INNOCENCE LOST
Danny Hill

A snowflake fell on a hot summer day,
Down from the clean, blue sky—
A stumble-tumble, a plummeting from
Some summit up on high.

While falling—falling—against and amidst
Hell’s fiery whips of air,
The cold face slowly began to reveal
The drips and drops of wear.

And then upon a blade of grass,
The snowflake fell onto its grave.
Its crystal blood flowed down the spear.
From flame and death no one could save.

No one is real,
It is all a front,
A pleasant appeal,
No need to be blunt.

Our self-less talk
Serves a selfish purpose,
And our real walk
Hides behind our candy surface.

We do our duty,
We please the crowd,
But all the cruelty
Is hidden 'neath the shroud.
 

A SEAMSTRESS'S PROVERB
Andrea Cloud

Do not wait to sew your dreams
While motionless in the grave,
For life is lengthened by the seams
When actions here are brave.
 

LEAVES
Jennifer Nissing

Budding, growing,
Changing, fading,
Ageing, dying--
The fate of a leaf in fall
Is the common fate of all.
 

I cannot sing like songbirds in the night,
Nor dance on air to every crowd’s delight.
I cannot make me what I never was,
Nor rain down tears of silver just because
My face is not a rose at dawn’s first light,
My bulky figure’s best left out of sight.
Yet every time I tread that hallowed stage,
A voice within proclaims itself a sage,
And grandeur leaps out from this desperate soul
To be released with lead or minor role.
In spotlights every secret dream’s fulfilled,
And even after all applause is stilled
I know through every line and look and part
I have imparted truth from heart to heart.
 

THE CANDLE
Jennifer Harris

A candle drips molten wax over
desperate dreams

hands of hope for hints of heat
in the cold night that lingers on

Circle of light
flickers, then slowly fades away.
 

ODE TO TECHIES
Michelle Feldman

Clothed in black, hidden from view,
In shadows lurks the backstage crew.
Magicians with the gift of light,
They fear by chance to be in sight.
Oh, if anyone ever knew
The doings of the backstage crew!

Hither, thither, on they go,
Desperate not to break the flow.
Every trouble, every glitch,
Must be fixed without a hitch.
Hurry, scurry, props and all.
They do not let one item fall.
In total silence, listening well,
They do their part to weave the tale.

Governed by the sovereign cue,
The hidden, vital backstage crew
Works to fix the slightest flaws
To earn the audience’s applause.
They know the play’s big debut
Would fail without the backstage crew.