join hands
And make africa
As big as we can

When I wake in the morning
and rub the sunshine off my eyelids,
I think of ways--of ways
I’m going to make you smile.

Yet, everything seems—backwards,
back burners, back of the bus.
I don’t know, really, how
                     to describe it.

But It entices me, whatever
It is; It entices me.
It’s like your presence became—omnipresent
ever since I made myself
present to you.

I never thought much of it
until this year, until I took a
pleasant slap to the face,
and we haven’t even had
physical contact yet, just
brief conversations to hold me over
until then.

Everyone in this world
is beautiful in one way or another;
a beauty someone out there
will see as particularly striking.
Yours happened to strike me.
It’s a beauty I just cant ignore
yet, its all I’ve been doing
since I informed you it can’t be ignored.

To make up for it, I wake up
pretending there’s a smile waiting to happen
Because there always is, sometimes
you just have to dig deep,
and be patient, to find it.

I haven’t yet felt what
your hand feels like intertwined with mine.
but I certainly hope
I’ll at least get the chance to.

When the time is right,
when that opportune moment comes along,
maybe that chance will make
a fool of my pretending ways
and I’ll no longer need
the rising of the sun
as a reason to make you smile.

For when I find my lonely soul
with head and shoulders hanging low
wandering through the streets at night
I'll walk on by that scary sight.

My life is full of empty space
that I will not let go to waste.
And if I start to lost my way,
I'll find a way to fill the blanks.

With empty space there's room to grow
Don't be spooked by your own shadow.
When times are dark and things seem grim
just tell yourself "I won't give in."