Leaves, where do thou go?
Dost thou fly to far reaches or stay close to home?
Where dost your infinite color create?
From the paintbrush of God?
The bronze, purplish, redish, golds create a sunburst in my tree.
Dost thou hurt to fade into nothing every autumn?
Leaves, thou leave me now, sinking, covered by snow.
Leaves, have no fear, thou shall return with spring’s rainy delight
amid sunshine and flowers and thou tree branch’s might.

If I were a road where would I go?

Up through mountain streams
Or down the air with snow?
Winding, weaving, curving,
Filled with destinations unknown?

If I were a road where would I go?

Would there be fields of flowers
Or frozen lakes of cold?
Would the path of me be safe,
Free of obstacles?

If I were a road where would I go?

Who would travel upon me,
leaving marks abound?
Would they maintain and care for me,
filling cracks of ground?

If I were a road where would I go?

Who would my path influence,
bringing them to and fro?
Who would my path help find their way?
Bringing them through fear of lost?

This road is traveled greatly,
this road is free of cost.

I am a road and I know where I go.

For Julian

I didn’t know you very well,

            But was familiar with your smile.

You were always there for my brother,

            Keeping him on track.

I wish we could have seen the signs.

            Then maybe you’d still be here,

                        Still be alive.

A week ago you turned 21,

            You had to work late that day,

                        But I know you still had fun.

How could you have gone down that road?

            Why could you

                        Not

                                    Have

                                                Stopped?

Your presence is gone forever,

            My brother’s best friend

                        Is

                                    Lost.

You will be missed always,

            Never

                        To

                                    Be

                                                Forgot.

Julian we miss you.

            Rest

                        In

                                    Peace.

For this poem we were told to go somewhere different, out of the ordinary, and write about any inspiration or feelings we felt.  Friday night, after the MADACS awards for work we had the privilege of attending a free afterparty at Target Field where we got a behind the scenes tour!

Baseball Rockstar
On an empty field of green
I almost hear the crowd roar.
The crack of the bat
as my baseball takes soar.
The hotdogs smell juicy,
the kettle corn is hot.
The people are screaming
for me to give it my best shot.
My heals dig into the dirt
as I see the moon rise.
The silent echo grows loud
as the falling star flies.
I quietly whisper my wish as it falls from the sky.
Make me a baseball rockstar,
make me one of the guys.

For my Birthday Man

You started so small,

Barely the size of a seed.

Your first steps you took,

Eventually leading you to me.

You fished by the pond,

With your childhood friends.

Your fish tasted yummy,

You never wanted it to end.

Tree forts you built,

Along with friendships that last.

Even to this day,

Steve and Kev are not past.

You raced your white car,

Along hot pavement roads.

Kevin yelled “faster”,

And away you both go.

You worked at McDonald’s,

Serving burgers and fries.

In that place you met your wife,

Who was the love of your life.

You asked her to marry you,

Of course she said yes.

On a snow filled December day,

You committed your best.

Birthday boy you’ve come far,

A life filled with joy.

Birthday man you’ve grown big,

No longer a boy.

Amy Hein

You have my heart
It’s forever yours
From the very start
You’ve always meant more

You fill me with your laughter
Your sunshine and your face
You keep away the demons
My sadness you erase

Adventure, laughter, love
That’s what our life is now
Forever we’ll stand together
We’ll never break that vow

I really should stop joking around and get back to my paper, lol…

I wish breaking out of my box wasn’t so hard though. Can someone please just pick up my box and dump me out of it? Packing peanuts and all…

On second thought, don’t. I can manage. Nothing’s that worth doing comes for free. Pain, discomfort, and all I will eventually manage to unbox my life…

There are so many things in life I don’t try and do because I think I can’t do them. There are so many things I don’t ask for because I think the answer will be no.

Why does it have to be no? Why do I think I can’t do it? Why do I think it’s not worth trying? Why do I let these pre-determined thoughts rule my life?

Because I’m scared. I’m scared the answer will be no, I’m scared they’ll think less of me for asking. I am scared I will embarrass myself.

WHY should I care though!?!?!? It’s my life! If I want to look like a fool, act like an idiot, or have people think I’m stupid it’s MY right to do that.

It’s MY LIFE and I need to start living it! I need to seize every opportunity, search out every chance, and run with it. I cannot continue to sit in my box, a box that is sometimes inside another box, and let life pass me by!

Why should I settle? I shouldn’t. I have only got one life and 26 years have already passed me by.

In America we keep ourselves busy and everyone is always in a rush. Who has time to care about who a tv dad is dating? Do we really have nothing better to do with our lives?

Why are people so obsessed with celebrities? Why not focus on your own life. There is so much to see and do in this world and so many people waste so much of their time following the rich and famous.

Are our lives really that dull that we need to follow the lives of strangers? What if we took the time we invest in reading People, Us, or TMZ and instead invested that time into our own lives.

We then might be able to cultivate the type of life we immortalize. The life we wish could be ours instead of craving the life of someone who doesn’t truly exist. When we immortalize a celebrity, we immortalize the public persona. Not the real person behind the mask. Behind that famous mask they are just like you and I. Someone that lounges at home in their pj’s on a day off. Someone that listens to music. Someone that travels. They are a person, flesh and blood, just like you and I. They have dreams, wishes, and hopes. Just like you and I.

Go out, achieve your dreams, fulfill your wishes, and live your hopes. And while doing that, you may just forget that you aren’t on the cover of a magazine and you may realize that you have the better life after all…