OPEN MIC ARCHIVES

Encore I June, 2003
Encore II June, 2003
Encore III June, 2003

Poetry is our Cafe
Mary Gonzalez (c) 2003

Pouring metaphors into tiny teacups,

Our words..oops..worlds collided one September day

Sipping, merrily our tea,

we shared a piece of cake together

Our ears drunk with words...our Poetry

Our souls slowing becoming lovers

Sitting at table number three,

The waiter took our orders,

Served us toast and Rosy Lee

As we two sat deep in thoughts pondering one another.

Poetry is our Cafe,

And words our favorite brew,

It seems like only yesterday,

In a cozy little cafe, two bards met...me and you!

=0=

Like water spilling

Joy N. Owen

like water spilling over the edge

my soul reaches out to you.

if you enter here, be still.

be still with me and reflect:

on who you are,

really are ...

be awakened by the uniqueness of you

dream of the endless possibilities

and live ... love ...

and be whole ...

one with nature, one with essence,

one with you ...

=0=

MARIE
Linda Mortensen

Marie, do you find the roses turning blue in Autumn,

or do they tell you to color them green,

when your blue eyes are weeping and things are too much,

I could tell you a story but you don't like my touch,

"Touché", you tell me, the night is always dark,

I found a fortune in my garbage can and my lipstick is fading.

I've never seen a rainbow after the rain,

but I have hidden underground in strange shelters,

my face wearing the hatred of your years,

you know the games I play every night

but the door is locked against you.

If what you're saying is true then I have my release,

the key exists somewhere beyond hope and longing,

remembering the night

is the only way out.

Doubt is belief to me, I can call the blue sky mauve

and leave my paintbrush standing in the pail

as raindrops do their duty in the Fall

and my smile turns to silver.

=0=

Poems to be recited at the beach.

D. Russell 6/5/03

eager swollen waves

burst life up on the shore

the children know

pirouette of foam

pale arms and fingers reach

dancer on the beach

slender fingers, dying wave,

clutch at my feet and slip away

I cannot hold you

hem of tattered lace

train of mirrored sky

departing wave goodbye

=0=

POEM IN FRENCH

Luke Peacock

When I ask the cab driver if we're close he says Yes,

except in France, they don't say yes, they say Oui.

He asks what I'm here for, and in my broken French

the best I can manage is "For making poems."

I know it's not a good reason, making poems,

I say, and he asks if I need change. "Yes,"

I say back, forgetting my French.

"I mean, I'm sorry, Oui."

"Oui," he says. We

sit quiet; I look through some poems.

I stop bothering with my half-French.

"Do you speak English?" I ask. He replies, "Yes,"

and I laugh. "Is this the hotel?" "Yes."

"Thank you." And then he's gone. We

sat in the cab for nearly an hour together, my French

and his English, and never spoke. I should write a poem

about that, I think. Yes. I mean, Oui.

And here it is: this poem, in French.

=0=

RECALL

n.estick

when it wont listen, i put it in the back of my mind

trying to recall it, i remember our bad times

looking at the pictures that once brought smiles

looking now brings a pain that seems unable to subside

everything once sweet, taste so bitter

eyes of love, now those of a stranger

when it wont listen, i write it down

and i'll tell my tale for those to listen now

=0=

February Quatrains

by Bill Albright

The past is past

Tomorrow is to come

Neither is now

Be happy that today reigns supreme.

My lust was implanted in a yesterday

Only I may recall the pleasure and pain,

Ask of your yesterday if passion is lost

Your tomorrow is fixed today.

I look down the long road

To see a traveler who returns to tell us secrets

The message board remains blank

No one returns.

I there gain in our coming and going

Does a carpet emerge from the weaving of life

A beginning and end is assumed

The mass is more than each thread.

An old man's heart is not a spring

Life's reservoir is fed daily

With waters which ebb and flow

Tides of reality and fantasy

A moment is fruit

Timely harvest each

Prize those of NOW

Time is the enemy.

