Setting milky orange horizon,
gazing beyond the cliffs edge,
softened by lush canopies
a river of smoke trails the echos of soft chanting,
listening, drifting,
to the sounds of a distant train

Take me to the place I know.
The lake that looks cold, where the wind stings your skin.
Take me there, away from here. Away from
saltine tears and diminishing reality.

Take me to the place I think I know.
The cliff by the sea, where the waves crash loudly.
Take me there, take me anywhere.

I don't even know what is reality.

Discredit not the busy honey bee,
or the hedgehog that makes the grasses stir
The old owl that makes it's nest in the fir
Admire the deer pacing the woods with glee!
No bard does justice to the roaring sea,
no sculptor the grace of a wild flower
Or the nurturing of a rain shower,
or majesty of an ancient oak tree

The beauty of Nature, a peaceful sight
Like swans taking flight in the rose sunset
Deep deserts where small foxes show no fear
of man, and to feel a thunderstorm's might
All these wondrous things and more can be met
on this miracle, blue-green biosphere

The elderly man who used to greet me with a soft smile, while sitting on the bench in front of his lawn, is no longer around!

The bench is still there, yet the elderly man had been replaced by his grim - faced grandson playing on his phone!

As I pass by the bench, I wonder what type of legacy the elderly man had left behind!

Hussein Dekmak

It’s not you, it’s me. I know we’ve been going strong for quite sometime now but to be honest, I’ve found myself very unhappy with who I’ve become. I know we’ve gotten immensely comfortable with each other but in comfort, there is no growth. So I need to start taking risk. I need to start coloring outside of the lines because it has the potential to be something magnificent and beautiful. And if it isn’t, that ok too. Because chaos doesn’t always have to lead to madness, for there is truth in chaos, and that is what I want to find; my truth, my voice, my story.

I’ve held myself back because of this fear that I am not good enough, that I don’t have what it takes; that I don’t actually have anything important to say. But there’s something inside of me; something strong and powerful that wants to be heard. So who am I to cage that in? Look, I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t afraid, because to be honest, I’m terrified. But I think I need to live in this fear for a while to really understand what I’m capable of. I need to push myself and expand the dimensions of who I am to be able to see what I can accomplish.

I’ve been so focused on not failing that I stopped trying. I found solace in your presence and made excuses to not writing. But I can’t be that person anymore. I’m sorry Writer’s Block, I need to set myself free.