First Snow (a poem)

First Snow

Written December 1st, 2012

Morning light blinding bright

Through a frost crackled window

Split the shades; could it be?

Tufts of grass sprinkled across a white sea

Trees gently frosted like cakes

Sugar snow layered over frozen arms

Icy fingers reaching for a dappled cloudy sky

A Little Secret (a poem)

A Little Secret

Written November 20th, 2012

To tell the truth,

I think about you

When I’m curled up in bed

And raindrops dance over my head

A vulnerable time to think about hopes and fears;

Playful rainfall can easily become tears.

I shouldn't dream of you in this way

But I have a hunch our destinies are intertwined;

It’s the way you always find

A smile in your pocket to give me

On days I’m so turned around I can’t see

When I have massive mountains to ascend

You give me freedom to fly with the love you lend.

Lately I wonder about you all the time

To be honest, I think you have a hunch too

Adrift (a poem)

Adrift

Written September 9th, 2012

My dreams shift

Mirages on a desert horizon

My heart adrift

Try to understand

The elusive wolves in the woods

Flickering between trees

Just flashes

Of eyes and teeth

Some nights

I plunge and shatter

Broken chips of bones across the rocks

Lakes of blood, yet;

Impossibly alive

Abandoned

When the rain falls

And rocks me to sleep

I’m stitched back together

A little voodoo doll

Revived

I walk among lands

With silver nights

Starry lakes

And mystics with soul-eyes

Landscapes too beautiful to paint

Predetermined Place (a poem)

Predetermined Place

Written June 12th, 2012

Today I bring a picnic basket

And a heavy heart

To the top of a hill

In a quiet corner with a charming view

Beneath a friendly maple tree.

As I sit in my predetermined place

I quietly thank the maple

For the kindness is has given selflessly

To my husband and I

Sprawling branches shield me from the hot sky

And in the winter

It holds back some of the snow and ice

Protecting his stone from damage

And mine as well.

My Coins (a poem)

My Coins

Written May 5th, 2012

The little wooden box

Has lost the shine on its finish

And appears dim and tires

Like its special contents

But I think the ancient look

Makes it interesting-

Alerts the viewer to a hidden

Mysterious treasure.

A dragon flies across the lid

Suspended in the wood

His maw open in a roar

Warning the evil doers

That he protects the contents

Fearlessly.

Selective Ignorance (a poem)

Selective Ignorance

Written April 19th, 2012

Threads tear, bare from use

Sad puppy cries, dejected

Punished for trying

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Stark blind, full of whine.

No safe place for hearts

Angry shadows and bad air

Smells: rancid decay

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Jealous, past your prime.

Watch a joyful soul

Crumble and suffocate here

A plant in darkness

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

All talk, with no spine.

Dreams crushed under foot

You could help, put action forth

Instead we suffer

But that is just fine

You’re incapable of wrong

Ignore passing time.

Principals Are People Too! (a poem)

Principals Are People Too!

Written April 21st, 2012

Such a dark, scary man

That lays in wait

In a shadowy room of doom

At the end of the hall

Since we were just wee children

We feared the call:

“Principal’s office!”

Surely in our heads

As we walked that walk

Of impending reprimand and shame

We pictured a tall spidery man

With beady accusing eyes

Behind authoritative spectacles

That magnify his angry glare

Crouched in his torture chamber

Waiting for us there.

Imagine our surprise!

To see a normal man

With a smile and friendly eyes!

Bustling about a bright,

Charmingly messy office

Much like any other

And he wants not to expel you

From his school on some accusation

But rather congratulate you

For some prideful consummation.

As you leave his office

With a smile on your face

You wonder how your friends will react

Upon learning he’s not from outer space!

The principal is a person too!

Say hi to him in the hall

And listen to his responding call

If you take the time as you walk

To greet him and have a talk

You might be surprised to find

He too has interests and opinions in mind

Instead of boarding a mothership from above

At the day’s end he returns to a family full of love

I’m sorry to change your world

With this ground-breaking news,

I know it’s strange, even revolutionary,

But it’s true:

Principals are people too!

