KITE
Spring afternoons
Were meant for flight
Out the screen door
And down to the park
Tall grasses, dandelions,
Children’s voices
An unfurled string, a gust of wind,
And I am found
Suddenly,
Looking past right now
Feels strangely unfamiliar
Like a kite, floating in the warm air
I am lost in the sun
Looking, but never seeing
Feeling only the gentle tug
Of the wind on the string
I hold so tightly
Maybe we are blinded by the sun’s light
On purpose
So we can learn to close our eyes
And let the wind take us
—M.T.F.
DREAMS
Simple
Unachievable
Ideals
Sustaining
Haunting
Rulers
Moving
Brilliant
Symbols
Treasured
Heavy
Baggage
In the garden
I tend them
Vulnerable giants
Don’t hurt my flowers,
My assassins:
They’re me.
—A.E.A.
THE SUN PRINCE RISES
II. Battle
Jaw clenched with resolve,
I march to Professor Krug’s office,
Determined to hold her to account,
Perhaps even to foment a small revolution
To preserve my legacy as a Shakespearean scholar,
Much as Prince Harry waited patiently Under his father’s scorn, only
To arise as the burning sun
Who doth permit the base contagious clouds
To smother up his beauty from the world,
That when he please again to be himself,
Being wanted, he may be more wondered at
By breaking through the foul and ugly mists
Of vapours that did seem to strangle him.
Professor Krug meets me with steely poise,
When I drop my gauntlet:
“You gave me a B minus…”
For this masterpiece of my imagination
I leave unsaid, because surely having read my paper once
Will be enough for her to understand.
When Professor Krug doesn’t seem rattled
And invites me into her office, I’m
Unprepared for seemingly friendly advice about
How I could learn to Dig into the Text.
Feeling stunned from this unexpected
Reversal, I suddenly realize my war has multiple fronts:
I must slay this new Text Dragon before Essay 2.
Yet, today’s battle is not yet done!
I will not go quietly into the night
Nay, I shall still smite one parting blow
To this silver and black-haired Empress
On behalf of the genius of youth:
“But… you didn’t tell us; you didn’t show us how…;
…You set us up to fail!” I blurt out.
Exhausted by my final blow,
I burst into tears.
Professor Krug hands me tissues
Then looks me in the eyes.
“Your grade is your responsibility.
You can do it.”
I rise.
—M.T.F.
RAIN
I spent the night in restless, anxious pain
The morning, drained, long waiting in a queue
When I came out it had begun to rain.
It rained and poured; I was wet through and through
Mere moments after stepping out of doors
As if the gods my troubles all foreknew
And sent the rain to aid my saboteurs
For mocking sport. I looked up at the sky
And shook my fist at them; but still it poured.
And then, I laughed. Too comical that I
Should have just such a night and such a day
And it should start to rain at such a time
When I was just from home so far away.
I shook my head and smiled. The rain was cool
The day was hot and muggy, and my way
Not far enough to make the water cruel.
Slowly wet diluted my disdain
And I started grinning like a fool.
I chuckled at my slight compounded pain
And opened up my arms and savored rain.
—B.F.P.
DAYS AHEAD
When I was young, my world was bright and clear
I laughed and played and followed my heart’s song
Through meadows green and flowers full of cheer
But as I grew and summer days grew long
My heart met disappointment, fear, and pain.
I learned to persevere and become strong.
I thought that strength and will were wisdom’s way
That I would fight, courageous, on my own
That I’d try, learn, and tire day after day—
I never thought that when the geese had flown
And autumn leaves had fallen, brown and dead
That I’d be here with you, on our way home.
With you, the coming winter holds no dread
My heart finds rest and welcomes days ahead.
—B.F.P
CUMMINGS HOME
you and I live in a pretty cow town
cry we up and laugh we down
sun snow here there
you go I go everywhere
tease we wake and kiss we sleep
all by all and deep by deep
children come and children go
kiss them fast and hold them slow
hand in hand and side by side
brace we storms and ride we tides
when by now and tree by leaf
never alone we joy we grief
summer autumn winter stars
yours is mine and love is ours
—A.E.A.
Scene behind closed doors
Sometimes Allah doesn’t change your place, people or circumstances
Because He’s changing many things within you
Building in spiritual powers, emotional strength, mental capacities
Teaching you and training you for the future blessings
Preparing you well in your inner abilities and talents
Granting you beautiful patience and inexhaustible tolerance
Firm belief, unshakable faith and complete reliance only on Allah
So it’s easy to lead a life of prosperity and peace
If you are stuck in a situation from which you aren’t able to come out
Go inwards and breathe introspection and internal insight
You’ll witness miracles happening for your benefit
Which are necessary for your internal as well as external strife
There’re tornadoes, whirlwind, storms, tsunamis within
Not to destroy you but to remove everything that’s unnecessary
Leaving behind divine structures and residues that’s fresh and fertile
Making growth and development easy for the rest of your life
Clearing the land before sowing the seeds is important
Removing all the pebbles, boulders and impertinent stuff
Leaving the heart, soul, mind and body healthy
Perfectly fit to sow the seeds of success and victory
Both spiritually and worldly, it sure requires lots of preparations
Harvest is in abundance and profits you gain are immeasurable
Not every closed door is bad for us
God’s silently working on us behind those closed doors
So that when the doors finally open and you may step out
You will be confident, courageous, valiant and brave to face anything that comes your way
Let the closed doors do it’s work on you as you patiently develop into an incredible personality
Comments
No comments posted yet.
If you wish to post a comment you must login.