=0=

The Britney Spears Poster

By: Andrew M. Higgins

Little Billy got great presents over the years

But one he treasured the most was a poster of Britney Spears

His friends always turned him into a joke

He put it over his bed so he saw it when he woke

He said this poster I will always keep

He blew it a kiss and went to sleep

That night the poster fell and covered his face

Little Billy suffocated and went to a better place

=0=

SAD SATURDAY NIGHT

by Ben Laney copyright June 2003

I got some Annie's

Home-grown Macaroni

And I'm sippin' on a cold cup

Of grind your own coffee

Far away from the city lights

A dog is barking

The deep night is falling

Here in my darkness

I don't hear you calling

It's gonna be a sad, sad, sad saturday night

I had a feeling

You wouldn't be showing

Lately you've been reeling

Like a leaf that's blowing

Round and round in a hurricane

I hope that later

You feel a little better

Then, maybe later

We can pull together

Far away from the city lights

It's gonna be a sad, sad, sad saturday night

=0=

honeysuckle

a cloud of gnats drifts

over the pond

martin

=0=

Poem 1, Untitled:

Our dead are here

(breathe, a name)

and so we are here

look, child your eye

you are on hallowed

For there was a Great

Sit for a while now

we too have work to do

Poem 2, Untitled:

Sit child here

know this place

our dead are here

know your breath as

a surf

your tongue gives life to name

Here, aloud

your breath

Hear the name

come to rest on the shore

Dina

=0=

MY BROTHER

KIMBERLY EARLY

SOMETIMES WE ARGUE AND DON'T GET ALONG

BUT IN MY HEART YOU WILL ALWAYS BELONG.

WE USE TO RIDE OUR BIKES THROUGH TOWN,

CUT GRASS AND HANG AROUND.

PLAY POOL AND THROW THE BALL; WE DID IT ALL.

EXPLORING NEW PLACES; I CAN STILL SEE OUR YOUNG FACES

FINDING TREASURES AND HOPING TO MAKE IT RICH

WE WERE ALWAYS IN A NEW DITCH.

PICKING UP CANS AND SELLING THEM FOR MONEY.

THAT MEMORY IS ALWAYS FUNNY.

I WILL LAUGH AND REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES WE HAD

EVEN THOUGH SOMETIMES WE WERE BAD.

YOU EVEN ACTED LIKE MY DAD; TELLING ME WHAT TO DO.

BUT I KNEW THAT WAS JUST YOU.

NOW THAT WE ARE GROWN AND HAVE FAMILIES OF OUR OWN

I SEE OUR KIDS RUN AND PLAY

LIKE WE DID EACH AND EVERY DAY.

AND WONDER HOW THEY WILL BE WHEN THEY ARE OUT ON THEIR OWN

ARE THEY GOING TO BE CLOSE LIKE YOU AND ME?

=0=

Questions

By: Cassandra Michelle Bennett

Sometimes I ask myself questions,

Questions that now seem so daunting,

So hard to understand.

Will I be just as cold as my mother,

Will I hit my kids as she did,

Will I be different?

To some this might sound stupid,

So utterly laughable,

But is it?

Will I change the pattern,

Will I love my kids as they will me,

Will I encourage them along the way?

But to me these questions haunt me,

These questions utterly frighten me,

Because I long to be the mother she could never be!

Will I be who I could be,

Will I be a better mother,

Will I be a mother they can respect?

Sometimes I ask myself questions,

Questions that now seem so daunting,

So hard to understand.

=0=

Tomorrow is another day

Dennis Allen

Where has all the time gone?

I used to hear the old ones say

They'd set and reminisce about the good ole days

I'd hear them make keen observations

You might hear someone say

What happened to that Quickie Mart?

Did you see there their a puttin' that buildin' on Grey

They'd talk of death in the same way

The sorrowful observation that a love one had passed away

Now I am older, now I hear myself say

Where has all the time gone?

Now I set and reminisce in much the same way

I notice that the world has changed

I remember the things that went before that are not here today

I mourn the loss of my friends, that have past away

I'm glade I got to know them is all that I can say

I look toward tomorrow to that strange new day

To the future of the children and their children I pray

They find the wisdom for tomorrow is another day

=0=

The Candle And The Moth

BY Anwaar N. Hassan

In aimless flight, on forlorn treks,

Thought and deed…mindless wrecks

Chanced I upon thy gentle light

In breathless wonder … silent delight.

