Fear by Sharon Horton

                                                                   Inside my head
                                                                   I scream " I'm Scared!!"
                                                                   I  say- "I need your help"
                                                                   I whisper " please
                                                                                don't leave....
                                                                   Inside ...I scream, yell,
                                                                        cry...hiding it all...
                                                                  So Afraid that if I let out
                                                                     how I feel...
                                                                  My biggest fear will
                                                                        Come True.....
                                                                 that I will
                                                                            in the end...
                                                                     Be Alone.

                                                                                    by Sharon H.

STILLNESS by Elizabeth Hipwell

Stillness leads to another place.
Stop and notice.
I can get past the fear of what will be there.
Understanding and compassion are key components,
An awareness of the sound of the walls coming down,
To reveal a more pliant world,
Full to capacity with harmony, love and peace.
The flowers buzz with the promise of new growth.
The ions of the air tingle 
In anticipation of what might happen next.
The world in it’s stillness offers endless possibilities
In the span of a second.
Why be afraid of what happens next.
You cannot stop the ebb and flow of life,
But you can get past being scared,
To be on the still shores of calm and serenity.
Stillness does lead to another place.
-Elizabeth Hipwell

IS SHE... by Therese Staples Burton

Is she...

One step from the edge

Poised on the precipice

Ready to take on death

Is she...

Drinking in the Sweet

Breath of caressing wind

Rejuvenating her soul

Inhaling 

Is she...

Dancing with desperation

Catapulting into diving

Is she...

Soaring above all 

Singing Ecstatic rhythms

Image & Words by Therese

FEAR by Beth Polelle

            I was on a platform, ready to catch a train. I was feeling dizzy and felt like I might fall. I grabbed onto someone and said, “Sorry, I’m not feeling well. I feel like I might fall.”

            The lady smiled and said, “That’s all right.”

            The train pulled up. I stepped on the train. I sat down and tried to think of how I was going to get down the stairs. The train pulled in to the stop. I stepped off the train and headed for the stairs. I held onto the railing. I almost fell, but caught myself. I decided I would take the bus to work. As I crossed the street I was fearful. I hurried across the street and caught the bus. I started thinking about all my fears and worried about how I was going to deal with them.
             'I am fearful of a lot of things,' I thought to myself. Fear, to me, is a very scary feeling. I reached my destination. I went to work right away. When I'm at work people are not always in the best mood. Everything has to be done right and at a good pace.
             I don't get out of work until dark. I looked at my coworker and said, "What time do you leave work?"
             She turned to me and said, "Not until 8:30 pm."
             I told her, "That's the time I leave." I went back to my work. I looked at the clock. It was only 7:45, forty five minutes left, fears were creeping up on me. This was the third time I had to leave late.

-Beth Polelle

THE TEN MOST UGLY WORDS by Beth Polelle

          The ten most ugly words to me are: hate, ugly, stupid, unloved, not worthy, deceived, liar, unable, not likely, and pessimistic. They, (all these words) sound very depressing to me. Every time I think of these words I feel so trapped. It only makes things worse. I try to stay away from those words. It's not healthy, and if you keep repeating words that are ugly, it's harder to change them.
          A person can really believe these words, and not only does the person feel bad, it does make the person who is listening upset. So, every bad word a person thinks should be replaced by a good one. No one should have to think these words and no one should have to listen. No one can make a person stop thinking or saying ugly words.
          Maybe with more understanding of ourselves we can stop using ugly word.
-Beth Polelle

LOVE by Larry O.

Oh that I did rue

Your heart in grasping time

Oh that you never knew

The reason for my rhyme

The trees were filled with leaves

Before the summer time

The flowers all had bees

My drink was lemon-lime

I waited for the time to pass

Hoping I would see you again

Will you come to me at last?

I'm sitting here on the fence

Waiting for time to pass

Thinking of what we once had

Thinking of reasons and rhyme

Aware of longing so bad

Thinking of all the times

We thought of the love we had

How special it seemed to us then

I'm waiting for the time

When we'll see each other again

Did it mean the same to you

As what it meant to me?

I looked in all their eyes

None of them see what we see

Someday we'll finally know

What we have longed to be

I hope that time will show

What then we'll allow to be

Sometime the love we share 

At last will set us free

-Larry O.

OCEAN by Jackie Tajiri