May 16, 2003
“The Mirror”

What happened to you?
Those gleaming, chocolate-brown eyes have lost their sparkle.
     No longer can I swim in them to discover your sweet breath of life.
Those pure, taintless lips, for which were anccessory to a smile that lit up the world, have begun to weep.
    A dispirited overcast has shed itself upon that mouth which has brought such pleasure.
Your delicate arms have been thrashed with overwhelming passion.
     Blood for a tear has marked indelibly upon your honey coating.
A grotesque figure stands before me, its internal self screaming for air.
     Shall you inflate as a balloon does until that one burst shattering blow?
Your impassioned heart has grown so frail in the search for fulfillment.
     Lies and distrust have nibbled away at scraps, leaving but a hallowed mold
     in the form of what you hunger for with an envious obsession.
Your desolate soul is crying out, screaming out, begging for a merciful savior.
     The moribund spirit within can no longer advance up those eternal stairs of hope.
     It is gasping its last inhalation of vitality and meaning. 
What happened to me?


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July 18, 2003
"Untitled"

I see myself traveling down this road of darkness
A path so shadowed and weeded over that I cannot find my next step
Nor trace back my past.
These vines of relentlessness clung at my arms, my feet
Begging me to stay a while… an eternity.
I pull-
I need to get out.
I struggle-
I need to go on.
I can’t-
I am Alone,
In Darkness,
I am no one.


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July 19, 2003
"Dear Unknown"

My mind is made up:
I’m leaving this place.
I’m packing my bags and drifting far away.
I’m gonna climb the highest mountains you never thought I could,
I’m gonna swim across the oceans you never thought I should.
Just me and myself,
Two lonely strangers traveling together.

My mind is made up:
I’m leaving this place.
I’m packing my bags and drifting far away.
I’m gonna kiss the boys you never thought I should,
I’m gonna turn away the boys you never thought I could.
Just me and myself,
Two lonely strangers traveling together.

My mind is made up:
I’m leaving this place.
I’m packing my bags and drifting far away.
I’m gonna be the woman you never thought I could,
I’m gonna be the woman you never thought I should.
Just me and myself,
Two lonely strangers traveling together.


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"Evoking the Memories"
    ~I won a state award for this poem~

As the sun rises and morning dew shines, a new day has opened its wings.
The window creaks open to hear Mother Nature's forenoon cries.
   Fragrant flowers and freshly cut grass rain through the window, mixing with the aroma of Mother's toast, bacon, and eggs.
Childhood memories of Little Tyke's, Cops & Robbers, and dog-chewed Barbies come to mind.

The afternoon, high sun brings humidity and too much warmth.
I remember summers under the daystar as it darkens our skin:
   Walks to Baskin Robbin's for rainbow sherbet are accompanied by memories of Bop-It and endless hours of Four Square;
   Death defying dares of wearing rollerblades while being tied with a jump rope to the back of a Schwinn bike.
Gazing over family and friends I wonder when we grew up, if we really have.

Sunset arrives bearing the smells of charred corn-on-the-cob and Brother's grilled hamburgers.
I peer over the top of the grey, shingled rood, into an ocean of pinks, purples, oranges, and blues.
   The Dunes horde my thoughts:
     Token memories of picnics on the beach, crashing into clouds of blue-green water, laughing as we trek up hills of scalding sand.
Where did those days go?

Silk drapes of stars scatter themselves across the midnight blue sky.
The window creaks closed, drowning out the hums of tree locusts and mosquitoes.
The freshly cut grass and perfumed flowers slowing disappear into the dry night, while the smell of electricity takes over.
   I remember thundering nights in the warm, crystal pool:
     Bats gliding over the water for a drink, coming too close for comfort;
     Competitions of twists and drives off of the deck are help, along with humorous skits to transform ourselves into the Three Stooges.

We're too old for all that now.
All we can do is drift into a sleep filled with young children and old childish games, and remember those long summer days.