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HE LOOKED BEYOND

Running through fields of loneliness, pain and shame,
Stumbling over heartbreak and teardrops, I knew I would fall.
And I fell flat on my back, so I could only look up.
I looked beyond the clouds to see my all in all.

He looked beyond my loneliness, pain and shame
And told me whenever I get lonely to call out his name.

He unbroke my heart and he soothed all my fears
And with his Holy Breath, he blew away all my tears.

He looked beyond my undeveloped faith and lack of spiritual depth
And preceded to keep me when I didn't want to be kept.

He looked beyond my weakness in the face of temptation
And gave me strength beyond the extent of my imagination.

He looked beyond my polished exterior and right into my soul
The gave me the love I needed to be made whole.

He - my king, my divine daddy, my heavenly father - 
Looked beyond me and saw a broken vessel in need of the potter.

Monique N. Fradieu (c) from her book "divine"definitivediva@yahoo.com

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COBWEBS IN THE CORNER

Cobwebs in the corner...........
In the corner of the room, it sits 
Like a monument to failure..
The chair she had bought for him to relax on,
For him to talk to on
Bought for his next time..

The house holds all the reminders
that even the screen cannot contain
The toys she purchased for him
To make things easier, to make him happy
stand like supple reminders that she was not wanted

A ring lying carelessly on the computer
Touching it lightly she stares into the distant past
She remembers how it felt when it slipped on her hand
As they lie with one another in her bed
and the glows of love still flickered

The candlesticks, a present from a friend
He was so eager to open and helped her to display
His curiosity, like a child's, warmed her heart
They lie hidden amidst the cluttered disarray, trying not to be seen
But, the moon and sun shine out to her to remember the scene

She rubs her finger where the permanent indentation is,
another constant reminder of her silent loss
Absently stroking her finger, until the stab of pain begins, 
she dismisses the thoughts
Then turning again, she is assailed by another thing he touched...
He is everywhere....why?
She sees him eating, and smiling, it races vividly back to the foreground

How can it be that someone who occupied such a short span 
of time in her world should have been able to leave an indelible mark?
Why can they not be eradicated so that she can just live without 
a moments thought of him, and the pain would fade
The house has been swept clean time and again
but the memories pop out from their hiding places

A small word, the laugh she loved, the kiss that echoed in her mind
why can't they be forgotten? His touch, tentative..shy
His mind so sharp, the ideas there, excitement when he spoke
She tried now to organize her useless time with deeds that do not get done,
Instead she works until the visions begin and then she stops
She cannot turn off the memories
Memories of the one that became for her supposedly, the "One"

So instead of moving past, the past attracts her like the magnet
Speeding back in time to the laughter and caresses
back to the split seconds she held so dear, that sustained her 
through so long knowing no more memories will be made
The minute seconds that drove her on, realization of how little 
she had touched him
The voice that talks to her in the night and will never speak again

Why do we only remember the good memories, 
Altering perceptions, after the pain has destroyed?
Why can we not remember how hurt and tiny one felt when he was near?
Why does the sweet laughter come now instead of the derisive laugh 
that tore her apart?
Why does the twinkle emerge now to take the place of the sneer she had 
known for so long?
And why can't she think of how he planned and lied and manipulated her,
................when she sees the tiny cobwebs in the corner?

Sandra Bushell (c) SatinFrog@aol.com

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5AM

Sometimes I lay awake a night
the silence dripping blood drops in my ear
Wishing, all over again, that I could hear
your sounds of sweetness and not this fear

Sometimes I lay awake at night 
when others rest their weary heads
with peace of mind, on love-filled beds.
these are the hours I've come to dread
having, I feel, no more tears to shed

Sometimes I lay awake at night
until the sun peeks from its cloud
and how the silence grows so loud
with emptiness only I've allowed

Sometimes I lay awake
and I wonder if you're okay
as I think of things that I should say
thinking that your love will stay
but, in a flash, it's gone away

Sometimes, like tonight, I lay awake
I don't even have the strength to pray
but as the night turns into day
and images of you fade away
faith tells me I will be okay.

Tyese Dantzler (c) destiny113@hotmail.com
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SOUNDS FROM AN OPEN DOOR

"Some one help me", she screams
As she falls against the hallway wall

"I love you", he says
The door slams, leaving heavy echoes that shatter strength

Her pounds weigh on the door
like shackles on a prisoners wrist

While the fear of loneliness
forces her to stay

Screams gain volume
her will grows silent
like a tragedy in the night
that goes unnoticed
As the fist falls on 
the already bruised face

"Tell me you love me", she says
"I need to hear it"
"Hit me again, so I can feel love"
"Lie to me again, as you say it's alright"
"Look at this face to see your touch"

Night passes 
pain remembers
bodies move

the mirror
reflects
a face
that shouldn't be there

The dim light
reveals
lines 
that hide from the sun

dank 
coated whispers
evoke
past dreams that died in youth

The cold floor
beneath
retraces
miles traveled that brought her
here

The taste of
blood
forces
her to pray

While the words
echo
off 
these stained walls

Paul Dahlke (c) 

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UNKNOWN FACES

My Friend, the Unknown face...
You drifted into my mine like the wind.
Innocent acquaintances, thanks for sharing your thoughts with mine.
You gave me friendship in a needed time.
A Beautiful memory you will always be.
Having just a gentle flirtation inside of me.

It was a stimulating HELLO with thoughts of a sunny day.
My sorrowfulness was lifted from my unknown dismay.

Wherever you may be at this time.
JUST Know, the caring you showed kept me in line.
YOU are the unknown face.
A friend in a cold place.

You were there for me.
No more than a friend, 
Yet 
Unknown to you, a friend you will always be to me.

Marilyn Antoinette Marshall (c) MBeeHoney@webcom.com
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A BLACK MAN

He knows better times are coming
even if they're no where in sight
how can he win the battle?  He needs
something in which to fight.

Let him enjoy his freedom, take away
those invisible chains, when will happiness
replace worry which invades his brain?
When he's mistreated he's asked to understand.

Well mountains aren't molehills, pleasure isn't 
pain.  He's truly a special person, I've witnessed
his traits, time and time again.  Who you ask is this 
hero?  He's A Black Man!

Tina Marie Clark (c) lryicist@bellsouth.net