Poetry Challenge #2:

Title: Attempt at Rehab
Writer: Varrsity

Hello everyone…………this should be fun
While greeting the group
I gave a fake smile, followed by a wave
Honestly, I don’t know why I’m here
Oh wait…because the bottle holds me hostage, I’m alcohol’s slave
Don’t shed tears, pour beer on my grave
So the maggots who will eat my flesh
Can taste what led me here.
I’m compulsive and I intake an uncontrolled consumption
Liquor is the reason why I’m not fit to be a husband
This chemical dependency
Never leaves me feeling empty
When people try to befriend me
I ignore them until my bottle is consumed in its entirety
No one will hire me because the bottle admires me.
Inebriated, intoxicated, beyond wasted
Is how my days are spent.
Blotto, the headlines will read
“Ex role model had an unnerving addiction, it was his
Over the counter prescription and often slurred his diction
And made him sound like he had a speech impediment.”
Blame my social environment, stress, and my family history
Blame genetics, it’s in me
The blood of alcoholics runs thru my veins
I find it hard to maintain when problems and worry
Plague the brain.
A physical and mental strain,
We all need something to make us feel sane.
Why am I here anyway?
Rehab is for quitters,
Losers,
Cowards,
And pessimists
I’m optimistic about what appears in my glass.
This is closure, my confession is over, I feel weird being sober
I at least need to be tipsy.
------What time does the bar open and who is coming with me?

Title: "I've seen your addiction affect your life in the following ways..."
Writer: Julie Harris

Naw, man, this ain't no intervention.
This addiction that you call an affliction, or even a sickness,
Has affected everyone around you.
I see it as a weakness,
That you let surround you.
You wake up with a bottle in your hand,
Now only a shadow of the man
You once were.
 
Knowing how to keep your "secret,"
Almost becomes a game,
You have no shame,
Taking a shot of peppermint schnapps,
As you're being stopped by the cops,
Hoping it masks the smell.
 
When will you begin to think
One more drink
Will make you lose it all?
How far do you have to fall?
Doesn't it cross your mind,
When your kids don't eat,
To admit that you're weak?
 
Blacking out every night,
You beat on your wife
Within an inch of her life,
Then turn to your daughter,
Now her face so swole, her eyes can't even water.
Wake up in the morning, askin what hit her,
Can't remember a thing, but just blame it on the liquor.
 
You can't even drink for fun anymore...
Without it, your body gets sore.
You start to shake, sweat,
Then you beg and plead for more. 
It's your habit,
And you got the nerve to talk about the crack addict.
Like you're better, because you don't shoot, snort, or smoke.
You're not better, that's all just a joke.
 
Your body is deteriorating, but you can't stop.
That puddle of urine you're soaked in every morning,
That's just a warning.
The rest of your body will start to fail,
You're trapped in your own private jail,
Because even when you're dying, you can't quit,
Probably be buried with your bottle.
 
No, this isn't an interention,
I'm releasing some tension
Hoping you get the lesson
Before it's too late....
But maybe...
You've already sealed your fate.

Title: Untitled
Writer: Demetrice Prince

Thoughts flow rapidly through the mind.
Through all the chaos stupidity emerges as king.
Feelings of self-pity are all too common.
Look in the mirror.
What do you see?
A shadow of what was and can never again be.
Look closer...
I'm here for you.
Stare into my gaze.
Let me take away all the pain.
Let me take away the hurt.
Crumbling and decayed is your body,
Let me take away the hurt.
Take me in your hands.
Caress me with throbbing fingers.
Tell me I'm the only one,
That we'll never part.
I'm with you until the end.
Say you love me.
You can never leave me!
I'm just too good to you.
Hold me and feel the power!
Lift me up....
Now drink!
Drink ur worries away.
Let me take away all that ails you.
Let me take you to places you've never dreamt of going....
Drink.
Drink.
Drink.

Title: Untitled
Writer: Benjamin Jones

A drink to kill the pain
Numbness to the world
Hear me tell it I do it to live
It's a lie
A coward's way to commit suicide
Slow and steady like clockwork
One drink leads to another bottle
Shake it up, swirl it around
Drink it up, swallow it down
Keep drinkin' until I drowned
I don't know how to stop
I couldn't even if I tried
Ny fate has been sealed
Pierced with multiple colored and flavored bullets
Internally bleeding to death
Dying one shot at a time
Cheers!