A Little Extra Spice (a poem)

A Little Extra Spice

Written April 16th, 2012

She’s not so different from me-

I mean –

Look at our grades

We study;

Diligent students

We dress tastefully,

Elegant and sharp

…with a little leg

And our hair is long

Silken brunette waves

Hers is a bit more curly- wild

But I guess that’s the symbol

Of what sets us

Apart

Please Smile (poem)

Please Smile

Written April 12th, 2012

My sweet angel

With eyes so bright

Please don’t cry

Have no worries tonight

I’ll always be at your side

No need to ask why

Please smile; joyous and wide

My sweet angel

With hands so soft

Please don’t cry

Let me wipe the tears

From your grey-blue eye

My heart is yours

To keep through all the years

That you have chosen me

Fills me with pride

Look at me, handsome one

Please smile; joyous and wide

Premature Rose (a poem)

Premature Rose

Written April 12th, 2012



A twisted malformed highway meanders inside

Coated in shattered glass and broken things

My legs are strong and carry me in stride

In my pretty head a free mind gives me wings

Elegant skin glows with soft sunlight

A picture of fortune and health on the outside

Yet on this paper I finally speak of a fright

I feel when the twists and pains leer on the inside

I grit my teeth, pretend it’s not there

I may as well run from my shadow at dusk

There’s no place I can go beyond its stare

I fear the inner scent of death and musk

(Dear Marius) Celebrating February on Easter (a poem)

Dear Marius

Celebrating February on Easter

Written April 10th, 2012

The sky is drawn up in pastels

And the wind carries a gentle chorus

Of chocolate coated childhood laughter

This colorful young day last year

You slipped from my grasp

We frolicked one last blissful time

Before you disappeared on a musical wind

Have No Fear (a poem)

Have No Fear

Written April 10th, 2012

This world is big

Floating in an infinite

Expanding universe

Darkness lurks

There’s hatred here

But have no fear

Your smile is wide

Atop a delightful

Infectious laugh

A sweet soul

Innocent and pure

But have no fear

I’ve walked so far

Across an unsure

Endless sea of time

To touch your love

To feel you near

I’ll shield you from fear



Whispers (a short story)

Whispers

Written March 15th, 2012

A hill of gray, white, black, pink, and purplish marbled stone slopes from the foot of a tall white guardian and down into the chill, foamy waters of Maine, painted now by a masterful artist in the sky who is currently traveling downward to the horizon.

            This hill of stone rolls and has slices taken from it, and there are holes and curves carved in its face from the gentle kisses of the sea that slowly make an influence over time. Some of the pock-marks are big as my fist, others have developed into cozy caves in which children hide and share secrets.

            The tinkling of children’s laughter holds hands with the cries of the gulls and the whispers of the water across the stones. While the children dance and play and explore, the adults sit quietly, listening, their eyes far away. Watching them, I know that they are thinking, trying to find the meaning in the whispers of the waves and foam. What is the water saying? And perhaps, I wonder, the adults are truly trying to find the meaning of their lives in those murmurings.

Letter to a Ten Year Old (a short story)

Letter to a Ten-Year-Old

Written March 1st, 2012

It was a radiant summer day when I skipped down to the end of the driveway at the bidding of my mother to fetch the mail. Birds sang and butterflies danced, their performances filling the pleasant golden air decorated with sunlight.

            I was only ten then, my proud first year of double digits that I had long anticipated. In those days, the world was so small and simple, consisting of only a fence that I frequently jumped to reach the field and woodlands, my house and family, and above everything a sapphire sky with rabbit tail clouds. What lay beyond those boundaries, my small microcosm, were only distant dreams and aspirations that I still had a long time to wait for.

            I hadn’t the slightest clue I was in for a big surprise when I delved my hand into that black metal box to claim what the world beyond my boundaries had sent my family.

            I was delighted to find that the letter on the very top of the pile was addressed to me. My wondering eyes poured over all the stamps and markings decorating the envelope, announcing the many distant incredible places the letter had journeyed through to reach me. Me, a simple, unimportant American ten-year-old.

