OPEN MIC ARCHIVE
JULY, 1997

don't ask

i can't give it to you

don't require

i can't pay

don't expect

i can't afford it

just love

i will come into you

shea glendening

--*--

Dancing down the church aisle

laughter breaking through

Pieces of hopeless night time fare

Miraculously comeing through.

Jesus loves you

little one

Time

Turning

Laughing tears

years

Play hopelessly

Helplessly

over your face

Hearts

sigh

peace

reigns

The final rapture

takes

center stage...

-Mary Ann Paris-

--*--

ART

The art of art
Is it art itself
Or just a frame of thinking

The art of art
Was it made to be art
Or just a waste of paint

The artist who created art
Did he know he had art

If not
Can he rightfully be called an artist?

Desiree

--*--

I know how you love her

At least thats what you say

Why you love her

A question to stay

but as i sit here

sit here and cry

wondering why

why cant that be me

when you tell your friends

you love her, love me

--*--

As long as there are stars above
And a moon where lovers love
And new days with mornings dew
That's how long I'll miss you

If this world should ever die
And your soul goes to the sky
My heart will stay forever true
Because that's how much I love you

--*--

ENDLESS FALSE REMARKS

I stand afar and wish to be close
Open your arms to me
There is strenght in love
Let us be strong together
My heart aches for your tenderness

I long for your embrace
To smell your sweet fragrence
I search my pillow
For your faint scent
But it is gone
Bring back your aroma
bring back your love

--*--

THE WORLD IS IN RAGE,

AND Im left to recognize,

the feelings and the hatred,

brought on by my father's eyes,

cold and brutal memories,

eached in my mind,

no force can erase them,

there carved in stone,

sober minds dwell on there thoughts,

acid reflexes to kill them off.

I realize Im standing all alone,

no one can touch me Im far to gone.

abxtra@webtv.net

--*--

Tonight, I dreamed
I dreamed of
moonlight
of stars
of Little girls lost

Last night, I screamed
I screamed of you
of me
of life together
of tomorrows that might
never come.

Tonight
I loved
A man of ebony
carved steel
and then
awoke.

Last night, I dreamed....

-Mary Ann-

--*--

Life is hard

It will get harder

Sometimes food

Is not in the larder

Yet if you keep the

Greatest Master

In your Heart forever,

He'll save you when

you meet disaster,

And leave you never.

--*--

What can take away all your pain?

what is there for you when all you see is rain?

many people take for granted,

the best people God ever planted.

Friends.

They care,

they're there,

They listen, when thats all you want someone to do.

they are always there for you.

friends.

--*--

I will remember you as I first knew you

My Miki in the ether

My fantasy in the dark

My champion, my eternity.

And you shall remember me too

Because a even a heart that wanders must rest.

trascal@webtv.net

--*--

Dreams come true in shades of blue

Created in hearts that dwell in shadows.

A wish for better days reaches out beyond the haze.

Tenetive fingers fondle the creases of imaginary faces,tracing the lines

Of days gone by and times that were alive only in a mist.

Tina

--*--

I stand in the sun

My skin begins to peel

I only wish I could attain

The way I want to feel

Stand close to the fire

But don't reach out to touch

I see what I want to gain

But fear I'll loose too much

If only I could get there

Jump up and reach my goal

The fire burning all around

Would burn within my soul

Just then could I be happy

My heart could truely smile

To love you with all that I am

If only for a while

--*--

MIRROR OF THE PAST

I turned my eyes towards the lake

and came a reflection of me.

As I looked closely I began to see memories.

Memories of a child laughing, playing,fishing,

but blind in a way.

Didn't know how growing up would be.

Being a child I couldn't see.

I was a kid, free.

--*--

Who am I?

I'm the daughter that fathers dream about

Yes, a good little girl without a doubt

With my legs crossed and a smile on my face

Making everyone want a warm embrace

Think Daddy's little girl is who I am?

