Latest World Poetry Movement Winners

August 2011 $1000 Grand Prize Winner

Ina Cudnok / Chicago, IL, United States – John Wayne, Goodbye

There is snow in the river
uneven pieces of red stained ice

On your mustache hangs December
the year is 1901

Go on, into the homestead house
where the old yolk wallpaper
matches your face
creaking cracking grinding
like a rusted rifle

I will steal your suit
smelling like the country-side
and wear it
to remember the birthing mountains
you and your horse once decorated with outlaws

I will lay next to you
with old skin and deserted lips -
- but don’t mistake this for a love poem
not even a lust bulletin
it’s a nostalgia

Goodbye to you
- you – leaving the mountains forever
the babbling brooks
the wooden handles and metal straws
the scorching sun
the winds soaked with gunpowder

I cannot bury your jacket
- it is unsuitable, disrespectful, foul -
I will let the emblem fly from the top of a mountain you created
the wind will lift it up like a Shooter lifts his saddle onto a horse

and your jacket
will be forever
swallowed
by the sky.

115 First Prize Winners for August 2011

Victoria Lara / Norwich, CT, United States Street Rats

Thvia Shetley / Palmdale, CA, United States Gorbals

Michael Hamm / Edmonton, AB, Canada Plate

Nicole Socala / Northridge, CA, United States The Sword Swallower

Edward Weiss / Rockville, MD, United States Combat Boots

Sarrai Smith / San Antonio, TX, United States I Cannot Eat My Soup

Gabriel Ambros / Miami, FL, United States My Love Story

Phil Cote / Prince George, BC, Canada The Shaman

Katrina DeLallo / Tahoe, CA, United States Only One Sacrifice

Alex Valin / Marietta, GA, United States Last Lament

Dylan Holmes / Albuquerque, NM, United States Banished

Aleta Okada / Tahoe City, CA, United States Koi

Rhonda Gaines / Cypress, CA, United States That Is Why These Things Are Thus So!

Valerie Huerta / Dallas, TX, United States Georgia O’Keefe

Cory Childs / Oviedo, FL, United States Amaranthus Caudatus

Dalton Kraus / Blanchard, OK, United States An End to Pride

Eric Perkins / Memphis, TN, United States Introspection

Jason Kaufman / Columbus, GA, United States Logis to In-existence

Yujin Chun / Diamond Bar, CA, United States Smear

Moriah Bray / Bushnell, FL, United States Transparency

Nick Kalvin / Naples, FL, United States Our Lady Cardinal’s Obsession

Gin Conn / Tucson, AZ, United States Getting Started

Dezaray Putnam / Spokane, WA, United States White and Red

Morgan Nakroshis / Laurel, MD, United States Tongues

Kayla Martin / Palm Coast, FL, United States Peeping Pirates

Amy Cavanaugh / Garnet Valley, PA, United States A February Night

Sam Williamson / Great Falls, MT, United States Cracking of the Can

Annie Phan / Albuquerque, NM, United States Hourglass

Mike Naundorff / Paterson, NJ, United States Perpetual Daydream

Jared Cauliffe / Rego Park, NY, United States You Are Destined to Collide with Winter

