I once asked a demon
who’d fled eternal night,
“Why did you flee the darkness?”
Its answer was, “the light.

My home lies far beneath me
is filled with nought but night.
It’s there I dreamt of fire
that knows the way of light.

Because my home was dreary
and filled with nought but dark,
I caught a glimpse of fire
and sought to catch its spark.

Because this home was measly
and filled with nought but night,
I left to meet that fire
and seek the way of light.

My home lay far behind me
When I’d left dark for light,
and stepped towards that fire
that burnt so bright at night.

My home lay far beneath me,
once I’d escaped the dark,
and stepped towards that fire,
To catch myself a spark.”

Then, I asked the demon
who’d fled towards the light,
“What did you learn from fire?”
It’s answer was, “it’s bright.

My home, so far beneath me,
had dimmed my measly sight,
as living deep in darkness
all one can see is night.

I went towards that fire
and touched the burning light;
living deep in darkness,
you don’t learn flames can bite.

They burnt my skin, let darkness in;
the dream had been untrue.
Fire’s not right, to light up the night,
to make me one of you.

“My demon friend, how did you then
become as one of us?”
Its reply lit up the sky,
the answer was, “I trust.”

Skulls have tales,
a human with an adventure to tell,
their lives imprinted in their bones, as they made their footprint on the earth,
each gene forms a twisted novel of health,
a spoken word a new intention into the universe,
With every physical touch there is traces of dust that formulate a pattern left behind,
it is magical enough, that continues to carry the story on as we would a prideful torch,
but we don’t even realise.

That’s why skulls have tales,
they have the tales the human misses,
they catalogue the who, what, why and when,
They are protectors as we function and move through our own story,
They are the canvas that holds our creation and our identity in physical form.
A crystal skull sealed in wax, could be viewed, loved and be an endless tale forever,
Magical moments sealed for a continuous life journey.

My best friends name is Lindsay
We like to go and dance
I specialize in the drunken techno prance
Dancing to la la la la la/ la la la la la/ la de da da da
A random guys says and I quote, "Shake what you mamma give ya!"
That's so funny ****...
And makes you want to do anything but sit!
We got to go in VIP- up above
DJ Caffeine was up there and the captain of love
He lives to say "make some noise motha *****'s" A LOT
He can't think of anything else to say when put on the spot
Loverboy is a very ugly guy
When you look at him it makes you want to cry!
The girls in the thong contest were *****,
but they bared all on stage, which took some guts
The place was surrounded with Russians and Hicks,
But I did learn some new glow stick tricks!
Lindsay had three...and was almost gone...
Like a switch it turned dance mode on!
The drink of choice was *** On The Beach
But that ugly guy was such a leech
That guy was such a bisnatch
That was all up in my motha f'n bis-nass
We owned the stage for half the show
surrounded by objects that glow
"Mind distortion was the name of the thing,
And when we left Lindsay got asked to be a model for a magazine!
She said all she wants to do is sleep
Cuz the guy kinda looked like a creep
So we went back to Jamie's apartment and slept on the floor
up eight hours later and out the door
We decided to go shopping,
But once we started we felt like dropping
Me,Merri Lindsay and Jimb went to a party when we got home
I got really drunk, and really ******
I got to talk to a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while;
I was so happy all I did was SMILE
Lindsay was sad, so I hugged her a lot
It seemed like the right thing to do at that stroke of the clock!
Jesse's dad came out in his whity tighties and said "f'n leave!"
That was the funniest moment of the night, I do believe!
Tim had a party too, but nobody went
By the time we left Lowell, we were all spent
So our weekend turned out to be really fun
And now I think this poem is done!

Went to Carbondale to save my friend,
That was the night my life almost came to an end!

Pretty sure my kids saved my life, thank God they were there,
Pulled up to the wrong trailer and almost got shot, now that wasn't fair!

The ***** said get of my f...ing property and I asked if she knew where Kane stayed.
***** said no, so I called him and prayed!

Thank God he answered the phone, that probably helped too
When I got there Lizzy was passed out drunk and that kinda blew!

I realize it was the middle of the night,
But I had to save Lizzy, just knew it was right!

She was out and my kids wide awake,
The next day was fun, we went to the lake!

Southern Illinois is a beautiful place,
But everyone there is crazy and I knew I needed to return to my home base!

Brayden played the bongos and Karissa the tamborine,
Lizzy was so impressed, she gave them a large cuisine!

Brayden was such a mess,
I wondered why I even got him dressed!

We went to the castle park, that was cool though,
Both of my kids were just like "Woah!"

It was good to get back,
And out of that ghetto shack!

I like taking them on adventures,
And I hope they will always remember!

