Solutions

Chills
Shaking violently
Buried in blankets
Legs wrapped around
Arms rubbing

No comfort comes
No relief
It doesn't
End

Fever burns deep
Making everything else
Feel cold

As long as there is a fever
There will be
chills
No matter how many blankets you lie under

Heartache
Crying endlessly
Wrapped in arms
Told you are loved
Kisses plenty

No comfort comes
No relief
It doesn't
End

Deception hurts deep
Making it hard to
Like yourself

As long as there is deception
There will be
Heartache
No matter how many people love you.

expectations

i am expected to be what others are not

i must be honest when others tell lies
     and their lies are forgotten when mine is used against me years later

i must keep promises when others break theirs
     and they excuse it for themselves but will not allow me to do the same

i must say only nice things when others can hurt me
     and their crime must be ignored but mine will be written in stone

i must forget everything done to me when others are allowed to hold on
     and curse those who hurt them and tell me not to speak badly about others

i must be forgiving when others are allowed to seek revenge against me
     and they seek me out to hurt me even though I never wronged them

i must be strong while others are allowed to fall apart
     and people rush to their rescue but tell me to just hang in there

and sometimes these expectations bother me and i wonder
     do they place them on me
     or do i place them on myself?

and then i reread this list of expectations
and something in me changes...


I accept the challenge they present,
and I smile knowing

     I am expected to be honest & keep promises
             because they know I have integrity.
     I am expected to forget and forgive
             because my life is too full of good to have room for hatred
     I am not rescued
             because I can be amazing on my own.

I am from

In my class, we wrote I am from poems today. This is mine-

I am from
     unicorns guarding me in my sleep
     dancing with pandas and Raggedy Ann
     flying to the moon in a cedar tree rocket ship
I am from
     red sand cracked like a broken mirror
     roads and hills covered in snow
     schools with doors that opened to the outdoors
I am from
     riding the fire truck down main street
     sock basketball on laundry day
     long drives to Idaho every summer

I am from
     blue and white stadium seats
     red and white running uniforms
     purple and white streamers in my window
I am from
     believing it would all work out
     respecting teachers and officers
     helping neighbors and anyone who called
I am from
     small towns where everyone knew me    
     classrooms where I was expected to succeed
     a home where I am very loved