Ari Sen / Avondale, PA, United States The Garden

Katherine Payne / Ontario, CA, United States The Respiration of Homes

Emilee Wirshing / Harrisonburg, VA, United States On Modern Art

Sarah Wallis / Fort Drum, NY, United States Would You Like to Dine

Julia Juban / Austin, TX, United States In the House of Death

Jillian Schwalbe / Port Orange, FL, United States Love Bugs

Charlie Garvey / Cincinatti, OH, United States Crimson Sonnet

Demorge Brown / Los Angeles, CA, United States Friday June 4

Cona Adams / De Soto, MO, United States Five Cents a Dance

Tyrone Benson / Florissant, MO, United States Hugs & Smiles

Brittany Bryan / St. Louis, MO, United States China Dish

Sydney Bradley / San Francisco, CA, United States Resolution

Mary Hartong / Nashville, TN, United States Cups

Alex Paczek / St. Paul, MN, United States Aspiration

Peter Kelly / Greenwich, CT, United States Sara

Anna Donovan / Dallas, TX, United States Hands

Jaclyn Mijat / Dearborn Heights, MI, United States Striking Matches

R.H. Peat / Auburn, CA, United States Hidden Darkness

Mary Moffitt / Granbury, TX, United States Desert Sands

Jim Miller / Clearlake, IA, United States Ode to the Timber Wolves

Debbie Kerr / Redding, CA, United States Travel Channel

Sean Zimmerman / York, PA, United States Grease Bucket

Barbara Tierney / Emeryville, CA, United States Bounty

Jason Kallas / Livonia, MI, United States Back Alley Kings

Courtney Johnson / Columbia, SC, United States Rough Hands Sow Seeds

Jeff Perkins / Kansas City, MO, United States Living Scripture

Dalton Kraus / Blanchard, OK, United States Artificial Sky

Lynette Ortiz / Shreveport, LA, United States Fade to Black

Tori Shepard / Moraga, CA, United States On Webs and Waiting

Shaila Huq / Howell, NJ, United States The Orchid Blooms

Mary Stowd Stowe / Bentonville, AR, United States My Secret

Olga Ziminska / Wheeling, IL, United States Car Ride with Bruce Willis and Steve Buscemi

Emily Gillespie / Bowling Green, KY, United States Grandmother Poem

Alex Goulart / Roanoke, VA, United States Bereavement

Teghvir Sethi / Old Westbury, NY, United States A Day in the Life

Timothy Tusing / Troy, NY, United States Lepidoptera

Elizabeth Morales / San Fernando, CA, United States A Tinge of Love

William Harned / Cortland, OH, United States Baker’s Bread

William Courson / Miamisburg, OH, United States Cheerful Man

Gabbi Korrow / Langley, WA, United States Revolution

Acacia Woodbury / San Antonio, TX, United States Interpret the Stones

Amanda Berg / Tucson, AZ, United States For the Lack of a Bottle Opener on June 15

Yehoshuah Young / Los Angeles, CA, United States Villian L

Cheyenne Carbaugh / Marysville, PA, United States Marionette

Niki Afsar / Vienna, VA, United States Uncharted Territory

Rex Ybanez / Bolivar, MO, United States Tumbling

Kim McAdam / Grand Bay-Westfield, NB, Canada The Bearskin Rug

Sebastien Wen / Calgary, AB, Canada Benko Blues

Devan Pride / Roseville, OH, United States Remembrance

Sabrina Myers / Gouverneur, NY, United States The Unburied Soul

Steve Ruth / Elkhorn City, KY, United States Rose in a Bottle

Natalie James / Hazlet, NJ, United States The Apple

Stanley Kusunoki / St. Paul, MN, United States Culloden

Corie Ann / Middle Island, NY, United States Left Unfinished Eleven

Art Griswold / Gaines, MI, United States Scallop

Micaela Cain / South Windsor, CT, United States South Windsor High School Graduation Poem

Babel Carlota / Lake Elsinore, CA, United States Plastico

Ashley Bigda / Cambridge, MD, United States In the Catacombs

Michael Saccone / Gilroy, CA, United States In the Rain

Ian Griffin / Sneads, FL, United States Bloom

Mickayla Staten / Spring, TX, United States Unraveled

Alicia Sala / Racine, WI, United States A Hot Cup of Cold Blood

Emily Smith / Manasquan, NJ, United States Love, Dost Thou Follow?

