POETRY: 'For Madeleine' by George Abraham

For Madeleine
By George Abraham

To the girl I danced with at freshman year homecoming,
I apologize for stepping on your feet.
As if our dance wasn’t already awkward enough,
My lack of coordination didn’t go well
With the fact that you were barefoot, and I had wooden loafers on;
So I apologize for any bruises I may have left that night;
Maybe this was the reason you didn’t dance with me again
Until the time I decided to step on your feet at senior prom;
I’d like to say I improved my dancing over the course of
4 years of attending sweaty, cramped, orgy-like high-school dances,
but that would be an understatement-
perhaps the only thing joining the step team did to me
was help me learn to step on your feet more elegantly…

To the girl who sends me random snapchats of her cat,
I swear you’re not a crazy cat lady.
Yet.
And sadly enough, you’re not my only friend who
Snapchats me pictures of their cats;
In a digital world where exchanging perverted images can be done with the swipe of a finger,
It’s nice to have friends who sends me pictures of cute animals every now and then;

To the girl who got an awkward tanline when she crossed 2 bandages over her freshly-done bellybutton piercing before we went to the beach,
I think that outline of a cross on your stomach was the closest thing you ever got to a baptism.
And no, I don’t apologize for not warning you when the tide washed upshore
And got your whole torso soaked;
Sorry, that was for the time you gave me an awkward nickname,
And embarrassed me in front of everyone at a football game;
We have a healthily unhealthy back-and-forth, at-each-others-throats relationship,
If I had to give you a spirit animal, it’d probably be a barracuda

To the girl who invited everyone to her house to jump on her wet trampoline after a day at the beach,
It still angers me that your deep-fryer broke just when we started making wings.
But that movie you wanted to watch about flesh eating bacteria really made me lose my appetite anyways;
Those were good times-
That week before everyone went their separate ways for college,
And all we could do was kill the time we’d look back and cherish one day…
Because beneath the hookah-smoke-leaking smiles, and grains of  sand and shell fragments that littered our car floors,
Beneath the white lie excuses we’d give to our parents, and the nights that ended when the moon consumed our eyelids,
There was us.
And we were happy.

To the girl I danced with at freshman year homecoming,
I don’t know why it took us till senior year to become friends.
Maybe it was because my dancing turned you off,
Or maybe it was because we both needed time to come out of our shells;
Whatever the case may be, I apologize for any bruises I may have left-
That night, or any other;
Because being that pair of friends who fights every day can get exhausting;
I never thought I’d look back on my battle scars and smile,
And all I can say is, being your friend has been
The best boxing match I’ve ever fought.
I hear you may be going camping with us when I come back for winter break.
I guess that means round 2 commences….


Now.

Copyright 2013| George Abraham

POETRY: 'Dreams' by Kabriel Moorehead

Dreams
By Kabriel Moorehead

Have you ever wanted something so desperately,
That you were willing to race the stars across the sky for it?
Leap Valleys,
Bridge Oceans,
Transcend time?
Have you ever yearned so passionately for something,
Anything,
That it sent ripples through your skin,
Tremors through your bones,
And combust infernos in your heart,
Creating a feeling that was at once indescribable,
And full of tangible outcomes.
But Is risking the world worth the glory of a single fleeting moment?
We speak of our dreams as if they are a concrete entity,
Something to own, hold, cherish
And chase to the world's end
Without any regard for consequences.
When in reality they flutter like feathers in the wind,
Always in reach but never in grasp
Recklessly causing us to drift further from safety.
Maybe the point of dreams is not the simple attainment of a goal.
No,
It's the show of resilience required to achieve it.

Copyright 2013| Kabriel Moorehead

SONNET 'Granddaddy' by Trinity

My soul is weary ‘cause my heart does mourn

for granddaddy, my most dearly beloved.

I feel as if it’s been ripped out and torn

because he lies still like he never was.

I will lay his heart right next to mine

so that where his leads mine will follow.

I hate the fact that we ran out of time

for now my soul is a friend of sorrow.

My heart once beat from the love he had shown

unconditionally, no strings attached.

But now my heart has been left so alone

because no one compares, there is no match.

More days shall pass when my heart beats sadly

‘Cause my heart will beat, but not granddaddy's. 

POETRY: 'Poker Face' by The Trinity

The sight of a

new woman

impairs the heart,

but one cleans

obsessively to erase

the tracks of all

tears, making

sure there is

no way to detect

the broken heart.

The main objective is to

deceive the opponent.

Cry silently but

bluff aloud.

 Don’t be foolish

enough to throw

all cards on the

table, for that

mistake was made

before and everything

that was once

possessed was taken

away. Though one

may hurt, the m.o.

must be kept in place.

POETRY: 'Photo' by The Trinity

The past caught in a frame.

A moment frozen still,

never to be thawed

again.

One’s history in a square.

A monument that never

crumbles.

Former times dwelling

in the latter days.

A resurrection of memories

on what used to be.

A reminder of who once

was.

The one thing that can

make time stand still,

a necessity, since time

is what takes away the

dearly beloved. 

POETRY: 'Kansas' by Kabriel Moorehead

Kansas
By Kabriel Moorehead

Born of tradition that you’ve since rejected

Leaving behind the only thing you’ve ever known;

Home

Fleeing safety for the bright lights of the city.

In an attempt to become individuals we mature into a million moths,

All attracted to the same bulb

And damned to the same destiny

You could have been different.

Slowly accumulated wisdom

And waited for the right moment to announce your arrival

You would have had the world bowing at your feet.

Now you bow in deference to the captain,

No longer in charge of life’s journey

Your fate is held in another’s hands,

Slowly crumbling from lack of care.

Or did you crudely rip it apart,

By attempting to fly too high to soon?

Maybe one day you’ll snatch it back,

Once your heart holds reverence for tradition again.

But not today. 

Copyright 2013| Kabriel Moorehead

POETRY: My Spiritual Cadence By Cheryl A.Baldwin

Cuz you were my therapy when I needed you

My scapegoat and I was feeding you

Lies from which my soul weakened to

Repress…

…the truth untold

Hidden beneath my soul

The spirit inside of me.

            Stressed

Depressed

Oh Chicita my life has been such a mess

And you didn’t even know.

Innocent to the fact that You were helping Me

Your words…

Soothing the psyche

The medication to my soul

Helping to mold…

The person I am becoming.

Your goodness and your favor intriguing to the heart,

The mind,

The body,

The fruit of the Spirits.

Showing me that God works in many ways

            And when I was feigning for some affection

You satisfied my hunger with your love, and your warmth,…

…and you comforted me.

I remember that moment. 

Reminiscing on a time when you wrapped your arms around me and held my soul together

                                                Embracing, the spirit inside of me.

Reminiscent of a time from the past

Oh you will never know how much

                   …you truly mean to me .