Teenage

Breathe
The four walls have gone
And the clean little blanket
Can calm your soul with the son

The son of the earth
As you stand on its back
And since the dawn of birth
Breathe

Little wolf, little wolf
Come rise from your sleep
For the full moon arises
And your soul you should keep

Little blanket, little blanket
Come curl round your skin
And cover the wounds
That lie now within

And I can feel your hurting
And I know you’re in pain
But your mother has come home
To comfort you again

Your mother the moon, round in colour
And there’s no one kinder, no other your mother
It’s time to stop bleeding and crying inside
From the past you have hidden but no longer can hide

It will no longer hurt and you’ll bleed no more
For the moon has returned and your heart it hath tore
The shadows have come as your friends once more
And to the voice say, I say shut the silver door

Listen
That feeling of freedom
It’s not easily understood, throw away the four walls
And let me out if you could

Because a dying wolf cannot breathe
In the forests of the man
In a little wooden box
Please… I don’t know if I can

Try living in the forests
The forests of the earth
And watch the earth care well for the wolf
From your death until your birth

Breathe
Little wolf, little wolf
For the one day today it’s over
The pain of your thoughts, the game of naughts
In your head for now it’s over

And for once you can breathe in the moonlight
And feel the blanket of the wind on your face
And hold my hand as we walk with the moon
Over the Earth, in this glorious place.

Your smooth surface
The color that is brown
You were tossed by the sea
But refused to drown
Rolling and washing
Day in and day out
The raging sea
Threw you about
Your jagged edges gone
You’re now a smooth stone
You’ve landed on the beach
That has become your new home

Glow is better than the dark,
We see ahead
the world’s not black
thanks to you
we can see the light
You illuminate our lives with your presence
along the way can be cloudy
but on a given day the glow is handy
Your glow is what we need
to keep going in the direction that’s bright
thanks to you
we can see the light

Are they real?
So it be
The scent of flowers,
bugs that buzz,
and plants that see,
kids that share,
and parents that care,
Look up, look down, what do you see?
Lost things are gone,
and I am here.
We are here.
grass grows,
clouds far away, that have faces that blow,
and the sun that shines,
moon glistens before time,
shadows chase,
and guns go off
Are they real?
So it be

I was but a cloud amongst others in a sorrowful sky
The thirsty ground beneath looked up with a tear-streaked face
As a child I ate a bitter orange in the corner, clothes patterned with my mother’s sigh
Cold raindrops hit dangling threads, showering me with dirt and grace

Then the translucent glass-like skin our parents made us, broke
Littered and stained with your cigarette holes and burns
We stitched wounds with a crumbling golden thread, whilst trying to stoke
A flame with only our words

The leaves are now covered with frost, and bruises litter the now empty space
The once cared for flames dead, the bitterness turning blue the palest heart
For me to once more fall into the sun’s embrace
For it was not death but life and love that tore us apart

She’s losing her hope
Her heart is gone
She ignores the pain
She’s dying inside
Her screams are silent
She’s lost in the depths

I am 14 year old,
Light Skin and mixed as can be
But this is my shade of brown as you can see
I was born in Chicago, brought up in Catholic schools
But it’s funny because I’m not Catholic I’m Baptist.
I was always doubted by my peers,
Nevertheless, you just seat back, eat some popcorn and watch and see.
My family says at times I can be a drama queen
So, since the age of eight acting has been my destiny
When I think of life, I see opportunity for me and you
Because we’re the carbon copy of are ancestors
A strong willed group of African Americans.
I loved to to be silly and laugh at life,
Because you only get one chance at life
So I’m going to live mine to the fullest.
Life throws you and me some tough curve balls
That when you even write about it even makes your paper bleed.
Nevertheless, I rise as the sun does every day
Rain or shine, I still get back up.
I get back up because I’m free
My ancestors fought too hard to get us the same education
as my fellow Americans
Now this is me, well most of me
Just tune in later when this seed becomes a tree
This is my story now go tell yours

Like every star that shines upon us,
You continue to shine in the hearts of your beloved.
No storm, no rain can wipe the love you have painted
in the hands you have held
and in the hearts you have touched.
As we stand before the threshold of our memories,
we have nothing but prayers to offer, tears to shed.
This is the deepest secret that we hold.
You will always remain in our hearts.

To start this year’s Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Dancers, perched on stilts and costumed in the head and body of a lion
Prance and weave around a crowd of 50,000.
The loud crashing of cymbals and heavy drum beats
Reverberate through the verdant hills of the island
While children in crimson and gold changpaos sway high above the crowds
Balanced on tiny seats atop steel rods.

The rhythmic pulse of the drums reaches a crescendo,
As red clothed dancers stamp wildly,
Waving their arms in a blur of tangerine, azure blue, jade and cardinal red,
Their spirited movements driving away the demons that lurk along the pathways.
The pungent odor of sandalwood fills the air
Swirls of smoke from long red incense sticks to appease the gods
The God Pak Tai and the Goddess Tin Hau for smooth sailing and plentiful fish
Gods Kuan Yin and Hung Hsing, for mercy.

The procession reaches its destination –
Three sixty-foot steel pillars embellished in white plastic buns
With the Chinese characters 平安, safe and peaceful
Written on the buns in magenta pink.
Murmurs turn into cheers as the drumbeat gets louder.
Three chosen climbers race up to grab the highest buns atop the giant towers,
Hawkers wheel out 20,000 buns freshly steamed in their bamboo baskets,
And the smells of lotus seed, red bean and black sesame paste fill the air.

The sun covers the sky in a blanket of salmon pink
As people devour roasted pork
While listening to the dulcet tones of Chinese opera singers.
As the midnight moon shines above,
Flames of red illuminate the island,
The burning the effigy of the King of the Ghosts
To bring an end to this year’s Cheung Chau Bun Festival.

You love me
I love you
We belong together
I’ll be your true lover
Forever we’ll rule