Insperation

Cascading mountains
Seen from a windowsill
In meadow full of flowers
Daisies and daffodils
 
From white, puffy clouds
On a clear summer day
Not hidden by misty shrouds
Chasing your blues away
 
From a bubbling brook
To a mellowing stream
By a fire with a good book
Brings forth a pleasant theme
 
Standing in the middle of a crowd
Shouting at the top of your lungs
Watching people walking by line
Some speaking in tongue
 
This is inspiration.
How great poetry is written.
Surrounded by God's creation
Reaching from deep within
 
In the silent of night
As you watch the first snowfall
When everything is black and white
When you feel so small
 
When inspired by a small child
What a great story is told
Witnessing a newborn's first smile
Is something to behold
 
This is inspiration
Visions from the heart and soul
It can be your salvation
It will play its vital role
 
My inspiration
Comes from thoughts in such
As I share my poetry with you
I hope you enjoy them just as much

 

 

This poetry verse was taken from the "Dancing With Words" by Tracy Leigh Ball

Just Believe

There will come a time in your life when you will have doubts. Let’s face it; we have all been there at one time or another. But you have to believe that your dream is your dream and only you can make it come true. You are going to come across many hurdles too hard to jump and you may find yourself walking around them, which is okay. There will be many distractions, and there will be those who will find great pleasure in discouraging you from believing in your dreams. Just believe in yourself and you can do anything if you put your mind to it.

We are all empowered with the knowledge and wisdom to make our hopes and dreams come true. We have the ability and strength within us to believe. Yet for some, the need for encouragement holds them back from fulfilling their dreams. Just believe in yourself, only you can make you happy. Only you can make your dreams a reality. You cannot rely on other people to make you happy or to make you believe in yourself.

There is a writer in all of us; we all have a story to tell. You just have to have the courage to tell that story. You have to have the patience it takes to sell your story to a publisher; I cannot emphasize enough on how you have to do your homework. There are certain rules and regulations you must follow in order to submit your work. You must research every publisher on their requirements for submission. Plus, you must prepare yourself mentally for rejection, trust me, there will be many rejections, but that does not mean that you are not a good writer. It just means that your work might need a little improvement or the subject matter is not what they are looking for at the present time.

There are no guarantees in the world of publishing. You will be liked and you will be disliked; and you cannot expect that you will please everyone. Do not let rejection discourage you from continuing on your journey to writing that all American novel. Rejection is like riding a bull, the first time you are bucked off, it will be up to you to climb back on that bull and ride again and again.

As I have said before, your dream is your dream and only you can make that dream come true. Just believe in yourself! Belief in the ability that you are capable of accomplishing your goals is all that matters. Be the writer, feel the words, express the meaning, push yourself beyond your limits and keep an open mind. As a writer, there are no limits as to what you can do. Your willingness to explore your creative imagination will be the key to your success. The sky is the limit; all you have to do is just believe!

Bullying

Why do you keep picking on me? Why do you keep tripping me in the halls, pushing me up against lockers, slapping my head, knocking books out of my arms, and calling me names while following behind me, and chasing me out of school and following me home? Why are you always trying to start a fight with me? I do not want to fight you; I just want to be left alone and yet somehow you have picked me out of the crowd to be your punching bag, your joke of the day. Does this make you feel superior? Does this make you feel strong and invincible?

No child should ever have to fear going to school.

Bullying has been around for many generations. When will it ever end?  When I was in elementary school, I remember vividly, the girls who followed me home and called me names, pushed me down and even shoved me in front of a moving car. I was lucky that the woman driving the car was quick and able to stop but I ended up with a bloody nose and she gave me a ride home.

The girls were older and tougher than I was, and I never did anything to provoke them but for some reason they picked me out of the whole student body and decided to make me their punching bag. I was never so relieved when they went to junior high and giving me two years of relief.

However, the minute I entered junior high, they were waiting for me and the bullying continued. My parents finally stepped in and put an end to my suffering by calling the police after I was beat up while off school grounds. The police took us over to one of the girl’s home to confront the parent; we were amazed to find that the mother was mouthier then her child. That explained why the girl was the way she was.

It starts at home, whether a family member has bullied the bully, mentally or physically.This compels them to turn around and afflict the same abuse onto others for self-satisfaction. We need to draw a line somewhere and gain control of this ‘ever growing’ epidemic before it escalates out of control. The number of bullied teens committing suicide has grown and will continue to grow if we do not step in and implement harsher laws. Make the bully completely responsible for  their actions. Charge them with reckless homicide if the child they are tormenting should commit suicide, and if that does not stop them from bullying other children, then we need to force the parent of the bully, to pay a hefty fine. Maybe then and only then will parents step up and teach their children the importance of respecting other children. Wake up people something has to be done!

We all share the same concerns for every child facing this on a daily basis, yet nobody has come forth to stop this dead in its tracks. If you have never been bullied, that should not make a difference in your willingness to get involved. I have heard parents say; “I was never bullied, and my child is not being bullied, so I don’t need to get involved”.  Well you need to get involved and start showing interest in your local school board and get the ball rolling in your district to force them to implement harsher punishment, help protect the innocent child, whether it is your child or not. If they do not wish to implement harsher punishment, protest until they make the changes.

