Poetry Contest

Vote on the poll for your favorite poem.

Poem #1

Silent but lively
another place
just for me
glistening and soft like fabric
talking to sea life like it's my second language

A world doused by water
with the radiant life under the sea
bright like the heavens
bubbles pop and squeak
the current moves ever so lightly

Calm but life taking
waves crash and bash
yin and yang in perfect harmony
living in this place is carefree
just the right place for
destiny

Breathtaking to see
more beautiful than Angelina Jolie

flying faster than a bee
more weightless than space itself
that's what living in the sea means to me

Poem #2

So much adversity
Weighing me down
My heart aches all over
But here; I seek immunity
Under the water, I am wispy
Free, floating

Perched on this underwater ledge,
Feeling the cold current,
I ponder our divergence
Seeking release from the sorrow

Glowing, warm, waves of light
Ripple beyond the water
Mimicking a giggle and grin,
Conflicting my descent,
Encouraging me to return

Inevitably, waves crack,
Staining the life above with turmoil.
Cold, grips my heart
And the weight recaptures me
Even the peace of the water
Can’t make the damage recede
Unwillingly, I resurface for air

Persistent in my pursuit,
I return to the depths
Until nightfall; a final resurfacing
Finds pale moonlight
Casting hope on the shore

I see love and reach
Yet, it is too far
Unable to see me
Unwilling to hear me
Dictating isolation

This is Growing Up

For three Sundays, James had found himself hiding in these bushes by the pond. Taking cover was purely instinctive; he was used to hiding when he heard someone coming. The first time, three weeks ago, however, he was caught off guard. He had not realized how close he was to other people until the sound of their laughter had already disrupted his focus, causing him to drop the rocks he had been levitating. Startled and disappointed for letting his guard down, James hid behind the large evergreen bushes near the shore of the pond. Trembling in fear, he listened to the voices, trying to hear if the intruders had caught a glimpse of him before he could hide.

Hearing nothing that sounded like surprise, James mustered his courage and peered through the bushes to see who had almost discovered him and his secrets. He saw two kids, about his age; crest the top of the hill on the other side of the pond. Their formal dress made them look very out of place in the secluded area. “Maybe they have run away too,” thought James as he considered his situation. The two children played around, talked and skipped stones while they visited the pond. James could hear their voices, but he could never make out what they said. After a while, the boy pulled out what looked like a pocket watch and the couple climbed the hill, disappearing from sight. James had kept up his guard, waiting for them to return, but it was a full week before he heard them again. They seemed only to visit the lake on Sundays.

This Sunday, the fourth Sunday, James still sat in the bushes, but he had a plan. He had observed the boy and girl for an hour or so during their past three visits and decided that there was something special about them. He argued with himself about this decision because he was unable to say what it was that he found unique, but for some reason he kept feeling as though they could be trusted. Crouched in the bushes, he went through the dialogue of this self-talk one more time only to be interrupted by the sound of voices approaching the hilltop. It was now or never.

Anna and Ian crested the hilltop laughing and calling to each other as Ian dropped to roll down the grassy decline. “Come on Anna! What, are you too good for a roll down the hill,” sneered Ian as he positioned himself carefully.

“No!” she replied, indignant. “You know I can beat you down this hill anytime, but I’ll be in enough trouble for skipping Sunday school and running off from Granny like that. Besides, I don’t want to go back grass stained and muddy,” Anna stated absently, pushing her long hair off her face.

“Say what you want, I know you’re chicken,” grinned Ian. He knew he had pushed enough to make her mad.

“Ian! Your mom could care less what you do. You just don’t get it…”simpered Anna as she dug her toe in the grass. Granny was always pressuring her to behave more ladylike and Anna had lately found herself struggling to resist the urge from within to comply with Granny’s requests.

Ian did not witness Anna’s little tantrum, he had already decided rolling down the hill was more fun than picking on Anna. The hill was steep, fast and a bit frightening. Every time he rolled down, he was sure he would pick up enough speed to land him in the pond. Even though he secretly hoped he would “accidentally” fall in so his mom would notice him, the hill was only half of the reason Ian skipped out on Sunday school with Anna. The two had been best friends since they were babies. They grew up laughing together, sharing secrets and finding adventures filled with trouble together. She had been like all of his other friends except she was easier to talk to and trust. Ian noticed moments of awkwardness between the two of them lately, and, somehow, he knew their relationship was changing as they grew older. He wanted to spend every minute they still had before the change was undeniable.

James sat, alert, in the bushes across the pond. He started a bit as the boy picked up speed down the hill. The boy had made his entrance the same way the last three times, but each time, but James was still certain the reckless boy would roll right into the water. As the boy came to a stop and brushed off his Sunday pants, James wondered when and how the situation would allow him to reveal his presence. He had still found it necessary to hide in case the two did not come alone as before. Revealing his existence felt daunting, but also necessary for some reason. Watching the girl take her time, pacing her steps down the hill as her white Sunday dress flounced at her knees, James somehow felt reassured that he was making the right choice.

