Teenaged Love

I cry
I laugh
I mourn
I sing

I dance
I swear
I pray
I stare

I love
I hate
I praise
Is it too late?

I weep
I sob
Who am I?
I need a life!

Why must I always be
Torn in two?
Between my love of life
And my love of you

Do I flee?
Do I stay?
Full of glee
Or filled with hate?

Can I allow myself
That which has been denied?
Can I grant to you
What is not mine to give?

Can I ever love again?
Will I ever try?
The moment I begin
I see you!

Oh, what if I agree
What horrors wait for me?
In this....
My life without you!

Finding Myself

Finding myself
Stuck without words.

How could they leave?
How could they go?
How could they abandon me?

I hear Ohio's nice
This time or year
But it's a place for me to fear.

Delaware is great
So far away.
I'm sure it's wonderful
Not to have to deal with me.

Tennessee sure is swell
Or so I've heard.
But I wonder just how well
They deal with weddings.

Montandon's great
But that place I hate.
How could I have known
What memories could do?

A North Carolina beach house
Would be cool
For some, I'm sure
There'd be a better school.

Avon Grove is neat
But wouldn't it be sweet
If for once
Mifflinburg was home?

An Air Force Base
Is a frightening place
But even so
I'll bet that's where they'd rather be.

Despite its problems,
The South has good things, too.
Georgia, Tennessee
What better place to be?

Beautiful countryside
Is part of Union County.
But one of the best homes
Is that of a music teacher.

Why is it
That every time I trust
Every time I try to live
I get left in the dust?

How could they leave?
How could they go?
How could they abandon me?

Finding myself
Stuck without words.

Spring

In the green grass
On a hill far away
Little ones without care
Take a day to play.
They frolic and romp
In the prime of their youth
They've nothing to do
In the spring-time dew.

Summer comes
With both freedom and cares
No longer able to laugh and run
Teenagers await their destinies.
Where will they go?
Who will they love?
Who will love them in return?

The world turns
Autumn claims her throne
As the heat and passion of summer
Fades to cool, rugged beauty.
Adults scurry about
Too busy for anyone
Except themselves.
Not a second can be spared.

As a white winter emerges
Life slows to a halt
The hair of the children
Is now gray, not flaxen.
They can play no longer
They sit and wait,
Some in peace,
Others in agony

The deathly chill is thawed
Spring returns
And new children gather
To have fun all day.
Life is sweet
To the end
But shouldn't we all try
To be children again?

Life

Barbies,
Baby dolls
Picture books.

Makeup
Clothes
Romancs novels.

Essays
Term papers
Thick textbooks.

Keys
Purses
Business suits.

White shoes
White dress
Two-carat diamond.

Rocking chair
Tiny clothes
A head on your shoulder.

Backpack
Sneakers
Report cards.

Hard-core music
Black clothes
Sneaking out at night.

A lonely house
Nothing but the creak
Of your old rocking chair.

A new baby girl
Barbies, baby dolls
And picture books.

Remember When

Remember when
You were a child?
As innocent as a lamb.
Remember when
You turned five?
Celebrations galore.
Remember when
You were a preteen?
Double-digit fever.
Remember when
You turned thirteen?
Never once did you think that life would crush you to bits.
Remember when
You were a single mother?
Age eighteen.
Remember when
You were wed?
Prince Charming had finally come.
Remember when
Your baby had her tenth birthday?
Not as innocent as before.
Remember when
Your daughter got pregnant?
She was fifteen.
Remember when
Your granddaughter was born?
And your little girl laid down her life for her baby?
Remember when
Your young grandchild
Only wanted to be your princess?
Remember when
She, too, grew older?
No longer Cinderella at the ball.
Remember when
She became a Christian?
And you realized that you needed what she had?
Remember when
She came home crying?
She had turned down her boyfriend's proposal.
Remember when
She moved away?
And you were left with your memories?
Remember when
You lay old,
Thinking you were going to die?
Remember?
When you needed her most, she flew home to you.
Remember?
The first thing she said was I love you.
The second was
“Remember when?”