Heart ‘aflutter, mind insane,

No heed of fear or thought of pain;

Oh! silent beacon of the night,

Beckons me, thy glorious light.

That you and I be one and same

So burns the need to match thy flame

Cease thy tears for this fate of mine

Lest thou perish before my time.

=0=

Freedom

Elisabeth K. Hughes

So many lost their lives,

All prematurely gone

All in hateful wars, some not our own.

The call went out, they bravely went forward

Not knowing what was to come

Not knowing if they'd return.

They tearfully said goodbye

While hoping the war was short.

They went to their posts

and patiently waited for the enemy to come

And they fought. They fought for love,

revenge, unity, faith, speech, but above all, They fought for freedom.

So many lost their lives,

So we could live in peace,

So we could live day to day without worry,

Thank you.

Thanks to all of you who sacrificed,

Thanks to all of you who returned,

Thanks to all of you, who made my freedom reality

May you never be forgotten.

=0=

DEAR MR SANDMAN

-nidhi bhandari

give me a dream,

a beautiful one

of hope and peace

in this world of ours

give me a dream,

of the splendid sort

for it seems

all of mine have gone

give me a dream,

the heavenly type

of ecstasy and joy

in wonderland

give me a dream,

that lingers on

with aftertastes of happiness

since most of mine has been lost

give me a dream,

a surreal one

for its true as they say

ignorance is bliss

or you could

just give me the dreams

i had as a child.

=0=
Red as Blue

janu dilwala

This desire is like fire,

When you give it light, it burns so bright,

This passion is my possession,

When you look at me life has no aggression.

Oceans are pure; love is a cure,

Let me love you like never before.

The stars are out,

Night is beyond doubt,

The clouds are far,

Truly amazing you are.

Oceans are pure; love is a cure,

Let me love you like never before.

Let God know how much I love you,

Tell my eyes you of a few,

Do not leave my side,

It would hurt deep inside,

Oceans are pure; love is a cure,

Let me love you like never before.

=0=

JASMINE

NTSIKAYOMZI PEMBA

i was in bed today-jasmine

the patterns valentino sketches-differ from our last meet

it seems i have been the torch of armed robbery

poor-my heart grows profusely

i stood with the still leaves-the still leaves

once they swayed from dusk till dawn

they now borne by a dutiful mourn

i shiver at the sordid breeze-the inhibitions freeze

botanical gardens no longer breathe

unable are they to diffuse the beauty... the beauty

the flower stolen-my first tear broken

i can no longer entertain this holy grail

i am much too frail

jasmine.

=0=

SUFFERING THE TWILIGHTS.

Durlabh Singh.

Suffering the twilights

In prowls of darkness

Bywords for restless nights

Hungry for the taste of

Some piercing dawn.

That might lift the veil

The painted expressions

The vacant streets

Receptions for

The evening trials

A melancholy for

The afternoon greets.

Hungry for the passions

Like souled firmament

Some sour perfumes

A taste that enflames

A bitter sour phase

For the tamarind rind.

Sermons do not nourish me

Vacant eyes do not flourish me

Dialects do not merge me

Power legend do not surge me.

Suffering the twilights

I ask for illuminations

Breaking the grounds

A sense for tribulations

An abandonment

Perhaps for all

Forms in the subordinations.

=0=

STARSTRUCK

BRITTANY COLLINS

Watch the start cry your name,

and watch all night for your arrival.

They flaunt their shine and pray for your acknowledgement,

knowing you're more than they deserve.

They stare in awe as you round the moon,

just looking for a sun to call your own.

You pass them by with a slight nod,

and they retreat in starstruck love.

You sigh as you pass me,

but give me a longer glance.

I shrink into my shell,

for fear I have a chance.

=0=

CALM

by Molly Wheeler

I feel, perhaps, that the battle within me is ending.

All the soldiers, bloodied and tired,

drop their swords, in the dusty red moonlight

of my mind.

The breeze rustles the leaves outside

and it is NOT a vision of my death,

it is not a lonely vision of the finite,

behind the glass.

Cups of coffee are cups of coffee

and not a scalding piece of

some kind of hell, which burns, just

inside the cup.

The couch is comfortable furniture,

and not a waiting place,

a purgatory, holding my suffocation

within these walls.

