Updated June 29, 1996

--*--

Many things go through my mind,

But none so glorious as my Lord,

Many things I've left behind,

But none so sinful as this world,

Many things I've grown to love,

The Father,

The Son,

And the Dove,

And all I have in my heart,

Is the is the joy of God!

--*--

My hands are bound
with promises
that cut
like barbed-wire handcuffs.

My wrists are bleeding.
It hurts.
But what can I do?

The promises could be broken
at the price of severed wrists.
Life blood flowing.
Draining.
Dripping away...

until death.
Is freedom worth such a price?

--*--

Images of Brothers Born

Brothers died

Witnesses of Time's secrets

Viewers of Horrors Untold

Sorrows never witnessed

But Always known

Can one wish to dream

Of death; sweet silence.

--*--

mountains so small
the plane's shadow gliding
over the snow

M. Bekker

tilde@dcs.qmw.ac.uk)

--*--

BRAINFLOOD by Jason Jackson You cannot wash away the sands of time; They burn like a fire that cannot be shared. Remember your roots; for they need to sprout new veins to gather moisture for your soul's feast. Do not break down; the system which turns the wheels waits for none.

--*--

DEAREST

Dearest,
i am where you left me
rocking back and forth

back to where we embryos
moved into each other and breathed

forth
to my silence
an empty womb stilled

i do not make a sound while i rock
for i will shatter the universe with my wail.

Mavhu-Farai Wakatama

--*--

HARVEST

Darkened dreams
modern grapes of wrath
vint a bitter wine.

ASSERTION

In the course of our lives upon it
the earth with violence asserts itself
silencing our hubris.

SHEARING

The complexities of life
entanglements of wool, carded out and spun
yield but a single strand.

--*--

She accepted the knife

and made the cut herself

Without knowledge and understanding

Then grew old to realize

maybe it was someone else's idea

--*--

WAITING

As I sit waiting for the silent bell

I wonder why is the sky so blue

why is the grass so green

why, I have no clue

why I am waiting for you

I love you, that is why I am waiting for you.

--*--

Cactus

Chriscinthia Blount

Studded with thorns,

I inflicted wounds

deeper than my own.

You were persistent

as the sun;

you must have known

there were juices

running inside me.

Haiku

It is you again,
disguised a petal.
Oh butterfly,
butterfly.

--*--

IV.

(April 22, 1996)

Calling, Crying Birds

Hallow the autumnal hope

Flying, Ornate Brood

Dashed by approaching hawks

To rest on a dying slope

by Aubry Threlkeld

Charleston, SC

--*--

A poem by Fourough Farokhzad

translated from Farzi by Murray Wolfe

To: A.G.

I am wholly a part of darkness

that will take you

to the blossoming of dawn,

again and again to the eternal blossoming of dawn.

Oh, I sigh you into that part of me, sigh-- graft you there to tree, water and fire

--*--

From the edge of the infinite

there I caught a flower

a single being

awakening phantoms

from mysterious thoughts

oh, what grievances

oh, what feelings

oh, what joys!

Will I crash it

like you did it to me

or just make it burn

to become it a Phoenix?

or just turn around

and head my ways

looking for my selfish

self may be dead and

lost in single thoughts...

--*--

You And Me

Craig Owens

Is this all a dream,

Or is this reality.

Is this right thing,

For you and me.

I know I will never know,

So I'll just keep on thinking

it's a dream.

--*--

SPELLBOUND

Without words
Or incantations,
you cast your spell,

Mesmerizing me,
Captivating my heart.

I was becharmed
by the gentleness
in your eyes.

I melted in the warmth of your embrace; I fell hopelessly in love
after our first kiss;
I am forever in your power.

--*--

If indeed God's love is in me

I'll look to Him for all my needs

He teaches me how not to be

Full of hatred, lust, and greed

Believe in Christ and you'll soon see

Everything's possible through God's Holy seed Earthly temptations bring those to their knees In search of forgiveness by God's only means How do I know through prayer I'm appeased Christ loved me so much He gave His life on the tree.

Kim Laffey December 3,1995