by Divine, Kadie Good, Bambi Cruz, gimad@mail.com, Mar Del Sol

The protruding odor illuminated my existence.
A stench to verify that I was there.
Smell me. Smell me.
I have a scent. I do not lament.
I reek not of recompense.

I am scared and lonely
I am going to succeed
I am not lost
I am here

The sum of our world:
Candle flames and forest fire
Thailand and Belgium
Public and local
All of our experience
Your tears from afar
The red sunset of a lake
Erie and Huron
World War to some peace
The world around shaped me
Like rocks to the rain.

The soul stands in a loud mind
Trying to listen,
but the ideas are listless.
It wants to be something.

Blank, without definition
Trying to understand being –
But failing, with each whim
Nothing, Trying, Coping
Lost and Without.

The Only Thing You Taught Me
I can never be you, because I am me.
Duplicity of the self, the doppelganger
Is not me
A trial in accord with the laws of decrepity
I am a little broken
but time really will heal these wounds.

-by Divine
Assembled from works by Ryan P. Kinney, Dr. Benjamin J. Anthony, and Mark Fleming

The Who Am I quest, the purpose of life, hinges on this

I find beauty in everything. I see beauty in things that most people find disturbing and ugly. More so, I see beauty in the potential for beauty, the ugly duckling trapped inside a shell, the someone who has something small that is waiting to amaze the world.

Your trash is not only my treasure, it’s my sustenance. You may see garbage. I see endless possibilities. I am very resourceful. I can turn almost anything into something useful. I love found objects that have traveled and are weathered.

Try…                 So you might ask what does that mean?

reach Out      strive to         create better          hopes and dreams         be satisfied.

you're not alone
The coy


Bambi Cruz, bambicoy5878@gmail.com
Assembled from works by Chris Franke, Ryan P. Kinney, and Unknown

Chloe-
“He’s a fun-having, fun-looking ***** boy.”

When you don’t look at the facts of
How he exists
Solitude, pensively
He tends to fall into one of these
Categories.
And when I lost myself
In his reality,
There was an Air of wanting
with Lust and Lost opportunities
He wanted to be everything he wasn’t
Portrayed himself as more than he was
Took with him no lessons
No learning.
He wasn’t Being.
He was Drifting.
And then without.
Distant. Disappeared.
And now I’m the one.
Who exists in solitude,
Pensively,
Still,

When you’re gone
I will love you more everyday


Original content by Kadie Good
Additional content assembled from works in The Lakelander, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland OH; and Ryan P. Kinney

We will be naked and bare
Ugly and beautiful
Out from under the covers
Out of control
And into the light

You will be seen
No where to hide
Be proud, Be seen…

Your clock is ticking.
So do it,
Or do me.
Too many are lost.
Go find yourself.
Or go **** yourself.


Original content by Bambi Cruz; bambicoy5878@gmail.com
Other content assembled from works by Ryan P. Kinney

there was a bathtub of fantasies, assumptions and intuitions, a kitchen table you might want to give a good scrubbing before setting down placemats, if-onlys, and always alone when the pup wakes me up

The phantasmal words never spoken,
for the table is empty,
the chairs never bare,
The house is hollow

I will miss the conversation
flowing smooth and easy
like blue notes through
the scratched brass trumpet
that birthed the cool


- Original content by Divine
Additional content assembled from works by Cee Williams and Mark Fleming

This is how we lived:
Dancing without invitation and warning
At a local food store grand opening.
It’s what we felt like.

We kept rhythm,
But I was falling behind.
I stopped quickly,
But I stumbled.

You’ll figure it
The same way you always do.
Trial and Error.


-Original content by Divine
Other content assembled from works by Lennart Lundh and Ryan Kinney