Responses

 **__The Fire__ by Cate**

"I wondered if the fire had been out to get me. I wondered if all fire was related, like dad said all humans were related, if the fire that had burned me that day while I cooked hot dogs was somehow connected to the fire I had flushed down the toilet and the fire burning at the hotel. I didn't have the answers to those questions, but what I did know was that I lived in a world that at any moment could erupt into fire. It was knowledge that kept you on your toes" (Walls 34).  I guess it started with a spark, And probably ignited with all the fuel, All the resentment, hate, fear, and love, But I suppose its origin is insignificant, What truly matters is its path. At times the inferno would mitigate, But more often it scorched the desert's already parched ground, I remember when I realized it engulfed me, How its flames scampered up my calves, I was helpless, and blinded by its light, The conflagration blistered its way down my throat, And finally found shelter in my heart. It smoldered on perpetually, Sometimes I relished its warmth, Others I tried to forget its presence, Though, when I really opened my eyes, The blaze surrounded me, It always tickled my heals, and blocked my path, Worst of all it turned my insides a crispy black. The only way to escape it was with water, Lots and lots of cleansing cool water, But I was afraid of water, And fear kept that fire raging for far too long.   **__Wasted__ by Jordan**

You wasted the safety you wasted this place You wasted your beauty you wasted your face You wasted my reputation you wasted my mind You wasted your potential you wasted my find You wasted the sunsets you wasted the stars You wasted the years you wasted my scars You wasted too many kisses you wasted too many hugs You wasted my wonder you wasted the drugs You wasted my paper you wasted my time You wasted the liquor you wasted the lime You wasted your chances you wasted mine too All this is wasted, but not as wasted as you.


 * __Untitled__ by Jordan**

Its like slowly watching a vice tighten or watching a forest burn Its like watching ice melt or a genius never learn Its like watching someone fall and never get back up The “I love you”s seem to fall through like water in a broken cup He’s on the road to nowhere and he’s driving way too fast The high’s are only temporary the “I’m sorry”s never last This is like watching glass shatter or the sun begin to fade I’m watching people change and the rewinding of memories made Slowly fear will become reality and his smile will be erased Hope will be lost and second chances will be nothing but a waste Its like watching disappointment right before your eyes Being proven wrong is proof he never tries 
 * __Easiest For You__ by Jordan**

It’s easiest to see what’s easiest for you But life hosts a lot of easier things I could do It’s easier to cry than is to laugh It’s harder to be w hole than it is to be a half It’s easier to drown than it is to swim It’s easier to loose than it is to win It’s easier to dream than it is to live Yet it’s still easiest for me to give It’s easier to be numb than to feel anything at all It’s harder to stand than it is to fall It’s easier to sleep than it is to rest Its easier to feel cursed than it is to feel blessed The days are easier than the nights The wrongs are easier than the rights It’s hard to even care, this is true But oh I forgot we’re doing what’s easiest for you.

It was so beautiful, And it felt so real, How could something so true, Be so empty and so cruel, The turquoise and the silver, How they glistened in the sun, But what I never realized, Is that they glistened with fresh tears, It was so beautiful, But the pain increased, And the beauty faded to a dream, The invisible thorn festered in my finger, The ring of false promises, The ring of forgotten dreams, The ring of sworn security, It could no longer sustain me, The hurt was too great, And the ring was removed, But every now and then, I like to think that its beauty was real, And not some drunken fantasy.
 * __The Ring__ by Cate**