The Kindest Poem You Will Ever Read

She had just a dollar to her name
     No more. No less. Bankrupt and Expecting.
He was a man with millions to his name.
     The name that owned a political smile.

As church began she sat in the back alone.
     Like the last leaf on a tree at winter.
The man entered like a celebrity and sat next to her
     he smiled that smile and said 'Welcome.'

The offering was coming just like the British
     It taunted her and her hamey-downs too.
The offering was coming just like the British
     It looked sweetly at him, his wallet too.

She plucked out a dollar
     And kissed it into the offering
He pulled out four crumpled hundreds
     And just them on in

At the end she walked to her car,
     more used than vowels
And on the winshield and envelope
    with four crisp one-hundreds, a note too

God Bless You. Your Baby, too.
    You gave all you had without hesitation.
So have a wonderful life.
     You are a wonderful woman.

Years later she saw him again.
     At church he sat with his grandchild.
She hugged him so tight
     like a cobra around it's pray.

God Bless You. Your grandbaby, too.
     Because of you, I got my life together.
And I am thankful for you.
     You are a wonderful man,

Lenny's American Dream

     He's a massive moron with a murderous streak against puppies and mice who's dream is to own land with his buddy, George, so he, the massive moron, can tend to the rabbits. Okay slight exaggeration and by the way his name is Lenny. Lenny is a massive moron ,but he doesn't mean to hurt all the animals, but his strength out weighs his kind soul. In John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", a historical fiction novella, John Steinbeck brings to life Lenny and his "American Dream".
     Lenny's "American Dream" is to own a piece of land with a house with George and to tend to the rabbits. It seems that no matter who he's talking to or where he is, rabbits and the dream are always on the brain. He talked to Crooks about it and even to the "seductive" wife of Curly. All he wanted was to own that land with rabbits with George.
     "Lenny you don't know a damn thing, but you every word I say." George says this to Lenny through the story. It shows that Lenny's "American Dream" is what may keep going and from giving up like lots of others in the story who travel alone and don't seem to trust anyone. George was the only one who had stuck around with Lenny. Even when Lenny messed up, George was there to get him out of trouble. It made Lenny want to do this to, maybe help pay back George for all the trouble he had cause over the years and the most recent accident when a woman yelled RAPE because Lenny touched her dress and held on. As George said, "He's so damn stupid all he could think do was hold on."
     Trouble lingered around for Lenny. As sweet as he was his strength got him and George back into trouble after he accidentally kills Curly's wife. The "American Dream" not only shaped his life, but his death as well. After Lenny accidentally kills Curly's wife, he did as George said and went back to their place. George had Lenny think on their dream as he shot Lenny in the back of the head, before Curly and the other's came after Lenny and did worse.
     Lenny's American Dream shaped his life and his death. It was all he wanted in life and the last thing he thought of as he died by George's hand.

Cushman Bulldogs

Following the giant, neon white paw prints up the road smushed between the white-n-red fire station and the run down do-it-yourself car wash, I come up to Cushman School. The school I had been attending since I was a preschooler and a bundle of energy. The scent of acryllic paint and clay coming from the colorful-inside art room and the scent of deodorant and perfume and TAG coming from the new gym with shiny wood floors and fresh paint on the cement walls. Just past the new gym sat two baseball fields. One freshly mowed and with the bases clean, the stands covered in sharpie with years of love and best friends, the snack bar still standing a scent of nacho cheese and hot dogs would arise every summer when the baseball season started up again. The other old and abandonded. The bases covered in a small layer of dust. Turning from the new baseball field with its multiple sponsers signs on the chain link fence is the old gym. The lights dimmed to a point of no return the stands filled with old chairs and desks and random tshirts and socks left over the years. A stale scent in the air. The hoops just bare rims and the giant foam matts for vault jumps torn and tattered as everyone jumps all over them. The window at the end revealing the Dog Pound where high schoolers go at lunch to munch on pop tarts and juice. The walls covered in bulldogs. Friends whisper about their latest crush and who is a jerk. Outside The library stands proud and full of a variety of books. The back section poetry, the front section the books for the the younger kids. Tables in the center and everyones favorite, crazy, eccentric librarion always dressed up when character dress up day turns up. The high school standing with brick walls. The school always homely and close just like a small school is. The buses lined out front, my bus always the bright yellow one. The middle school now in brick after once dying in a fire in the eighties or nighties, but once again standing tall with the computer lab and the red lockers. The two playgrounds for the younger kids shine happily. The giant purple and grayed wood jungle gym with the curly slide. The pebble ground always falling onto the sidewalk. The scent of biscuts and gravy or hamburgers coming from the cafeteria just a hill climb away. Friends jump from the hill and roll down it to the basketball court where the boys play and on the side girls make up cheers and do the cheers from Bring It On with a little revision. The kidergartens go in to the elementary back to their nap mats or to a fruit rollup snack wiating for them. The school once a vibrant piece of life now dead by society. The school shut down for "not enough kids". R.I.P CUSHMAN SCHOOL