Well you are wrong, but I don't give a damn

I live for myself, to make me happy

I will do what I want, not to please

--*--

A light reflects on a windowsill,

A candle,

I see your face,

I cry,

I cry not a happy cry,

or a cry for joy,

I see you as a little boy,

you stare into my eyes you cry,

for LOVE,

you watch the sky pass by,

you cry,

It rains,

the light dims,

you fade away,

I CRY.

{I did read your message in the guestbook, but your email address was invalid \o/}

--*--

Breed

A different breed

On a different path

Falling from the sky

Adorned with penciled death

They come to sing the muses

They can take us home

Their song claims hope

As I breathe in their sweets

And feel the rope

Tugging

Burning into my skin

Why are you doing this?

Why must I pay for sin?

They are the angels

Who did not chose a fight

We

A plague

That must see light

Jezebel2000@webtv.com

--*--

--YOU ASK ME WHY--

You wonder why I'm careful
You wonder why I'm accusing
But you know nothing of my past
And all the lies I've been using

You wonder why my heart's guarded
You wonder why I don't trust
But these lies are protecting me
From guys and lust

All I have is my sanity
And that can easily slip away
So please just don't ask me any questions
I can't handle that today

By: Kristin

--*--

sometimes I sympathize with the devil
in-between his shaken eyes and vacant body
i believe in the sins that go unforgiven
in these thoughts, the inspired burn in hell

graciously I glorify the gift of god
embroidered in our hearts, we find the invitation
to circumvent, to heal this pain and leave forgiven
like a storm breaking quietly in the night

i must ask to have this right
to be blinded of my other sight

in this ignorance, i found god.