I kind of miss the metaphors, but I kind of like the calm.

=0=

Each day as the world turns

My words get lost

In the mist of time

Forever they will remain

Till the end of time.

As for the water in the sea

And the wind in the air.

Will control the path

My words would take.

Drifting through the ears

Of many

Till they seize

When time would end.

sk5sam

=0=

BRAIN GAS

Merrie K. Miller

Peck-a Peck-a hole-a hole-a

Where’s my can of Coca Cola?

What you say?

Where that be?

Argentine from sea to sea?

Go to work and get in bed.

Shake your feet and tap your head.

Cerebral flatulence I’m told

Another sign of getting old.

=0=

YOU'LL TAKE NO RANDOM PRISONERS HERE

Jo Liberty

Here I am, and nothing's well,

I'm sick of being caged inside this wooden cell

My throat's all dry; this life is a burden

I do what I like; so go tell the Warden

I don't choose this punishment

I blame it all on your government

Take me to the Chair-get the job done today

While you still can before I break away.

Check the detector-I haven't told the truth once,

Do what you choose to me: it won't make any difference

'Cause I'm a liar, an idiot, and a rebel in chains...

I'll wrap these metal links around your throat and I'll break free again.

I'm more trouble than I'm worth; and twice more when I start fighting;

Got a bitter poisonous streak in me with the impact of lightning-

I'm a little crazy and risky and I never learn...

I'm out for blood now and you could get burned.

I am the fire; you don't want to mess around with me

I'm not one to mind causing some severe injuries

Better chain and contain me and hope it'll do...

'Cause I'll retaliate like the flames as soon as I get loose!

=0=

VIGIL

AUSTYN NJOKU

Now so unable to slumber

for there is this hunger

grumbling in my bowel

i cling unto my towel

to entrap hot perspiration

seeping from my yawning pores

like mangy decadent mores

dredging my dear nation -

and i cannot but ponder

the wonder now an enigma

loud Ahuja speakers proliferating

like crushed cadavers putrefying

on our streets and motorways

while Council bureaucrats always

are pinching Allocation and tills -

this land festers with all ills !

=0=

I’ll be there

joey munkie

If you are hurting and needing a friend

I’ll be there

If you’re ever feeling like you want it all to end

don’t worry, I’ll be there.

Anywhere.

If you’re feeling rejected, ignored, and shunned

I’ll be there.

If you’re ever thinking that there’s no one

don’t think that, I’ll be there.

Anywhere.

If you’re ever being chased by dark thoughts in your head,

I’ll be there.

If you’re always dreading just going to bed,

don’t dread it, I’ll be there.

Anywhere.

I won’t care if you don’t know why,

I’ll be there.

Even if you just need to cry,

just cry, I’ll be there.

Anywhere.

Even if I’m all you got left,

I’ll be there.

I love you, and you know the rest,

so don’t worry, I’ll be there.

Everywhere.

=0=

“The Sand Beneath Their Feet”

By Cheryl Thompson

On Foreign soil they landed

Trespassers on sacred ground

Above their heads, warplanes drop bombs only a few feet away

How long in this place must we stay?

At their side, young warriors, brothers and sisters of courage,

Fighting far from home

In their eyes, there is the strength and determination

Of a free nation

In their hearts, there is the hope

Of bringing freedom to an oppressed people

The battleground is quite, for now

Tomorrow they push on, with the sand beneath their feet

Fighting for freedom beneath our feet

=0=

WHAT LEADS US

KWAKOU A. BUTCHER

New times draw new lines on the new paths

That we laid to define out lives.

Hasty choices made plague our everyday. Time too

fast for us to stop, minds and eyes too slow

for us to reflect and make up.

The cycle never ends.

Owned by us yet believed to be owed to us.

We constantly lust for more.

Eyes wide shut, seeing all that fuels our greed.

Yet blind to what our souls ultimately need.

A life long lust for which we bleed.

A long life lead by ignorance and greed.

=0=

Bigotry

paul

The last two men on Earth are in dispute.

One says the world is round

And has always been round

The other says

No, the world is flat

And will always be flat

The argument festers

Then at night, one man

Breaks into the other man’s house

And kills him

Stabs him in the throat

Drags his body outside for the birds

At sunrise, the last man on Earth is content

There is no more conflict

The banana trees are all his

And the world is indeed flat.

