Untitled: I Didn’t Have Purpose… by Stephanie Rossiter

Stephanie Rossiter

 Untitled: I didn’t have purpose…

I didn’t have purpose.

I was all alone

and empty inside.

A void needing filled,

and then I met                                     you.

 

At first I was quiet.

I didn’t want to mess up

and say the wrong thing,

because talking to you

was what I                              needed.

 

You listened,

no judgment,

you just cared.

About                                      me

and about how I felt.

 

We talked more and                more,

became comfortable.

That’s when it happened.

I realized that I

Was falling for you.

 

But our time was kept short.

Reality set in.

We went our separate ways.

I took it harder                                    than

most of my past goodbyes.

 

Because you understood me,

I didn’t have to explain it.

I told you I wished that                      I

had done something different.

You said I did what was best.

 

You encouraged me.

Gave me confidence

and motivation.

That’s what I                           needed,

and you knew all along.

 

I tried to let go,

didn’t want to be clingy.

I stopped texting first,

instead letting                                     you,

except that you stopped.

 

So I carried on

and hid all my doubts.

Slapped on a smile                  and

kept going on with

my life as normal.

 

My hope had died down.

I had given up.

And then it happened

and my phone went off.

Your text: “I miss                   you.”

 

The feelings came back.

I felt whole again.

Someone to vent to,

and I                                        realized

how much I missed you.

I wanted you so much

to be selfish with you,

to have you be mine,

talking for hours,

to tell you I love you               too.

But I distance myself,

let what we have fade,

because I am leaving

and it hurts too much

knowing you waited too         late.

That Old Oak Tree by Sheri Pryor

Sheri Pryor

That Old Oak Tree

Sitting underneath the oak tree on the swing, I look back to see you coming. I smile, and turn back around. I start kicking my legs, and looking down at them waiting for that sudden burst of energy into the air. Before I feel that touch of air under my feet, I feel an embrace of warmth and kindness from behind me, and it was you. You hug me around my waist and rest your head on my shoulder. I rest my head against yours and kiss it once. Afterwards, I feel that gust of wind, that burst of energy into the sky from my back. I’m one with the dusk of the evening, the sunset on the horizon hidden past the trees, and one with you at my side. The sun is finally going to rest while the moon awakes. I want to reach past the skyline, past the moon, past the stars. I realize I don’t need to expand, I have an unexplored universe, my desired future with you. I finally start to feel the decrease in the cool air hitting my legs, and I feel the tickle of grass on my feet with the glowing fireflies on the ground hidden from the world. You come to my side once I stop, and grab my hand. Hand in hand, we run into the endless country field of tall grass until we stop at a small tree. By now, it is already night, so the stars are shining bright as the moon watches over them. I walk to the small tree to see a blanket set up with sodas laying at the foot of the tree. I stop and look at it; a surge of warm happiness fills me. I smile and turn to you; you just give me a smile. You turn to me to say, “Surprise.” We hug and kiss as we lie there under the tree and watch the endless twilight sparkle.

Every Night by Maria Edmonds

Maria Edmonds

Every Night

Every night I am afraid

Afraid of the black cloak meeting me

 

Meeting me at nightfall

Fall to the floor

Floor bangs my head

Head explodes

 

Ooooooo I see stars

Nice and twinkly

 

Twinkle twinkle little star

How you wonder where I are

 

Are you in awe

Awe you wonder

 

Wonder who I with

With not you

 

You try the black cloak

Cloak fits

Not you

 

Thank God

Every night

It is just a dream

Hubris by Sean Mackey

Sean Mackey

Hubris

The party gathers around the table,
and I take my seat behind the screen.
A tremendous undertaking,
the plot of the decade ready to unfold.
The culmination of weeks spent plotting and scheming,
but it is ready for them.
All the traps are in place,
the traitors ready,
the rumors handy,
and the dangers plenty.