--*--

~~~~~~~~~Runaway~~~~~~~~~~~

I sit with the silence of the night.

Awaiting the beams of tommorow's first light.

All I can think of, is leaving here.

I can't live like this, I won't shed another tear.

I'll leave by daybreak, and get away fast.

Their grief over losing me won't very much last.

There's nothing here for me to do.

So I'll just leave, don't ask where I'm off to.

Written By: Angelica Lopez

--*--

Sabrina

ONE DAY OLD

by Pat Guide

Child with gently waving hair
New as a second
She dares life to fill her lungs
And vibrations to pass through
Tunnels never touched by sound

Innate resilience, amazing strength
This fragile creature, one day old
A pumping heart, with energy
Drawn from where
This child one day old

She finds her voice, creates a scream
Grown people run
She's hungry, she's wet, she's angry
She's one day old

t

--*--

I Fear Not

By Lindsey Bullard

As the anger builds

I Fear Not what grows

As the sheilds pull down

I Fear Not what is above

As the pain runs through

I Fear Not the suffering

As the tears drench my skin

I Fear Not the triumph

As the light falls

I Fear Not the darkness

I Fear tomorrow.

--*--

In His Care

When the darkness closes in,

and success seems far away

Remember there comes fresh hope,

with the dawning of each new day

Keep in mind that our thoughts,

are only those of mortal man

Put your faith in God above,

trust in His master plan

May the Lord lift you up,

from your darkness and despair

Placing His hand upon you,

and keeping you in His care

--*--

Moon & Stars

Under the moon light
Almost every night
On almost every star
I wish a wish from a far

As the moon beams shine on my face
I thank the lord for all my grace
The things he's given me in these 15 years
Have been worth all my tears

Sometimes late at night
I stare at the stars so bright
I feel that under the moon
I am safe from my doom

And just by the way the moon glows
I think that it knows
That the stars above
Gave me a wonderful love.

--*--

Dad and I

Dad and I

Got the old 1909 car started

Once we opened

Those double wide doors

Smoke bellowed towards the skies

We rattled, down the drive

Dropping parts

Hollow head light mounts

Running boards

The fire trucks stopped when

They saw us out for a drive

Dad mum-mum mumbles

"We should have tightened those bolts a bit son"

by: rick slottow

7-17-79

--*--

You speak to me as though

My very presence is a disruption

And you listen for contradiction

Like you're searching for an excuse

To dissmiss me

I won't compromise myself

For your love

I say

But I always will

--*--

I fear life like

a child fears the darkness

of the attic which

taunts him with the secrets

whispered over the dinner dishes

I peer in awe around the corner of the door

and the need consumes me but

I shall not advance

for there is no one to reach the switch

nor to hold my hand

--*--

Prettiest Smile

On a great adventure I'll soon embark.

Around the bend there will be.

A small light...only a spark,

...A glorious flame to me.

I'll reach out my hand...to grasp the flame

And hold it near to me.

Drawing near...hearts the same

The prettiest smile I'll see.

We'll share time...the greatest gift,

More precious than silver or gold.

I'll never again set my heart adrift,

Even as we grow old.

Ron Orr

--*--

Quietude

Silent breezes kiss naked branches

Windswept footsteps fade

In day old snows

A lonely hawk wheels in

Endless sweeps against

Steel grey skies . . .

Quietude undisturbed.

--8--

O sweet surrender to those eyes

Those midnight stars that shine so bright

O be a prisoner to those arms

The gates that do embrace the night

And to those lips that rest on mine

I cry each night in slumber deep

That while I dream he'll come to me

And kiss my eyelids while I sleep

And to that face so fair and fine

And hands that angels hands may touch

And to the rest of him I pray

That he might love me just as much

--8--

Little girl smiling.
Ferris wheel slowly winding
the bright summer day.

--8--

memories

time stands still for memories
stranger you may be in paradise
like the leafs on the trees
they fade away and die

summertime for some is gone
shadows in your mind
but life must go on, and on
and memories are left behind

Peter

--8--

If

If the world was a perfect place
Would I still play guitar as bad as I do now?

If the words I write now matter
Will anyone ever read them?

If I could express my feelings
Would there be words to describe them?

If I could have any love I wanted
Would he love me in the end?

If the stars could talk
Would they tell of years past?

If the door I shut every night could open to anyone
Would anyone come in?

-Mara Skujins

--8--

Tulips' to Love

3 Waves crashing on the shores,
2 crows on the cross be sure.

Sunset skies, eagles arise.

Forget me not, a flowers promise,
A love like ours should always flourish.

--8--

THE CONTINUUM SHEDS DREAMS

WHEREFORE CAN OUR ESSENCE STAND
FIND FOOT UPON THIS TORRENT SEA