9-11 Kills....literally

When 9-11 happened the world was struck with fear and insecurity wondering will this happen again? And which country will be next? Afterward George Bush said " Our military is powerful, and it's prepared." An eye for an eye makes a world go blind. And man are we blind. What the terroists did was a horrible thing it killed many innocent americans in the sake of their religion. But did that mean we had to turn and do the same thing? We become just as bad and we have a huge war now and now hundreds of people are being killed in Iraq where the terroists leader lived. So we got "equal." But we didn't gain anything. We lost more innocence losts. In my opinion NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE we started an eye for an eye makes the world go blind circle. No one wins, so who will be the bigger man and stop the circle?

I am free and unbreakable...

I am free and unbreakable

I wonder on my biological past

I hear the wind and rain sing a song at night

I see the goblins and fairies dance in moonlight

I want to be wildly world famous

I am free and unbreakable

I pretend to act in front of a huge audience

I feel the fame fire working inside me

I touch stars with one eye closed

I worry that I will fall

I cry when I fail myself

I am free and unbreakable

I understand if your gonna be dumb you gotta be tough

I say love is louder than the pressure to be perfect

I dream I will rock out with Knoxville and Steve-O

I hope my family stays safe for forever

I am free and unbreakable

Alice in Wonderland

     Mad Hatters, Rabbits with waistcoats, and drinks that make you grow and cakes that make you shrink- OH MY! In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice finds herself thrown into a world of nonsense where nothing will be what it is and everything will be what it is not. However, reading through the book was sometimes difficult in understanding I find myself relating to Alice and how the world of nonsense relates to reality and how curiosity can be deadly…literally.
     In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice quickly begins to show traits that seem to mirror me in a sense, and if anything, Alice mirrors me a lot. Like her, I have a high curiosity for the odd and weird things in life and have a tendency to find myself in dreams that seem impeccably real to the point I almost believe them to be true. Alice is always questioning and can have a tendency to be timid and quiet in times when she is unsure. In addition, her love of her kitty, Dinah, screams me when I think about my own cat, Lucky. She finds herself in a lot of troubling situations as well where she loses her temper and stomps off. (I am sure everyone can relate to that every now and again.) Which I guess if you look hard enough, everyone can find a way to relate to Alice from her manners to her curiosity.
     Even though Wonderland is nonsense in a way, it resembles real life. There may not be talking animals and things that make us grow or shrink in seconds there will be curiosity to find things, always have a few mad people hanging around, and croquet may not be worldly popular ,but I’m sure some people play ,but probably without flamingos. In addition, there will always be some unfair trials like the Queen convicting the Knave. So sure its nonsense, but sometimes nonsense is reality.
     Curiosity killed the cat… and almost killed Alice. I Love curiosity without it we would not discover the unknown or the unthinkable, but sometimes it can be deadly. Alice followed a rabbit into a completely new world and because so almost drowned in tears, were beheaded, and stuck in a rabbit’s house. Nevertheless, it led to her having the adventure of a lifetime so maybe almost being killed is worth a thrill.
    Reading through the book was sometimes difficult in understanding I find myself relating to Alice and how the world of nonsense relates to reality and how curiosity can be deadly…literally. Maybe we need a few more Alice’s, nonsense, and curiosity because if you ask me it is a lot more fun!

