Everyone who says words don’t hurt

should spend a night trying to sleep despite the itching rash on the back of their neck

that formed because they hated themselves so much their body had an allergic reaction

like their skin was a suit that didn’t fit right over the bumps and scars and welts and bruises of hundreds of terrible words

singed and beaten and cut into their skin out of the mouth of someone who was supposed to love them unconditionally

don't ever let them tell you monsters aren’t real

monsters are real but they aren’t dragons or demons

they walk around in the skin of your father and spew fiery hatred from their cavernous mouths without ever laying on hand you because oh no

that would be too easy

a bruise will fade in time but the scars on your mind from every awful word he ever pointed at you tears at you worse than a bullet from a gun

it’s shrapnel of the soul, ripping you apart from the inside every time you move or think or breathe or speak

sometimes i wish that he’d hit when i was 13 instead of calling me stupid and fat and ugly

because one fist to face and he’d be out on his *** where he belonged

instead he just made it so poetry is a from of physical therapy

where you cut yourself open and bleed words from your soul

like a desperate snake bike victim draining poison and blood from their veins

and at night you lie in bed and listen to the quiet beating of your fragile swollen heart

still here, still here, still here, still here, still here

you dont know if it's a reminder or a threat anymore

living is too hard but you're too weak to die so you suffer through every day

slowly and without confidence that you can make it through another

and like a person sent to war you think it's over when you get to leave the trenches

but you're wrong

the battle wages on in your head for years

none of your wounds have a chance to scar and heal as they get ripped open over and over again

you spend your life running confused and scared in a haze of blood loss

until finally your legs give out and you can't run anymore

and when someone tries to offer you a hand and pick you up

you're gun shy

it's okay, it's not your fault really

to others the world has been an oyster but to you it's felt like an iron maiden

but your comrade persists and pulls you gently to your feet

and tries to wrap your soul in bandages of pretty words

and bits of wisdom you need but don't want to hear

you try not to let them unravel, you know it would hurt him, he was so careful in not grazing the raw parts of you when he put them on

but sometimes it just happens

so he holds your hand and wraps you up again and lays beside you at night

listening to the quiet beat of your fragile, swollen heart

please stay, please stay, please stay, please stay, please stay

I've always tried to be tough
but now I just think I've had enough
I'm not down on my luck
I just want a little love

Come a little closer
‘Till your sitting next to me
‘Till you see my coffee stained fingers
and the look of disparity
My hair is on fire my throat oh so dry
Come sit a little closer
Let this time pass us by  
See those windows nailed closed
The locks rusted through
The bones are in the attic
And the rats are in the shoes
Come lean a little closer
‘Till your anxieties overflow
‘Till the time you had has gone away
And those you've love must go
Come lie down upon this bed
and let us not regret
All wasted days and a wasted life
And nothing to forget

Lori Armstrong
August 1998


Standing tall and silent, like the Sentinel guards of the Forest,
They appear to be listening to Words of Wisdom from an
Unseen, wise, and wonderful Mentor.

They respond in a shy, childlike, gleeful laughter,
Which is Felt, more than heard, by the passerby.
Happy with the whispered answer,
They slowly start to move in a Graceful rhythm,
A sweet and enchanting Dance.

Their outstretched arms surround each other,
Presenting the massive creation of a joy-filled group hug,
A bond of Camaraderie is their own as they sway back and forth in Unison.

Like children playing the game, “I’ve got a secret”,
They seem to simultaneously hide the Mysteries throughout history,
Yet, unwittingly revealing every Moment in Time
They have ever witnessed just by their Presence.

If they could speak, what would they Speak of?
Would we Understand?
Would we Listen?

If they could cry, how deep would their Tears flow?
Do they cry and we are just not ready to Hear?
Would we wipe their tears? … Or cry with them?
Could we truly feel their Sadness? …Their joy?

Could we share in their Trials and their Triumphs?
Do we dare try, for could we endure what they have Endured?

Would we sing along to their Songs of Yore?
Would we understand the Passion in their Words?
Could we carry the Harmony, …
Feeling the Peaks and Valleys of the expressions in their Music?

