Since the day I saw you
I have loved you,
Your culture and rich tradition
I bowed to.
You have carried me with your love,
From day one to eleven, my beloved;
“Mother Ethiopia” I called you,
Home of Lucy, and animals like Kangaroo
Day by day you get more beautiful,
Just like your people and view.
I will see you soon,
That I promise you;
But till that day, I will say,
Mother Ethiopia, My Ethiopia I love you.
~E.T.
“Always expect the worst out of things
so that in
case the worst
occurs, you were
ready for it.
If the worst
doesn’t occur,
then you will be
surprised and
happy when the
situation turned
out to be better than you thought it would.”
“Whenever
something doesn’t go the
way it was planned
or how somebody wanted
it to, someone they know will say, “get
over it, life isn’t fair”. But if that is said to
everyone, shouldn’t that mean that life
isn’t fair to anyone? If life isn’t fair to
anyone, everybody gets the some
unfairness.. Doesn’t this mea that life is fair?.”
“If you are supposed to treat people
the way you want to be treated, then
why do people harm each other? Does
that mean they want to be harmed
back? If you ever want to harm someone
in any way shape or form whether
it is physically, socially, mentally, spiritually
, or emotionally, think that you are asking
for the same thing to be done to you.”
~Ian
Guide the hand to a new fate,
And do not tell him of what you truly are,
Just smile at him, looking,
Away, from his face.
Listen to the voice that came from the hate,
And do not help him, only give him a taste,
Of who you desire, par,
Himself, neglected by you.
Guide his smile, to truly; who looks,
Yet, contrive, he is yours,
And he undermines by your fascination; benign,
To taste, the hand upon your face.
Simply untrue, undeserving, undesirable.
Away, from himself, neglect the hate,
Do not tell; the fate, so new; your heart
Won’t ever break.
Listen to the lies, you’re making up; lies.
Of given is the par, undermine who looks,
Telling not of a soul, to be under mine,
Is what of yours?
Guide to fascinate, to lay upon, undeserving of,
Your face, benign, you truly know,
Who you, are; not to be himself, he loves. He loves.
Simply, who he truly, undermines,
Who of what is your soul, not to understand,
Look now away, from yourself, smile,
Neglect the lies, not to love; not to hate.
Listen to the facade, voice, inside,
You won’t ever misapprehend,
Lies won’t ever break,
–Ever what is, undesirable won’t, how do you?
Guide to help him, do not,
Give to contrive to taste to know,
To understand your soul,
Suffice to desire the hate.
Simply, himself; as fate, smiles,
Fascinate the facade, obey,
Look, you’re mine, under love will never
–Break.
Guide to what, he is not, true, you; to not stand,
Under; the hate, helps him; you
Do not, under what, stand upon the hand,
Fate lies at your, face.
Listen, you’re who you love, he loves,
The benign tastes the, heart; obeys the soul;
Contrive to suffice the untrue, neglect
–What once was the hand of fate.
Simply par, not mine, understand him,
Tell not the truth, of you are, who looks?
Fascinate the soul, he loves, but he hates. He hates, you.
Guide: to understand what it takes,
To stay awake, away, from the fate,
Breaking the heart; Undermining distaste, in himself,
Truly, doesn’t tell him you’re fascinated; the facade.
Simply: how he looks at your face,
Suffice the hate, desire the hate, you know
He will never neglect your lies, remained untrue,
Taking his hand, to the voice inside.
Listen: the soul gives into for what?
Contrive, you won’t ever misapprehend,
To par his smile, to you, and only you,
He loved you; you, to break his heart.
Look, it’s all the same.
~Anonymous
I wonder about what life holds.
I hear the sound of horses galloping.
I see the smiling sun shine on the river.
I want to be able to replay my dreams.
I am adventurous and thoughtful.
I pretend that life is a memory.
I feel that we are all created equal.
I touch God’s beautiful creatures.
I worry about the people across the ocean.
I cry about the things I haven’t done.
I am adventures and thoughtful.
I understand no one is perfect.
I say “live life to the fullest”.
I dream about life with no bullying.
I try to be the best I can be.
I hope to never regret what I have done.
I am adventures and thoughtful.
~R.A.
As I wait backstage my heart pounds in fear.
If I mess up, will I loose my job?
Will I lose my pride?
Will I lose every ounce of confidence left in my body?
“Dont mess up”, I try to tell myself.
It’s almost my cue.
The numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8 rolling through my brain.
I hear the last drumbeat and my entrance begins.
On top of my box I go and bourree to my spot.
