A sadness of secrets Kept silent unseeing Muted by dark disregard Strong weaken & fail No breath to cry All hope abandoned

Somewhere over the horizon A faint call of a bugle Remembering them Children of war and what we are Not gone by passing picture by Hengki Lee

It is hard to be strong When the wind blows ill The weight of sorrow Of pressure felt everywhere Such that the soft will fold

What if I was a book Leather bound My skin like pages Would you read me Or put me down

Take me to the ocean Cover me in salt & sand Let the waves wash over me Sea in me, soothing, smoothing Refining my rough edges

Letter made of tears Paper mache of broken promises Clumping dumping denouement Shaken feelings on the floor one name on the envelope, hers

Paid for excitement Price of attention She wasn’t allowed to know Coming or going Of tedious hours Often be eating alone

He burned me Left me to embers Yet nothing dampens the fire in me I am the rising up of a storm My sparks are lightning