Open Mic Scream, Redux
In my lifetime I have seen people come and go
and I want to embrace them all
in Times New Roman font, a nod
to my education, a final farewell in my last hour
while going back to relive just one moment, when
my creative writing professor
told us that to pass her class we needed
to read a single poem out loud,
at a public speaking event in which
I was at that bar downtown and
my lips shook reading my last few lines
at the open mic, screaming internally
without making a single dent
in the oncoming silence
a testament to my spiraling inner monologue
in my last hour, between a dusk and dawn
not willing to leave the earth
without a nod from the audience
I get up, grab a microphone one last time
and speak my truth, though my voice
shakes, eager to get the A
I Remember
I remember a land far away where people were happy and the children could play
Conversation was civil even if people didn’t agree and they would smile and stay
There were problems sure, but people believed a dream was in reach
The world seemed simpler then, life more gradual and easier to teach
No social media belched fire between obsessed legions of fans
No 24-hour news manipulated us with their master marketing plans
Mass violence was a rare thing and was so shocking back then
Won’t you help me find this place, surely I can visit again?
I found a map that I misplaced when I napped one day
I remember, it said to travel 100 miles north along some hidden way
With many stops to meet new people and listen quietly to them talk
And later go with them in the Winding Wood on a wistful walk
From there climb the hills to the Bright Outlook and see a glowing display
Of ideas forged with patience and charity to better love convey
Please help me find this map, I can’t bear another lonely ignorant night
Find it and let’s escape to a place bouncing with laughter and lovely light
WRITER
WRITER
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: 1 Storyteller
Amount Per Serving
% Daily Value*
Tears of Readers 230%
Insanity 120%
Imagination 290%
Ideas 540%
Actually writing 0.01%
Dont worry about my browser history I’m a writer 1000%
Time spent on Baby Name Websites <> 370%
Not Sure If Writer’s Block Or Just Lazy
<> 220%
*Percent Daily Values may vary depending on internet access and amount of sleep.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/1b/78/53/1b78539265394f2928d37f759d56e877.png
#WRITER
29/07\2020 [Wednesday].
With you
"Hello? Can I get everyone's attention, please? I would like to say a quick thought. I would like to say something to everyone out there who is hurting. To be more specific, If anyone out there is thinking about not living, then well you were made for a reason. Only one in four hundred trillion people are born. So if you are thinking of committing suicide, then just know that the people of earth are here to help. God is here to help. And I know that a lot of you don't believe in God. But he is there and he has never stopped believing in you. So why should you give up on him? And I know a lot of bad things have probably happened to you, but no matter what you should never ever give up hope, faith, love, wisdom, humility, or friendship. Just know whatever race you are, whatever gender you are, God and I love you for who you are not who you try to be. Thank you."
Appreciation aches
There's not one thing that has ever been taken for granted by everyone at the same time. Oxygen? There's someone appreciating the air right at this moment. Nitrogen? Someone has just learned about it at school. Nails? Blood? Pupils? Everything is being appreciated at this moment in time by someone somewhere.
You?
You can argue that you have never been appreciated at any moment. I beg to differ. Someone might've looked at you at the streets and had a sudden realization that changed their lives for the better; a little kid might've looked at you and right away wanted to be like you when they grow up; You might've been in a rush and bumped on someone on their way to work and because of that they weren't hit by a bike that was passing by a few moments later. There's always something to appreciate at life and there's always something being appreciated.
We live in a planet that's inside a solar system that's inside a universe full of everything. And sometimes, that's exactly how we feel. Full of everything. When that feeling kicks in and everything seems a little hopeless, remind yourself that the world is full of everything as well. A little bit of appreciation might help.
Let Me Share Something ...
Hello Me in 1950,
There is so much in store for you, you have no idea of.
A president is assasinated, another resigns, we go into a long war, telephones
become ten-digit numbers, and zip codes expand. There is this thing
called the Internet now that can send messages in the blink of an eye.
And it can take you places only dreamed of, or ... it can help with
practically anything. Your current phone will become a history lesson
and trust me ... obsolete. You will be able to carry your phone in your pocket
and even take pictures with it.
That TV you have, the one with three channels and rabbit ears?
Today you can get hundreds, half of which no one watches.
And movies, where they cost fifty-cents to watch at the theater?
They have streaming channels now. You never have to leave home.
We go into Space, land on the moon, and a Wall comes tumbling down letting the world know freedom can ring true. We suffer the magic of Mother Nature with countless floods, tornados and hurricanes, but we bounce back, survive and rebuild.
Clothing fashion changes like you wouldn't believe, car prices
skyrocket from a $2000 car then, to $18,000 plus now. Fast food almost
becomes the new normal. Penny candy is about $1.99 for a small bag.
Yes, a lot of changes coming your way. Far too many to put in this letter.
Will there be heartache? Of course. The world cannot survive without it,
the same as it cannot survive without love and compassion.
You will go to war but come home and with many mixed
emotions why you went in the first place.
You will lose that treasured gift, virginity.
But not to worry, it isn't painful.
You will fall in love at least twice in your life,
both leaving you with beautiful memories.
You will struggle somewhat, but you aren't alone,
for we all struggle, just some more than others.
You will have two careers: teacher, and cook.
Those you have loved will pass away.
After all, we all do eventually. You will mourn, but you will move on.
You have to or you are only a walking dead person inside your skin.
One day, you will retire.
Each day is yours alone to do with as you please.
Make sure you make the most out of them.
You will live through one of the direst of times around the world ... Covid-19,
a deadly disease ravaging hundreds of thousands of lives. It will be a time
of both fear and resolve. It will seem all you have done before, can no longer
be done the same way. You just have to be smart in how you cope.
And I cannot say for certain, but me being you,
you might fall in love again.
If I do, as an older you, I will write you again.
There is more, much more, but this gives you an idea.
Many new friends will walk through your life. Treasure them.
I would ask you to write me back,
but right now, you are only three.
P.S. Save your forty-five's and 331/3 albums, trading cards and comic books.
One day they will be valuable.
See you when you get here.
**********
(Artistic rendition depicting Chester, PA where I was born and raised.
Times have dramatically changed since then.)
The Days the Earth Stood Still
Those dark clouds to you seem so chokingly thick
The virus paralyzes us with fear and makes us sick
But trust me, we'll find joy and laughter again, I must admit
Children will play in school and give their teachers a fit
You'll visit your elderly parents without a worry or care
Everyone can go out without a mask and not get an angry stare
They'll listen to their favorite band and see teams win or lose
Best of all we can hug anyone we miss and chase away the blues
It will happen soon enough, take my word.
We will rise faster than a soaring bird.
Wisdom and love will be our biggest gift
Fear, anger and hate will be gone swift
This will just be another distant day
Come, leave the misery behind and stay
But never forget the days the earth stood still
When just a breath or a touch could kill
Superlative
A logophile is what you first called me,
sauntering away with cool confidence
while I stared, mouth agape,
at our first exchange.
I think about you when it rains.
I pull the blanket more tightly around myself,
thinking of you in this way,
makes my body ache
with melancholy.
I think about you when it rains.
You came out to join me,
on the balcony
I’ve always loved to watch storms,
but this one, you watched with me.
Your hands wrapped around me,
You hugged me from behind
so we both could still see
the sound of the thunder
struck me with awareness -
the sad knowing that soon you’d have to go
Far enough away that things would
inevitably change
It’s one of my fondest memories
of you and me
and so
with quiet sorrow
I think about you when it rains.