Aaron Feuchtwanger / Flower Mound, TX, United States The White Spring

Alan Clark / Charlestown, NH, United States Dream

Cyndi Koster / Dayton, MD, United States At Stake

Cory Gray / Bethel Heights, AR, United States This Is Goodbye

Rhianna Major / Wedgefield, SC, United States Chess

Crazie Pallaza / Bronx, NY, United States A Calling Voice

McKenna Horsley / Raceland, KY, United States The Cat

Alexa Ashley / Canon City, CO, United States The End of the End

Jessica Santala / Mankato, MN, United States Boxcar for the Unrequited

Lisa Fox / Waterford, MI, United States Bring a Gun

Albert Tung / Irvine, CA, United States Lemonade

Jessica Jackson / London, ON, Canada As My World Turns

Katelyn Boulton / Monroe, MI, United States Empty Moon

McKenzie Hightower / Fort Worth, TX, United States Convergence

Courtney Atkinson / Cuttingsville, VT, United States Nobody Knows

Michael Lambert / Platteville, WI, United States Dive

Alice Golter / Cambridge, MN, United States Ode to a Letter

Sarah Kilili / San Jose, CA, United States Two Holes

Beatrice Martin / Virginia Beach, VA, United States Panoply

Jackson Wright / Arlington, VA, United States Only in Dreams

Colin Freeman / Lake Orion, MI, United States 2 A.M.

Emily Walter / London, ON, Canada Inside the Forest: a Villanelle

Spring 2011 $1000 Grand Prize Winner

• Carly Miller / Portland, MI, United States – A Most Futile Chase

  
  

  Carly Miller, Portland, MI

  Climbing the stars with a thrum beneath my footsteps,

  Clouds of my secrets – subconscious as they are conscious,

  Quiet as they are screaming – bloom in the bleeding sky.

  Groves of shadows laced in thickets of gnarled branches,

  Stargazing at the comet-ridden sky.

  Constellations stretched across me; inked in – so crimson deep.

  We are all beautiful liars and cunning mask bearers,

  Fragile tear wearers.

  Strung out – the lot of us – mirroring one another,

  Connected at paper chain hands.

  Welcome back to the living – welcome back to the ranks of the walking dead.

  I search pools of murky water, caves of crumbling stone.

  I venture in houses reek with the whispers trapped in their haunted limbs.

  Where is it, that thing I so desire?

  Darling, come out, come out – wherever you are.

  You fleeting wretched child they call the truth.

  I want to save you.

First Place

• Jenniffer Carbaugh / Chambersburg, PA, United States – Relapse

  
  

  Jenniffer Carbaugh, Chambersburg, PA

  It is hard to call it by its name.

  Because, to me,

  I am still the one to blame.

  The sound is still sharp.

  Bulimia,

  Is what thrust that gash into my heart.

  Thinking back to that night.

  It is by far my worst memory,

  And by far my weakest fight.

  My relapse was quick.

  Hugging that cold porcelain,

  I couldn’t even hear the echo of making myself sick.

  Throwing up is usually brutal and violent,

  But in all my practice

  It has become smooth and silent.

• Rebecca Jones / Phenix City, AL, United States – Crimson Snow

  
  

  Rebecca Jones, Phenix City, AL

  I never knew nothing and everything could be felt all at once.

  The emptiness and bloodstained snow proved that the deed was done.

  Noises from the trees were around me, yet there were no sounds.

  I lied in the snow, never wanting to be found.

  Warm arms pulled me in a sudden embrace.

  My eyes gradually widened when I saw his solemn face.

  It took a moment for reality to punch me in the gut.

  As tears poured and a scream escaped, my eyes squeezed shut.

  My arms flailed to my sides, entangling my hands in his hair.

  His harsh look became a gentle and intense stare.

  ‘I thought you died,’ I yelled at the top of my lungs. “”I thought you left me here.”"

  He smiled that simple grin,’ I told you I’d always be near.”"

  He pressed his lips to the top of my head.

  Blood covered his hands, turning them crimson red.

  Our fingers intertwined as I ignored it.

  Suddenly a throbbing pain in my chest hit.

  ‘I love you,”" he whispered as the warmth that protected me began to fade.

  The pain felt as if it was a sharpened blade.

  The body once before me turned immediately to dust.

  A strong wind carried him away in a gigantic gust.

  Thousands of pins and needles felt as if they twisted in my heart,

  Tearing me slowly and slowly apart.

  My eyes bulged when I realized I plunged the knife to escaped this world.

  Months ago, I would’ve never been such a love-stricken girl.

  The knife fell to the ground as I had the knowledge I would die.

  Let’s bloom the sweet flowers of suicide.

