Let’s toast to HAPPINESS, ever true, In every moment, a treasure anew.
In love’s warm glow and faith’s steady cue,
We celebrate the beauty in me and you.
With glasses raised to skies of blue,
Where dreams take flight and hopes renew.
In every smile, a rainbow’s hue,
We find the magic in me and you.
In laughter shared and tears embraced,
In tender whispers and souls so brave.
In every challenge, a chance to chase,
The joy of living, in every space.
So here’s to HAPPINESS, let it bloom,
In every heart, dispelling gloom.
In love’s embrace, we find our groove,
To dance in joy, amidst life’s tune.
With gratitude, we lift our voice,
To celebrate life’s freedom of choice.
In every heartbeat, we soak up life,
For in each other, we find our strength to fly.

They mean my daily chore-home work.
They mean my daily release-from drugs.
God, I want them so bad-But can’t…
These things mean-my sanity.

Ears ring loud-Alone.
None but Jesus-knows.
God, I tempt You not-but why?
Dids’t Thou not take me-long ago?

Still flying sober-how?
Dost Thou hold my tears-when?
Will they stop, could they ever-Be
Worth anything-to Thee?

I will write a poem-And fly.
I’ll crash down-Goodbye.
Can say words-no meaning heart?
Words kill-I’ve seen,
Through the light of another’s dream.

Was a nightmare-for both.
How can life and death-Be so close?
Walking in the Spirit…Live.
Walking after the flesh…Death.

Let God direct your steps.
Acknowledge Him every chance you get!
He will give beyond belief
Be humble and watch Him uplift.
God, I don’t know what will kill me first…
Mine own poor choices,
Or the source of a heart-attacks worth.

How much more?

My heart is just a doormat
Please come in and stomp your feet
Please lie to me, it sounds so sweet
Don’t tell the truth-weep bitter deceit

How fun this is-wouldn’t you agree?
This old heart can take it-for One takes all
One same literally made all!
Nor did He think it bad…

But said-It is good!

It seems Jesus is in my box
I’m alone in the room with it and Him.
Broken hearted-sore troubled am I
He is the mended miracle…

I don’t let Him out to try.

Is this holding the truth in unrighteousness?
That’s not what I want despite all this.

My heart is just a doormat
Please come in and stomp away…

Poems could make a heart unbroken.

Tuesday
Sept. 12th
2023

Walking through a weary land
Behold you find the rock
May you come thirsty, but not alone
And fall broken upon this stone

Out pours the Water-giving life to your soul
Free-this Living Water, gives your heart a home!
Tis’ so good to you that you want not to return
Back to weary land-please stay close and learn.

That He was always there for you-in your lonely times
He caught your every painful fall-and kept you alive!
Please give God the glory-the Great Savior and King
He is the great Healer-and the answer to your dreams!

Please let Him change you, for you to die not
So faithful He always is-loving you a lot!
He will not point out-sins daring glare
But He covers with His blood-eternal life He shares!

He will always pardon-by His Grand Master design
Dear precious child-He is with you all the time!
He hurts so much at heart-by your troubled pain
He knows all your going through-As for you He came.

Yes-He died a horrible death-just so you’d be free
And He lives beyond a guess-please this fact believe
Please with open heart-accept His perfect love…
He will lift you so much higher-than can any given drug!

-Brought to you by the Love of Christ-

GRIEF
By. Kristina Gregson
Grief is a hard feeling to explain.
One does not truly know what to expect, until they are actually going through the pain.
The pain in the pit of your inner being.
The ache in your heart, feels like it could stop beating.
Your whole body aches with pain, leaving one feeling so drained.
Right down to the blood that flows through your veins.
A hurt, an ache, that can only be described as deep deep sorrow.
One that you know you will still have when you wake tomorrow.
The feeling of loss, the wish I would haves,
The wish I could haves, the wish I should haves,
That feeling of so much wasted time, that could have been spent with better rhythm and rhyme.
More smilies, more hugs, more laughter, more love.
More calls, more talks, maybe even a walk,
More dinners together, more special times.
That is what you wish when your loved one has ran out of time.

When asked my biggest fear, I close my eyes and imagine what my life would be like without you, and that moment alone is terrifying enough that I already have my answer without having to blink again. My biggest fear is having a great day, or a horrible day, and not being able to call you anymore to tell you about it. My biggest fear is needing an old favorite recipe and knowing you’re the only one who has it and now I’ve got no one to ask anymore. When the holidays come along and I don’t want any gifts but you always asked for a wish list, I’m scared I’m going to wish you were here and be sorely disappointed when you don’t come through like you always have before. Part of my job as a daughter is to open my heart up as wide as it goes and take in all the advice, stories, wisdom, and love while I can so if you leave before I do I’ll have enough to keep me going. I just don’t know if or when that day ever comes if I will know what to do, who to call, when to cry, where to fall. You have always been my roller coaster sidekick and I don’t know if I trust this ride without you. If you ask me what my biggest fear is in life, it’s having a life without you in it, mom.