James saw the boy turn, pretending to look for a skipping stone as he stole a glance at his friend holding her hair against the slight breeze. Then the boy stood up and skipped a stone across the surface of the water. The pond was relatively small and the boy a good rock skipper. The stone skipped five times and had almost landed on the shore near James’s hiding place. Observing the boy’s throws a couple of times, James considered his strength and decided this was how he would do it. That way, he would know for sure if they could be trusted.

Anna finally arrived at the bottom of the hill where Ian was looking for another rock to skip. “You skip rocks like a girl,” she said, challenging him. She picked up the perfect, flat, smooth skipping stone that was resting on the boulder in front of her. Climbing up on the boulder, she positioned herself just so, grasped the rock between her thumb and index finger and flung her right arm towards the water. She threw so hard that she lost her balance almost falling in the small, sparkling pond. Ian was put off a bit by her overbearing competition, but before he could throw his rock to put her in her place, Anna screamed.

“What, did you break a nail,” Ian whined and glanced up at his friend perched on the boulder. He was startled. Anna’s face was transfixed on the water and pale. He whipped his head around in time to see the stone she had just launched across the surface of the pond gliding delicately back in their direction. “Anna,” he whispered, “are you seeing what I am?” He heard no response, but could see her shadow slightly nod. Anna sat mesmerized.

“Why…wha…how…” she choked after the rock had begun to gently spin in mid air. The two of them gaped at the impossible occurrence in front of them, neither daring to move or breathe if they could help it, as the stone moved closer. The rock rested itself gently on the shore at Ian’s feet and still the two did not move. It was Anna who first flinched. Shakily, she grabbed for Ian’s shoulder to steady herself as she climbed down off the boulder. Ian tugged on her hand to hold her back, but she knelt down rebelliously to investigate what she had just witnessed. The skipping stone felt unusually warm and she felt the sort of shock you feel from static electricity when her finger touched the smooth surface of this stone she had earlier chosen to skip. She hadn’t noticed anything strange about the rock when she had initially pick it up to skip it, but she had been so intent on showing off that she also had not taken the time for observations. “Maybe it is a trick stone,” she thought, trying for any rational explanation.

James had carefully studied the reactions of the two young people as he performed his stunt with the stone. He saw the two of their eyes meet in fear as they realized what they had seen. He recognized the look as one from his past and it made his stomach ache. He had been wrong; these were not the right people to reveal himself to. He sighed to himself as he watched them look around, bewildered. He knew they would not tell anyone, they were too unsure of the experience they had just shared. James lost himself in his own thoughts of disappointment but he felt no self pity as he absently gazed out at the pond. “Would he ever find others like him?” he sadly wondered. He glanced out at the two kids as they grew louder, arguing about what they experienced. Somehow he knew, and this time he was sure, he would find the others like him. Disappointment may come again, but he would find happiness eventually. For now, he decided, for now he would continue the journey he had begun months earlier and focus on perfecting his skills.

Anna continued to accuse Ian of setting up the trick and she pressured him to tell her how he had done it. Ian, of course, had no idea what he had just seen, but he knew he had never seen Anna look at him like this. Her eyes sparkled in the sun and her smile seemed to lift him out of all of his fear of what he had seen and his dark feelings about his mom. It wasn’t a deliberate thought, but he accepted it anyway and went along with Anna’s assumptions. Either way, they would never be the same and this new emotion felt better than the fear he had been feeling.

Anna pressed again for an answer, and Ian shook his head and grinned at her. Until that grin, she hadn’t been convinced he had done it but had no other way to explain what she witnessed. Quickly, she turned her eyes away and looked back down the hill at the water. She felt the changes coming more quickly and she wanted to look out at the pond one more time before the appearance would change forever. Anna knew that things would be different between her and Ian. “Somehow,” she thought as they reached the top of the hill “this place will be different too.” She turned back to Ian and smiled, catching the calm in his eyes, and felt a peace come over her. She no longer needed the truth about his prank.

Writing

Interrupting my self-oppression
Anxious feelings become welcomed strangers

Is this what freedom feels like

So raw, so familiar

Timidly I explore all of my desires
Feeling my own feelings
I’m in control (is that okay?)

My God, where have I been?
I’m a stranger, stretching into my own skin
My hands ache for the crinkle of this paper, this scratch of the pen

It’s been a long time and although

I’ve remembered you now and again

This is different, real

Permanent

Fear kept me running

But I’m no longer afraid

It’s okay to stand still in the comfort of warm light

Finding my joy as my heart and soul reunite.