Three of my writing pals and I decided to engage in a poetry challenge each week and I'm going to start highlighting them on my blog. Our first challenge was social media and below are each of our poems. Read through and please comment!

Title: Social Media
Writer: Benjamin Jones

Social media
The best and worst of a technological dream
A place comprised of funhouse mirrors where hardly anyone are as real as they seem
 
A place for the lost and lonely
Who inside feel ugly and awash in infinite shades of black and blue
So they sculpt a better version of themselves online
A click of a mouse and everything is colorful and grand and new
 
For others it’s a place to connect with their peers
To learn from the other authors and photographers and rappers in the world
Whose dream it is to just to be able to matter to a single boy or girl
 
It’s an open bar of sorts
A place to vent or watch or laugh at any time
Where there’s always someone to talk to and the possibilities are sublime
 
A key to unlock the world
What once was far is only a “friending” or “following” away
A genie that has been let out of the bottle
A way to change your life every single day.

Title: Social Media Junkie...or people we all know for real...
Writer: Julie Harris

You're not on Facebook or Twitter?
Man, what are you thinkin?
How do you keep in touch?
 
When do you catch up on the details
From the lives of all your
Family and friends and such?
 
Me? Please... I wake up and check
Every single site that I'm on,
I'm even looking right now as we speak.
 
Wait, is that girl's status about me?
Did you know those two were dating?
Did that girl take a pic of her cheek?
 
I'm not distracted, I completely remember
Exactly where our conversation
Was about to go...
 
I was just asking you about your...
Hold up, who just tagged me?
Ugh, someone I barely even know!
 
By the way, what does it mean,
When, after two months,
My man's status still says "single?"
 
He checks his page all the time,
So he probably forgot,
But what if it means he still mingles?
 
Back to what you were saying,
Um... what WERE you saying?
Oh, just give me some more time.
 
I just got three new followers,
So I HAVE to follow back.
I don't want them to think I'm unkind.
 
No, I don't know them for "real,"
But, all of these followers
Are truly my friends.
 
We share happiness and trials,
And everything personal,
And all the silly topics that trend!
 
Wow, my cousin just had her third kid
I think that she blocked me, though,
Because I can't see her page.
 
Did I tell you I spoke with my great aunt today?
It's been too long since we've talked,
She's getting up there in age.
 
I hate when people keep poking me.
Feels like harassment,
Do you think I should sue?
 
Take a walk in my shoes,
And constantly get poked...
What do you think YOU would do?
 
Oh, YEAH... Back to you and your life,
Tell me what's going on,
Since I can't look it up on the net.
 
Did you just ask me to lunch,
So we can talk face to face?
Sure, I guess that I can do that.
 
Let me put down my phone,
And log off these sites,
I can't tell you how long it's been.
 
I walk slowly out the door,
A tear rolls down my cheek...
"Don't worry, I'll come back again."

Title: Untitled
Writer: Demetrice Prince

Internet availability...
Institutionalized chaos!
We log on and assume we know so many
Followers...
Friends...
Fans...
Yet some of us barely know who we really are.

Title: All Damn
Writer: Varrsity

With the past, I dwell
I met her in a chat room on A.O.L
Ever since, I’ve been under her spell
I loved her like a Victoria Secret scent, at least I think I do.
I found myself longing for her fragrance
Slaving for her aroma
Impatiently wanting to meet up
So I can decipher these feelings….
Will we be deeply in love, or cheaply in lust?
 
The more we chatted on A.O.L
The more my interest grew,
Rushing to the keyboard every day after school
And be stuck
Finger clutched on the letters
As if my fingertips were equipped with glue.
 
On Blackplanet she would always sign my guestbook
With heart shaped pictures
And she even put in her profile that
Her hobbies were talking to me and reading literature.
I figured, that she was the one
But I was only 17
So how could I know what “The One” was?
I just knew, because
I got to know her
She was my Pen Pal
In the form of instant messages and emails
I shared my life with her,
Broke everything down in detail.
 
Enough of the bullshit I told her
I get my license in August
I past the road test
But parallel parking was the hardest
So can we meet up right before school starts back?
My mom works 3rd shift
So on the weekends she likes to sleep in
We can meet halfway
Because I’m pretty good at driving on the Freeway
I even made a few mixtapes to stop the boredom of the long ride
Email me back, let me know what you decide.
 
