you lean over in bed
kiss me gently
whisper a quick goodnight
you turn your light off
i leave mine on
years of sleeping through
noise
of drunken parents
lights left on
you sleeps immune
but sometimes
though you seem at peace
and although you don't know it
you cry out in your dreams
soon, your breathing changes
i try to focus
the words in my book
swim through my mind
and out again
and before long
concentration falters
looking at you
lying on your back
one arm over your head
other hand flat on your chest
amazed by your beauty
i remember the first time
i knew i needed you
to be in my life
remember the way you looked
i was naive
blond
working in a failing record store
owned by my father
it still felt strange then
calling him that
"dad"
his foster daughter
for two years
my mother finally gave up
gave my rights to the state
this family adopted me
this 16 year old girl
born addicted to cocaine
whose mother beat her until
the age of 13
when social services finally took me away
put me in foster care
this mother who left me alone nights
left me with her boyfriend
who raped me
left me to die
but they adopted me
they love me
this perfect, loving family
i know what love is
finally
i’d seen you in the store before
you always bough
obscure underground punk
most of it i had heard
i admired your musical choice
you came in one day
with another guy
you later told me
he was your best friend from school
you smiled at me
your eyes glowed
i realized for the first time how green they blazed
and i wanted to be yours
i wanted nothing else in the world
but to be loved by you
and you didn't buy anything that day
when you left
i had to sit down
for a few minutes
i knew i was falling
for you
i open my eyes again
i didn't realize they were closed
you are still there
sleeping away
the best part of the night
the section in time
when epiphanies
are not just surprising
but well understood
where the night person
wakes to find his perfect world
his beautiful world
but i don't see it this way
i feel the darkness bearing down
the sky falls into my room
the sky is everywhere
and i feel that i am not here
Love your image about that time of night when even the most random of thoughts and words suddenly make sense. I definitely think you should get around to publishing this dark, haunting, beautiful piece.
from what I've read so far, I want to KNOW what happens to the author. The story sent chills down my spine because I can relate to parts of it and it brought back bad memories...I can only hope that the author makes it through everythingin one peice...
Reviewed by Michael Tyler (Reader)
Reviewed on February 27, 2003
I don't read much poetry, but the raw emotion grabbed me, and that's great. I guess every person comes away from a poem with their own take. I come away from this one seeing hope. It's never too late, maybe, to heal, to feel loved, or to give love to someone who needs it. Very nice, Sara.
This poem is excellent but tragic with straks of hope.Many parts of it made me very hostile inside and angry ....the idea that someone can hurt a youngster like that makes me enraged I felt deeply for the subject child (teenager) in the poem....I don't like feeling like that ...I hope it ends finally with the subject in this poem as rising strong and free...but from the heading I fret the following poems in the series may be too tragic for me to cope with without feeling pain as I know victims and one young friend of my daughter died after a life like this girl in the story(Angelique).The author is skilled and in touch with deep empathy toward victims....I salute you.
Pieces of Eight is an eclectic collection of eight imaginative novellas/short stories. Themes represented in the work are science fiction, paranormal, psychological drama, humor, murder/revenge and astrological fulfillment. Pieces of Eight is the com
Dreamin’ Dreams is more than a collection of stories; it is a celebration of Irish life, adventure, and the unforgettable characters who make growing up in Ireland a journey worth remembering.
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