Cold Night Craving (a poem)

Cold Night Craving

Written February 26th, 2012

Storm screaming outside

Within warm blankets I hide

Fearful of the cold

Wind howls in red rage

Desolate snow white-out falls

Pushing on house walls

Bright warm looks of love

On this night I will dream of

Escape from winter

The Tale of a Sailor's True Love (a poem, a dedication)

The Tale of a Sailor's True Love

Written February 25th, 2012

Many long years ago in a time of old

A goddess of unparalleled beauty ruled the sea

She alone brewed the storms and caused waves to fold

Sailors both loved and feared her dangerous beauty

The goddess delivered from the waves and her gentle breath

A daughter of her own creation, the fairest maiden

She walked upon the earth, a mortal vulnerable to death

Her beauty far surpassed her mother’s, who regretted what she had laiden

For no longer was the ocean spirit the object of lore

Her daughter traveled the lands, moving with a greater grace

It was her that all the men of the world came to adore

In all of history there was no more stunning a face

Procrastination Poem (a poem)

Procrastination Poem

Written February 24th, 2012

I do not want to do homework!

Two essays by Monday, you ask

Such a tedious, boring task

On America’s smoggy industrial histories

On top of worksheets full

Of logarithms and matrices

A paper dancing with symbols and numbers

With every new Pre-Calc term I learn

I just feel excessively dumber!

Oh, the hours I waste, toiling away

With headaches and pots of coffee to achieve

Stellar grades on material to be forgotten a year from today

I have great purple mountains

Against prismacolor sunsets on my mind

Visions of summer paradises with sparkling fountains

Begging to be written on any scrap I can find

Fantastical worlds of crystalline imagery

Powerful renditions of a childhood memory

But alas! I have homework!

Lessons from Sheba

Lessons from Sheba

Written January 8th, 2012

There is one person in particular that I know I could never forget, even if I made an effort. She was present in my life for almost my entire childhood, from when I was a year old until she passed away when I was thirteen. When I remember her, all I can do is smile and shake my head, still amazed to this day that massive influence she had on me as a child.

            One of my most cherished memories is when Sheba helped me overcome my fear of the dark. Growing up, I lived next door to my grandparents. Sometimes my mom would ask me to fetch provisions from their house when we ran out of things, like milk or sugar. When she asked at night, it was all I could do not to cry. I would run as fast as I could to Grandma’s house and back, convinced I could hear some awful monster pursuing me as I ran. When I darted up the porch stairs, I imagined grotesque, slimy, clawed hands reaching out from under the porch to grab my ankles.

One summer night, my family and I were sitting on the porch, just relaxing and talking. I looked out across the field and saw that it was full of fireflies, and I had the urge to catch them. But of course, my fear of the dark stood in my way. The field was a long way away from the comforting light of the house, and handling a flashlight and catching fireflies simultaneously would be cumbersome. But I was determined to go firefly hunting. So, I asked Sheba to come with me, knowing her presence would comfort me. Mom and Dad would be keeping a vigilant watch form the porch too.

Rooms (a poem)

Rooms

Written February 22nd, 2012

Music drifts down the halls

Piano crescendos and saxophone solos

Electric guitar screams and soft flute dreams

All spinning down the corridors

Inviting passerby to dance

One can listen in the lounge

A bright cozy room with plush rugs

Vivid expressionist paintings line the walls

By the soft warm hearth she can socialize

Or dance to the tunes drifting in from the halls

Forgetting Paradise (a poem)

Forgetting Paradise

Written February 22nd, 2012

Nestled in the depths

Of a luscious forest, overgrown

Surrounded by a ménage of sights and sounds

This should be the loveliest moment I have ever known

Yet as I lay, stretched in a bed of leaves

I keep forgetting that I’m here

In this delightful paradise of fairy dreams

How do I miss what I have so near?

Dappled sunlight falls and butterflies dance

But my eyes do not see

Cinnamon and mint and earthy aromas float

On a passing breeze that misses me

Imperfect Love (a poem)

Imperfect Love

Written February 8th, 2011

He is not an iron addict

With arms stacked to the hilt

Thinned out like a pancake

He has been lightly built

His eyes do not burn

With the passion of a dying sun

Rather, grayed with a touch of sapphire

And a faint spark of mischief and fun

Not colored with alluring, sensual caramel

The sought after, sun kissed tone

Instead he is sprinkled with playful freckles

Atop of the color of clean, bright bone

(Raise Your Voice) Things I Never Had (a poem, dedication)

