Category: 08th

I really do enjoy a holiday
Like Halloween or Christmas Day, a time when I get to lay.

Most of the time I’m in a good mood
As there’s at least one thing that’s good.

On Diwali, they give sweets; Christmas has candy canes.
Sometimes holiday visits have dogs like Great Danes.

And whether it’s in Barcelona or Plano,
There’s always good music, from trombone to cello.

So as we head into the holiday season
Try to be happy, there’s more than one reason.

When you find me
At the crossroads of hope and despair
You’ll see that my arms are open
My head tilted to the sky
Embracing the wide world

When you find me
In the deepest, bluest, sea of life
Where both light and darkness dance across the water
You’ll notice that my soul is colorful
Full of light and dark, like the water

When you find me
Buried under the avalanche of truth
You’ll discover that I’ve forgiven but not forgotten
Because memories are the darkness that bind us to this world
Good and bad

When you find me
Among the stars of pride
You’ll hear the song that comes truly from my heart
For the first time
This song will make you laugh and cry at the same time
This song will allow love to echo
As it’s final notes echo
Except they’re not final
Because this song
Is still
Unfinished

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

We all played,
“Tag,
You’re
It!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“Last one there is a rotten egg!
Ha!
You lost!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“See you after spring break!”

Who kid
What kid
Where kid
no kid.

Where oh where has everyone gone?

The streets are all empty
There’s no one around
It’s just me and my thumb
and maybe some crumbs

That virus has come
The kids have all gone
And I’m getting quite tired
Of long lasting solitude.

How much longer will I have to go on?

The sky cried bullets
Streets ran red
I hunched over my guitar
A single tear shed

The metal rains down
Screams are yelled up
I beg for a pause
For this mess to break-up

Then the clouds open
And nothing is heard
Just the pitter-patter of rain
And wails that are slurred

Down.
Down.
Down.

I sink deeper.
The thin walls hold my weight
As the rain gets steeper
The world’s a clean slate

Though nothing feels new
And houses are scattered
The town we once knew
Scarcely now mattered

Still, water falls
And I mirror the sky
The world becomes blurred
Guitar far from dry

The room now feels blue
And then I’m alone
Just an old man and his guitar
In a place I used to call home

Sitting, looking out at the window,
Just relaxing, feeling the wind blow.

I see gray, red, orange, yellow, and a little green,
A hilly countryside as far as can be seen.

A cloudy gray-blue sky darkening into starlit,
Fog rolling down from the heavens like a red carpet.

Christmas music playing in the background,
Hot chocolate in tin mugs being passed around.

Lights and decorations being strung on every house,
People giving gifts to their children, parents, friends, and spouses.

December has arrived.

Basketball

The excitement
The energy
The motivation from your coach
The teamwork
The communication
The dribbling of the ball
The squeaks of the shoes
The competitiveness
The talent
The heart
Back and forth
Up and down the court
Defense
Offense
A crossover
A shot
SWISH!
The crowd cheers!
This game brings exuberance to my heart
Even though it can sometimes be hard
I still keep pushing
But at the end of the day, it’s all about having fun
I love basketball

I know now that our friendship was only a season
A short cycle in the infinity of time
when seeing you was what I looked forward to most
The anticipation of summer in the winter

I know now that no matter how close
no matter how vulnerable our conversations
no matter how much we laughed in the middle of the night
the memories did not last in your mind as they did mine

I know now that it was meant to be temporary
You made new memories in other seasons
Memories that replaced our summer

I sometimes wonder if I have always known this
If in the back of my mind I saw you fading
As the weather grew colder you lost your warm feeling
but I put on my coat and gloves
I added layer upon layer
I held on until I couldn’t bear the cold

I know now that I will be ok
As the layers melted off I felt unexpected relief
A relief that allowed me to find myself again

I know now that seasons change
Summer eventually turns into fall

I wish I would’ve known then what I know now

What goes up but can’t come down,
And seen again comes crashing sound,
Sends ripples through the leaves
As tiny pebbles do disturbed.

Swallow until feather falling,
And once perturbed minds are calling.
Lo, but not held spins,
Alone, until rise night.

Whispers tell me other things,
Like rose unfurled and angel wings.
Lost a love, hoping, waiting, for,
Another day is gone to sleep.

Who dreams a soulless dream?
And wakes up a new man, new gleam,
And yet the call of darker streaks
Flow like ink in a spool of twine.

Hope you see is walking here,
And nourishes on fear,
Her own feathered catchers
Preying on shattered souls.

No one shall then be gone awake an,
Speak alone the death of a man.

The Intensity
The trash talk
The talent
The fans
The spirit
The refs the uniforms
This is football!
The ball is at the 4 yard line
With the game on the line
The Patriots have the ball down by 5 to the Raiders
They snap the ball
Its a run
No
It’s a pass
And they score!
Touchdown Patriots.
With 0 seconds on the clock the final score is
Patriots 27 Raiders 22
Patriots win a thriller back and forth game

I look at you like an author looks at their book
my silver stories clasped onto a matching chain
keeping my wrist company, and reminding me who I am.

You are an ode in yourself
you’ve dedicated your mere purpose to me
I can remember my own stories,
but the dangling charms are nice remembrances.

I love how you shine in the light
illuminating some of my darkest days
I love how you jingle when I walk
singing sweet assurances you can’t really say.

I look at the girl on whose wrist I sit, and I say
Look at how far you’ve come
from your childhood nickname to your first boyfriend
when you lose yourself I will be here
and remind you where you’re from.

A coconut tree…
A name tag given to me by my grandmother on my birthday,
the name that has stuck with me since I was old enough to respond to it
“My little coconut,”
“CooCoo,”
When my real name escapes her mouth it sounds almost foreign
A turtle…
An annual family trip to the coast featuring a special guest,
the first boy I’ve brought home
Our adventures in ghost tours, restaurants, and swimming
in the shape of an endangered beauty from the sea
A pendant…
A gift from my parents that brought tears to my eyes,
received on the day my boyfriend officially became family
mine and his initials engraved on a small oval,
that quickly claimed its spot as one of my favorites
A letter…
A,
the first character casted in my splendid show of a name
The name I’m known by in public but never addressed by at home
The second name in the list my mother made before my birth
I appreciate it, for I do not fit the shoes of a girl named Shianne

You are a fine luxury,
but still portrayed as cheap replacement to gold
To me you are worth more than money
To me you are my life story

I will continue to fill you with memories
until one day you cannot hold anymore,
for you are full of my stories.