307 Belvedere Avenue

That’s where my grandparents live.

Everytime we visit them,

This is what we do:

Sleep up in the big white bed, soft as a cloud, and

Wake to sunlight, birds chirping

Eat breakfast on the porch, joined by the morning breeze

And drive over to the farmers market, to gather our soon to be dinner

Swing back and forth on the swing set, or

Relax in the hammock

Lunch on the porch again,

Then out to the garden, where we fill up the little pool, then cover ourselves in bug spray

Now we help Papa with supper, we stir the pasta, drain the green beans, he goes out and fries up the salmon

Then dinner on the porch,

Now a walk around the community, from 307 Belvedere, all the way back to 307 Belvedere

And we snuggle into bed, after a warm bath, and dream of our next day, at

307 Belvedere Avenue

--MME

The Sun was Setting

On the horizon, and as it did,

The sky behind me,

Was darkening, to a deep blue,

But I looked instead to the setting sun,

And there my eyes laid.

With deepening reds, and brightening oranges,

Gliding pinks and yellows,

The sky looked as though it was being painted

With the largest, gentlest, of brushes.

The sun now slipped behind the world,

Out of my view,

But left its dazzling colors,

For us to savor,

Before taking that away

As well.

And i wondered,

How could something

So beautiful,

Have come and gone

Right in front of my eyes,

And never made

A sound.

--MME

My house in the early morning is almost silent, like a lake, flat and calm

5 AM: My father, usually, can be found sitting in his big blue chair, clicking and typing away on his computer. Almost always, the first known one awake.

My house in the early morning is almost silent, like the meadow on a spring morning

6 AM: You can hear the stirrings of my family, not quite awake. Muffled voices can be heard through my bedroom walls. When just waking, everything sounds far away, distant, like a dream.

My house in the early morning is almost silent, like a birds nest, before it awakens

7 AM: The family shuffles around the house, eating breakfast, chatting. (And I read.) The house is filled with an air of sleepiness.

My house in the early morning is almost silent, like a rainforest awakening

But now, at 7:30 AM, the silence has subsided.

• MME

Thunder storm

Scares the animals

Away

CRASH! BOOM!

CRACK! BANG!

Thunder thunder

Thunder

All around, you feel as if you are

Living

under a bowling alley

No escape,

Your fear blocks out all

Sense.

Silence.

Then, out of nowhere, a single crack of

LIGHTNING! And the night lays

STILL. Still as the first snowflake of winter, on the palm of your hand.

STILL, and Quiet.

• MME

The Mountains

Are full of

W

I

S

D

O

M

Each rock

and

stone holds a memory,

Whether covered in snow,

Or

S U R R O U N D E D

By grass, the memories are

S

T

R

O

N

G.

So, if you are in the mountains, stop,

and LISTEN, for if you do, the rocks may choose to share with you,

and the memories will

F L O A T on the wind, To YOU.

To some,

They will sound like whispers

But to others, they may sound

Like a birds

Lost song.

--MME

This is just to say

I have eaten you,

Small red gumball.

So round and smooth,

You were delicious,

So soft, and chewy.

Forgive me,

So soft, and so chewy.

-MME

Out on the lake

As I looked down at the inch of

water in my seat,

I decided not to mind.

For a first time going kayaking,

It was turning out fine.

So I

dipped my paddle

a little lower into the water,

And zigzagged

towards rock island.

With the wind in my hair,

I am becoming fluid with this,

Like the water beneath me.

--MME

Isn’t life really

A waterfall of feelings

Always rushing past

With a mask that hides

The dark secrets deep inside

I am your father.

RSRS

This morning

I woke with an air of magic

Surrounding my thoughts.

I slid out of bed, my mind

Floating.

And as I entered the living room,

I felt a wave of refreshment

Slide over me.

Drowsy though I was

At the time,

My nose could sense it,

Smell it.

The smell of an early morning,

Of dew on the grass,

Of wind on the shore.

The sound of a fairy singing,

Of a ladybug walking.

The smell of a morning after

Rain,

The smell of flowers blooming,

And so

I was

Awakened.

By the most wonderful,

Most subtle,

Of smells.

So when you wake,

Go to a window,

And see it you can

Sense it.

--MME

We are divided

By the color of our skin,

By the generations

of wrongs done,

Of people lost too soon,

And those who believe that they are somehow

Better

Than others who don’t look the same

On the outside.

We are brought together

Because of the reason that

We are divided.

And we will stand strong,

Hand in hand,

Until this fight is

Won.

--MME

Quarantine

Stuck inside

Quarantine

Every day

Weeks

Months

Pass by

Oh, why

Must we stay inside?

We are in

Quarantine

“Stay inside”

They say

Oh, boredom

Why, oh why, must we stay inside?

Viruses

Yes,

Viruses

Annoying sicknesses

The whole world

Drowning,

Not in water,

In

Sicknesses

Everywhere.

But why, oh why, must we stay inside,

Inside

Inside

inside

For we are

Quarantined.

--MME