THE SELF IS CRUSHED NEATH TIDES OF FLUX
ENVISAGED BUT IN DREAM REALITY

BORN UNTO PASSAGE WE HUMANS ARE
UNTO SOURCE WHICH MAKES PRESENT
THAT WHICH IT MUST STEAL
THE PAST IS SWEPT FROM THE HAND WHICH CLUTCHES

LIKE SKIN THE CONTINUUM
IT SHEDS SUCH DREAMS

--8--

Falling Down

His eyes roll back

Into his head.

He starts to topple

To his cold cement bed.

His dark red blood

Pours out of his skull.

When he wakes up

The pain is at a dull.

He prays to God to help him,

But his head is ringing, like a bell.

As he slowly loses conciousness

He thinks God can go to Hell.

--8--

THE MIND

Why do some people

Always manage

To get what they want

From Life

We always want

The person

Who we cant have

They may be

Within reach but

There is always

Something or someone

Blocking the way

How do we overcome

This problem?

Please tell me!

--8--

Life Alone

I am a solitary being

A loner

A hermit

I hide out

I think

I write

I ponder

I am a solitary being

--8--

Many faces

Sick, Naive souls

Contaminated kisses of hate

Negative smiles

Of knowing past confessions

A bleeding hope

Suicidal dreams of death

Victims of disease,

Hate, wrath and desire.

--8--

NATURE

A female body has a flower,
Which blossoms and blooms when it's wet.
This flower has this astonishing power,
That can make a man soak in his sweat.

--8--

wash and wear

oops!

another stain on your soul

hopefully it comes off easily

maybe no one will notice

the fading

--8--

i've seen pain

pain that slows the way that you live your life

pain that makes you wish things had never occured

yes, i've seen pain

pain is my welcomed companion

so close it is...

even when you wish to be alone

there is pain

so you see

i've seen pain

i know pain

it is not an enemy nor a friend

its simply itself

pain...

--8--

verbal gunshots

ghosts

of

sweetwater

made

fun

of

my

dreams

when

i

spoke

so

i

peeled

back

my

shadow

&

hid

inside

it's

skin

to

shield

the

blows

--8--

I'VE LOVED
I'VE LOST
I'VE LEARNED

AND SO I MOVE ON

xer marvin s. madamba (Pinoy poet)

--8--

An Eagle

By Ree McDaniel

The sun within its orbit,
circles round the earth.
Shining on the four corners.
Each in its own turn.

It never stops it progress.
Never ends and never begins.
For you see, just like an eagle,
It simply circles round again,
and again and again and again
And Again.

--8--

These feelings they are pounding

And I don't know where they're going

And I'm in a state of confusion

Not seeing, never knowing

Pushing grounding grinding

In my unleashed state of mind I'm

Juggling blocks of memories

Stale within my life

They're crunching banging binding

My true feelings I want to find and

I'm never going to be the same

As when I was long, long ago

--8--

i sit in a room

no larger than

the phallic symbol of

my integrety

it slowly but surely

will close in on me

and i on it

the keiser has found

a hole in which to

stick his defeat

i look for a place

to send mine

maybe people listen

but it seems that

evolution will remove

the ears and the eyes

although the brain

will stay as is

so i can think about

what i've done.

--8--

Time

We
are mortal
descendant
of time, and
all its shortcomings

we
run too slow
when days are dim,
and beat the horse
when chances are slim

and
with the sun
we rise and lay
to set our smile
another day.

--8--
~~I'm not quite sure if I understand

Why life turns out, not as planned

Does this always have to happen to me

I try so hard, but cannot see

My heart has broken into two

I searched for something, but found no clue

But I guess this is what God intended

It will just take some time before my heart

is mended~~

--8--

BATTLEFIELD

(A POEM ABOUT RECOVERY)

I'M A SOLDIER ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF LIFE

BEATEN, BATTERED AND BLOODIED

MY EMOTIONS TATTERED AND RAW

MY EGO SWOLLEN AND TENDER

MY MIND WEARY OF RAPID FIRE THOUGHTS

MY BODY RAVAGED

BY THE STEADY BARRAGE OF ENEMY FIRE

I AM EXHAUSTED AND FRIGHTENED

YET I REFUSE TO HIDE IN THE TRENCHES ANY LONGER

IT IS TIME TO FACE THE ENEMY

IT IS TIME TO FACE MYSELF !

--8--

Love is in the air
Spring is a wonderful thing
flowers are blooming

--8--

like an angel in a cage
I can do nothing from my cell
like a philosopher I sit and ponder
pondering about what I have done
and what I have yet to do
I try to think but
nothing comes to my mind

like an angel in a cage
I wait for the end to come
its stalking me waiting, patiently waiting
I see deaths red eyes in the greyish smoke
it comes for me

like an angel in a cage
I once was here
but now I am gone
never to return
but always remembered

--8--

Clip them

take them

longer than

i had ever wished

force is excerpted

on minds that wish

to

see

but nothing

will project

or protect

so send

us

your wishes

and we'll

send you

our grief.

--8--

The Wind of Change

In the wind of change

I hear the call

Of times past

Weeping for the present

And the future