It was only a few minutes but it seemed like a month
Before I finally got a response
It was a colorful background
With a bigger font than normal.
“Sure, I’m looking forward to meeting you
After pleasant introductions, we can do
Any and every thing you want to do.”
I will be wearing a red shirt with some tight jeans
The mall parking lot, say around 4:15.”
 
I was all smiles
I packed my bag and prepared to tackle these miles.
After a nervous ride, I finally arrived
Looking for a red shirt and pair of sexy legs covered
By tight jeans.
No one fit the description
So I went to a payphone to page her
On her pager.
After walking back to the car
A man pulled up next to me,
Rolled his window down
And said
“You’re not from around here, you seem lost.”
“Yea, I was looking for a friend.”
“A friend you say? Red shirt and tight jeans. Look at the time, it’s 4:15”
I wanted to kick,
Scream
Cry,
Fight,
Run,
Put the pedal to the metal and speed off,
I wanted to be awaken from this nightmare
But I was frozen with disbelief
Blurred vision due to the tears forming
Heart beating in an unnatural rhythm
Beads of sweat forming on my forehead
“You don’t look happy to see me” he stated with a smile
“I’ve been waiting on this moment for a while.”
I started the ignition,
Put the car in drive
And sped off
Feeling like an idiot
For believing that she was the girl of my dreams
When in reality
She wasn’t a she
She was a HE!
All Damn, for the past few months I’ve been getting close to a man
Telling him my most intimate secrets,
Talking dirty to someone
Who has a penis
I disgust myself
Traumatized because of social networking
I may need some professional help.
All Damn!!!

Welcome back. Time for another review, this time of a short story instead of a book, but it's all good. This review is for Who Run It? by S.A. Payne which, if you didn't read it when it was first profiled on this site, you can read HERE.

Who Run It? is a tale about sexual harassment in the workplace, something that happens probably a bit more frequently than you think. The story revolves around a young man named Clinton who is engaged to be married and is also on the rise at his job. Everything is good until Tabatha, his boss, decides to make him her new plaything at work. Clinton is a good man deep down but it doesn't take long before  his strong will is tested.

I don't want to spoil  the story for the reader so I won't go into too much detail but I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the twists at the end which tied everything together. The characters are easy to relate to and the ending is very honest and believable.

I can't wait to read more from Ms. Payne! You can find more about her and her work at http://aprilraynestories.webs.com

Time for another book review - YEAH!!

This time I am reviewing The Princes of Tangleforest, a YA novel by Ms. Dorlana Vann. It's been a LONG time since I read a book that was geared towards young adults but this one was a good one get back on that YA horse.

Here's the synopsis:

"Skater and reformed geek, Tanner Dobbs, soon learns that his new school, Tangleforest High, is ruled by the Princes. This group of brains used the techniques of Neuro Linguistic Programming to “persuade” the student body that intellectuals are cool, with an added bonus suggestion: “The Princes are the smartest and therefore the most popular.”

Julia Webster used to be part of the Princes’ crowd until they became obsessed and increasingly dangerous to themselves. Now she finds herself an outcast from her former “nerd” friends as well as the students who had ostracized her since elementary school. She’s worried when new kid, Tanner, is invited to join the Princes. She figures Tanner hides his smarts in order to fit in and worries that the popular status the Princes offer, even though geeky, might entice him. 

When Tanner catches a glimpse of his golden-haired neighbor, Poppi, he thinks perhaps the Tangleforest community isn’t so terribly bad. But after climbing up to her window, he discovers she is locked in her bedroom by her wicked witch of a grandmother. Unfortunately, his only chance of saving the princess may be to become a nerd prince."

Ms. Vann is a wonderful writer and crafts a very delightful tale in the vein of Rapunzel (which she sights as an inspiration) but also adds to the story in some pretty nifty ways. Things that you think are one way end up being completely different at the end and I found that to be awesome. Kids of all ages should take delight in this book.

Highly recommended! 

You can purchase your copy for the insanely low price of $.99 by visiting the following:

Barnes and Noble (Nook)

Amazon (Kindle)

For more information on Ms. Vann and her other works please visit http://www.dorlanavann.com/