I'm Burning

Winner in 2006 – 2007 League for Innovation Student Literary Competition

A bushel of the finest from the serpent tree,
Will never satisfy my hunger—only feed the fire in me.

My body longs for rest but my mind never tires,
Of tales from the tongues of times or the quest for promethean fire.

Cursed with such a blessing, the truth has set me free.
But wisdom has stolen my patience and knowledge is my disease.

It burns and hurts; this raging fire within.
Indulgence barely snuffs it out and it returns again.

Does everyone think this way or is it only me?
Truth and knowledge bought and sold me into this slavery.

Insatiable appetite, unquenchable thirst,
Incurable addiction, unbreakable curse.

Set me free, let me go.
Give back to me what I used to know.

Your progression of my possession made me change my mind.
Here I am without me and all I left behind.

Arrogance, pride, and pomposity were the order of the day.
I could be a monarch of monstrosity, but my heart is in the way.

There's no one here to help me.
There's no one here to help.
There's no one here.
Help me.

I'm burning.

The Hallway Light

The light came rushing down the hall to tell me of your fate.
Many years passed in this night and the morning could not wait.
The same light in the hallway brought me comfort way back when.
Charged with sweeping out the darkness—now it sweeps it in.
The numbing news affects me, but it cannot be undone.
There's so much sorrow for the circumstance of a final setting sun.
This house of tears that are wept for you is not unlike your own,
Where in the past the hallway light had let other fates be known.
And years from now the hallway light will surely shine again,
To sweep me out to darkness and to sweep me in.

Ode To My Brother

Recognized in 2006 – 2007 League for Innovation Student Literary Competition

Remember when we waited for the news that school was closed because of the snow?
We hoped for it and wished there would be ice on our street.
We wanted to try out that old sled.
We tried to tie it to your bike.

Remember the night we stayed up waiting for the year to change to 1980?
We were excited to see the change of a whole decade.
Together we wished, hoped, and dreamed for better days ahead.
We made hot chocolate that night.

Remember how I used to tag after you and your friends?
I couldn't catch your football or run as fast—even when you were after me.
I was excited to be with you—especially when you weren't after me.
I always wished for more of your time and hoped to catch your football someday.
I wonder if you’ve ever known that.

Remember when we broke the flower pot in the living room?
I told you I couldn't catch your ball and in the midst of our commotion,
It flew right into that flower pot in what seemed to be slow motion.
We hoped momma wouldn't notice when she got home.
I wished you hadn't thrown that.

Remember the cat that came in the open window the night we were watching T.V.?
We brought the dog in to chase it out. Boy, that didn't work!
I’ve not seen a cat climb curtains like that since.
That wasn't what we were hoping for on that day.

Remember when we were sent to our rooms and weren't supposed to talk?
We wrote messages on paper planes and sailed them down the hall to each other.
We hoped we wouldn't get caught.
We were already in trouble anyway.

I remember many things about our wishes, hopes and dreams.
I fly a different sort of plane with fewer hopes it seems.
More decades have changed and the days seem to crawl.
There are no flower pots or curtains and I still can't catch a ball.

I work when it snows and the ice always seems too thin.
I wish that I had more hopes and dreams these days as I did back then.
I hope that someday my wish will come true.
I dream about yesterday. How about you?