=0=

'Freedom' Rings?
Ken Welty

The 'American Dream' is Dead, my friends

When did this begin?

How did we get here?

Will it ever end?

We have lost our souls

No longer own our minds

So why don't we go

Get some 'Freedom' fries?

The feeling's that we have

Thought's that go on

That can't be

What America was built on?

I thought it stood

For a place to be free

Without a desire

Of crucifying Thee?

=0=

Pigeon flies on sill,

Glass shards shredding between toes,

Painful memories left.

Jacob Donato

=0=

A Forgiven Hurt

lisa canfield

Sometimes there is a place,

A wondrous and miraculous place;

Where one must stop along the road of truth

And forgive.

It is where silence has a meaning,

Where happiness prevails.

And all anger releases.

I stop. I forgive. I release all hurt.

Yes, I forgive.

With my face smiling to the blinding sun,

I open up my wings.

Wings that feather evenly and openly,

So that I may be lifted like Copperfield up over

The road of redemption,

To fly;

Fly over stones ridden to sit by rivers

That flow hesitantly, quivering to wash

Upon dirty shores ridden with soot and debris.

…

Sometimes there is a place,

Where worlds do not meet, rather collide,

To burn. Nothing is ever accomplished.

Rather, weathers like age; so crippling.

And so, I must with a spiritual trust;

Cradle my heart heavy in my hands.

And fly away from those who listened

With deafened ears.

I lift up. Higher, and higher yet.

I must live again.

I must be the person I once was,

and am, again.

So, I fly, until I see the light.

The light of a forgiven hurt.

=0=

I sit and wonder how this world can live the way it does.

There is smoking, drinking, drugs, and guns, and things that do us harm.

Of course when you're young you say you'll never do that, but you can't predict the future, until it's too late.

I sit and think to myself, this world is all out of order, if God wanted us to live like this, why didn't he tell us himself.

Our world will not be around forever, and neither will you or I, so why don't we make our lives the better by not drinking before we drive.

We tell ourselves how horrible this world is yet do nothing to make it better.

Sure there's the naturalists or the people who clean up the parks, but what about the garbage dump or the oil in the ocean?

I sit and wonder why is it our world is full of evil and hate, but then I see what people we are, and regret I am one of those men.

Jessica Challis

=0=

Narara Spring

Tony Vanden Hoogen

Regeneration comes to the valley with the warmth of the sun when the morning is early.

Awoken to the sound of native birds scurrying around in the bushes looking for soft to build a nest.

Replacing leaves scarred by the winter previous trees cast a silhouette over the glistening waters.

Water dragons dig in the warm sand to lay their eggs ever watchful to the sky for a predator.

Around the rocks and weeds a slimy black eel ambers along in the cool water looking for a meal.

Golden lily shows its white stamen to the bee surrounded by glistening goblet from the morning dew.

Bobbing back and forth through the green foliage of the camphor laurel tree a black and white butterfly.

Skinks scurry and frolic around on the rocks looking for a mate or just a good place to soak in the warm sun.

Hurtling past on the road people in cars oblivious to the wanders of nature happening all around them.

In search of a mate a long necked tortoise floats alongside a water lily while it feeds on insects and slugs.

The breeze comes up the valley from the sea in the afternoon to cool the inhabitants while they sleep.

Spring truly a wondrous happening around my home nestled in the Narara Valley.

=0=

THE HOMELESS MAN.