The Summer of 2021 was the start of my life turning upside down because of what you did. At least what I think you did. I have no memory of what happened other than that night I woke up feeling sick to my stomach, in pain everywhere. My legs, my back, my stomach, and most importantly, my private area was in extreme pain.

I don’t remember anything, but I know you did something to me. Waking up, not remembering anything, and just knowing something was wrong was enough to send me on a whirlwind. My wrists were red I was in pain, my nose piercing was gone, my pants were half down and wet with an unknown substance, I had bruises on my arms like someone forced themselves on me and held me down so I wouldn’t get up. I was scared, shocked, and I didn’t know what to do or think. I looked around in utter dismay, looking at my phone in my pillowcase. I know I wouldn’t have put it there because it’s always right beside me. I didn’t think this would happen to me.

After getting my thoughts together and trying to remember what happened, I looked at my phone, and saw a photo of me sleeping, as I thought maybe I could have taken the photo myself like a selfie but I couldn’t have taken it because it was shot from a different angle whereas someone else could have taken and left it on my phone. I remember that morning I asked you about the photo and you completely had a changed face, a face of guilt, you yelled at me telling me I’m crazy to be so accusatory, but in reality, I only asked a question. You shunned me the whole day acting like I didn’t exist, that the situation was nothing, it didn’t matter to you that you took something innocent out of me and scarred me. You did something horrible to me you know that. But you never took responsibility for it. I still remember your reaction, I still feel the bruises and the pain you caused. I even tear up sometimes just thinking about it. I may not remember what happened exactly to me that night but I do know what happened to me wasn’t my fault and I didn’t deserve it.

Dear Unsealers,

It’s the first day of April. And that’s no fooling.

I know, I can hardly believe it either as it felt like the year was just starting five minutes ago.

But we’ve arrived at the second quarter of this year. And there’s mostly a blank slate right now. That’s the beauty of each day though, the canvas is there for creation to happen in whatever form we choose.

With that idea in mind, I welcome in the month of April:

Under the April skies
A new month begins

30 days, with a blank slate ahead
A breather after New Year’s, Valentine’s and Easter have all gone

A month where rain falls
The flowers and leaves will surely grow
Under blissful sunny skies

So will the creativity
In the midst of NaPoWriMo
The poems will come fast and furious

With a new quarter of the year on tap
Where will life go from here?

Under April skies
I’ll let the days and nights flow
From there, I’ll know where to go

International Writer’s Day
Acrostic

Internet has facilitated global connections
Never stop the growth of writers
That rend their hearts as their words flow
Empowering the weak to
Remember their worth
Never succumbing to oppression’s
Timely propagation that cleaves
Intimate family members into
Open enemity, clearly ‘Dividing & Conquering’
Needlessly aggressive, destructive,
Avid in mercilessly taking resources and
Leaving nothing to the Indigenous peoples.

Write, revel, rebel, roast, rumble the gruesome
Reality of a world built on Materialism
Instead of unity of humanity
That lends compassion and succor that
Eventually works together against the oppressor
Ruining the ecology, separating family,
Solidifying Darwin’s rules of supremacy

Dealing in strength that overpowers others
Amid illegal, inhumane practices that have
Yet to be punished.

©️ Malak kalmoni chehab ©️

A nightmare became real a few days ago
Seeing it unfold in Baltimore on Twitter X
was confirmation of its existence
Thankfully, you, and I were nowhere near it
But other humans were in the eye of a storm
A storm they didn’t see coming
A storm they never thought would come to pass
A storm they didn’t think
would be the final chapter they would see
In a dark atmosphere
The almost hero of the night
did his best to hold himself up
But the boat’s power that glided in his path
was too much for him to handle
His strength quickly dissipated into nothingness
and finally collapsed into cold and dark waters
along with the people he tried to save
It’s a sad situation
seeing events like this affecting the human nation
It’s another reminder to appreciate life
And to live it with all our might.

Dear Unsealers,

The 25th of March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day. And the month of March is Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month in the United States.

It hasn’t been easy to say that I have cerebral palsy. As it was so present in the years that I grew up, it almost became the whole story of who I was. But I’ve come around and accepted the fact that CP is a part of my life. Yet, it’s only one part of the larger story that’s still being written to this very day.

I’m more than the challenges present, and the same goes for everyone in the community in their own ways.

