Trick of Treat?

 

 

       I grew up in a world where trick or treating just wasn't done. I'm not tearing down my upbringing by any means. In fact, I applaud my parents for raising me the best they knew how. As it is, parenting is trial and error. I have memories of my dad handing out king sized candy bars to the kids in our neighborhood, and I also have memories of parents being scared where they took their kids because crazy people were starting to add needles and poison to candy. I remember the uproar even though that was years ago.

       In today's society, I think that parents are more careful, or so it seems. Of course, there are still crazy people in this world, but I also don't think that we have to worry as much. The truth of the matter is simple: Halloween is so controversial in the "Christian" world. There are arguments that go both ways, and I can see both sides of it. But to me, it's simple....Halloween depicts a fun time to spend with your children and family. It's fun for them to dress up in their favorite character and go door to door (or trunk to trunk) and say, "Trick or treat!" and get free candy!

        I think that everyone has a right to their opinion, but here it is: opinions are like arm-pits...they often stink. If no one asked your opinion, why put it out there? I know that I will be ridiculed by what I believe, but here it is again: why do we have to be so mean and tell people our opinions on things that are none of our business? Why is it that we just can't keep our mouths shut and smile? What would Jesus really do? Would he stand up and reprimand us for going trick or treating? Oh, well, you say, "But it's a devil's holiday!!!!" I beg to differ. In fact, during my lunch break today, I researched the origin of Halloween, and in fact, it was thought to be created by the festival of Samhain where people wore costumes and lit bonfires to ward off ghosts of the dead. Later on, a pope designated November 1 to be the day where the church remembered martyrs and saints. Over time, Halloween became a time for children to have harvest parties and dress up in costumes to go trick or treating. Halloween is what you make of it, to tell you the truth. Even adults have parties to be like children again and just relax and have some fun. In the end, does it really even matter?

       I worked 9 hours today, and when I got off work, I thoroughly enjoyed taking my children out to get some candy. Charity was a lady bug and JW was a ninja. They both had changed their minds multiple times before today, and in the end, we decided to let them just wear what they wore last year since it still fit. It was fun going up to houses where people had been creative and created a little Halloween world with lights, smoke and scary images. Towards the end, we went up to a house where a child about Charity's height was dressed like SCREAM. Charity turned as white as a ghost because there was this person standing and shaking his head at her. She screamed and he started following her down the sidewalk. (I was there...don't' worry :) She hollered out, and when he laughed, she stomped her foot and stuck her tongue at him. That was my favorite memory of the evening.

       We came home, ate pizza, and watch THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN. A night full of memories for sure....one that will forever stick in our children's mind....I'm so happy to be making great memories with them.

She Didn't Have a Face

 

For you never knew her name.....

 

The way she moved, the way her presence drifted through the rafters

The way she was, yet never was...

The way she existed yet sank beneath the tumultuous waves

Clinging to the hope that someone would hear her screams

Struggling to breathe in this world that channeled her energy

Into a windmill of tepid darkness

And ransacked even the whitest of evil

If evil could ever be still long enough to drag the next victim...

No one ever knew who she was

No one ever saw her face

No one ever listened for her calls for help

And no one stood still long enough to understand

The very evil that ensued her footsteps

How she tried to tell the truth of who she was

Yet remembered that smirks lay not far from where she stood

Darkness...

Shadows...

Eeriness...

Falling...

 

Don't walk away from what you don't understand

Don't hide from something that scares you and makes your heart jump

Don't pretend you never knew she existed

Don't underestimate the power you hold within your grasp

The very power to make or break the darkest spell

That threatens to place a choke-hold on the nearest being....

 

She escaped from this asylum of guilt and pain

Shackled by the laughter and empty words

She found a way to let the world know she never existed

The way they mocked her to tears

That flowed like acid rain down her marble face

It's as if she never was....

 

Girl Meets World

 

 

       For as long as I can remember, I have been able to go to a magical place where all of my dreams come true. Long before I had a sister and a brother, I became very good at playing well alone. I have always had a vivid imagination, and the truth of the matter is, that was the beginning of my life as a writer, and continues even to this day. Whenever something was a little "off" in my world, I was able to sit and day-dream, and I even carried a little notebook with me so that I was able to write down my feelings on the matter. As I became older, my mom took note that whenever I would spend hours on the piano, I was hurting inside. Music also became my "magical world." I believe that writing and music go hand-in-hand, and that they both have a healing power. Words can heal, and they can also destroy. The same is with music...it can heal a broken heart or it can cause the anger that is built up inside, to implode into a disaster. The following is a poem about the magical world of writing and poetry and how they tie together.

