Katrina…by Jessie 9/05

Calm and peaceful, the waves softly echo and reverberate as they find obstacles in their path.

Quiet… so deafening you can hear the other mans thoughts.

The sky, the bluest blue, and the only real movement, is the birds’ overhead.

Stranded on this island surrounded by water, I look out to all the other islands and all the other survivors perched upon the roofs of flooded homes.

Not a word is uttered, shock and dismay has taken hold.

Sure the sky is blue now but only hours ago the sky was dark and ominous, as a cataclysmic event was unfolding.

Devastating winds, pelting rain, and fear made its way to shore.

It’s as if the gods scooped up the sea and hurled it all at once.

Some made it others didn’t.

The smell of death stains the air.

Faces peer from just below the waters surface, eyes fixated and still, looking up to the blue sky.

Nothing to do but sit and wait

Time devours its self while waiting

Wait for lower level, will assistance come?

Wait for sustenance.

All is gone; all is lost

In a blink of an eye all has changed.

Never seen a sky so blue

TIC-TOC by Jessie 5/06
10pm. I go to sleep
11pm., awake
12am. I toss and turn
How long, will this process take?
1am, I grab a drink
Read a little from my book
2am, I have to ***
From the drink I took
3am, dozing off
Until startled by the dog
Can’t remember the last time
I was sleeping like a log
4am, the moon is bright
Shining in my eyes
Pull the blanket across my face
From the light, I hide
5am, it’s hard to breath
Take the covers off my face
Still can’t sleep, I hear you snore
While the ceiling, my eyes trace
6am, one eye is shut
I’m tired and I yawn
Sound asleep, I start to dream
Then wakened by my alarm
7am, time to get up
Shower, shave and eat
Head to the car
Drink in hand
Shuffling both my feet
8am, punch the clock
Sitting at my desk
Lean back in my chair
Feet are up to rest
Blink one time too many
Until, they open not
5pm time to go
Some sleep I finely got

The Race….by Jessie 11/05

Once I was a tadpole, swimming very fast
I knew that if I didn’t swim, my life just wouldn’t last
I swam with all my energy
I swam with all my might
I swam with every ounce I had
That one romantic night
I beat out all the others, I did it all in style
I beat out all the millions, just to make a child
So… from a tadpole I did grow, into this man I am
A metamorphic wonderment… in front of you I stand

The Poet’s Soul…by Jessie 12/05

The poem is the poet’s soul
Deepest, darkest thoughts
Vulnerable and exposed
Expressions, like tasted wine
Sipped and swirled
Bouquets of overpowering aromas
Fruity, nutty flavors
Then spit onto the opaque page
Pallet cleansed, a release of tormented visions let go
Let go for now, but captured for eternity
For those still to come
For those willing to explore and satiate their cravings to know
There are those, content with the time a clock tells
Look close, for a clock is more than the time
Delicate mechanisms, intricate and complex
See past the surface, there is a world deep below
The poem is the staircase leading down

The Monster…by Jessie1/06

The day began in a most unpretentious way
Unbeknownst to me, what was lurking in the shadows of my mind
Smiling, laughing, engaged in every way
The day sunny and warm
Then in a blink
I felt a chill, and a vale slowly enshrouded every thought I had
Encompassing and choking the day’s life
The monster has broken free and is taking me from within
It’s grasp strong, its purpose unrelenting
I must summon the energy to fight while I still have the strength
It’s getting hard to see
The walls are closing in
It’s an effort to breath
I must not give in
I can break the binds that shackle my will
Who will fight with me?
Who will not allow the monster to drive his wedge of despair deep into my heart?
I am alone in this fight I feel, if only because I have gone into seclusion with the monster
He draws me in, because he knows my weaknesses and knows I am more vulnerable alone
Why do I fall for his trickery every time?
This is not a battle for just today
The monster will not be vanquished
I must learn how to battle better
I must secure a tether to those who will battle with me
For the next time I am drawn in, I will have an allied by my side

The Minds Eye…by Jessie 4/05


It’s dark but I see clearly into the minds eye of despair

Consumed by the emotions that overwhelm the senses

Panic, fear, desolation vibrate within my head like an excited atom

The transference of the event captivates and repels

I want to know how it ends and yet I am sickened by it

Release me from the vision and rewind time, so the poor soul may be freed

I sometimes walk too close to the line until the line is no more

Some how I have found my way in, now unable to get out

Blind the minds eye; pierce the oracle that subdues and paralyzes

Let there be a stark page of white and let there be serenity

The Game…by Jessie 4/06


Jessie was a quick draw; Learned when he was young
Swore he’d never fear a man, first he’d touched a gun
Made his name, by the age of twelve
After shooting two old men
One of them his father
The other just for grins
Every time he shot a man
Another notch, was on his belt
Swift and deadly vengeance
The quick draw Jessie dealt
At sixteen, his gun for hire
Money did he make
Town to town he traveled
Dead bodies in his wake
At twenty two his name, was on every gunmen’s lips
They tracked down Jessie, relentlessly
Guns tied low on all their hips
Knowing if they killed him
His reputation theirs
Jessie faced them one by one
Come and **** me if you dare
By thirty-three, he grew weary
Of all the blood he shed
Seeing all the faces that ****
Crowed in his head
He swore he’d never **** again
Hanging up his guns
South across the Rio Grand
To the land of the setting sun
Life had changed for Jessie
A farmer he became
Getting marred, having kids
Peace was now the game
But just because you run
Doesn’t mean that you can hide
A sixteen year old came into town
A gun hanging on his side
Are you Jessie? The boy asked
It’s time for you to die
Boy…do yourself a favor
Get on your horse and ride
I’m the fastest gun around
The boy made the claim
You killed my father years ago
To you I’ll do the same
Jessie put down his little boy
And pushed away his wife
Stepped out into the street
Then said…go ahead and take my life
I have no gun, so take your shot
You’re sure to have your ****
Seventeen years from now
You too will lose your will
Jessie words just fell
Then, an echo from a shot was heard
Time had stopped, no one had blinked
Nothing even stirred
Jessie’s son had found his gun
Soon, came running back
Stood behind the sixteen year old
And shot him in the back
A thud was heard as the boy fell
His face lay in the sand
Blood was pouring out of his mouth
Twitching from his hands
Jessie looked right at his son
He didn’t look the same
Holding out that smoking gun
Now, he too was in the game.