It’s funny how some memories stay with you during your lifetime—things you did as a kid or a young adult that still shape who you are today. The older I get, the more I look back and think I didn’t appreciate how much simpler life was or how few responsibilities I had. Lately, one memory has been on my mind, prompted by a search through my iTunes library while looking for uplifting music to listen to while I walked the be...

One day you wake upAnd you're three years oldAt three, there are no worriesYou go with the flow so to speakThen you go to sleepWhen you wake, you're thirteenLife seems difficult, but it's notYou worry about petty things, what people think of youYour parents tell you not to worry, but you do anywaySo you go to sleepNow you're thirty-three when you awakenYou have a house, kids, and a family to call your ownNow you worry if...

I remember sitting in class in high school watching the other kids socialize and grab-ass. Their laughter ringing in my ears as if life was a plate of oysters, each one filled with pearls. I was the oldest of eight kids with parents who were selfish, self-centered abusers, but they aren’t the subject of this tale. Each morning I would have to get my brothers and sisters up, feed them breakfast, and comb their hair to get...

Crying in the night A warm breast Wailing wet and cold Bright colors fluttering above A painted ceiling chipped and cracked Hushed voices, muttering tones Slamming doors and epithets The smell of soap on your clothes Diapers and dirty knees Eyes raised to smiling faces Head bowed to escape scowls Meals served on plastic trays Cheerios on the floor The whisper of a cricket's breath The sting of a wasp Fireflies just out of...

Once a child With a world so wide The sky so close I could spread my arms like wings Reach for the warmth of the sun Feel the fall of rainbows Washing over me Leaving me vivid I was color  Soft like petals  Opening for the first time Mouthing words  Becoming sound Spelling my own name Always Dreaming forward More than a girl Less than a woman Learning power  The curve of my smile To sway my own hips A request to hold my h...

Surrender Today I finally surrender.... To the fact that I do not have all the answers,That what once may have been - no longer is. I submit to the fact that what I believed to be an inner knowledge - is the voice of projection I admit that I have used the words of a hypocriteAnd the actions of one who is self-absorbed I see now that I have not been a present friendPointing fingers and expecting results I surrender to my...

Has anyone ever told you to "follow your heart", "dream big", or, my favorite, "reach for the stars"? Well, I'm not. I am merely here to tell you that there is a fine line between a dream and a whim. A dream is a five-year-old sitting on her swing set telling the cool second grader who lives next door that she wants to be an opera singer when she grows up. Not just a singer- an opera singer. She may have only heard opera...

"Mommy, I wanna be a princess when I grow up!"Her mom smiles, "You're already a princess, sweetie.""Really, Mommy? I'm a princess?""Of course, honey, you're my little princess."***** Ten years later..."You know, Mom, growing up sucks."Her mom raises her eyebrows, "Really? Why's that?""All of my dreams are flying away. Leaving me all alone, dreamless.""..."*****"The hardest part is letting goof your dreams."- My Chemical R...

Paul stood by the open tent flap, taking a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful gifts nature provided him for free. Looking to the eastern shore, he marveled at the red, orange and yellow explosion of pre-dawn glory heralding a new day. Low on the Western horizon, the nearly full moon lay pale and bloated. In the aerie pre-dawn light a heavy dew clinging to everything that did not move seemed somehow phosphorescent. The fre...

We are all born into this world Free from preconception A simple blank canvas To sketch life’s future uponProgression through childhood And into your teens These extraordinary moments Add colour to the canvasThat instance when your so-called best friend Stabs you in the back for the first time Saving face, she calls it Cuts deep like a knifeYour first love, the secrets you share Don’t tell anyone is what we agreed It’s al...

Spitting Scotch into the Clyde I am what ma da would call “bollock freezing”. Ma gonads haven't even dropped yet, so they must be like plain wee peanuts right now in this cold and dark. I'm also drunk – what else could this feeling be? I'm also really sad. I can't believe wee Barry's gone and left us. He was ma best friend in the world and now he's gone and left us. I take another swig of ma da's brutal-tasting fire-water...