Where are you the nights I cry?
Can you hear me, do you even try?
Do you wake up only to think you see me?
What do you dream about, who do you want to be?
Did you ever regret leaving your daughter?
Were you ever truly my father?
Does it eat at you at night like it does me?
Do you look around to see…
All that you’ve let go?
My heart became so cold,
Once you took away your hold.
Walk with your head down,
As those around you frown.
You fucked it up big time,
It could even be considered a crime.
Hope it hits you hard in the gut,
Hope it eats at you until you feel you’re about to give up,
Hope you cry yourself to sleep just as I do
Because I don’t want to hurt, I want you to….

by Tiffany Mills

Biography

I’m 22 years old going to school to be an Elementary school teacher. I work full time at a retail job that I cannot wait to quit and start my career! Writing has always been an outlet for me, although my poems/rants may not be up to professional standards, it’s a good way to release stress. =]

What happened to your leg?
Was it a car accident?
Was it your fault?
Did anyone die?
No.

What happened to your leg?
Was it a motorcycle wreck?
Was it a Harley?
Did a car cut it off?
No.

What happened to your leg?
Iraq?
Land mine?
Get it shot off?
No.

What happened to your leg?
Leprosy?
Painful?
Did it rot away?
No.

What happened to your leg?
Alligator?
Sneak attack?
Did it get ripped clean off?
No.

Let me ask you,
Do I know you?
Are we friends?
No.

by Jay Foulk

Biography

I’m a totally serious, quiet person who loves his church and conservative values.

Laying upon the lawn
Gazing at the night’s sky
So peaceful I yawn
Near by passes a firefly
A noise appears in the distance
A familiar sound
A sound giving joyance
Sinking into my background
Livening up my mood
Bringing cheer into my heart
My ears are glued
To this melody that’s pouring art
A childhood memory set free
Siblings listening in the past
A re-occurrence of tune so softly
Longing for it to forever last
Pleasure flows throughout my veins
As the beat rumbles my ear drum
Hasty lyrics jump out with no constrain
Block out the outside world and turn up the volume

by Katelynn Gudenau

Biography

I recently graduated from North Port High School this June. I am a freshman at SCF this year. My future plans are to major in nursing and receive a masters as a nurse practitioner.

Your ankles did not birth feathers
like those of the messenger Mercury.
Your shoulder blades did not break open
to allow the emergence
of angel-esque wings.
Yet you have taken flight.

Like a glittering constellation,
Your proud proclamation
of self
lights you from within.
It has propelled you up high,
Where you can defy
every scientific rule.
Look down and see the world
grow smaller beneath you.

They sky is not the limit,
it is simply your highway
to destinations,
near and far,
farther and farthest.

Life is not a race,
it’s not about
that ribbon snapping across your chest.
It’s the journey,
it’s all those moments you stop to breathe,
and it’s all the stops in between.

It’s the flight.

by Taylor Meredith

The heat getting stronger and stronger….so close to my face
Lubrication all over the both of us….
It’s my first time but I wasn’t expecting so much red in between….
Our mouths open wide as we get closer and closer….
You tell me not to worry, it’ll be great….
I feel that warm white goo going down my throat…
And I look into your eyes: they’re wide open and smiling, completely content….
You stare at me from across what seems like an ocean….
Analyzing how I feel about it: was it good enough, could there have been a little extra something something?
I tell you it was perfect,
I can’t wait to eat another slice of pizza.
I’ve got time for seconds.

by Sharon Valderrama

A smile desired while her mentality lapses in time.
The outside sees her smiling,
but deep within it’s upside down.

Using inspiration and motivation,
Reach deep within where this smile is hidden.
Cons of life face you but don’t let them change you.

Turn your back on them.
Look to the sky, the light, the life you once loved.
Feel this sensation to soar to the highest high.

Be a Gemini; a twin and go deep within,
This frown will turn upside down.
A majestikal smile is coming from within!

by Tricia Gorton

From our loved lost one
To our beloved long gone
We say well done
For stays firm as a stone.

We fight for what is there
And we will fight for what will be there
But if we rely too much on tomorrow
We may never see what is real right now.

We fought
We fought for now and yesterday
We will fight to live everyday
But tomorrow is another day
And maybe the pain will go away.

We fought for all that we want and all that we know
We fought regardless of the consequences
But we won’t forget ourselves because before we know
Nothing, nothing at all will make any sense.

We resign to lose one of us now
To protect a million of us tomorrow
Well, we know that tomorrow never lies
Tomorrow will never die
Tomorrow will be there
And we know when and where.

by Marie Neston