We shed light
WITHOUT THE MEETING OF THE WATERS
By Samantha Noelle Golt
I SEE WITHIN, THE MEETING OF THE WATERS
I SENSE A CHANGE, INSIDE YOUR HEARTS MY DAUGHTERS
I HEAR IT NOW THE MOMENT
I KNOW IT’S REAL, OUR FULLNESS
AND WHEN I PRAY, MY ANCIENT GOD RESTORES ME
I NOW BELIEVE OUR PATHS ARE JOINED IN WHOLENESS
I SEE YOU NOW MY BROTHERS
CONSCIOUSNESS RESTORED
OF RESURRECTION
I SEE WITHOUT, THE MEETING OF THE WATERS
Budget Cuts
By Sean Trott
The state is over spending
so cut homeless agencies
Voted to cut NOP
Although they help fill the vacancies
Across our state there’s housing
That the homeless can’t afford
But we overlook the facts
The issues continue to be ignored
How many have to become homeless?
In order for them to see
I guess we aren’t even close
Although the homeless number
climbs beyond 4,003
We rallied showing how important
This program was to us all
They didn’t want to listen
They chose to dismiss us to the hall
We face a new challenge
How will we survive?
When government targets
The less fortunate too deprive
We are truly in need
Of help and support
But I guess it ends as another
Lesson taught
The day has arrived that all of us
Are forced to fear
We are in an emergency situation
Screaming for them to hear
Can’t they see they’re eliminating
The middle and lower class
We are only asking for a chance
Not expecting a free pass
The wealthy remain stable
Continue to look down on the rest
The emergency broadcast
system is speaking
Except “this is not a test”
We have reached crucial times
We are poor as we can be
I want to be helped and heard
Stop poverty from raining down on me
Let us have the chance we are entitled to in this
American promised land
Don’t walk over or push us aside
Please lend us a hand
Mothers
By Sonia Golt
Like an Ocean deep within her
The love was again portrayed
For the children she had carried
Nine months till she gave them birth
There is not a greater love
For a woman to have known
Than the love she feels inside her
For the children that she bore
No one really ever warns you
Even though books you have read
That mention love for your children
Is the greatest love on earth!
This love can sometimes be painful
For their suffering you bear
No matter how many years
You will still forever care
Atoms fly within your body
Like little love hearts galore
Whenever you see the faces
Of your kids as they grow old…
Simple Pleasures
By Sonia Golt
You know what makes me happy
the simple things in life
Like giving you a tender kiss
or just holding you tight
I love to hear the rain outside
and see the moon that shines
to smell a perfumed rose
or gaze up to the sky
I like to see the birds in spring
and hear their chirpy songs
and I adore seeing you smile
when we are both alone
I love to touch a baby’s face
because its silky soft
and to hold hands with my old man
who needs my firm support
I love to listen to your voice
when you call out my name
and for these moments I thank the Lord
for never losing faith!
BRICKS
By Timothy Seal
Brick’s looking in at me
Ceaselessly staring me down
Not a thought can I keep to myself
The mortar taunting me
“Look! Look at me!”
“Look at how I stick!”
I scream but it does no good
It does no good at all
I scream but it does no good
Because the bricks absorb it all
An Ode To Life
By Timothy Seal
Such is the life of an old sea snail
Silently sauntering within the boundaries of the sea
Unable to comprehend the beauty engulfing it
Simply because it is an old sea snail
Alone
By Robert J. Levasseur
Alone now, and I don’t like it.
Forgotten and not remembered.
Never thought of, ever;
Never dreamed of;
Never visited alone
And hoping for love.
My love is gone away.
I wait for her return.
The days and nights are long
As I wait for my love’s return.
When will she appear?
My loneliness surrounds me
And overtakes me.
Is it love, or fear of being alone?
By Tom Deighan
By Lance Ellis
By Stacey Marie
By Arline Bolvin
By Deborah Shepard
By Carolyn SchwartzA Serialized Novel by Francisco Colber
Chapter Nine — Sympaths
Captain Antar, imagining a strategic advantage over the diminutive and mysterious Greenchanceans, kept me under guard in his ready-room, a guestroom outfitted with, among other things, an oxygen deprivation machine that could prove deadly in the event the little beings decided to take me back by force. I was, therefore, the captain’s hostage. But the reality was much different. The Greenchancean cruiser was, as Elhm had suggested, a clever illusion. Not my deception really. It was my father’s idea — to be employed as he wished. Surely, it would keep the explorers off guard. Elhm had no knowledge of Father’s ruse or of the true purpose of our visit, but keeping any truth from his vast telepathic powers would prove formidable: he was as curious about me as I was about him.