The millions of eyes staring right at me.
This is the moment I have been waiting for all my life.
Why live in fear?
When you can live your life doing what you love.
~Nicole Alexakos
I am from the hourglass, from time
I am from the earth, Mysterious; foreign
I am from the thorn, the weed of the ground
I am from the chaos, the competition of life
From Mary to Joseph from God
I am from the liars, the cheaters
I’m from sayings, “life doesn’t owe you anything”
I’m from a belief to “trust no one”
I am from behind the curtain in the temple
From the corner of the sanctuary
I am from darkness, from the bitterness
From dates and prunes
I’m from the alcoholics and the drug addicts, the swindlers
I’m from the forgotten memory of a time of serenity
I’m from hatred, from the thoughts of suicide that burn in the mind
I’m from the haunted house, I am the thoughts of the ghosts
I’m from the father that left, the mother that abused
I am from the arguments and the lies
I am a dark stormy sea
Desperately trying to drown her crew
I am from the rain, the quells
I am from all things people avoid
But I am still me.
~J.W.
People see me as Etsub,
A girl like a flower that bloom.
Knows what she wants and go out to get it;
These opinions became a habit.
I tell myself every day, you are perfect;
All these lies I didn’t see the effect.
No one would believe,
If I told them the real me…
I am a girl that is lost trying to find her way around,
Still searching for a common ground.
When I say I got it just disappears,
One after another all these years.
They tell me Etsub you are amazing;
I tell them that it is not surprising.
I have experienced all facets of life,
I can possibly think of.
I try to fly freely like a dove,
Cause all this thing I need to get rid of,
But always fall short,
Guilt, sorrow, anger, sadness,
I try to leave all in his presence…
~Estub Tolossa
Love is not isolation from society because “that’s your person.”
Love is not expecting favors.
Love is not giving your all to get nothing in return.
Love is not receiving someone’s all and giving nothing in return.
Love is not endless jealousy and insecurity.
Love is not constant happiness followed by no pain.
Love is not an “I love you” text after disrespect
Love is knowing.
Love is respecting.
Love is appreciating.
Love is silence.
Love is trust.
Love is not knowing what to expect.
Love is a smile at the thought.
~M.C.
Trees and flowers dancing in the wind, leaves blown away
Sun hidden behind clouds and shining within
What a lovely day
Bees buzzing, birds chirping, singing their enchanting song
Listening to the sound of nature, I can do it all day long
Rain trickling down the window and thunder filling the air
Behind dark cloud I didn’t know
The sun still shone back there
As lightening strikes I stand steadfast and start to feel bliss
I remember that after this storm something will grow from this
Through each day comes different feelings
They all work together to make
The flowers that grow, the insects below, the fruit that we take
So even though the storm is raging and you just want it to go
The sun nourishes, the storm waters so a seedling to blossom and grow
~Anonymous
head throbs
heart pounds
as your voice chases me around
running me out of my own body
telling me i’m not quite good enough
if i would only wear more makeup and brush my hair once in awhile
i could be pretty
but i could use some work
my waist slims but so does my confidence
i beg myself to stop giving in to your voice
but it chases me into the darkness
i’ve run so far away from my body now that i can’t find a way back in
your voice is home now and i wait for your approval
i wait to be good enough
i wait for my head to stop throbbing
i wait for my heart to stop beating
~A.W.
Madre, parte del alma mía
La amiga intimísima
La maestra más sabia
Me has enseñado todo lo que yo conozco.
Eres una torre alta y fuerte
Descansas en un fundamento sólido
Tu paciencia y fe son faros
Luces que me advierten.
Abuela, parte del alma mía
La artista más diestra
La cocinera más fantástica
Tu cultura me crió.
Eres un libro de cuentos
Tus talentos sobrepasan que tú comprendes
Cada día me sorprendes
Con la fuente de experiencias que tú tienes.
Queridas mujeres, partes del alma mía
Me hicieron quien yo soy hoy en día
Cuando ambas hayan pasado
Ustedes estarán en mi alma todavía.
~V.C.