 

 

I grew up where the sun shone through my yellow curtains

And made me feel like my life was brand-new

I'd stare out across the royal plushness of my backyard

And dream of places that existed beyond the green carpet

Places that could take you where great people once lived

I could hear the music whistling through the silky evergreens

I could close my eyes and smell the mustiness of the autumn leaves

Hear the fast-approaching trains that rumbled near my window

Rattling the antique glass and making me feel safe and sound

Music wafted through the vents with the toastiness of the warmth

Listening to hours of practice and beautiful melodies from my sister

I can smell the mouth-watering baking for the holidays

As I'd crack open a hard-backed book

Ready to meet a new person and become fast friends

Flashlights glowing under the bed-covers

Headphones worn to drown out the world around me

I could lay on my back against the smoothed concrete

Of the expansive white-washed gazebo

And listen to the birds sing their many melodies

From the wooded trails not far from my being

I could harmonize completely with my family

Relishing the fact that our voices blended as one

And knowing that that moment would but vanish

From my out-stretched grasp....

Oh, I can always leave my current work-filled day

And travel back in time, to meet  many beautiful, old friends

Acquaint myself with new ones and never see their faces with my eyes

For to imagine is the best skill a writer can possess

To see the world from up above, looking down

Hovering over them like an angel of light

They make their way through the looking glass and into your pen

Singing the songs, whether good or bad

And creating a memory that was once upon a time....



Within These Walls

 

 

Behind every poem lies a story, a memory, a piece of one's life. For years, I allowed myself to hide in the shadows and observe those around me. I have been known as quiet and a girl of few words, but in reality, I have much to say. If you pay attention, you will find most of what I have to say within my writings. This particular poem is written from the view point of moving on from hurts and pain from the past. I had a great childhood, but I allowed those in my life to tell me how I should be and how my personality really was. It wasn't until these past few years, that I figured out who I really was without the words and pictures others had painted about me. I have learned much about myself, but the main thing is that I have a heart of mercy. Where others tore me down, I build those in my life up. Like the song, You Raise Me Up, I decided one day to truly invest in those around me and build them up in their daily lives.

 

 

Within these walls I hide behind what you have to say

Never standing forward, never speaking up

I allowed you to say what you had to say

And I rarely had any words with which to reply

For I kept them all buried deep inside

And never a word did I speak in your presence

All of the pain you have caused

All of the uproar within your domain

I stood back and allowed myself to be silent

I step forward now, not to yell or even cry

But to say that I forgive you.

I forgive you for all of your judgments

I forgive you for not understanding the way of life

To not know what I know today, to walk in total darkness

I forgive you for not understanding what it is to walk in love

To put others before your very self

I bow within the pain that you possess

That you don't know how to reach out your hand with mercy

To forgive as Christ forgave us

I bow in prayer that one day, you too will be set free...

Free from this burden that weighs your body down

That darkens the way of those who are lost

That you will see the light that He possesses

And you will feel His grace, far beyond comprehension.

I forgive you for you are standing in the dark

And you need someone to light your path.

I close my eyes in prayer for you

That you will understand no condemnation

And you will stand in freedom, in grace, in light, in peace.

I am not better than you by any means

For we all stand equal at the foot of the cross...

I reach out my hand and offer forgiveness, restoration, freedom.





 





Through the Looking Glass

She discovered that the path she had been travelling

Would no longer be a safe way home

Shards of glass threatened to pierce her through the heart

And pieces of what appeared to be a golden frame

Lay stagnant in the muck and the mire of the desolate road

She clutched what was left of the tattered pieces of clothing that surrounded her

And braced herself for a brighter tomorrow filled with promises of hope

Her ashen face was painted with the grime and filth from her travels

And her tiny hands shook as she decided to move forward…

Step by step, one foot in front of the other, she walked

Faintly, at first, with blood and tears that streamed down her soiled image

Those who could help, walked idly by, some laughed and some whispered

“Desolate creature,” they called her, one who walked boldly yet alone

Not one soul tried to see that she struggled because she carried herself with grace

Though outwardly, she appeared to be shaken by a heightened battle

Inwardly was a strength that could be seen deep within the eyes of her soul….

Stepping forward, turning from the mockers and those who would jeer,

She began to pick up the pieces of the glass…

In them, she could see her reflection and with each piece, there was a flash

Of a distant memory that threatened to kill her spirit.

She continued to piece these jagged shards until they, together formed an image…

With a gasp, she peered into her reflection and what she saw nearly took her breath away…

A lone tear fell from her eyes and the glass became like new

Standing in front of herself, she took one step forward, into her future.

You see, the pieces that threatened to kill her were what brought her to her future…

She walked through the looking glass, brand new, whole, revived,

And those who saw her, those who laughed and mocked, bowed in awe at the beauty that lay before them

The true beauty that always was seen within the recesses of her soul

But now shone through her like a ray of light.