Oda al libro

(ode to the book)

.

Mis ojos abren

con tus manos guiandome

las manos que me entran a otro mundo,

otra vida donde hay

un lugar major

y un lugar peor.

 .

Batallas con mi mente

esas palabras que tratan de empujarme a veces

y atras de ellas hay una imagen

y ahora

no quiero irme a la realidad.

 .

Ya paraste

y ahora te veo

veo que tu eres vida

vida que se queda con uno para siempre.

 .

Veo un paraiso

donde todos rien y comen.

Veo una prision

donde sangran y mueren.

Pero no cierro mis ojos.

Quiero ver mas.

 .

Ahora you toco.

 .

Toco los arboles, el cielo,

la serpiente, la arena.

Me cambian.

 . 

Cuando derrumban tus barrios de palabras

ven adentro de ti.

. .

Los quien siguen darte aranazos

no paran y no paran

hasta que dejes que te vean.

 .

Todos ven cosas diferentes,

cosas que ellos pueden entender

pero que no pueden creer.

 .

Ya llega el fin

y entras un mensaje adentro de nosotros,

algo que todos podemos entender juntos.

. 

“Sigan descubriendome”.

 

LG

The Promise of the Future

In this day and age there is so much discouragement in the world. Failure and the fear of failure can sometimes take over someone’s every thought. Every day it gets harder and harder for a lot of people to think positively. After all, the society that we live in is certainly flawed. The pressure to conform and succeed can be overbearing, and that is something that almost anybody can recognize.

I cannot speak on behalf of the entire world. I know that everybody has their own troubles and things that they are struggling to get through, and I recognize that some people have been given a troubling life. So, while I cannot speak about the struggles of life on behalf of the entire world, I do think that I can speak some words of advice that I tend to follow when things seem to be getting tough. My advice, whether you choose to follow it or not, is to always think of the future.

The promise of the future is a powerful thing. The future promises me a life of happiness and love and success. And I realize that these things are things that I must work and struggle for, but the promise that these things will come is enough for me to want to work for them. When I’m having a particularly rough day or I’m stressed out of my mind, the promise of a day where there is no more frustration or tension is enough to make me feel better.

It’s hard for me to say whether this would work for others besides me, but I think it has potential. There are tons of people around the world, some suffering from depression and others struggling with the extreme reality of poverty, that fail to see any hope in life. But imagining the future- the happiness and joy that one could achieve, could be enough to get someone to try. To try and find a job or to follow their dreams or to push through the bad or to do whatever it is that they need to do to reach their successful future. It is the promise of better days that brings me, and hopefully others, positivity.

 KT

Anxiety

Anxiety

It just sits there

Mocking you.

Always gets in your face,

Just like the school bully.

Controls your everyday life

Like a crazy tyrant.

 

You can’t let it get a hold of you,

Or it will take control.

And then you’ll be blind

To the world and it’s splendors.

Always afraid, always cowering behind it,

Like a scared pup behind it’s mother.

 

“You’re pathetic!” It tells you.

“You can’t do that!” It commands.

“You’re fine alone anyway!” It lies.

And that’s all it does.

 

Lies about your abilities.

Lies about your looks.

Lies about your friends.

Lies lies lies.

 

There will come a time

When you must break it’s shell.

Prove you’re stronger than it.

You control it now.

You overcome its lies.

 

You leave it there

For it to slowly wither away.

A shadow of what you once were.

All that’s behind you now.

It does not have you chained anymore.

You have won. You are free.

Tree at Dusk

Blackened tree limbs twine together,

Damp from the day’s rainfall.

The fleeting sun

Stretches the last of its rays

In one final attempt

To break through the stormy barrier.

A few gaps in the gray-blue expanse

Submit, and pale light

Washes into the evening

Creating an eerie contrast

Of illumination and obscurity.

The tree’s feathery foliage

Comes to life,

Transforming under the spray of radiance.

Water droplets, clustered on buds,

Sparkle in the glow.

A misty haze

Coats the scene in color,

Then falls away

With the receding fluorescence.

Dusk settles.

 

by KS

 

La Republica Dominicana

Orgullosa de donde vengo

raices calurosas pero tiernas

de donde viene el mangu, la habichuela con dulce,

el yanikeke, la empanada,

el limonsillo, la yautia y mas,

not ashamed of the bad things the people say

because from the bottom of my heart

estoy segura que es un pais libre y lleno

de esperanzas, de gente humilde y carinosas

que hasta los vecinos forman una gran parte

de tu familia inside and out ellos

te traen el cafecito por la manana

o van a pedir azucar pal juguito

personas que estan felices de formar

parte de un gran pais

no lo digo solamente porque soy de ahi

sino porque it’s made out of beautiful things

that makes everyone surrounding you happy and proud

alli hay rios, piscinas, resorts, playas,

cocinao en el patio de la casa

los tios bebiendose una fria,

el colmadon de la esquina

playing some merenguito, aveces bachata

de la antigua o una salsa picante,

son muchas cosas que tiene mi pais

que me enourgullese tanto,

es mi patria, mi quisquella

lo que los demas le dicen platano power

para mi es amor a mi pais. La Republica Dominicana.

by DMC

The Plate

The plate, small and round,

A clean eggshell white

With delicate swirls of blue

Ornamenting the rim.

The pattern perfectly framed

The dainty pastry

Nestled in the dip of the dish.

Puffed buttery layers

Dusted with a light coating

Of fine powdered sugar.

Cream whipped to a cloud-like consistency

Piled on top.

A fresh sprig of mint

Crowned the confection,

Adding a burst of color.

Nearby, an elegant silver dessert fork

Waited to break the pristine image

With a musical crackling.

by KS

Sandy Days

The water creeps up the beach.

Drinking in the smiling sand and sliding its icy fingertips across your sun warmed toes.

The seagulls screech and peck at abandoned sandwiches as the screams of happy children carry in the summer breeze.

The sky darkens, color spills from the horizon, the air temperature drops, towels are shaken.

Some adventurers wade out into the dark water, some alone and some with friends, but all are silent.

They shiver, but the beauty of the lonely water takes over, and they can combat the cold.

The delicate night air brushes their skin as they retrace their steps out of the water.

Goosebumps coat their skin, and the moon illuminates the whites of their smiling eyes as they make the trek up to the cars.