A tickle

A kiss

From a ghost

The past whistles

And we wonder

What could have been

If only

If only

We had knew

Then

What we know

Now

If only we knew

The words

Weren’t in remembrance

Of what we lost

But a warning

Of what we’d lose

If we didn’t

Remember

A tickle

A kiss

From a ghost

A gentle breeze

We barely notice

As it passes

And we wonder

Only for a moment...

The stars waved goodbye

But the sun never rose

The moon melted away

But the sky stayed black

We all waited

With bated breath

For a new day

That would never come

Put so much faith

In a false chosen one

Now we sit

Some wondering why

Some in shame

And others always

Knowing

This would be the way

There was never

Any hope

No salvation

No new day

And now

We all knew

As we stared

Together

In the bleak

Rea...

Regina held her sister in her arms. Nina was only eighteen and now she’d never see nineteen. Her eyes stared blankly at the grey sky. The other girls had huddled around them, forming a shield of sorts.

“I warned her. I told her to step away from the horse. She didn’t listen.” The voice was self-assured. Regina could hear the justification in his voice. “The little wench got what she deserved.”

“...

She sat on the back porch, cigarette in hand, thinking. A steady white line of smoke rose from the glowing ember, twisting into the cold evening sky. Her eyes were streaked. Makeup mixed with tears.

Today her daddy died, and he’d never hug her again. She’d never see his crooked smile, or smell that cedar oak aroma when he walked into a room. He was a big man. Not fat but stocky. A body of a worke...

cold days

we drag ourselves

from warm beds

and soft pillows

to drink the morning brew

to wake our hearts

before the day starts

busy and bustling

the people move about

but don’t see

the invisible people

in the streets

torn clothes

in the cold

some are mad

some are ill

of body

of mind

some both

some just lost

as we all can be

at times

so we stir soup and

mend some clothes

hand out blankets

an...

“I think I just met the happiest person in the world!” The man yelled the words at the top of his lungs.

The clown frowned back at him and asked, “Who me?”

“Of course you! Look at that smile. Look at your bright clothes. Red nose! You have to be the happiest person in the world, right,” replied the man.

The clown laughed a little. “No, no. This is just a disguise. This is just makeup. The smile...