She did not say much
But her few words were ignored
They buried her voice
~Morgan Huber
It eats you alive
Stuck inside your mind
Squeezing your lungs
Darkness surrounding
Stars exploding
The monsters inside your mind
Have come to play
~Anonymous
it’s seeping
into my pores
and i hate the way
people stick to my
fingers
i almost compared
the hair i pulled out
in the shower,
to what my mother
found on her pillow,
but she lost more of
herself than i have
i’m picking at my nails,
it’s the only way
i’ll forget about all the
people that forgot
to stay,
or i’ll dream about
telling him that
fire extinguishers
won’t burn down the
world and that he wakes
up the next morning,
but instead only
the people he left do
and i keep on trying
to drown my memories
of ghosts that still
breathe
its seeping
into my pores
and my hair is
tangled with broken
promises
my teeth are
falling out
in time with
the songs i use
to fill the space
silence leaves
smoke fills my lungs
and i still haven’t learned
how not to cough up
pieces of the past
that get stuck in
the drain i tried
to clean with vodka,
that night he tried
to put out flames,
and be the hero,
when he was the only one
burning.
My mind is traveling a thousand miles an hour
In the corner the rest of my body just sits and scour
I don’t think twice I think once and repeat it a million times
My thoughts have gone more sour than a billion limes
Dodging thoughts like my mind’s a mine field
My brain is eating up my confidence like a healthy meal
Hope I can relieve some of this with rhymes
I just keep fighting myself internally
Gotta keep on going… continue this journey
Feeling like my brain’s a stranger and I’m a mime
I don’t even know who I am anymore
As far as I know my old self went straight out the door
Just gotta keep telling everyone I’m doing fine
I gotta lie… gotta lie my way through life
Gotta keep my mind from winning this strife
Life
Life is simple, Life is good
You
Never let anyone, change your ways
Love
Love never lasts, if you’re uncommitted
One day
I’ll be far away
This place is not where I want to be
This place is holding me back, can’t you see
The people
The places
The opportunities
Not what I want
Not what I need
Any other place is a better lead
I’m the one who needs happiness
And I can’t find it here
So many people are near
They don’t help
It’s this place
I need my own space
It is not here
— Amy Haberstroh
Some said impossible, I said different.
Regret nothing. Live day by day.
I am more than six words.
— Candace Leaman
Although I’m not sure who would want to be,
Such a reserved and masked actress like me,
I’ll list some tips to help you change,
If that is what you wish.
Use smiles and laughs to hide your ways,
Watch an anime marathon that lasts for days.
Just don’t forget the juice and snacks,
The decision will haunt you endlessly.
Press some keys, pull some strings,
Tune your voice, sing some things,
Write a song for a sister’s birthday,
And don’t present it early.
Observe all, find a purpose,
Prove, to yourself, that you’re not worthless.
Just for the words, read a poem,
And keep its meaning in mind.
Find a girl, tell her you love her,
Keep, in your wallet, her school picture.
Treat her like she is the only one,
Because, after all, she is.
Make a promise and don’t break it,
Build up your story bit by bit.
If you really want to be like me,
Do yourself a favor…
And Be You.
— Christopher
Staring beneath me
Throughout the clear sparkling water
Was a broken face
They asked what would I be if I could be anything so I said good enough but you said happy and that’s the difference between you and I because all I want is to please others and feel like I’m worth your time but you just want that false state of euphoria where you don’t feel sad and that’s why you turned to drugs and I turned to a blade because I punish myself while you punish the world but no amount of drugs or razors will change us.
People always ask where you are from.
I don’t see the point in this,
Not even a little bitty bit.
Why ask where a person comes from when that’s not where they are?
Yes, it made them who they are,
But it shouldn’t matter whether they come from somewhere amazing,
or somewhere terrible.
The past can not be changed
And who would want it to?
The past is what made who we are.
Who are we to decide what it should have been like.
Whether it was nice, Continue reading
I want to jump but
My demons keep holding me up and
I think I want to die except
I know it’s only a lie
They feed on your misery
Kind of how you feed on mine
And I know you think it’s fine
But all you crave is victory
Where does it say that this is okay
Using another human for your amusement
I don’t know how to feel
I know it seems like I’m okay
But I just can’t seem to find my way
I used to think you were the perfect person
But now I see you’re just a curse and
You left me with nothing but
Dread and the wish not to exist so
Congratulations on your first conquest
It was a success over all the rest
Mess with an angel
And you’ll make ‘em a devil
Careful what you play with
Not everyone is as dishonestly stable
-AMP
I’m from big cornfields and big open spaces.
I’m from small towns in southern Lancaster.
I’m from long trips to the beach in the summer.
I’m from fresh cookies baked on a hot summer day.
I’m from a dear old man that influenced my life.
I’m from two older siblings, loving and caring.
I’m from being a door and a window.
I’m from yelling and fun on long summer nights.
I’m from country tunes being sung all day long.
I’m from a caring home, never being left behind.
-Dorathy Kammerer