Storm Brewing by Sara Martens

Sara Martens

Storm Brewing

He could not look away from her eyes. They were kaleidoscope eyes, too complicated a hue to be named, encompassing every shade of blue with just a touch of gray; a storm now darkened those tumultuous depths and rain fell. Guilt ripped through him and rain wet his face, the tempest in those eyes, striking him deeper than any words. No longer could he deny the unspoken word reflected in her eyes: Goodbye.

Alone in the Night by Bonita Levy

Bonita Levy

Alone in the Night

Walking through the night,
couldn’t see a thing in sight,
my mind started to play games,
And I realized things would never be the same.
Lost in complete despair,
for I thought you would never appear,
I realized then I was not alone,
for I saw you sitting on your throne,
and now I know I will never be alone.

Fire by Maria Edmonds

Maria Edmonds

Fire

Destructive burning me down

I hold my own hand through the fire

in search of the firebreak that delivers from evil

 

Instead

 

I fell in the firebox in cower

Trapped under the fingernails stretched out

from the devil’s hands

 

Screaming with no sound

Clawing with no nails

Clinching with no teeth

Clinging with no tightly strong emotions

 

The firewall presents the dead end

Dressed with the illusion of deliverance

 

Evil sits and taunts

mocks and insults

with the fingerbowl contents > deliverance

 

I keep falling in cower

Tangles in flames

Sterilized

No tight strong emotionless

Dressed and on display

Suffocated in tangled flames

 

Clawing through the cower

To believe

Evil dilutes tangled flames to deliverance

 

Inadequate supply dictating

Pointless hands of mine I hold

Occupied by myself

 

And I missed the talon

 

I fell again through tangled flames

I missed the ride to deliverance

Deliver me, Deliver me from evil

Bandaids Fix Everything by Sarah McCullough

Sarah McCullough

Bandaids Fix Everything

Mommy seems sad today. She didn’t make my favorite waffles this morning. She just helped me get a bowl of Froot Loops and she forgot to pack my lunch box for school. She didn’t even blow me a kiss when I got on the bus. I was wishing all day that she would be happy again when I came back, but she was still sad. I gave her a hug and a kiss when she got me off the bus, but she was still sad. She didn’t ask how my day at school went, like she always does. I even helped her make dinner today, but she is still sad now. I am hoping that when Daddy gets back he can help Mommy feel happy again, because I don’t know how, but I know Daddy knows how.

Me and Mommy are just watching TV now. It’s six o’clock, so that means SpongeBob is about to come on. I like SpongeBob the best. I want to cuddle with Mommy, but she is not doing a very good job today. She is staring at her feet.

I hear the door open, so I run to Daddy and tell him hi. He is more happy than Mommy. He picks me up and gives me a big hug and asks me what I did today in school. I tell him, and then I whisper that Mommy is not in a good mood. I ask him if he can cheer her up because I can’t, and I just want to cuddle with her when we watch SpongeBob. He says he will try his hardest. I love Daddy.

I go back to sit on the couch again with Mommy. I love her too, that’s why I want Daddy to help her. I hop up onto the couch with her and I see that she is crying now. I wish she would not cry; she is starting to make me sad now. I ask Mommy what is wrong, but she says that she is okay. I know she is lying to me. She told me before that lying is bad, so I say, “Lying is bad, Mommy.” That makes her cry even harder. I tell her I’m sorry for making her cry and give her a big kiss on the cheek.

Daddy comes into the living room to help. He tells Mommy to stop crying in front of me. Mommy says that she wouldn’t be crying if Daddy didn’t cheat on her. They sound like they are going to fight. That shouldn’t happen. I wanted Daddy to make it better for Mommy. Why would he cheat, cheating is bad. They tell me that if I’m going to cheat when we play Candyland that we are not going to play Candyland anymore.

I don’t like it when Mommy and Daddy yell at each other. Sometimes I can hear them all the way from another room. I really don’t like it when they yell at each other in the same room as me, because it’s scary. Daddy uses the bad words. They are making me want to cry now. They are so loud. Daddy is just making it worse. Mommy can’t stop crying now. If Daddy can’t help Mommy feel happy again, no one can help. I am crying now, because no one can help Mommy feel better.

Mommy tells Daddy to stop fighting because he is making me cry now. Daddy tells Mommy that I wouldn’t be crying if she didn’t start. Mommy tells Daddy about his cheating again. Why did he have to cheat? He told me winning is not that important. He said that nobody likes to play with a cheater. How come he didn’t follow his rule?

Daddy is very angry that I am crying too. He grabs me and tells me to shut up. It hurts my feelings when he says shut up. I tell him that I’m sorry that I’m crying, I just can’t help it. He says that I better stop soon or he is going to be mad. But I thought he was already mad! He walks out into the kitchen, so I crawl into Mommy’s lap and ask her why is he being mean today. She says that he has done a terrible thing, and he is scared that he can’t live here anymore. Why would Daddy leave? They never kicked me out when I cheated at Candyland. Maybe Daddy cheated on a test, that’s the worst kind of cheating.

Daddy comes back into the living room and he is holding something. I think it is a gun. I learned about them from the policemen at school. I didn’t know Daddy was a policeman. I thought he worked in an office with a computer. Mommy tells Daddy to put the gun down. I am right, it’s a gun. Daddy points the gun at me and Mommy now. That’s not nice, the police are supposed to point guns at the bad guys. Me and Mommy are good guys. Mommy is begging for Daddy to put the gun down. I want him to do that too. Daddy says that he loves Caroline. Who is that? Mommy is still begging and then Daddy makes a loud bang with the policeman gun. Mommy is bleeding now. I have to go get her a bandaid.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Audi Columbo

Audi Columbo

 

 Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Yesterday…

 

The past is the past for a reason.

Some cannot let it go

even though that’s where it’s supposed to stay.

I cannot change what happened.

No matter how much I try,

no matter how much I think about it,

no matter how much I cry.

It’s unchangeable, and I must move on to tomorrow.

 

Today…

Don’t contemplate, or remember the past.

Don’t allow it to make all your troubles a burden.

Today is a new dawn, a new day.

Open your eyes to see the new gift in front of you,

allowing it to make a new moment to learn from,

forgiving yourself for what you have done.

Live in the now, for tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow…

I look forward to tomorrow for it’s a new day.

Moving on, and picking up the broken pieces,

knowing it’ll all be okay.

When you feel a pain

know that someone else is feeling a bigger one.

Don’t let the history interfere

for tomorrow is a new day.