• Ashton Newman / Trinity, AL, United States – Moonlight Melodies

  
  

  Ashton Newman, Trinity, AL

  Melancholy notes drift through the breeze

  Suspending every breath they seize

  Stealing every broken wish and hidden sorrow

  Embracing the gaze of one who will never see tomorrow

  Holding captive every sob and tear

  Unrequited love and heartbreak it holds near

  The emotion of a funeral in every chord

  Each a final prayer to their lord

  Memories of times past

  Thoughts of how the good times never last

  Unrealized hopes and dreams

  A fake smile and everything that isn’t as it seems

  Pure life entwined with every line

  Grief and loss, a distant “”I’ll be fine”"

  The harmony enveloping every dull ache

  Deep regret that’s hard to shake

  The symphony is of these emotions and lost chances

  Alongside the midnight moonlight, this broken melody dances

• Mary-Anne Ramirez / Newburgh, NY, United States – Where the Road Parts

  
  

  Mary-Anne Ramirez, Newburgh, NY

  Part from me you crescent moon
  Tell the sky he is wasting his time

  Tell him that the night is forever young
  And the truth has slipped off her tongue

  In areas where no men abide
  And her innocence has died

  Petty is the one who bears no name
  Seeking splendor that’s never quite the same

  Cursed her to suffer the act of desire
  Destined to breathe to be admired

  And reach the common fate
  When another takes her place

  The fabric of time that they shared
  Such a wondrous and star-crossed pair

• Dylan McDougall / Salisbury, MA, United States – Overdosed on Thought

  
  

  Dylan McDougall, Salisbury, MA

  I use writing as an anti-depressant.

  I despise what I do, but I don’t resent it.

  I slit my wrists with paper and ink

  I smoke my thoughts and inject what I think.

  I crush my misery,

  Then snort my pride

  I’m a manic addict

  With nothing to hide

  I scream, I’ll yell

  But I won’t open my mouth.

  Headaches from silence

  Yet, that’s what life’s about.

  Poetic knife

  And a metaphoric noose

  I’m condemned in this cage

  With no intention of break loose.

• Elizabeth Wesley / Beamsville, ON, Canada – Pilgrims Without Progess

  
  

  Elizabeth Wesley, Beamsville, Ontario

  Clouds

  Clouds of lace fly high in the sky,

  They ride the wind and rest in the blue.

  Their billowing white should not deny,

  The right of passage going through.

  The darkened clouds are bringing rain,

  They whisper secrets left unsaid.

  The drink they bring is sweet champagne,

  To kiss the flowers that bloom in their bed.

  Clouds catch the winds of the restless bird,

  They ply the wind and sing their song.

  They carry it to all where it’s not been heard,

  With the breath of neither right nor wrong.

  The wind that comes blows the puff of white,

  It takes the clouds and leaves them alone.

  Then all that is left is the scattered light,

  For the clouds that were, have now gone home.

• Justin Forrest / Baltimore, MD, United States – L. S. Dillusional

  
  

  Justin Forrest, Baltimore, MD

  One way out 3 ways in,

  Trapped I feel scared again.

  Within within within this room must be a sea,

  Octpi 3 eyes derranged to be.

  Two divide three a numerical code,

  Numbers errupt to cave me old,

  Slave me sold so wombats can fly,

  Why does that bus driver have a 6th nose and a 4th eye?

  Running, I run to run I do,

  So the ninja in blue is coming for Lou?

  Darkest powers in the secrete home,

  But beyond a world a world I zone.

  I see I see I see, but do eyes see,

  Mystery among the clear view,

  Why does a sea of beasts scare you?

  To see look see I do,

  The tearful tree coming into.