I’ve written something in honor of the day:

National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day

On the 25th of March
An underserved community’s turn in the spotlight

I’ve had my fair share of challenges
From my eyes, my speech to my feet
But I’ve risen above all of it
To be me, a writer and traveler

CP used to be the entire story
Defined by all the limitations
Now it’s just part of the plot
Of a larger story that’s still being told

On this day and every day
A reminder to everyone…

People with Cerebral Palsy
Live lives of joy and wonder
Unbowed by the impossible

Even if things take more time to do
After all, we bring our full selves to the forefron

Birds still chirp their fucking hearts out on crap days,
Like a karaoke star who’s totally lost his way.
And flowers? They’re gatecrashing funerals with sass,
Whispering, “Was it our fucking fragrance, perhaps?”

People scatter when shit really starts to hit the fan,
Quicker than I say “fuck it” to my diet plan.
But the ride-or-dies? They stick like fucking glue,
Like that piece of gum on your shoe, never bidding adieu.

The moon’s up there, changing her damn mind,
Like me in front of the fridge, a late-night find.
So hey, give yourself a break, don’t stress the fucking phase,
We’re all just bumbling through life’s mad, crazy maze.

In the cracks and crevices, we find our fucking groove,
Dodging life’s big-ass feet, we move and we improve.
Escaping the drizzle, dodging the damn pee,
We’re the fucking misfits, making it, wild and free.

So when life feels as tough as a week-old fucking baguette,
Remember, we’re rocking this shit, no need to fret.
In this grand ol’ mess, we might seem fucking small,
But we’re damn well blooming, giving it our fucking all.

I normally pre-mate poems with pen and paper But, this cannot wait any longer or later. Your words truly have pierced mine, and I remember surly the same state of mind. So, I will simply type on this phone my friend, even though it might not have another end. Sitting alone here on a 5 corner square, I look and see nothing in the middle of nowhere I will re-read your note that was truly wrote- From eyes of faucet water-in these tears I float. Though there’s no end at all to this telephone line, Emotions they do crawl from your heart to mine. Surly an addiction at the bottom of Erie’s Lake- I had no problem fixing every high I had to make. I would want to write to you from the bottom where it comes, But I don’t know if that is true, when mind games are so dumb. Nor has any heart bore but only similar strings, Unless one is ripped apart-it’s just not right it seems. I just cannot believe there’s people out there like me, Nor do I ever think I’m any better you see For God has made different all human existence, Yet we’re all still sinners so full of resistance And the very best thing that came from covid disease… Is the simple quote that had the note, “Please”. Now we clearly see, “We are all in this together”… In the same boat-(as light as a feather)… Is the message of Salvation for the world to live forever! The basis of a Christian is not a perfect life, It’s more of who’s been missing-but been found by Jesus Christ! It is that of progress and not of perfection… It’s a brand new spirit that with God has made connection! Jesus promised all that whosoever will… On Himself may call-that He’ll save forever still! All the talents and gifts He gave to express Of how it’s always Him to pull us out of our mess. And to lead the way over glassy seas to shore My dear friend I pray-may this heart get to yours.

Where have you been?
My time traveling friend
You’re here in the present again

You were stuck in the past
Confused and aghast
Back then and forever in when

You are never here
Through these months and years
When is it that you go?

Sometimes it’s a loss
But my hope I won’t toss
From spring blooms to the fallen snow

But if truth should be told
And if the story unfolds
Did you change everything that you could?

For now it is now
And I don’t know how
You’d claim it to be as you would

Because the trouble with time
It only can wind
To a future that is not yet

However, with you
To the future you flew
Because time for you isn’t set

So lonely you go
A sad, sorry soul
And no one can understand you

We will meet again
My time traveling friend
In a world that to me seems so new

It started with a dream.
Oh wait, I was just high, clear my mind,
and it is amazing what you’ll find
all these sober feelings, my mind is racing.
My heart is pacing
but that money I’m still chasing
It started with a dream
I can’t waste no more time.
I learned my lesson by committing my crime,
I’m ready to move on in life
and make a damn good wife
despite what anyone has to say.
I know that I can change my way
I’m left with nothing, just like zero
it’s time to be my own damn hero
Forced to feel all this emotion,
but I can’t give up cause I got devotion
time to be dedicated, fuck it
Let’s get educated
open my Bible the only thing reliable,
read about what’s expected out of me
practice good behavior and see what life can be
it started with a dream
wipe those tears and clear those fears
time to stand on my own 2 feet
and then only will my goals be meet
I got ambition in these eyes
and if you can’t see that then I apologize
and fuck you if you think otherwise
clear my mind and it is amazing what you’ll find.
Wonder if it ends with a Dream Come True!?