When walls become your imprisonment,
A no win scenario with a raging sickness,
You miss your camera capturing snapshots of life passing by.

You are one in a collective of people, holding each other metaphysically to barricade the vulnerable, this is more than just you.

You pace, you pass time, and you precise your ideas of freedom,
You may even do a painting or two,
A Tik Tok while the clock ticks.

Reflections of your most inner turmoil surface,
Pressures of life continuing with you boxed and it builds
Deadlines
Deaths
Destability

When you just can't take it any more,
You bash against the door, striving for that one touch, one feeling of hope you will break free of the airborn seel

The door opens

One

Point

Five
is  sprayed on your steps, and in your mind.

You would  do everything to chase the sunrise as it greets you again

How do you sum up a summer of fun?!
We lost a few brain cells and got a bit dumb
Taking the impala on a late night creep ride
Pull up to the stoplights and, "OH ****", it died!
We discovered a bridge, and a few unknown roads
We met a few people, some came and some went,
Some because scandalous, and others, we got spent
What's with the hot fro boys, this I don't know...
We both had our thing, but they just had to go.
Hemp was the junk; we learned the tricks of the trade,
strangers, teachers, friends, everyone got one made.
How cool are we, we had Party hats?!
We ate at Tiki a lot, and went to Chicago to dance.
What can I say, you got me to drink.
I had a good time, but was dysfunctional... I think.
From "*** with Sally" to the lifeguard chair
Where did we come up with this ****, it just isn't fair
How many times did we play euchre?  Too many 2 count
I just gave Kristy all 4 bowers, hope no one finds out!
How awesome are you, to have a barn party birthday 4 me?!
It was a good time, I could barely see.
We listened to Tom Petty, about a million times.
We also got down to the "u know u ghetto" rhymes.
It seems sad that summer ended so fast.
But don't worry my friend,
By the time you finally get this poem, summer will be back!!!

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)

The yellow man burst into the tea shop
With his bride in his arms and his eyes full of sunlight
“Look at my beautiful wife!”
said he
“See how she glows!
Blessed is me!
For nobody knows
the bedazzlement of the glance
the electricity of the trace
the tenderness of the honey glazed lips
and fond stroke of the face
of the lover who is truly yours.”
And the gray man scoffed in odium
With a hint of despair
“Silly yellow man,
Don't you know
What love you boast is but a foolish affair?
All good things come to an end
And therefore I recommend
You put away your heart lest it be crushed”
The yellow man paused and looked on with pity
“Gray fellow, which maiden
Hath done such damage upon your soul?
Why are you repulsed
And your heart unladen?”
And the gray man looked down at the floor
With an air of shame
“Love is but an unfair game I fear
In which I have been cheated
And love has been unkind to me.”

Among the piles of ***** clothes
Beyond the stacks of dishes
Lives a girl you’ve passed before
A truly absurd missus.

She shows the moon her moonlight
And showers in the rain.
If you glanced your eyes upon her
You would wonder if she's sane.

She wears two different shoes
One black and yet one red.
She even has three hair colors
That grow out of her head.

Her skin is very spotty
White patches all around.
Her head is red and blistered
With scales like dragons crowned.

She has teeth like a vampire
Some pointed and some straight.
I’ve been told she bites people
Who touch her by mistake.

Some people say she is a fool
Who hides behind blue eyes,
Or say she is a tyrant
With a torso full of lies.

Some people say she's misconstrued,
Not odd deliberately.
“Perhaps she's a mishap of God”
They say concernedly.

She laughs at jokes not funny.
She does everything wrong.
One time she walked around the town
With her dress tucked in her thong.

I heard she drinks alcohol
Like it's her morning kiss
And slurs her speech suspiciously
In an evil nasty hiss.

So if you see this missus
I’ll tell you what to do,
Just walk right on past her,
Until you’re somewhere new.

She is not worth your time
Not a second or a split
Not a minute or an hour
Not a day and not a tick

So simply just keep walking by,
Your dignity in check.
Keep your eyes on the horizon
And she's gone within a sec.

Don’t dare to look too closely, ma'am,
Fear what she may do!
If you gave her any time of day
You’d find out.. well.. she's like you.

The squall rousted the last of the roses,
a flutter amongst the mango blossoms.
The storm billowed with savage abandon,
a waterfall cascaded down the wall.
Lightning graffiti scrawled across the sky,
charcoal thunder rattled the fogged windows.

I held her trembling hand and stroked her back
as she leaped at the sound of every crack.
We breathed in rhythm — a steady tempo —
in-out, in-out, our tempest ritual.

He came to report a discovery
of roe while cleaning the rohu for lunch.
Spicy fritters added to the menu —
swift improvement to inclement weather.