I come in bolts and flashes
Humans delight in the terror
I strike into their hearts
The world is in awe of me

Nobody can control me
I go wherever I want
And the things I can do,
Turning sand into glass with my touch

I can tear at the very fabric
Of all your angry skies
I’ll make your night turn into day
On a whim, simply because I can


The mightiest trees will feel me
Burn into their flesh
Leaving them torn and scattered
Like sticks thrown in the grass

Fear me!

Lucita clearly wasn't a beauty.
Her grade school features were unrefined,
Awkward, plain, unattractive….
(I'm trying not to be unkind.)

Her classmates loved--as many kids do--
To find people's faults and then make fun of them.
Lucita's classmates tormented her;
I know because I was one of them.

I didn't say mean things about her,
Tease her or call her a horrible name.
My silence, however, made me complicit;
Because of my silence, I shared their shame.

How often are we silent when
We see injustice right before us?
Do we fear becoming involved
Or hope that the "evil" will ignore us?

History shows what happens to people
When others stay silent and don't speak out.
Only by standing up to injustice
Can real change come about.

Lucita didn't stay long at the school.
I think her family moved away.
I'm sure the kids found someone else
To taunt, belittle, pester, and flay.

I hope that for Lucita a happy,
Fulfilling life has been her reward;
I hope the once gawky duckling
Opened her beautiful wings and soared.

- by Bob B

It's hard to admit it
But I'm afraid we must
The sweetest dreams
Can turn to dust

However wonderful the song may be
We need to hear the melody
Whatever beauty a painting brings
If left unseen, it's just a thing

Because it seems to me that a dream
Should hold a hope of reality
Otherwise it's not a dream
It's just a game, you see

                                       By Phil Roberts