A tap on my left shoulder
I am roused from my sleep
I turn and see my daughter
Who's been dead 3 years last week

She pulls me from my slumber
Humming broken lullabies
"Where're we going, dear?"
"Hush, it's a surprise"

She brings me to the subway
Down abandoned tracks
Graffitied walls like bathroom stalls
It's too late to turn back

She stops me in a room
Where people stand in wait
Silence presses in on the ceiling
Words that can't escape

My daughter sits on the tracks
And beckons me to as well
The people engrave words on brick
Like they're under a sort of spell

"Watch as it spreads"
She said in a hushed tone
I was about to ask what she meant
But then I felt it in my bones

The silence of the elders
Crashed through my throat and lungs
I felt the air thicken
Acid burned my tongue

Darkness pressed around me
A suffocating mass
I could not make a noise
She laid me on the tracks

It was all dimly familiar
The rumble without noise
The ghosts gathered around me
It was time to make a choice

Fools, I tried to say
But I choked on my own air
A shudder swept my body
I closed my eyes in prayer

I woke up in my bed
Sore from head to toe
Shaking from the recollection
Of what happened so long ago

I cut myself on shattered glass,
And cried out for help,
But instead of tending to my wounds,
You told me to be more careful.

For the shards were not merely broken glass,
But part of a beautiful mosaic
You have crafted,
From fragments of the truth.

The blue of my tears,
The red of my blood,
The dark rainbow of my bruised body,
Lifted,
Shaped into a work of art,
Glued together with a thousand promises,
And the strength of your love.

And as I gaze at the masterpiece you have created,
You recite a familiar fable:
You are the worried villager;
I am the boy who cried wolf.
You are the giving tree;
I am the ungrateful child.

But then you turn out the light,
And I can no longer see the pattern.
Once again you close the door,
And I am left bleeding in the dark.

And so I recite to myself a new lullaby:
You are the pied piper leading me away;
I am the child following blindly.
You are the big bad wolf;
I am the little girl,
Learning not to trust.

Karissa and Kristy's Fishing Adventure

Bought a princess fishing pole in the Indiana Dunes
Which Karissa had yet to use...

Drove to the Illinois Valley with a plan
Stopped at the farm and saw the fam!

Headed to Lowell, River was closed
We went anyway, nobody knows!!

Nothing was biting, but Karissa caught a leaf!
She thought that was pretty funny, I do beleave...

From there we jumped in the car and headed to deer park
We went to the river area, got lost and almost ended up in the dark!

Don't get me wrong at first we did pretty great...
Walked a while, found the river and caught 8

Just kidding, it was only one
Those fish were too smart, but it was still fun!

They managed to eat the worm and stay away from the hook,
So we decided to try once more and that's all it took!

The fish caught the hook in the eye and I couldn't set it free
So I decided to take it with me!

We started walking and saw some stairs
Thought it was a short cut, but ended up a nightmare

Got lost in the woods for 3 hours with no clue what to do
Karissa was brave, but had her moments... I'm sure I did too!

At one point we went off path and tried to walk to the light
But kept getting poked by “pokeys” and it was too much of a fight

Kev and dad were looking for us
My mom was so worried, she put up a big fuss

She was 10 miles away from calling the State Police
And ditched her ride to the play we were supposed to go to with my neice

We saw lots of running deer
And Karissa tried her best to show no fear

We found a trail that was kinda actually marked
And were more confident that we would make it out by dark

Followed the orange poles and eventually came out
We were on the other side of the park, without a doubt!

Kev came and gave us a ride to the car
Made fun of our fish that was in the worm jar

He said, “Hey Krit, the friggin worm is bigger than the fish!”
and asked if it was worth it?

It was a good day and I have no regrets
Even though we got lost and I broke my camera, it was one of the best!

I LOVE spending time with family and friends,
and always will until the end!

By Kristy Robertson

(Guessing Summer of 2009 or 2010)

Golden Strands
of hair glisten
like honey

Soft, solace scent
of an old home

Goose feather pillows
Blue veins disguised
inside cautious hands

Embrace me, radiate warmth
And with the utmost careful placement
of glasses on her nightstand

once again.

Doe eye

My baby girl
Sweet and shy , coveted with monsters eyes .
I didn't realise how mistreated and misplaced she was .
I didn't realise she was seeking comfort trembling with fear .
I didn't realise my little rose is withering .
By the time I realise ,
i was crying holding the stone carved with her name on it .


I hope when your daughter says
I don't want to go to school ,you hear her .
I hope you notice the way her words seem to sink in the air .
I hope you notice her words coming out with such a heft that cannot be supported by her breath.
I hope you feel how icy her surroundings have become
I hope you push the hair from her face and look into those doe eyes ,
And ask her to open up her wings .
Please be bothered for what is keeping her from seeing her friends .
Take her into your arms , hold her , mantle her .
A