• Abigayle Maxwell-Morris / Jacksonville, IL, United States – Black Star
• Adam McCray / Cassopolis, MI, United States – The Garden of Adam
• Alleigh Tooker / Zeeland, MI, United States – Pride
• Amanda Bulger / Omaha, NE, United States – Glint
• Ashley Hyshka / Saskatoon, SK, Canada – Black Rain
• Brittany Castellon / San Bernardino, CA, United States – The Abuse
• Caitlin David / Torrance, CA, United States – Sight
• Chris Bevans / Leesport, PA, United States – Disease
• Chris Eubank / Greenacres, FL, United States – Desiderium
• Christopher Beasley / St Albert, AB, Canada – Horizons
• Courtney Stone / Loveland, OH, United States – Afraid of Heights
• David Obrzut / Colorado Springs, CO, United States – A Faint Stir
• Emily Harris / Conway, AR, United States – My Hundredth Plunge from Grace
• Hailey Haindel / Mandeville, LA, United States – The Tall Tale of Liberty
• John Hufnagel / Jackson, MI, United States – Lost
• Jonathan Friedman / Thornhill, ON, Canada – The Rose
• Julia Carey / East Amherst, NY, United States – The Expostulating Death
• Kathryn Busch / Minden, NV, United States – Tragic Love
• Kaylee Sullivan / North Augusta, SC, United States – Where I’m From
• Kimberly Rose / Hermitage, TN, United States – My Heart
• Matthew Bernard / Tucson, AZ, United States – How to Talk to Yourself
• Mike Mason / New Castle, CO, United States – Misery
• Nicole Lauber / Belleville, KS, United States – Breaking Chains
• Rachel Teague / Batesville, AR, United States – The Silence
• Raina Wilcox / Allen, TX, United States – As I Rise
• Sabrina Shaw / Toronto, ON, Canada – Milk on the Floor
• Shaylee Dumoulin / Thunder Bay, ON, Canada – My Words
• Stephen Owens / Jacksonville, FL, United States – Prisoner of a Gray Island
• Steven Munsie / Laval, QC, Canada – Fate Comes Calling
• Taylor Humm / Crystal Lake, IL, United States – Hopeless Void
• Tori Letarte / Errol, NH, United States – Wounded Rainbow
• Victoria Tilghman / Flemington, NJ, United States – The Monster
• Wesley Russell / Palo Alto, CA, United States – My Smile Has Faded

Second Place

• Kristen Hudson / Meridian, MS, United States – High School Hourglass

  
  

  Kristen Hudson, Meridan, MS

  Day one we were engulfed by the size of this school
  We were the little guys tryin’ to act cool

  Truth be told we were all scared to death

  From butterflies in our tummies to shortness of breath
  But some way, somehow we managed to survive

  This was the beginning of the next 4 years of our lives

  Bonds were made, and young hearts were broken

  Regrets sometimes surfaced from words left unspoken
  We sat in our desks longing for the bell

  The ticking of the clock was torturous hell

  9 times out of 10, we dreaded this place

  But as we say goodbye, we’re over that phase
  From dread to acceptance, our feelings suddenly switch lanes

  Desperately tryin’ to hang on to what little time that remains

  Graduation glances around the corner ready for the prowl

  We soak up as many memories that time will allow
  Sand slips through the hourglass

  Four years of grain has fallen fast

  From the bottom to the top, we’ve come a long way

  From fish to top dogs, this is our day

• Joyce Wright / Purvis, MS, United States – Dew Drop Rose

  
  

  Joyce Wright, Purvis, MS

  Melancholy notes drift through the breeze

  Suspending every breath they seize

  Stealing every broken wish and hidden sorrow

  Embracing the gaze of one who will never see tomorrow

  Holding captive every sob and tear

  Unrequited love and heartbreak it holds near

  The emotion of a funeral in every chord

  Each a final prayer to their lord

  Memories of times past

  Thoughts of how the good times never last

  Unrealized hopes and dreams

  A fake smile and everything that isn’t as it seems

  Pure life entwined with every line

  Grief and loss, a distant “”I’ll be fine”"

  The harmony enveloping every dull ache

  Deep regret that’s hard to shake

  The symphony is of these emotions and lost chances

  Alongside the midnight moonlight, this broken melody dances

• William Harkins / Safety Harbor, FL, United States – Noah Riley

  
  

  William Harkins, Safety Harbor, FL

  My heart was racing,

  my mind bracing.

  Praying for a miracle, and

  hoping the doctors weren’t right.

  That my little boy that kicked me from his momma’s belly,

  would cry when delivered, and be alright.

