She sees him standing on the train,
On his face, a thoughtful look
He stands out in his fancy suit
Like an interesting cover of a closed book

He sees her sitting on the train,
Her bright red sweater catches his eye
Her face is buried in a book
She looks up and starts to smile

He smiles back, they start to talk.
He speaks about his love for trains
She talks about her favourite movie
Slowly, he tells her that he paints

She talks about her English class
And how bright her students are
He talks about his latest paintings
And the gallery that made an offer

They chat for what seems like hours
He's never  talked so much
Finally, her stop arrives, shes tell him
"Let's keep in touch"

He sits at night, stares at his easel
To call her now, is it too late?
His father calls, "How was the meeting?"
He tells him that it was just great

She sits at home preparing
For tomorrow morning's class
Her phone rings and she grins
The Painter called, at last!

Your eyes are filled with longing
As you see her move across the stage;
The dancer sways to the music
With serene beauty and grace

Remember those dreams you had as a child?
Remember when you believed
That the ******* stage could be you,
That dancing was  your destiny?

Somewhere when you were "growing up"
You told yourself you couldn't be
The shining star; that one in a million
You lost faith in all your dreams

You watch the dancer spin to the music;
She moves like an angel in the night.  
Through the crowd, she smiles at you;
You feel your passion reignite

Remember those dreams you had as child?
Once again, they burn in your heart
But so many years have passed
You don't know where or how to start.

You'd lost your way and wandered
Far from all the hopes you had
Now you push past all your doubts
You dance till there's no going back

You work harder than you did before,
You tell yourself dreams can come true
You dance with all your heart and soul
Till that moment comes for you

Remember those dreams you had as a child?
Now they feel so very real.  
Finally you stand on the stage
To show them all your skill and zeal

You dance with gay abandon
You forget the eyes that watch you
You move flawlessly to the music
This is what you were meant to do

The crowd rises; a standing ovation
With tears of joy, you take your bow
Remember those dreams you had as a child?
Well, those dreams are real now.

I look around my empty room
The walls seems so white and bare
With no trace, no sign, no hint, no clue,
That I was ever there.

As if I were just a shadow
And now the sun's gone down
The room seems smaller now somehow
I take one last look around.

All my bags are packed and ready
I stand quietly at the door
When I return this
Won't be my room anymore

Another student will stay here
Some one else will sit on my desk
My cupboard filled with another's clothes
The though is just grotesque.

I try to swallow the lump in my throat
This room was completely mine
Before this, I had always shared
This room is one of a kind

With a heavy heart,  I say goodbye
To the room in which I survived
My first year of college.
I say farewell with pride

Room 135, Jack Martin 4
You'll always be special to me
My first room as an adult
You'll live strong in my memory

He sees the world in colours
His father sees in black and white
In shades of grey, they get along
He doesn't have the heart to fight

His paintings hang on white walls
His father never did understand.
The world he sees in a canvas
Does not fit his father’s plan

He walks around his perfect house
With all the money and an empty soul
His office chair waits for the morning
His paintings make him whole

He mixes his sorrows with his colours
He paints his desolation
His brush traces the distance between
Where he is and his elation

He pours himself into his art
His every stroke precise and smooth
He transcends this world of pain and sorrow
Into his painting he does elude

He leaves his woes and frustrations
His heart races with delight
He sees his colours come to life
As he paints into the night

Tomorrow he’ll wear his fancy suit
Tomorrow he’ll follow his father’s plan
Tonight he holds his freedom tight
Tonight his is his own man.

I'm waiting for my mother
I twiddle my thumbs idlly
I'm trying to look away from
The chocolate bar that's staring at me

"Look at me!" It whispers softly
I'm struggling to avert my eyes
"You'll feel better when you eat me" it
says
With an effort, I ignore its lies

I walk around the chocolate shop
Like a predator circling it's prey
This temptation is just too great!
My feet can't seem to walk away

"Eat me! Eat me!" The chocolate chants
Someone save me from this torture!  
"Don't leave me all alone" it says
I can't take this anymore

Suddenly, my phone rings
My mother has finally arrived!
I turn my my back on the chocolate
My face glows with pride

I didn't succumb to my desire
I did it! I resisted!
I held on, I stayed strong
Even when the chocolate insisted

I smile as I reach the car
I'll tell my mother about my ordeal
I think of how proud she'll be
And of how happy I will feel

But before I utter a single word,
She hands a packet, beaming wide
She says "look what I got for you!"
I can't wait to see what's inside!

A prize for resisting temptation?
Oooh! What could it be?
I open the packet and look inside
And a big fat chocolate stares back at me!

Hello Inspiration,  
Where have you been, my friend?
You finally showed yourself after
Teasing me for months on end

People ask me all the time
Why I no longer pick up the pen.
All that will change now, wouldn't it?
Now that you're back again

Where did you go, Inspiration?
You left me feeling so incomplete
I kept trying to bring you back
I never did suceed

You ran away so hard and fast
Left an emptiness I didn't recognise
If I look away, will you run again?
I'm afraid to close my eyes.

It's good to see you, old friend.
We have a lot of catching up to do
But if I let go of your hand,
You won't abandon me, will you?

If I get busy with other things,
If I don't respond to you at once,
Will you dissappear like you did before?
Or will you give me a second chance?

You came back so suddenly
That I just have to ask
Are you here just to tease me?
Or is this going to last?

I have so many questions for you
Why? When? Where? And how?
But first, let's celebrate your return
And make the best of what we have now

I try to quell my fear
As the keys jingle in my hand
It's just a drive to the metro station
A drive that was completely unplanned

I slide into the drivers seat
Seat belt on, keys in the ignition
'I can do this' I think
This is, to the roads, my initiation

My father sits besides me
He's at his absolute calmest
My sister sits with a steeled expression
As if bracing for a raging tempest

I enter onto the main road
With a bit of a ****, we're on our way
I shift to third and start to relax
Today is going to be good day

Just as my confidence grows,
We encounter a little bit of traffic
Back to second gear,  we go
Oops, I just ran over a brick!

With papa's advice egging me on
We continue our journey
A formidable flyover looms before us
I tell myself to not be jittery

We enter a sea of slow moving cars
I'm just praying I don't stall
But alas! I do. Quickly, lets go!
I don't want to be honked at by all

I know an underpass will come next
Its just another hurdle to cross
I clutch the steering wheel tightly
Can I really do this? I'm at a loss

I try to suggest a different route
My father shoots down that idea
Failure is not an option
Message received loud and clear.

I pass the underpass without a hitch
My destination is on the left
Indicator, shoulder, switch lanes and stop
In a movement which I hope was deft.

I turn off the car and put the handbrake up
I did it! Hip hip Hurray!
I grin as I stand and watch
The car I drove drive away