8:15

The words escape his mouth to an audience of shocked silence.
They are so threatening, so demanding, so invasive.
Their hearts beat and their breath grows stale within their quivering lips.
He stands at the front, a weapon in hand, demanding through silence.
Eyes look down.
They refuse to speak, to breathe, to blink, for fear of drawing attention to themselves.
The wall-clock ticks naively, unaware of the pregnant silence around it.
No, no, no they scream inside.
A cough from the corner.
The man submits to their refusals and looks to the heavens for relief.
“Lord, thank you for letting us be here at school today…”

The Pointed Finger in the Sky

Feeling the rhythm of my feet against the ground,
Searching for the darkness in a place that can’t be found,
I scream at myself and accept the lie,
That running will escape the pointed finger in the sky.
I climb to the top of my pedestal and see,
The apathetic crowd of people below me,
They are so mundane with their simple lives,
Do they not realize they are living a lie?
But here, where the wind rips tears from my eyes,
I know I can avoid the pointed finger in the sky,
For how could I be blamed for all my evil deeds,
If I can’t see past the lies and sin that surrounds me.
For those few numb moments I can forget what I’ve done,
And leave my shit behind in piles as I run,
I gasp and pray that with each repeating beat,
The ground will dissolve and collapse under my feet.
I beg myself to trip and come crashing to my knees,
Where I can do nothing but plead for his mercies,
But no repentance comes; no hands are lifted high,
And I will never face the pointed finger in the sky.

Teach Me Your Ways, Oh Lord

Lord, please do not take away the faults of my body
But teach me to accept them.
Lord, please do not give me more possessions
But teach me to work with what you’ve given me.
Lord, please do not fix the challenges in my life
But teach me to grow from them.
Lord, please do not comfort me immediately
But teach me to come crawling to you.
Lord, please do not make me older
But teach me to use my age to your advantage.
Lord, please do not remove those who hurt me
But teach me to love them.
Lord, please do not take away my arrogance
But teach me to be humble because of it.
Lord, please do not give me serenity
But teach me to seek it through the noise.
Lord, please do not give me wisdom
But teach me to learn from my mistakes.
Lord, please do not make my life a permanent high
But teach me to persevere through the low.
Lord, these things I pray to you
From my very core
And when I start to ask for less
Lord, please give me more
Even when I am stubborn and stuck
Or complain that I am bored
Shake the dust off my idle hands
And teach me your ways, oh Lord!

Go Away

The days grow longer,
My heart grows weaker,
I give up any goals of achievement,
And focus on survival,
Only survival,
Survival to get through the day,
Get through the week,
This week will better,
No, maybe the next,
I just need to get away,
I need to make it go away,
Make everything go away,
Far away.
I struggle to live,
I struggle to wait,
I want my life to be so much more,
And settle for so much less,
I dream of days lost,
Left behind the wave,
Losing grip with the past,
I pray for the future,
I want to love,
But fall to hate,
I just need to get away,
I need to make it all go away,
Make everything go away,
Far away.
I fight for encouragement,
For strength, for support,
I fight for your love,
I hit rock,
And I fall,
Who will catch me,
I don’t know where to go,
Hide me again, again,
Under each broken plate,
I just need to get away,
I need to make it all go away,
Make everything go away,
Far away.

Walking Along a Busy Road

I was walking along a busy road,
With a crowd forever long,
And I was right in the very middle,
Just being swept along.
But then the crowd just stopped and stood,
So I strained to my tallest height,
And there in the road stood two large signs,
One faced left; the other right.
To the right was a tattered, rotting path,
Full of vines, thorns; a tangled lot,
A path that looked like someone had forged it,
And then just left it there to rot,
But in the midst of it all,
There was a feeling inside,
A feeling of serenity and peace,
A sense of humble pride.
To the left was a glowing road,
Where there was luxury galore,
Where the path almost seemed to sparkle,
And suffering seemed no more.
But there was also a feeling here,
Full of power, greed, and lust,
A foreboding sense surrounded it;
A feeling you just couldn’t trust.
One by one the crowd around me,
Slowly trickled away,
Some ran fast and others leaped,
While some just slowly strayed.
You could tell some did not think twice;
Others were full of resistance,
But soon the mass had headed left,
Till they were mere specks in the distance.
So I gradually glanced around,
And slowly stared at the few,
People who had stood their ground,
Unsure of what to do.
The conflict was strong but short-lived,
As wisdom easily won,
And as a group we turned to the right;
Our journey had finally begun.
We stumbled through the vines and watched,
The thorns scratch through our clothes,
Until we were so cut and scraped,
We were bleeding from head to toe.
There were so many times I almost quit,
Almost threw my hands up high,
Why couldn’t I just turn around?
Why couldn’t they leave me here to die?
But something in my troubled heart,
Stopped and told me no;
I could not quit that easily,
I couldn’t just let it go.
So as a group we struggled on,
We stayed to put up a fight,
Until we saw amidst the gloom,
A bright and shining light.
As we cleared through the prickly brush,
Our mouths snapped down in awe,
We looked at each other quizzically,
Not believing what we saw.
For before us was a banquet,
Spread as far as the eye could see,
The food was in abundance,
And the drink was flowing free.
Amazed, we approached the table,
Unsure if we could eat,
But something told us it was fine,
So we gladly took a seat.
Then a mighty wind swept though us,
It was a soft and gentle kiss,
It wrapped us in its powerful arms,
Dipping us in its bliss.
Our wounds were cleared in front of us,
The blisters were removed from our feet,
This awesome power enveloped us;
A sense of being complete.
The memories of our struggles,
Were quietly washed away,
For we had reached our final goal,
And we were here to stay.

The Cove

A majestic oak reaches into the sky,
Sticking out of the water at its base,
And yet it still cannot remove,
The tears embedded on my face.
Water drips from the leaves of the oak,
Landing lightly on my hair,
And yet they cannot wash away,
My feelings of great despair.
The music of this mighty tree,
Unites in a pure, sweet hum,
And yet it cannot drown out,
My screams that are yet to come.
I sit in a world of dignified beauty,
Where a peaceful aura resides,
My family’s bond hangs in the balance,
My life;
About to collide.

For Conversation’s Sake

For Conversation’s Sake

Please don’t stand there awkwardly,
With an uncertainty written on your face,
Don’t babble on incessantly,
At an undeterminable pace,
Don’t fix your eyes on the heavens,
Nor glue your stare on me,
Don’t keep changing positions,
Or constantly shaking your knee,
Don't leave an empty silence,
But don’t be saying it all,
Don’t always talk about the crushes,
‘Bout dating boys or basketball,
Don’t keep attempting to be someone else,
Don’t insist on being fake,
Please, oh please don't do these things,
For conversation’s sake.