Frozen

by Andy Hanson

I want to be real, but the truth makes me uncomfortable.
I want to be strong, but strength has its obligations.
I want to be brave, but I have nothing to defend.
I want to be loved, but love is a mystery.
I want to be attractive, but I avoid mirrors.
I want to be valued, but bragging is stupid.
I want to be popular, but everyone I know is an idiot.
I want to be understood, but words fail me.
I want to be kind, but generosity can be taken for granted.
I want to be unselfish, but nobody wants what I have.
I want to be respected, but I hang with the crowd.
I want to hope, but that’s daydreaming.
I want to be admired, but I am indecisive.
I want to know, but I am fearful of what I might find out.

Hey Riders and Sliders

by Kathleen Kelley

Hey riders and sliders
Burghers and bums
Don't worry we know it
So no need to show it

All Hallowed

by Kathleen Kelley

Today is the day
for tricks and play
a devil or saint
It's never too late
to seal your fate

Demons to slay?
What's to say?
Save the day.

Your Identity

by Michael Long

Your identity lies
Within your deeds.
The life you live
As you sew your seeds.
Who you are
Inside and out
Whether you're silent
Or scream and shout.
A living picture
For all to see
The things we do
Our destiny.

And then it's real when you stop

by Kathleen Kelley

"Take your inner child and kick its little ass Dave told me that We had a good laugh I fought the good fight I know I have righteaousness on my side but I needed Dan's affirmation He supported my songs like a great drummer or the "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B" I'm not a chorus girl groupie or in the USO i'm in the rhythm.

To me Dave means Dad this is my "father" of course I still rely on science most biology and evolution It can all get along Denying one for the other doesn't make any sense to me "Wisdom is as wisdom does" Thanks Forest be sure to run.

What are we fighting for by the way Don't ask me I give too much of a damn (or darn I should say have to watch it around here)Thanks Daves the seamen and the berets purple hearts I know I've got my own a cigarette burn on my left breast Thanks mother or should I say "mom?"

Hit the brake Dare!

Holiday Jeer

by Michael Long

How I hate the holidays
Let me count the ways
First the stupid Christmas tunes
In my ears like donkey brays.

Commercialism, traffic jams
Dispensing fights galore
Me thinks your Christmas spirit
Has gone out the F***ing door!

Take pity on the lonely
The single and the poor
And then there are the homeless
Who don't even have a door.

Sleeping in the bushes
Shivering in the night
The victims of disaster
Who cares about their plight?

There are good people that I know
They're just few and far between
But each year gets worse and worse
And this is the worst I've seen.

I too be far from guiltless
This also be a synch
Is It any wonder
I'm such a flipping' grinch?

Sing in the Rain

by Kathleen Kelley

Sing in the rain
To drive out the pain
Not to worry
We're all insane

And Then It's Real

The Velveteen Rabbit...Winnie the Pooh...Pinnochio...children's books and Disney movies...imaginary friends...theres something in that phrase, "and then it's real", that we are apparently trying to teach our children but I haven't figured out what it is. For some reason, it sounds like a lie.