BY LAUREN GARDINER

he sits by an old tattered box,

while children run by in gangs and flocks,

bitter tears run down his bony cheek,

any attempt to smile is feeble an week,

he thinks of the man he used to be,

honest, funny and trustworthy,

and then he thinks of his old boring wage,

he'd do anything for that now, a fresh start, a new page,

but to them, to you and of course to me,

he's just an old beggar not worth our money

=0=

As she journeyed the unknown highways

Into the darkness of her soul

She found longing desire

And the overpowering need to be loved

She found that what she desperately wanted

Was to find that one person who would always be there

Be there to protect her from others

Be there to calm her on stormy nights

Be there to care for her

But most of all,

Be there to save herself from the demons in her tormented soul

She wanted, no she needed, someone to love her for herself

She sought a soul-mate

She wanted a confidant

But in the end

All she wanted was a friend

And as she looked over at him sleeping next to her

She realized that she had found just that

And somewhere deep inside of her

The darkness lifted and she felt an inner calmness overcome her

Then for the first time in years, she cried tears of love and joy,

not of pain and sorrow

She fell asleep with her arms around him and a smile on her face

David Gerard Collins

=0=

ALONE

KIRAN SAKKAR SUDH

THE ONLY QUESTION IS

EXCEPTION

THE ONLY ANSWER IS

PRAYER

PEOPLE DOING PRAYER

ARE FOUND RARE

& EXPECT GOD

TO REACH THERE EXPECTATION

WHICH IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION

FOR THE ACCEPTATION

BUT ACCEPTATION IS EXPECTED

AS THERE ARE MERE IN

THE CROWD OF RARE

IF NOT ALONE AT LEAST

CAN DO IN PAIR,

DON'T BE SCARED AS YOU ARE

NOT BEING REARED

DON'T BE MUDDLE AS NO ONE IS

FORCING U TO STEP IN THE PUDDLE

OH1DULL HEAD

I AM TALKING ABOUT

SUCCESS BEHIND EVERY WORK

---CONCENTRATION

ALSO KNOWN AS MEDITATION

WHEN SITUATION IS MISERABLE

&MAKES YOU IN TROUBLE

THINK ABOUT GOD

WHICH YOU CAN EASILY AFFORD

TO MEET GOD, THERE'S NO NEED TO

WALK ON THE ROAD

THERE'S THE FLIGHT OF THE SOUL

FROM THE CENTRE OF THE POLE

MILES IS THE DISTANCE

ALONE THERE WITHOUT ANY ASSISTANT

FOR THIS,

THERE'S NO NEED OF

OF CHANGING YOUR LIFE STYLE

AS 'T HAS BEEN SAID

THERE'S NO NEED OF

CONVERSION

WHEN YOU BELIEVE IN

INVERSION!!!!

=0=

"All My Spare Time"

Mindy Burnett

I hope you have a great time

As you sit there and drink wine and beer

you don't know

But while you were gone

I was home trying to find out

How to end my life

Sure I've got lots of Friends

And my looks are just fine

But when you don't have a father

But not because he's dead

But he refuses to except you

And your boyfriend isn't sure how long he wants to be with you

Then in your spare time

All you can think about is how to shorten the time

That the misery ruin your life.

=0=

POETRY'S SOLACE.

RAMANATHAN

A poetry is to you,

To enjoy and love .

To elevate your,

Entire being to soar,

In unison of -

Boundless joy

To sooth you,

When you cry-

Give all sublime

To lift supreme!

=0=

Dear friend,

Things are not always as bad as they seem!

If you have a nose, you can smell the sweet fragrances of the garden, the smell of someone cooking a midday roast or having a barbeque.

If you have ears, you can hear the singing of the birds, the wind whistling and rustling the leaves on the trees, hear the voices of the children playing in the park.

If you have eyes, you can see the wonders of nature, the beautiful flowers, trees, birds and the smile of a child, or the love in the eyes of your family and friends.

If you have skin, you can feel the cool breeze, the warm sun caressing your body, refreshing water from a running stream to cool you when you are hot.

If you have a mouth, you can savor the taste of fresh fruit, vegetables, and the meal cooked for you by the ones who love you, and sing a sweet love song.

If you have a brain, you can remember all the beauty and love that has surrounded you in your past. You can forget the hurt and sorrow, and wish for a better future.

If you have but one of these things, life is worth living, go out today and enjoy the things you have.

Love Tony

=0=

Take Me

Joan

God when are you coming

I've been waiting for so long

God are you listening, or did I do something wrong

God why do you hate me, because of bad things that I have done

I know there are lots of children and that I am only one.

But if you come and take me, anything I will do

If only you will, make this one wish for me come true.

I want to stay with you in heaven

Be an angel in your sky

I want feathers or some wings

And I promise not to ever cry

I will make you very proud

The best angel I will be

I will be good and not cause no trouble

If you will just come for me.

