Unbearable fire. A flame ignited within his very veins. "My mother's face." That was the memory he tried most desperately to resurrect during his faint wanders between dreams and the verge of death. All he could seem to muster of her memory was the warmth of the womb, buried deep in his subconscious. Indeed, the vivid warmth of this viscous liquid might have been called comfortable, if not for its restrictive pressurizing force. So long as he didn't struggle too hard he found it admittedly pleasant. What his mind did NOT sit so well with, however, was this nagging feeling in the back of his head that he did not want to be in this place. This place built in white, bright with lights, his--what appeared to be a giant glass tube--reaching from floor to ceiling on a dais at the center of the room. Perhaps his vague distress arose from the unnerving lack of windows? If not for the single door, visible only out of the widest degree of his peripheral, he would not have bee...

Flash.  Bang.  Dead.  Done. And they shall inherit the Earth. I wonder if they’ll discover fire, Think deep thoughts, Build great cities, And then discover war again, Leaving monuments to an insect Ozymandias For some traveler to find in a billion years.

I stride across the visibility of a city’s gleaming eyes. Out here your presence seems so meager and I have to really disconnect to feel it. If I close my eyes I can see the shadow of disappointment and my heart is almost shattered to the point of falling tears. Strong as I may be, I can’t deny the darker side that sends me sliding in between the cracks or wets my soul as I evaporate into a cloud of fire and mist. There are no presumptions here, where I feel safe. No procrastinations to make me think twice. All my fears are pushed behind and all my dreams are high above. All I see here is a gate to a path to something inconceivable. I only whisper at the lock, too numb to remember a code. All the while, pretending there is nothing beyond this safety, until you step in and show me more worth fighting for. Then, somehow, I find the courage to express my thoughts. I can show how every limb trembles in your beauty and every tear is not sadness, but gratefulness of your touch a...

I REMEMBER my first day of religion school We learned about God … God is nowhere, yet God is everywhere … God is no one, yet God is everyone … God is LOVE That’s tough for a first grader to understand But I took it to heart and tried to be like God Because God loves everyone I REMEMBER a little girl I went to elementary school with named Nancy I didn’t think she was very pretty I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought she was ugly Because lots of the other kids in school laughed at her and teased her I must admit that I was one of them So I asked my Mom “Does God love Nancy even though she is ugly?” My Mom responded “Yes, God loves everyone and everyone is beautiful in God’s eyes!” That was another tough one If everyone God made was beautiful Why did it still seem ugly to me? I REMEMBER in junior high I started going to school with some different people No we didn’t move away But on the news they called it integration I hadn’t seen very many brown people before I thought they just cle...

"Time of death: 21:54." Jacob descended down a slide. He felt like a kid at McDonald's playing like there was no other care in the world. He no longer had to worry about everything.  Bills, school, work, relationships, and everything else no longer rendered in his mind. He only had to slide. He had no idea where it was taking him, but he didn't care. As long as he could live in that moment, at that time. However, he wasn't ready for what was waiting for him in the ball pit.  He was immersed by the cold plastic of play pen balls. It was a nostalgic reminder of how he would climb up the ladder, loosing his mother in his peripherals, only for her to reappear at the end of the ride. And there she was. Almost exactly like she had left twelve years before. Except this time, there were no wires. No tubes. No monitors. And she was glowing. She was perfect. Exactly what his mind let him remember of her. "Hello, Jacob." Jacob was left speechless. H...

Dear Dad, I hope this letter finds you. I am writing this letter to let you know that I feel amazing. I am strong. My life was once plagued from twenty years of both physical and emotional abuse that led to severe depression, insecurity, and self-hate. You were an abusive man. But, I want let you know that everyone has choices and you chose to magnify those qualities of your father that you hated. Those qualities would be the ones that were beaten into me during my childhood. You beat badly alot. You must have been mad about something else. One beating was so bad that there were several slashes across my body, many on my back. They were deep enough to bleed. Momma returned home shortly after the scene. She was hurt to see how badly you had beaten me. It was July, but mom made me wear a sweater to church that evening. The choir director asked why I was laid on momma in the front row and not singing in the choir. Momma told her I was sick. I do remember that later t...

you belong to a guitar and i to a pen all that we are souls we can mend walk on water for me beneath your feet feel the purest sea that's where we'll meet with a whisper i'll remember who you are and you'll need no answer disguised as a queen or a peasant through all of our lives we were present to take away the knives used to cut and destroy our destinies and tasks  we must now employ off come the masks no longer afraid of the dark now is the time we must embark memories sublime without a sound there was no word i felt your presence all around it was your spirit i heard to see me is to feel what is meant to be the power to heal