We all have ideas on what should be done, and I do not think there is any right or wrong way of doing this. I firmly believe that we need to make the bully fully responsible and if he/she wishes to continue then we need to go after their parents, bottom line!

Also, let us not make this a gay/straight issue. The fact that a bully torments any child should be the focus. Every school district in the United States needs to protect the innocent child no matter the gender, race, etc.

Why I Write

As I sit here and ponder the reason why I write, nothing grand comes to mind. I am sure there are many who will say they write to inspire. Some will claim that it is a passion since they were knee high to a Billy goat. I have been a writer since the age of fifteen. I wrote and recorded my first song when I was sixteen, I wrote my first poem when I was seventeen and then I started writing short stories there soon after.

So I guess I can say I write because it is all I know. “Writing is not a passion learned but a passion willed within”. I believe that with all my heart since I created that quote. Without that passion or drive, we would not write.

I may not be a bestselling author or that brilliant writer, there is always room for improvement, and there is always room for constructive criticism that will allow me to blossom into a well-oiled writing machine. In the meantime, I will continue to entertain what fans I do have and I will be thankful that I am able to live out my dream. I will continue to impress myself with the accomplishments and goals I set and achieve. We can all say we write to inspire but in all honesty, I write to teach those with less confidence that it is possible to make your dreams come true.

There is plenty of room in this world for all types of writers and since I have become a published author, I have learned that we all have different approaches in writing and believe that your style is your style and you should not let anyone take that away from you. If you believe, it will happen.

I Have a Mission

This is not a story or speech on how to make money; this is a motivational piece to get you, the reader to understand that your dreams are your dreams. Only you can make them come true.  Not only do I wish to motivate children to believe in themselves and their goals, I also want to motivate all adults into believing that no matter how old you are, it is never too late to make that dream come true.

Who says that having a dream is only allowed for the young? Life may have taken you into a different direction, but with baby steps, you can work that dream into your life if you believe in yourself enough to do so. Why not? What is stopping you from fulfilling a passion you hold so deep within your very being? What is that little voice inside your head really saying to you?

So many people lose confidence along the way, and some are harassed into believing that they are not good enough for a particular goal. Who says you cannot live out your dream; your next door neighbor, your parents, siblings, your best friend, or a co-worker? That is their insecurities shining through. This is your moment to shine; your time to explore what really makes you happy. We live in a society where anything is possible, abundant, and endless.

You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what it is you want to do. It is a passion within that drives your desire to explore, to create, and to overcome obstacles along the way. There are risks, there are consequences and responsibilities that come along with making a dream come true.  ‘BABY STEPS’.

When I was sixteen years old, I was walking the streets of Nashville. I was fearless and determined to make my dream come true as a singer. Granted, walking the streets was not my idea of a dream but I was there and I was trying. Somehow along the way I lost that strength of being fearless, I lost confidence and endurance, so I went home a failure. As I grew older, I realized that I did not fail; I became stronger and more determined to prove to myself that I can do anything.

So if you want to be a sky-diver at the age of seventy-six, or go back to college and obtain your degree at the age of sixty-five, or become a rock star at fifty. What is stopping you? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It is your life, whether you are young or old, work to fulfill that dream or passion you’ve so longed to live for.

Little Girl Lost

No concept of time

Thoughts echo inside her head

Without meaning and rhyme

She looks at the world

Through innocent eyes

All that has been done to her

She never questions why

She sits alone in silence

Unable to tell a soul

The fear he planted in her

For he has complete control

She doesn’t understand

If this is right or wrong

Too young to comprehend

She is forced to play along

She had nobody around

To protect her gentle heart

He said it was all her fault

Right from the very start

When he enters her bedroom

Her body trembles with fear

She pretends she is elsewhere

His breath reeks of beer

When it is finally over

He stumbles for the door

Turns and tells her he loves her

Then calls her his little whore

She longs to see her mother

She passed while giving birth

She feels she has no purpose

She feels she has no worth

This little girl lost

Will live her life alone

She will live in silence

Maybe understand this when she is grown

So all you parents out there

Hug your kids today

Listen to their stories

Don’t ever turn them away

They only speak the truth

They need you to believe

To protect their precious youth

Your trust they long to achieve

This is dedicated to all the children in harms way!

Nobody has the right to put their hands on a child, to place them in harms way for their own benefit.  We need to pay more attention to the cry for help from a child!!!

Dancing With Words

As delicate as can be

Finagled with such charm

Pampered with such glee

Giving such meaning

In what you try to say

Stumbled words intervening

Can fill you with dismay

Mumbled words

Can leave you confused

May be intentional

When they are misused

Words carefully chosen

To sooth the weary heart

Could lead to temptation

As it plays its vital part

Words can add dimensions

They can also make you weak

Your world remains in suspension

While productive time is what you seek

Dancing with words

Could make for a magical time

From a playful twirl

While dancing to a musical rhyme

Two stepping around the truth

Can damage a weakened soul

Won’t take a sip of Vermouth

To make a person feel whole

Choose your words wisely

Dance that last dance

Never be afraid

To take that chance

For dancing with words

As delicate as can be

Can make or break you

When you dance that dance with me!