  Silence…Quiet as can be…

  My perfect little boy, HAD been taken from me.

  How I long for some meaning,

  my heart aches deep inside,

  Questions unanswered, no reasons why.

  No comfort to be had, only more tears to cry,

  As I hold you for the first, and last time.

  In my heart you will stay,

  but forever you’ll be,

  An Angel above watching,

  your twin sister Natalie.

  My first born son,

  Noah Riley.

• Rachel Faure / Fontanna, CA, United States – My Dear Love

  
  

  Rachel Faure, Fontanna, CA

  My Dear Love, I ask you with great sorrow,I ask you with great plea.I ask you for your hand,won’t you please marry me.I ask you today,I ask you tomorrow.I ask you right now with so much great sorrow.Hoping some day we might just wed,so come with me we’ll paint the town red.I’ll love you now,I’ll love you later,I’ll love you forever and never be a hater.I love that sent,that lavender aroma.You smell alot better than Yukki Soma.Our love is deep,deep in with. I love you more than great uncle Smith. I ask you tonight to come to the great ball,we’ll have a great time with you and all.Won’t you tell me now my valentine, won’t you right now be all mine.I love how you always have great grammar,I promise I will never hit you with a hammer.I tell you right now hot or cold, do you even like bright and bold.Roses are red and violets are blue, let me just tell you how much I love you.Violets are blue and roses are red, just say good night and lets go bed.

• Autumn Rose Phillips / Moline, IL, United States – The Real Me

  
  

  Autumn Rose Phillips, Moline, IL

  What you see when you see me isn’t really the real me.

  The real me hides, in my shadow it collides, with all the fears from all the years.

  The mask I wear, eventually will rip and tear, and there will be the real me.

  The real me has so many secrets, they overflow my brain.

  The real me has so many hurts, there’s always a little pain.

  The real me will never show herself to the world.

  She lives in her own fairyland, that was her original plan.

  She frolics with pople who shall never criticize,

  People who will never bring tears to her eyes.

  They keep her happy, and make her float through life without noticing the pain and the strife.

  But the real world has cut its way in, with all the sorrow and all the sin.

  The laughter and teasing, the loving and pleasing, the hating and killing, the bloodbath spilling.

  The giggles and whispers down the hall.

  The way your mind seems to stall, to flip channels like a T.V. set, not sure what to watch yet.

  But still life moves on forward and fast, and all is forgotten in the past.

  What you see when you see me, isn’t really the real me.

  The real me hides, in my shadow it collides with all the fears from all the years.

  The mask I wear eventually will rip and tear, and there will be.. the Real Me

• Lisa Brice / Memphis, TN, United States – My Serenity

  
  

  Lisa Brice, Memphis, TN

  I raised my head up towards the sky and my thoughts disppeared. I know from now on there’s nothing to fear. The calm of the earth, When everything is still. My life, my troubles are enough to kill. I am a child of god and I Know he won’t give me more than I can handle, for my lord to guild me he keep a lit candle.

• Tiffany Molock / Pacifica, CA, United States – From the Storm . . .

  
  

  Tiffany Molock, Pacifica, CA

  I stream through vast open space.

  I bring joy and happiness to all who gaze upon me.

  I am a premonition of a bright future.

  I weild hope when such is thought extinct.

  My circumference cut in half…my ends are lined with gold.

  My smile titanic in nature of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo.

  I never forewarn.

  I appear and disappear upon gloomy circumstance.

  I can vanish within seconds or procrastinate minutes longer.

  Once light is shed, in combination with H2O, I will formulate through partitions of the horizon.

  Miles of distance between my prominent stance.

  I do not threaten.

  I come in peace.

  I come with the presence of love so tender in monumental display.

  I will never hurt nor frown upon the angels beneath me.

  What am I?

