Hated By Hannah H. It makes me sick to think I was one. One of you. Caught up in your game I was ecstatic To play along. I felt like I was respected. I was cool. I was in. I was popular. I was hated. When I realized the truth The shattering truth We were hated. Suddenly you disgusted me Nauseated me. Everything. I was hating you. Hating me. Hating us. Now I am hating you. Just you. Not us. Not us, because I am no longer one of you. Not one of you. I thought you wouldn't notice. Didn't notice my silent secession from the union. Isn't it shocking? I don't believe it. She doesn't want to be popular. That's a first. (You noticed.) Secretly I'm satisfied. Glad to be missed. But not. But not by you. Forget. Forget I ever played your game. Forget it. I'll never come back to you. To you. To your shallow, whiny, conceited two-faced he-said-she-said gossipy life-ruining insulting lying crowd. If. If this is what's in, if this is what's in- I'm out. Let me out.	To the Fields By Jennifer M. Winter's here and my mind is on the wind The North ruffles my hair, new things are to come The path I travel leads to the fields With every step I take, my bindings disappear And the trees can sway like I, into the future The path I travel leads to the fields Worry not, Mother, for the same ruthless world That scars me, leads me into its beauty The path I travel leads to the fields The path is not easy, but I've never gone this far Between the false steps I've taken and will take The path I travel leads to the fields Though my footprints echo in the words I never said My footfalls boom in the things I've come to say The path I travel leads to the fields I'm going farther from the dark woods that haunt me And into the sunlight that was only a dream The path I travel leads to the fields
	In my dreams "BigRedHen" The indefinable beauty Moving in and out of the mist The ones I don't know But I think I remember A sliver of faraway music Dancing silver in the night. I hold it to my heart Longing, trying to remember... It was so long ago, their souls. Do I know them? Do I remember? Do they? Or am I just Trying Too hard To remember...
What color am I By John Albertson Black, as a rose, lying dead on the grave Of a boy whose dark soul fled to hide in a cave With walls deep sea green and blue as the night To hide from the world, a moments respite. Empty am I, so my banner is black The nights peaceful tides washing over my back As I lie, deep in thought, as the stars dance by Waiting, for you, kiss the wind as I cry Green, as the forest, for natures my friend Alone among evil, it heals and it lends All the strength I don't find in my mere mortal soul I look to the trees, to the birds, to the foals The paths of my mind, lo, I tread with despair Should anyone walk there, I warn you, beware For it is a place known to only the lost Where all are like one, and all carry a cross What color am I? Deep blue as the light In the bowl of the heavens on a cold crystal night Where the pillars of ice, rising up to the sky Freeze the souls of the dead as the keening winds cry Dark, as the waters of the seas in a storm Laughing defiance, from the depths I am born Corpse candles of lightning illumine my face While teardrops of fire weave satin and lace	Dark and Beautiful By Jennifer M. Oh, and the night crosses the horizon And my brain gets heavy with my heart Too many fireflies I'll never catch To many wounds I'll never heal So humid, sweat falls from my hair The crickets buzz into my senses And I remember the good life I have And the good life I can't give the world My dolls that used to line the room And the times I would go and play These are the things I've outgrown now Things that will always be beautiful Just like this night, they are beautiful The things that were clean and naive Not like the world and myself now, Dirtied by the knowledge of suffering But in the corner of the summer And in the corner of my mind There is a place where the innocent run It is the day, but I choose to stay in this night
Darkness in Invisibility By Christopher V. Endless years of living Shows what man has done And shows what man will do To force upon each other What must be done to end this? Who will stand up to this? And when it came for my turn To do what I thought was right I was standing there alone. For without friends, I stand alone. For without friends, I declared alone. From the darkness, I rise. But will none rise among me? I face the fire alone. For I have seen, and I will see The pain in people's eyes And that hurts me Why should others suffer, For something I had not done? So I became a part. I have screamed from heavens to hell Yet, I have no response. Alone, I stand Alone, I fall And there I lie in the dust. But I shall rise again, but I will rise alone. For none shall see me, For none shall hear me, So none shall help me.	Twinkle By Rachel B. Look into my eyes, Can you see it? The sparkle of life, Glimmer of hope, And the mystic twinkle of curiosity. Look a little closer, Into my soul, To the depths of my heart, And the power of my thoughts. Look even closer, See my past, My present, And my future beyond ages. Now, Look a bit farther, Deeper into my eyes, And you see me.