Dignity by New Politics

     In the song “Dignity” by New Politics, it shows a hidden meaning of corruption, how we are all being brainwashed by the media and government. The song is much harder to read into than a plain book or web article, but in this case, it was much easier because the lyrics spoke a clear message. The beat of the song had a stand up kind of feel to it, which are the pieces of what I want to note about the song. The meaning of the lyrics and the beat of the song is very strong minded like other songs by this great band.
     In the song “Dignity”, it shows a meaning of how we are all losing our dignity and the corruption we are receiving from the media, government, and the power they hold over all of us. We get manipulated and bribed with petty things so we fall for all there crap and lies that they want us to believe in so they will get there way and we lose ourselves in the fog. We do anything they want without noticing that we are doing what they want us to do. They use our money and that money is used to buy the guns that start the war. The song even says ‘you’re gonna kill us all to bring peace.’ meaning we are in a sense helping to fund the wars. However, we need to stand up and have dignity and tell them we have had enough so they don’t keep corrupting and manipulating us to do, as they want. The lyrics bring a powerful meaning and the beat of the song seems to match it when your listen to the music and not the words.
     The beat of the music seems to be a light slightly rough beat. I read into the beat as very rock out and stand up type of tune, which goes with the song in the way it is what we need to do. The lyrics say what is going on and the beat is the answer to what we need to do in order to get back our dignity. We need to stand up for out own beliefs no matter what it be.
     The song has a powerful meaning and is really in your face when you listen to the song and not just to the answer or key which is the beat. I love the strong minded and blunt honesty to the song and the feel of the key in the music itself. It’s not the usual everything is great in the world tune you hear in the pop songs of today. The meaning of the lyrics and the beat of the song is very strong minded like other songs by this great band.

Steve-O Professional Idiot: A Memoir

   Drug addiction, alcohol abuse, and the need for fame so intense you would do anything to keep in the spotlight. In Steve-O Professional Idiot: a Memoir, Stephen Gilchrist Glover (Steve-O) craved the fame he got after starring in the movie/TV franchise (pardon the name) Jackass, but that did not start his problems with alcohol and drugs. It shocked me to see how far he had gone and to see the real Steve-O and believe-you-me he told the exact truth. Even though Steve-O is easily perceived as a celebrity stunt man who was an addict his book showed a deeper truth to him which shows me three things that can be said through this book that we all relate to him, the effect of the big event, and how the decision he made not only affected him but the story as well.
    In reading Steve-O Professional Idiot: a Memoir the first question I wanted an answer to was how can I relate to him? I found the answer easily. The addiction and commitment he had for everything and anything he really wanted. In the first few chapters you see how he committed to anything he was interested in at the time. When he was eleven, he was wandering in a store when he saw an Iron Maiden album he was drawn to it and ran around the lyrics he then committed to being a “metal head”. Later he committed to skateboarding. Then after losing his skateboarding friends, he committed to being a stoner and he went hardcore with it. In a way, everyone addicts or commits to something, but tends to be more unnoticeable like work or looks or perfection or losing weight or fitting in. In the way he went hardcore with drugs others go hardcore on other just as harmful in a way things.
     The big event when reading the book would seem to be his friends putting on an intervention after Steve-O sent out a message saying he was ready to die and threatening to splatter himself all over the pavement. He followed along and even fell under a 52/50 code, which gives a psycho ward the legal right to hold someone against there will for a certain period, the time in this case was two weeks. Afterwards he was checked into rehab. He was honestly good in a sense that he committed to rehab, but as he says, it was for all the wrong reasons. The fame he got from doing this was why he did it. He was as addicted to fame as much as the numerous drugs he did. However, it was his next decision that had the biggest affect on him.
     One-hundred days sober and in a sober living house (which is where you get more freedom and just have a curfew) is when he says he hit his all time low. He was full of self-pity and felt like a loser for it. He may have been far into sobriety but doing it for the wrong reasons had caught up to him. He did nothing but lie around and eat and had been able to say he got fat. He was hopeless. He had suicidal thoughts and worse depression. So he checked back into the beginning of a rehab. Had he not when he got out he would have either done something irrational or started up again. The decision to get sober for the right reasons put him on track and happy. In fact becoming sober even helped his fame. He got even funnier says many of his friends and he even has a stand comedy tour along with his book tour.
    Even though Steve-O is easily perceived as a celebrity stunt man who was an addict his book showed a deeper truth to him which shows me three things that can be said through this book that we all relate to him, the effect of the big event, and how the decision he made not only affected him but the story as well. The effect his decision made not only saved him from himself but also made even better than he was before. Though he admits, some days are still harder than others he is going strong. This book really inspired me. You need to follow your dreams because he did that everyday until he got it. In addition, when you are knocked down just get back up and do better.

SixWordStories

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