• Megan Wilson / Nanaimo, BC, Canada – The Mask

  
  

  Megan Wilson, Nanaimo, British Columbia

  As the morning sun doth rise

  So do the people in disguise

  One attempt apparently not enough

  In the end looking rough

  Hiding behind a shield

  Finding no need to yield

  Another day, another fear

  Found it there, found it here

  Becoming the person you never thought

  Fighting the fight, that needs to be fought

  Living your life staring from behind

  Just trying to keep piece of mind

  Days go by, and then another

  Just hiding and hiding undercover

  Waiting only for the day to be exposed

  Just for the day I don’t oppose

  People look but they don’t care

  Listen, but it’s too much to bear

  Tomorrow is a new day, I think to myself

  Maybe then I can hide my stealth

  As the sun doth set beautifully in night skies

  So dearly rest; those in disguise

  This day now gone, next soon to be

  Perhaps then, the people will see

• Jody Gudbranson / Alexander, MB, Canada – A Cowboy’s Life

  
  

  Jody Gudbranson, Alexander, Manitoba

  Spurs and Saddles, Ropes and Boots,

  Are the beginning of a Cowboy’s Roots.

  Horses and Cattle, Trucks and Trailers,

  Always winners, Never failures.

  Rodeos and Ropings, People having fun,

  Up and down many roads, Always on the run.

  Buckles, Trophies, Braggin’ Rights, and Pride,

  Gets them all pumped up for their next big Ride!!

• Rachael Rucker / Marietta, GA, United States – An Invisible

  
  

  Rachael Rucker, Marietta, GA

  “It’s so easy to be an invisible,

  To be the one who stands in a corner,

  While others laugh and talk around you,

  To know that whether you’re here or not,

  Makes no difference to them,

  It’s so easy to be an invisible,

  To laugh and be happy for others,

  But to have no one to laugh and be happy for you,

  To be the one who waits on others,

  Rather than the one who is waited on,

  It’s easy to be an invisible,

  When on the outside you are smiling,

  And the inside you are crying,

  When everyone else is partying,

  And you are home reading,

  Yeah,

  It’s pretty easy to be an invisible.

• Erin Alexanders / Fort McMurray, AB, Canada – Because of You

  
  

  Erin Alexanders, Fort McMurray, Alberta

  “You never gave up

  You always knew

  How to make a change

  A change in your life, a change in you

  You gave me the strength

  To walk my own way

  To clear my mind of what was

  Then and gone by

  You never knew me

  Never even heard of me

  But it feels like you’re a part of me.

  Because of you

  Now I know what I want,

  Who I really want to be

  It’s always you

  You’re the one, always listen to

  I can feel it inside, you’re the one

  If I could, I would live

  Like an ordinary young girl

  From a small town, Ontario

  Because of you I’m not just any ordinary girl

  I’m young, strong and free,

  You gave it all to me.

  You never really knew me

  Never even heard of me

  But it feels like you’re a part of me

  Because of you

  I know what I want,

  Who I really want to be

  You gave me

  What I needed,

  Inspiration.

  The motivation.

  Times got tough

  But you, you showed me the way.

  Your melody is my remedy.

  Feels like you’re

  A part of me

  Feels like you knew me,

  Saw me

  A million time before.

  You speak to me.

  Because of you

  I know who I want to be

  It’s all I needed of you

• Katja Hobson / El Paso, TX, United States – A Partner of War

  
  

  Katja Hobson, El Paso, TX

  We were getting ready to be deployed. To go fight for our country that is trying to be destroyed. Because of the soldiers like my partner and I, Our country still stands up with pride. The day that we were getting ready to leave, My partner’s wife came up to me. She asked me to take care of her man, So I took that request in hand. I did do my best to honor her request, To stick to her request at my best. We stuck together day and night, Being brave soldiers that were ready to fight. One day we were driving down the road. And then in a wishful moment as we were going for a ride, He diapered right before my eye. I turned around, and he I did not see. Then I looked again, to see what lied before me. A bullet had hit him in seconds to be. It was my partner that was lying before me. He was chosen to be the soldier to prove to the rest, That we will die for our country at no request. Yes it was my partner, who died fighting for our country, But he will always be remembered as a hero from now and ever after to be, As part of the family tree. So I shall always remember, day by day, That I did do my best, as I did say. So our prayers go out for his family, And they shall always remember that he is a hero that has proven to others, That we will never give up fighting for our brothers.
  God Bless Our Soldiers!

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