Their wisdom in age is Unfathomable.

Their vulnerability to man is Reprehensible.
Yet, unfortunately, Comprehensible.

Their story is one of Peace, Love, War, and Chaos, …

But still so Silent to so many.

Their grandeur is taken for Granted, …
And yes, even Exploited.

Their majestic silence is Comforting, appreciated Individually for their gift,
Solitary in the meaning to the receiver.

Breathtaking is their Beauty.

Admirable is their Resiliency.

Gloriously enthralling is their History.

The Creator’s History.

The History of a Gift.

When a man meets a woman
there's some kind of spark
No time to lose, seize that chance
When a woman meets a man
There's some fire igniting in your very soul
What do you say to your lover?

I love you
Ti amo
Je t'aime
Ich liebe dich
Te Quiero
Jag älskar dig


Time passes for nobody but love itself
That blooming passion just stays there
All alone at a moment's notice
You never know what happens
unless you say

I love you
Ti amo
Je t'aime
Ich liebe dich
Te Quiero
Jag älskar dig


Cash that love check
Time's afleeting and you don't know what to say
turn back the clock
cupid's right there by your side waiting for you to
say those magical words

I love you
Ti amo
Je t'aime
Ich liebe dich
Te Quiero
Jag älskar dig

Tender spoken word of love
Just fazes you and takes that breath away
From your velvet lips
You just don't know when that moment passes by
Unless you say it out loud
to your family, your friends, random strangers and your lovers........

I love you
Ti amo
Je t'aime
Ich liebe dich
Te Quiero
Jag älskar dig
I love you
Ti amo
Je t'aime
Ich liebe dich
Te Quiero
Jag älskar dig

I love you..
I love you..
I love you.........


Steven B. Craig  08/05/2009

Why do I still love her...?
why doesn't any girl fascinate me?
why every morning I start with her name?
what is it?
Is it love?

Does this happen with her too?
Or is it my illusion?
Is she spending her days thinking about me?
If yes, what is it?
Is it love?

Am I there in her dreams?
'coz she's the most beautiful dream I ever saw
Am I there in her heart?
'coz she's the most beautiful person my heart ever loved!
what is it?
is it love?

why do i still hope for her return?
why don't I accept that she never will?
what is it?
is it love?

If it's love
then why isn't she here
if it's love why can't i see her,
what is it?
is this illusion, truly Love??

Have no fear, Have no fear
Fetch your Rifle!
‘You’re a soldier son – shed no Tear’

Intoxicated, Zombified – we must fight!
No matter where, How or When
Regardless if it were Day or Night

But, why must one man fight another
And for what cause?
And Why must one slay his own brother
Without a hesitant pause.

Tis it for country? Tis it for Pride?
Answer me!
Tis it a Bandwagon one must just Ride

At  Night I wake to cries of Pain.
To those thunderous claps.
Slowly but surely I’ll go insane.

But for what cause? One always asks
Did we lose humanity
Under Gas Masks

If one does not fear,
then one simply lies.
For without such fear
One simply dies.

Wedding bells are ringing.
Everyone smiles, hello.
The sun is shining brightly.
Everything is ready to go.

Music fills the church.
Hearts are filled with love.
No one will forget this day.
Nor will God above.

I walk down the isle.
I take your hand in mine.
You smile meets my smile.
We say vows, that will make you
forever mine.

I place the ring on your finger.
You place a ring on mine.
Now this is the way I dremt it would be.
When I say, I do.......

Sleep giggles from the corners of my mind,
A child, playing hide and seek.
And I search,
calling its name in a frantic need of assurance
that it hasn't wandered too far off.

It waits in closets and cabinets
crouching, playful,
when I open the doors of my consciousness
hoping to find it in spaces
the moonlight   can't
                                           quite
                                                        reach.

Then, as the sun rises
and it sees with dismay
that I have given up,
thinking it must have fled to the empty house on the corner
it curls up beside me
with a smile of childish satisfaction
and embraces me with sincerity
unmatched by any apology.