"When I was young I had a dog. My parents decided that we couldn't afford it. It was the Depression." She told the story once more. Their mother had told it before. They always tried to understand. "It was on Christmas Eve. I cried that night. My dog came back in the morning. I thought it was a miracle." When they heard the story they were happy. The first time. "My father gave it away again. We were poor." Hearing the st...

My grandma and I sat on the bench, watching the river. I was eight, and she was almost eighty.“You see how still the river is, love?” she asked as she drew me close to her. “The deeper the river, the stiller it becomes.”I nodded.“Be like this river as you grow up. So deep, they will wonder and be drawn towards you. So still, you reflect all the beauty around you. So strong, you can mold your path the way you want it to.”“...

When I was young I thought I knewall the answers to get me throughall the troubles that came along,but now I see how very wrongthat thinking was and now I knoweach trial was meant to help me growanother branch upon life's treeto make me the person I'm meant to be. 

I remember the night when it started. The dark mass that haunted me in my room.My friends and I were playing tag along the edge of the woods. It was becoming dark, and the noises in the forest began. Crickets chirping. Toads bellowing. Owls hooting. The fireflies lighting their paths in flight.As we walked home, the brightest one flew close, and that's when I grabbed her. I held her loose as she lighted the hollow of my f...

I was six years old at a county fair in the autumn of nineteen fifty-eight. My dad won for me a big blue balloon with his skill at pitching straight. That balloon was my pride and joy for the rest of that cotton candy night. As we departed, that big blue balloon slipped my grip and rose out of sight. It rose to the stars, the sky swallowed it up, and my mother comforted me as I cried. “Rub your chest and make a wish, rais...

As a child she was always the fat kid the one everyone always made fun of. The one who tried to show kindness and empathy but all it got her was hurt. At age 5 tried defending herself from a peer and got the cane at school and the belt at home so learnt that it was wrong. At 13 told she was stupid and couldn’t so learnt not to try At 15 had a crush and tried to catch their attention but learnt she was ugly and boys just d...

Talk to me like lovers doAnd Walk with me like lovers doAndHold my hand like lovers doAndHug me close like lovers doAnd Kiss my cheek like lovers doAnd Remember I will always give what I have to youAnd I will stand through it all with youAnd I will never forget where I've been for youAnd I will look into the precious future by youAndI will plan this life as a grand feast with you AndRemember You were the glory and the gle...

I SwearEngland. South Shields, 1967. I leaned against our back gate, acting the big man in front of the bloke next door. Mouthing off to him and swearing even though he'd already complained a couple of times to Ma about my bucket-mouth. Thinking I was so big and clever, the other kids looked on. They were keen to see what happened next.I should have realised something bad was coming my way when their eyes widened in shock...

I want to teach my dog,Some tricks that are new,Like sit, fetch and heel,As a dog’s expected to do.But after many hours,Things are not going good,For despite all my efforts,She won’t do as she should.She can’t fetch to save her life,And it’s just a little ball,But instead of carrying it back,She’ll just let it slip and fall.My nerves are starting to fray,It seems that I’ll never win,Far from concerned with her failures,Sh...