I'm sorry that I want to go

But I know that you are love

My brother says where you live, is beautiful,

Not in the clouds but high above

God I hope you like my poem

And that from there, that you can read

I'll follow you most anywhere

In you I do believe

So god when are you coming

What do I have to do?

I don't know how to do it

So I sit and wait for you.

I thought that I would

Jump out

Just like a bird that can fly

But I just cant seem to do it

Cause that would hurt ,

And what if I don't die?

I think I will wait for you at least another day

And hope its my turn soon

To come and take me away.

=0=

TOMORROW & YESTERDAY

ishita paul

There are two days in every week

about which we should not worry,

two days which should be kept free

from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday

with all its mistakes and cares,

its faults and blunders,

its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever

beyond our control.

All the money in the world

cannot bring back Yesterday

We cannot undo a single act

we performed;

We cannot erase a single word

we said.

Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not

worry about is Tomorrow

with all its possible adversities,

its burdens, its large promise,

and its poor performance;

Tomorrow is also beyond

our immediate control.

Tomorrow's sun will rise,

either in splendor or

behind a mask of clouds,

but it will rise.

Until it does,

we have no stake in Tomorrow,

for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day,

Any person can fight the battle

of just one day.

It is when you and I add the burdens

of those two awful eternities

Yesterday and Tomorrow

that we break down.

It is not the experience of Today

that drives a person mad,

it is the remorse or bitterness

of something which happened Yesterday

and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.

Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.

=0=

FOREMAN STAN

Alan Perry

little, lynx-eyed, time-and-motion man

suddenly there, materializing out of

carbon monoxide

to catch you unaware

lighting up or lending ear

to someone's smutty story

pompous, pip-squeak of a bloke

who claimed to be a Union Man

but never clocked

our corporate V signs

as he disappeared round corners

or through acid smoke

=0=

Worm holes

ernest

Meredith sits

on a deck chair

peering out the

blue pavilion skies

into the universe.

In the old days

he traveled there

often in equations

in time machines,

always returned

home in the evening,

for Martha,

rhubarb pie and tea.

These days he now

spends

more and more in

motionless solitude

out here among

old astronomers

staying long-gone for

days at a time.

Where is he to go?

he has sucked down the

universe

into a black hole

from leveled consciousness

through all his senses

even time itself and

a gillion fragments

of insignificant occurrences,

faces times, places,

names eaten by a lifetime

and stored in soft buffers

which has now past to the

other

end of the universe

- and nothing.

Senility happens, I know.

Consciousness is a wormhole.

=0=

The Lighthouse and the Sailboat on the Sea

Bethel Consumo

Alone atop a lonely lighthouse,

Facing the wide and open sea,

Alone where crags kiss the billows

Alone I wait , I wait for thee.

Once you have anchored in this lighthouse

But some gale blew your sailboat away,

And brought you to some unknown harbor

And enticed you to forever stay.

But the storm came and the tide rose

your anchor no longer embraced the shore

In faith you tried again the harbor

But the wind -blown lighthouse shined no more.

The storm passed, The lighthouse stood again

Shedding light to a sailboat on the sea.

That it may find it pathway back.

Battered and torn the sails may be.

Tonight the darkness wraps the hillsides

The lighthouse burn with an extra glow.

hoping, deadly wishing may reach

The tattered, wind-swept sailboat and you.

=0=

stephanie westra

If rain are tears

and rainbows are smiles

are memories paper work stored into files?

If you trust someone

why do they lie?

Hurting you enough to make you cry

If labels are as great as made to be

how come nothings ever exactly how you see?

If love is the biggest gift received

then how come they're always the ones getting deceived?

Can you have joy with out the sorrow?

Can you be leant something without having to borrow?

Behind all truth will you find a lie?

Why can ones greatest joy make one most vulnerable to cry?

=0=

I Know

BY KATIE TRAVALINE,

In my heart, I know what's right

I know tomorrow can't come without tonight

I know my limits, I know the way I feel,

I know what's fake, and know what's real

I know a friend, apart from a foe

I know that some things stay, and some things go

But some people don't, and I'm willing to teach,

Even if it takes the longest speech

=0=

Encore I June, 2003
Encore II June, 2003
Encore III June, 2003

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