Laughing in the breeze.

In the wind of change

It brings rains of tears past

And hurricanes of laughter

Mixed in the storm

Of past emotions.

In the wind of change

You see the future

Bright and clear

And the past

Dim and cloudy.

The wind of change

May cry

Or laugh

But it drives

Straight and sure.

--8--

Walk into my realm

of ignorance slavery and hate

Stroll my lined doctrines

proclaiming dust

wash away the ink

as you have the blood

of past wars

tanks patrol crowds

pawns read isms

standing on rotting floor boards

reverends

preach to deaf eyes

blind ears cleansing the world of thought

how glorious

one god

showing lemmings

THE OCEAN

--8--

THE TRUTH TO YOUR BELIEF

IS BURIED WITHIN YOUR CONSCIENCE

TO UNDERSTAND TRUTH

IS THE MAIN CONCEPT

LOOK DEEP INTO YOUR SOUL

AND FIND THE TRUTH

BY BELIEVING IN YOURSELF

'CAUSE THE ONLY TRUTH

IS THE BELIEF IN YOU

WRITTEN BY

CHRIS DUNN

--8--

New Woman Knowing

hearing the hollowness of my voice
I am taken by its childlike tone
very needing to know your heart
and not my own

I am taken by its childlike tone
echoing from deep within
and not my own, I plead
for I don't want her to be a part of me

echoing from deep within
it is a pain I can no longer bear
for I don't want her to be a part of me
weak, needing and wanting

it is a pain I can no longer bear
feeling the call to stand alone
weak, needing and wanting
knowing the pain of letting go

feeling the call to stand alone
the ones I cherish most
know the pain of letting go
I am a new woman rising

the ones I cherish most
teach the hardest lessons
I am a new woman rising
the morning gentleness sweeps over me

love teaches the hardest lessons
cleansing the deepest places
the morning gentleness sweeps over me
as I declare my will to the wind

cleansing the deepest places
shadows walking into the light
as I declare my will to wind
I feel the strength of the ages enter my body

Shadows walking into the light
just a sense of who I am
I feel the strength of the ages enter my body
I see her standing on the ridge

just a sense of who I am
her name is Future Women Knowing
I see her standing on the ridge
I whisper her name

Her name is Future Women Knowing
very needing to know her heart
I whisper her name
hearing the echoing of my voice

heidi vetter

--*--

Memories

Somewhere in the corners of my mind

Memories linger from all the good times

Then many years I've spent on earth

The joyous experiences, filled with mirth

But the most exciting moments, true

Are those fleeting seconds, alone with you

For all the time i think of you

Soft sweet hair and eyes so blue

You're like a drug in the way you taunt

The more I see you, the more I want

To hold you, caress you, ease your pain

Of memories of alove so vain.

Pearl

--*--

I paint a pretty picture, for all the world to see

My smile is big and bright, we all live happily.

i don't want to continue, i feel so insecure.

but my friends are always there, they helped me to endure.

i slit my arms, clutching my wrists fall to my knees.

No one hears my cries or pleas.

I put on my mask, for one more time.

I must complete my lonely crime.

I sit and smile, my whole life away.

I'm here though, but not to stay.

--*--

JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW

i will never love anyone

i will never need anyone

love is nothing but a lie

i will not believe it

so someone tell me why

why is my heart breaking

why do i have to come here

just to look at you

why can't i walk away

my mouth is mooving

but i can't hear the words

i don't have to

..."i love you"...

amber dawn

--*--

Back Away Down
Take No One Near
The Night Has Come
The Thought Is Clear

Rise Up And See
The Naked Sky
Turn Over Your Mind
Spread Your Wings

Keep Flying Up
The Wayward Child
Keeping No Trust
And Having No Fear

--*--

the stars are shinning

the moon is whinning

the wind

blows softly

as i run freely

--*--

isle of yew

lyre of chive

'neath a coal shawl swaying

a few tall lilies wind and laugh

me and my lover, laying

drifting lied of my mind's harp

twining under amber leaves

he's gone today so skies are crying

and join me singing on my knees

--*--

a fish in water
moves lithely,
flicks his tail with utmost grace,
and observes the world with intelligent eyes.

when he's stolen from it
he thrashes about,
gasps,
and screams with all his body:
I am scared of dying!

I am not his water,
but he is mine.

--*--

O sweet surrender to those eyes

Those midnight stars that shine so bright

O be a prisoner to those arms

The gates that do embrace the night

And to those lips that rest on mine

I cry each night in slumber deep

That while I dream he'll come to me

And kiss my eyelids while I sleep

And to that face so fair and fine

And hands that angels hands may touch

And to the rest of him I pray

That he might love me just as much

--*--

Little girl smiling.
Ferris wheel slowly winding
the bright summer day.

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