Cancer by Sharon Horton

You lay so silently, silent, but not still
spreading your blackness, invading my will.
Engulfing me in darkness, devouring me whole
Raping my body
Scarring my soul.
My flesh and bones, your trophy, your pride
in my death 
What value can it hold for you upon  my last breath?
My life, my future, in your grasp to hold
You have taken the power, stolen control.
Baring your teeth, your hunger not met, 
Greedily feasting, but still silent yet.
What do you win?How do you gain?
What's your benefit from all of my pain?
I feel your presence, your breath
on my skin
I would shut you out, but you're already in.
So what's next/
Damn You!! Why was this to be?!
Your silence so deadly..again aimed at me.
Violently you conquer, not making a sound
Methodically, you redeem your flesh by the pound.
Slowly, you fill me. A victim, no choice,
But your silence will never quiet my voice!
I'm still strong you Bastard! Do you hear me?!
I'm Screaming! I'm Screaming!
Why aren't you listening to me?!
- Sharon H.

SOMEONE ELSE'S LIES by Tanjila Pettis

            I’ll never enjoy your scent, your touch.  I’ll never believe all your words that I’ve heard so many times before.

            Your attempt to breath life into your lies is the very reason why my love for you has died. 

            It wasn’t enough that I respected you, naw, you wanted more.  It wasn’t enough that I tried to understand you.  It wasn’t enough that  I exactly saw you.  Not the backstabbing labels of society, but you, really you;  and then to find out that the person I thought was you was lies all along.

            Your attempt to regain something you were blind to all along is sickening.  I tried to be there for you.  You were only there for me to make sure that I was around for you.

            Where’s the truth?  I’m so fucking tired of all your lies.

            It’s gotten so bad I’m even used to you not being you anymore.  Why would you think less of me that I have to stop being me so that you can be you?

            You can never say that I never tried. So, stop trying to convince yourself that I’m going to take you back. 

            Just because you finally cried; finally a real emotion from you.

            Sorry, it’s too late. 

            Maybe next time you believe your own lies you’ll know how it feels to believe someone else’s.

            I loved you, but it’s too bad you didn’t love yourself.

-Tanjila Pettis

TRUDGING THROUGH THE MIRE by Elizabeth Hipwell

Trudging through the mire

Weighed down by the fear 

Of my nonexistence

And trapped memories of traumas past.

Fretful of moving forward.

Pulled down by the concrete blocks

Of my uncertainty and isolation.

Hope is knocking at the door.

Pounding, Pounding, Pounding!

It waits patiently as I wander aimlessly,

Having to go through this,

To sort through the garbage,

To uncover the precious gem

That was there...waiting...all along.

     -Elizabeth Hipwell

                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                   

SENSITIVITY by Elizabeth Hipwell

Sensitivity is my connection

To my soul and my humanity.

It enables me to be aware of

What is true, 
To empathize

And be considerate…

Sensitivity opens creative

Doorways and helps me

Explore  the hidden and 

Unknown…

Combined with self-awareness 

And an expanded inclusion of all

My sensitivity allows me to

Experience life more fully

And awake…

   -Image & Words by Elizabeth Hipwell

POISON FRUIT by Elizabeth Hipwell

You raised me up,
Then brought me down.
In between we loved, fought and got caught
In one another’s web of insincerity and deep-felt need.
The spaces were filled with warmth, passion
And a chill that could turn your toes black.
I yearned for and felt your presence long after you were gone.
The after-effects of your rhetoric seeped into the contours of my brain;
Influencing my thoughts and dictating my deeds.
You were in my life for a reason.
To teach me what I can do without and to--
Damn it, I hate to admit this--
You taught me to love and think for myself.
I may have gone kicking and screaming as I learned to do this--
Obstructing your wisdom and negating the power you had over me.
Today I am better off without you,
Because I’m not the same me.
Thank you for helping me grow,
But no thank you for weaving yourself into my very being
To the point where I was no longer me.
The bottom dropped out.
The puzzle lost it’s pieces.
I had to reconfigure those pieces to fit into a whole new me.
The power of thought gives me the ability
To choose to take what moves me ahead
And disregard what keeps me still.
Thank you for being in my life, 
Because I wouldn’t be here without the good and the bad of you.
                                          -Elizabeth Hipwell

Grieving by Sharon Horton

      tears pour down
as I fall to the ground,
  with pain, anger, loss
demanding to be heard
    as the land stands
  broken and burned
      unresolved grief remains.

by Sharon Horton

FACADE by Therese Staples Burton

Ah but the mysteries hidden by the smooth simple lines of a face.
Deeper than diamonds angles and all other multifaceted jewels.
Appearances more deceptive than jaded eyes.
What lies hidden behind a porcelain facade?
A multitude of masks, diverse, some wild, some unassuming.
Applied daily as guardians to hide the secret ever changing self.
Reflecting upon a multitude of mirrors, you will never find all the soul revealed.
Appetizing glimpses tease and tantalize the senses, promising to unveil,
Unmask the treasure that lies hidden inside.
"Hoax," you cry, for all we see on the facade is a lie.

                                    -Image & Words by Therese