Hope By Jennifer M. Where is it? Does your pocket go any deeper? How could you leave home without it? Did someone steal it from you, or did you over-give it? I thought you could give it and keep even more inside yourself. Why can't I see it in your posture? Or feel its conviction in your voice? Does your childhood cut it any deeper? Was it punctured in the dead of night, and do you need a prescription? I don't know if there are any little pills to shove down your throat. Will you let yourself live without it? Doesn't it ache? Won't you ask a stranger like me for some? Can I spare something worth much, much more than a dime? I thought its absence would burn so badly, pride could be ignored. How long can you last without it? Can you see the sun at all? Or without its shield, do the rays burn you? Isn't it impossible to keep on trudging with only a monotonous future? I keep thinking an existence on the verge will shrivel without its roots. When will you have your own? Are you going to accept it from me? Can you see yourself starving without it? Why won't you take the offer that will be your savior? I hold it, Hope, in my hands, hurry before it evaporates, take it!
Mommy's Arms By Rachel B. I remember a time way back, Though maybe not so long ago, When I would come home tearstained and tattered, And cry in Mommy's arms. Oh, how I loved Mommy's arms, They somehow always made me feel better, With her soft voice speaking words of love, That dried the tears of my hurting. I cried over petty little things, A broken toy or a bruised arm, Or that time when a bully called me names, I could always come home to the comfort of Mommy's arms. The years past on, I grew older and as I thought "more mature", I had grown too big for Mommy's arms, Or perhaps I had made my self too big. Now I have no one to comfort me, In all of my failures and heartbreaks, Mommy is no longer there to lend a shoulder to cry on, Because I keep pushing her further and further away. I wish I had someone to talk to, Someone to tell all my fears and worries to, With a special confidentiality knowing they'd not tell a soul, But I can't bring myself to go back to Mommy's arms. My pride and arrogance pushed her away, Throwing childlike tantrums with her gentle reasoning, Not showing all the love and adoration I really have for her, All bottled up deep down inside of me. I miss Mommy's arms so much, I want to curl up in them and her hold me tight, While I tell her ho my friend "Janie" stole my "Bobby", And how I humiliated myself in class today. Now I've come to realize, It's not that I'm too big for Mommy's arms, It's the wall I've put up that shut her out that is too big, A wall I must climb and overcome. The journey will be rough, A battle-long and hard, But I WILL get over the wall I've made, And come home to Mommy's arms. My mind is now made up, The plan is ready, So will you please excuse me? I have to go have a talk with my mom.	Two Worlds by Christopher V. I am left betwixt the darkness. Upon me is a weighted nothing. Filled with man's worries and doubts. Through watery eyes I do see My right shows all the choices I left behind And all the choices I will leave behind For if these choices do come out I would break my family's heart So I say nought So I think nought So I feel nought For them, I speak just what they hear And they are pleased with me My left shows a struggling sense Of righteousness tearing through me I want to scream for my freedom From life's perilous bonds and chains But my right does control my left And I am left impaired Through colored glass I do see My sensitivity In two worlds.
	I "Icing on the Cake" I hide under cover of night I stand under spotlight for an audience I display my heart for all to see I bottle it up within my chest. I sing to the sky though no one is there I keep silent for eternity with nothing to say I am owned by every atom of the universe I belong to no one. I am the product of millions of years I made my own mind without your help I let you break my heart a thousand times But refuse to tell you my name.
To My Grandfather By Julie Sharma Cross beyond the pain Flow into the unknown Strengthen your weaknesses Take upon the world a loan Knock on the door Such a sight to see Break thru the barriers Its just like it was meant to be Walking high as mountains Touching far into the clouds Freeing your mind of clutter You suddenly have no more doubts Show yourself the beauty That ignorance has never seen Bring back all the love And slowly awake from this dream

Back to the Coffeehouse