“Tell me about the Goddess. Have you ever seen her or is it that you are also blind like us?” He asked.
To answer that query in a way that proved believable to myself and therefore to Elhm was a challenge. I had to search a past that until that very moment appeared whole, but lacked the kind of beliefs he held. Since we Zzolans have no deity to identify with, the only person in my life that made sense to his question was my mother. “Yes. I have seen her,” I replied timidly. Continue reading ‘Into the Chrysalis’
By Daniel Herard
By Jenifer Bleeker
By Estelle E. Goulet
What is this bond that keeps us near
That makes me call you sister dear?
That keeps us close across the miles
and wants you near when there are trials
If we were strangers that would meet
on some busy crowded street
Would you by chance glance my way
or a friendly greeting say
So it’s not your face or cheerful smile
That keeps us close in spite of miles
It’s not your wit or grace unique
Nor your mind that brightly speaks
A bond much more than looks or words
Something in our blood, a gentle surge
Of love, which lets us share these common traits
and never shakes this bond of faith
That makes me call you sister dear…
By Sean Trott
We say the conditions of our shelters are poor
but yet they remain unchanged
We need action not words for our state to be rearranged
We need suitable housing with available funding
and money to spare
We need more people to witness homelessness firsthand, in order for them to care
We need speakers to speak highly of our community,
not to put it down
Because in the homeless community,
Harrington is the best place in town
It smells good, it’s clean,
and they let us watch movies on a flat TV
The staff is great; they treat us like people,
and they respect me for me
They shake my hand and always answer me with respect
It goes a long way, when all you’ve ever known is neglect
So what do we do now in this crucial time of need?
I propose we forget the existing trees
and plant a new kind of seed
Let’s grow a fresh tree that will work on all branches
And leaves of success, will blossom
in the form of chances
Because chances are what homeless people really seek
Until they receive proper chances,
their future appears bleak
Uncertain and confused they are left to feel hopeless
Why do we look down on these people
who suffer being homeless
These are the strongest people I will ever know
There is no extent to surviving
that they would refuse to go
Imagine one day you wake up and everything is gone,
the house, car and money
I bet then you would take a step back and say homelessness really isn’t funny
Let’s be true, you couldn’t make it out there
coming from your place
Now look at a homeless person
and see the determination on their face
These people, these human beings are soldiers
in a war of the true American way
The rich get richer and the poor become homeless,
day after day
The American dream is only available to those who are born in the right circumstance
And those born into broken homes…let’s face it,
maybe 1 or 2 even have a chance
But yet they wake up every day and choose,
not to die, but to live
And all they ask is,
Does someone have a chance they could give?
Give them a chance to show us what they can really do
Because in my eyes they are much stronger
than not only me, but also you
They cannot be defeated; they continue to fight
in these horrible conditions
Change will come when people in our position
start making better decisions
Help these people instead of
forgetting that they even exist
Because they are out there every day
clinching their fists
Ready to fight another day,
hopefully another night to survive
Wondering which shelter, if any,
could they pick out to hide
Well I tell you I am a new force that
will make change in this world
And I (God willing) with time,
will show you these oysters hold pearls
Outside rough, and inside we are all beautiful,
but not the same
How good does it make you feel when someone remembers your name?
I was told as a teen that supported my Homeless mother
That there is no limit to the lengths you go to protect your sister, mother and brother
I suffered and sacrificed a life of my own,
with no second thought
Because people deserve homes and these fights
have to be fought
Well my story is out there and it’s a success story
in my eyes
I will fight for the homeless, through every single sunrise
So I ask you today to allow homeless people
the chance to really start living
Let’s take a chance and plant the tree that grows the Branches of a New Beginning
(A Bipolar perspective)
By Andrew Spooner
As we walk and talk
We want
But we are looking from the outside
As we walk the streets we try harder
We want
We are looking from the outside
As we work
We want
We are looking from the outside
As we play
We have the same joy you have
But we are looking from the outside
As we run
It gets easier
Because God is on our side