Author: Amanda Miller

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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.

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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.

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A Reel Life Story by George Owens

George Owens

A Reel Life Story

Living life at frame rates of 24 frames per second
You’re everything to the audience
But fading fast to those who really know you
Your debut seemed forced yet you were extraordinary
The celluloid capturing you as you really are
You seem so different caught from this aspect ratio
The camera angle casts a cold blue shadow across
your pretty unblemished face

Your next emotion depends on their latest film review of
Fall From Grace
“She’s brilliant!” they wrote, “So exquisite!” was added
Now you’re happy and you smile again, no longer saddened
“She’s lost her edge,” wrote he, “She’s too over the top,” said she
Now you’re sad and depressed and refuse to
rehearse the next scene

You’ve become the role, you live the part
You memorize the lines but forget to smile at your co-star

I wish for time to reverse, the cameras to rewind
It’s time to cap the lens, torch the props
and send the extras home
Drive the location crew back to the studio
Wash your makeup off; give the black dress back to Wardrobe
Leave the script on the table; tell Casting you’re through
Your stand-in’s waiting, it’s her big debut
She’s shining; it’s her shot at the lead
Hand it to the director, she looks a lot like you do
Kubrick couldn’t have done it cleaner
Hitch would’ve been a jealous man
He’d want more than his cameo; he’d be your number one fan
The credits roll; the end song’s almost through

Your name flashes big and bright then
quickly fades to blue
Things will be written; you’ll read them
again and again, through and through
Sad… You’ll base the rest of your life on that very last review

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Shadow by Sarah McCullough

Sarah McCullough

Shadow

Maybe it’s waiting for me,
on the second star to the right.
I’ll fly there to find it,
faith, trust, pixie dust,
through the night sky, I’ll fly.
To Neverland.

Time is in the stomach of the crocodile,
tick, tick, tick, tick;
slowly creeping up from behind.
I can’t let it catch me, eat me alive.
I have to keep trying, flying.
To Neverland.

We played a game of Hook and Smee,
you gave commands and I aimed to please.
You commandeered my heart like a pirate,
but I fought like an Indian to steal it back.
No longer your captive.
In Neverland.

I found the Lost Boys,
playing in the trees.
They were so much fun,
so happy and free.
They took me on a tour.
Of Neverland.

It was in Mermaid Lagoon where I first saw him.
he was the center of attention,
the mermaids loved him.
They hated me when they saw the gleam in my eye.
They splashed, taunted.
He was just a shadow.

I followed it to Skull Rock,
where the waters were rough
and the tide rose fast.
I lost it in the effort to swim free,
lost it to save myself.
Lost his shadow.

I wandered and wondered,
where could he have gone,
this mysterious shadow boy?
I needed to find him,
needed to meet him.
Not just his shadow.

I came across Hangman’s Tree.
The Lost Boys let me inside.
Down the roots we went until,
we landed in the room
where, at last, I saw the boy,
attached to the shadow.

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The Scale by Rebecca Perkins

Rebecca Perkins

The Scale

The silence of your presence and the stillness of calm whisper to your dreams, asking of your presence in another vapid day. Clenched fists rub sleep’s remnants from your eyes while you stagger from the safety of warmth and heavy coverings. You recoil at the cold bathroom tile that touches your skin and make your way to the being of what will determine—worthless or worthy. Eyes averted from the mirror, your shaking hands grip the smoothness of the sink’s outer realm. Exhale, and step slowly into the judging of your essence. The numbers flicker back and forth, inching up and down, up, down, then finally down. You tremble, then finally open your eyes and stare at the garish red numbers displaying your fate – will you eat today or not? Despite its decline from yesterday, it is not enough. Your heart sinks, tears slip from tearing eyes, and you know deep down that it will never be.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.