Someone Just Like You

I met you just a week ago
With your sideways smile
On curling lips
And your gentle air, so strong, yet fair
Flowing from your fingertips
And in the hours that we spent
I felt such magic in the air
I love everything you are
From the words you say
To the clothes you wear
And inside of my whole life story
With all its' changes and its' twists
It's nice to know
That in this world
Someone just like you exists.

The Grapes Of Wrath

Inspired by the novel by John Steinbeck

People, real people,
Come here to live
They come here to work
Till the sweat drips down, quick,
They come here to laugh
With a sound, sweet and thick,
They come here to rest
When their loved ones are sick
They come here to sleep
Under stars that hang heavy
With dreams weaving
Whispers of wishes,
Wished steady
And out of respect
Comes a truth you can't touch
Your eyes will leak tears
If you ponder it much
And people come here
To feed children they bore
Children who eat,
And then ask for some more
And God shines His sun
At this place where we are
When the men gather 'round
As one strums the guitar
He sings about things
Everyone has felt some
And flowers grow tall here,
As ripe as lush plums
So come from a place
You can't stay anymore
Come to this camp
Where we all share the floor
And pick up your feet
When to walk is too much
For Love lives within,
Like a river must rush.

Your Song

Dedicated to T.S.

Tonight the sky is clear
And the stars blink out
Like sparkling gems
I walked outside
In the summer air
To answer you
As you called my phone
I asked you why
We haven't talked
When we've been friends
For far too long
To let it fall
And throw it away
I said that we
Would lose too much
And in reply
You said to me
All the reasons
That I'm wrong
Lame excuses,
Explanations
You laid them out
Like dominoes
Lined up neatly,
Side by side
And then
With one last final flick
You knocked all of
The dominoes down
And every thought
I've used on you
Every ounce
Of deep concern
Was stained and wrecked
To unrecognizable conditions
Then once again
You said I'm wrong
You said goodbye
And clicked the phone
As I stood there,
Shocked and surprised
With a raging ocean
Crashing inside of me
For as I told you
How I felt
My voice wavered
As I swallowed the knot
Tying up my vocal chords,
Strangling my beating heart
Then as we said goodbye
The knot untied
My heart collapsed
As tears streamed down
My naïve face;
I'm such a fool
For trusting you
I wonder if
The neighbors heard
On this clear night
As I stood outside
And sang your song
At the top of my lungs-
The song I wrote
Just for you as I
Sobbed and sobbed
For you being lost.

Wall-Flower Girl

I will never
Be the girl
Smiling, like a traffic light
A blinking signal,
Drawing eyes
Attention, admiration
Like lights for flies
I'm a little bit
Of a wall-flower girl
Hiding behind
Shyness and uncertainty
Never really knowing
If I'm good enough
Shooting too far
And trying too hard
I'm not that girl,
That effortless girl,
Who slides into her clothes
And swishes out the door
I trip over my feet
Too many times
To be like that
I look in the mirror
Then look away, quick,
Knowing that I
Am not that girl
With a million friends,
With a perfect face
Sometimes I ask,
What's wrong with me?
But other times,
Times like tonight,
I look at the moon
And say
THANK YOU, GOD,
Thank you that boys don't fall at my feet
Thank you that
I'm no one special
Just a heart full of love
And a beaming smile
And clumsy feet
And giving hands
I'm just me-
Katherine.

Battle

He sits outside
And stares into
The world that never
Turned his way
He breathes and hopes
That one day soon
Things will change,
He'll be alright
And no one knows
Except for me
How he feels or
How he dreams
Of days when he
Was young and strong
He'd play his songs
And sing along
His smile stuck
So well, like glue
He never knew
That one day soon
The colors coating
His very heart
Would change their shades
And then his art
Would go from gold
To midnight blue
And now whenever
He tries to smile
I see behind
Those sapphire eyes
The dripping tears
The lonely nights
I feel his pride,
Kicked in and torn
I see his shoes
So ripped and worn
From walking down
The giant hill
That represents
His battle, still,
He fights and fights
Gives in and crumbles
He runs, then walks,
Then trips and stumbles
And as he sits
There on the floor
My heart cries out
And even more
Than anything
I want to help
I know I'd give
My very self
To see him
Laugh out loud
Or smile
Because I know,
It's been a while.