Hate dripped down from his words,
His eyes,
They bore into the soul,
Painfully,
Frostbite to her heart.

Yet she also fought with daggers,
Her sharp tongue flashing the blades,
Cutting him and
Defending
Her chilly soul.

As things turned worse,
Physical weapons appeared,
And the child watched,
Their child watched as
The husband beat the wife
And the wife beat the husband.
The child dares not to make a noise,
Fearing punishment.

The child has already lost the ability to cry.

Cottonwood falling,
A snow in July,
Filling the air with fluffy flakes
And covering the world with
White fuzziness.
We're riding,
Just as fast as we can,
Racing,
Stirring up the drifts
While the wind blows the avalanche closer.
I feel warm,
Being so close to you and the sun.
A warm snow--
Don't you think that's ironic?
I love the snow,
I love your heat.
My heart is going as fast as we are,
Fifty, Sixty, Seventy miles an hour.
I embrace you closer,
This thrill of a panicking soul,
It's magic.
Keep me in this illusion of a
Peaceful time.
Lift me sky high,
Let me fall in warmth like this
Snow in July.
I feel so free,
So young and bright eyed,
A naive star
In a Hollywood movie.
Let's get out of this small town,
Let's make new memories together.
I want to see the world,
I want to see the highlight,
With our song,
The one where we sing along.
Tonight,
Our love is a song,
A soundtrack to
A snow in July.
We can see the world
Together.
No need for others to ruin our
Loving silence.

You sat on the other end of the table
Glistening, shining, and taunting me
Rosy cheeks with spurts of Yellow and Green
Silently teasing
A juicy, little Apple.
Hopefully no one would see me, no one would pay any attention
As I grabbed the treat and the knife
And began to dangerously peel.
I knew I was doing it wrong
My hands shaking while my cheeks began to flush
Embarrassed by my ignorant inadequacy.
Are you left-handed? she asked from my left.
Humiliation filled the corners of my eyes, wet and distraught.
No, I mumbled. My cheeks reflecting Mose's Red Sea.
I was beginning to drown.
Your thumb needs to move, You make me nervous,
and she sounded nervous indeed.
Put it down here. Help yourself control it. Guide it.
Everyone was staring now, the whole table awed
My ignorance showing, like a medallion at my chest
My shameful Apple as pathetic proof.
You're doing it wrong.
Non così. Basta, faccio io.
Let me do it.
You're about to graduate, and you can't peel an apple.
I began choking, drowning in tears of Humiliation.
No, let her do it the small Voice on my left said.
She is finding her way. Let me watch her.
I finished peeling the Apple
Suffocating my tears as I ate.
You remind me of Daisy, she said soon after
From The Great Gatsby.
I choked and laughed, more ashamed than ever.
I'm not sure that is a compliment.
I could barely muster a mumble.
She couldn't do anything by herself.
She looked at me, gentle and forgiving.
I think it is, she replied
Wistful and Wise.
Daisy was vital to the story, you know.
And I believe that given the chance, she could have done anything that she wanted
*On her own.

Maya Angelou
Was a lady with a vision
She reached out to many people
And carried out her mission
She was an inspiration
To one and all
She taught everyone
How to stand up tall
She was involved in a never ending battle
She fought for justice, education, and equality
Her legacy was widespread
For all to see
She also wrote beautiful poetry
She lifted her voice very nicely
Her words were written with zeal and vigor
They carried such harmony
She was very witty
She was pleasantly headstrong
Sadly, at the age of eighty-six
She has passed on


Her legacy was widespread

I'll tell you what I thought about when I was gone and so alone,
Secrets with no one to tell--
Every action in this world has a consequence,
And I don't talk like an open book.

Don't tell anybody about the things we have planned
Or how you turned me around:
They just want to push us down,
But I will muster every ounce of confidence
To promise not to promise anymore.
I will take the chain from off the door:
It's not too late to apologize.
I went as far as I could,
I'm not afraid to fall, I might just learn to fly.
We learned so much about ourselves,
But did you know how much you moved me?

My world is not everything I hoped it would be.
It's a little bit scary;
I am lost for words.
I feel alone in the unknown,
All I want is to be in the light.
Please get me out of here,
Wash away all my tears,
Let me know that I'm not alone;
I am scared:
They are trying to figure out what I'm all about,
But it's not easy to be me--
I try my best.
You know I'd fall apart without you.

I want to see you be brave.
If you're still waiting for the breakdown,
I just hide it away--
Throw it away.
I feel like a problem girl,
And you are more than I deserve.

You want to know more about me?
It seems like there's always someone who disproves,
So I built a concrete wall.
Please be there through it all--
Everybody has a dark side.
Will you love me?
Will you love mine?
My hair looks dull,
My shoes are wrong,
They laugh at me,
I don't belong.

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got until it's gone?
I'm tired of hurting,
But I'm slowly learning that
Tomorrow may be one day too late.

Even the best fall down sometimes,
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme,
But when the time comes,
Don't run,
Set me free.
Here I stand,
Just the way I'm suppose to be,
But I'm going to make that change.

I will dance if you ask me to dance,
But right now I'm sitting here praying for reason.
You don't know a thing about me,
But I threw a wish in the well:
Be my escape--
I need someone who stands beside me,
Not in front of or behind me.
Please listen closely to everything I say,
Otherwise you will never know me.

My mind holds out on that last word:
Valor.
I am not brave,
I cannot change a country,
End world hunger,
Stop abuse.
I cannot make a difference in the
Big scheme of things.
I cannot win a silver star.
In complete honesty
I am not brave.
But I am not a coward either.
I strive to make a difference,
Help people cope,
Take the time to listen,
Strive to do what's right.
I've heard it said that
A hero is made when
People make the right choices.
Bravery comes when good it done.

Hold fast to this word:
Valor.

To myself, never let go of this:
Courage.

To everyone:
I am not brave,
But I am not a coward.
I will live up to tomorrow.
I will partake of the consequences of my actions.
I will change.
I will become.
I will be brave.
The change comes today.

Valor.

Careless people
In pinstriped suits and
Cocktail dresses.
Around is passed the
Inward ******
Wishing to arise.

Girls--
Golden Girls,
Fancy shoes on,
The heartbroken dance to
Speedy music,
Growing faster every spin,
Wanting to be looked at
The way every girl does.
They wonder,
"Will I be loved when I'm old and
Not beautiful?"

Guys--
Tonic doesn't work,
The green light leaves.
They dance with the girls,
But can't keep a promise.
All the bright precious things
Fade. They will never come back.

Fancy shirts and parties
Will not heal the broken.

So we beat on.
These were careless people,
Destined to fail.
These were drunken on the
Idea of love,
Wishing for more than
They were willing to give.
These were beautiful little fools.

Eyes will watch and see.

In Randy Pausch’s last lecture there is space
Left briefly to be occupied en bloc-
The space that will exist, lacking, always,
In substance like quarry in a hillock.


You imagine a quarry filled with dark space
Stand on the rim of the hole that exists
In presence of time and absence of space.
Follow the last lecture to clear its mists.


You don’t get into his circle really
Of an inspiring cancer death suffering
The circle of dark humour surreally
But as a tangent on its outer ring.


Stand on the rim and into the dark lean
Strain  eyes to see own reflection keen.