Raise Your Voice

Things I Never Had

Written  February 4th, 2012

I dream of things I never had

On this freezing lonely night

As I cling to this life so fleeting and sad

Without these dreams I’d have no will to fight

And I’d be stiff and cold by morning light

I dream of fields, sprawling and green

Soft plumes of grass beneath weary, cracked foot pads

Forests and skies that stretch to eternities unseen

A family full of love, always glad

Each night a big warm meal to be had

I’ll make it through each long, painful day

On a stomach with no food and a heart with no love

On shaky legs and a mind that’s begun to decay

I’ll survive till dusk touches the grey sky above

So I can sleep and briefly enjoy the things I’ve been dreaming of

(Raise Your Voice) The Human and the Tree (a poem)

Raise Your Voice
The Human and the Tree

Written February 1st, 2012

I walk upon this ground

I rise up from it

I am small in these woodlands

I am the tallest being around

I cannot move you, mighty beast

Yes, for I am rooted to this ground

But I can make you fall,

For I start the chainsaw

And I feel its merciless bite

The chainsaw was made for me

I kill you for material things

I provide you with life-giving air

I create to destroy

I do not like to share

I live a peaceful life

My purpose is to provide for myself and others

I forget

I remember

That I am not the only one on this earth.



----

A style of poem I explored in creative writing club

In the Woodwork (a poem)

In the Woodwork

January 30th, 2012

When I go off on my own

And we are separated for a time

As I toss and turn at night, longing for home

I’ll remember the sound of your boots

Thumping on the porch upon your arrival

I’ll remember running to the door on little feet

When I heard your cough at midnight

I knew you still lay awake, restless

But when I heard your snore

From across the house, on a different floor

Rumbling in the woodwork

I knew I could sleep easy;

You never drifted into dreams

Unless all was at peace, all was secure

The Five Senses (a poem, thoughts)

The Five Senses

Written January 29th, 2012

If I lost my sense of sight, I could never see the faces of the ones I love,

I could never see the wonders of the world.

If I lost my sense of touch, I could never feel the kiss of my true love,

Or the touch of my child’s hand to my cheek.

If I lost my sense of taste, I could never enjoy my father’s cooking,

Or open my mouth when hiking to sample the pine and soil in the air.

Faerie Dreams (a short story)

Faerie Dreams

Written in Winter of 2011

A small boy, no older than the age of five, came to find himself in a large, fantastic house of stunning, brilliant colors. It was as though the house had been specifically designed for Easter celebrations. The walls were adorned with luscious pastel shades and intricate winding patterns, delightfully filling his senses. There were wonderful smells of fresh baked cookies and pies, and the taste of sugary, candied things was in the air.

            Faeries danced and flew about the room, singing and laughing and playing, their voices like summer birds and sweet Sunday bells. They welcomed him with smiles and pinched his round boyish cheeks. One faerie in particular, an impish, mischievous girl with bright orange hair, took his hand and twirled him around. The air shimmered around them as they spun, as though they were a sparkling mirage. With a cry of delight, the boy found he could fly.

This Moment (a poem)

This Moment

Written January 13th, 2012

I’m taking this moment

A feather drifting on a breeze

I’m taking it, and I’ll keep it

Tuck it away somewhere secret

A hidden safe place

I’m memorizing these seconds

And stowing them away

So I have them just in case

I find myself lonely on a cold, rainy day

Wishing for Sleep (a poem)

Wishing for Sleep

Written January 5th, 2012

How I wish I could sleep at night

But my waking dreams keep my eyes wide

And the stars shine so bright

Tires hiss on wet pavement

Passing like tumbling leaves, a phantom sigh

The music spins and twirls with the shadows

Singing with the lonely midnight train that calls goodbye

How I wish I could sleep at night

So worn out from a crowded day

That made my mind so dusty and numb

And changed my feet to sore old men

Yet energy still flows in my veins with a soft hum

I see snippets of the future on paths unchosen

Scattered across starry skies and stormy oceans

How I wish I could sleep at night

But my head is bursting with you

My ears full of a voice of warm velvet

A smile so wide and eyes so blue

I remember the heat of your touch today

And dream of the flames of tomorrow

A familiar wandering spirit fills my heart again

Wicked Lovely Circles (a poem)

Wicked Lovely Circles

Written December 31st, 2011

Here we are spinning

Spinning in circles, just a blur

Spin until we’re too dizzy

And fall away from one another

This nightmare merry-go-round

Stops for no one

Fate snickers at us

While we point gingers

At every person in the room

Except ourselves

This house no longer shelters

Infested with angry shadows and black holes