Prose

PROSE -- Here you will find 2011 resubmissions of long ago, much less brand new poems. Stay tuned daily as I begin to add various poems from authors we've been working with for years! Below is a piece crafted by 

Hilde M. Grensbråten

Presents:

Virtual Insanity

      “art is life. life is a painting. music is the soundtrack. and I’m writing the script as I go.”

“We’re all insecure in our own ways. We can’t let that stop us from enjoying life. There is only one you! Remember that! Our ‘faults’ and idiosyncrasies are what make us all different from everyone else. The worst thing you can do is care what people think about you. If someone doesn’t accept you for you they can kiss your ass.”  - Tommy Joe Ratliff

 “Seriously, screw all those people that try to pick on you for how you feel and who you love. They may seem hateful, but they are just envious because you are free in every way that they are not!!”

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They Say You Can’t Go Home

The following article is one I wrote and posted a year before September eleventh, two thousand and one. Only eleven people viewed it. The whole point of this message was to bring awareness to each and every one of us that when we believe we are absolutely right and everyone else is wrong, great misunderstandings and injustices occur. This is just the kind of thinking that flew two airplanes into the World Trade Center.

They say you can’t go home. You grow up and move away and things change. How true this seems. Still, though, you try and come back to reflect, to remember the past. All too often though, the differences are so extreme and complex that the simple truth cannot be recognized. What was once a simple basic truth has become a complicated maze of fractured truths.

I was just wondering if God was to come back tomorrow and say: “Here I am, children, rejoice and be made whole;” just what would happen.

If it turned out to be Vishnu…well the Christians and the Jews wouldn’t believe, because after all, he’s not their god.

Got the Bible and all that you know? If it turned out to be Allah…well, you know the same problem would occur, except now a billion Hindus would be unconvinced also.

Got the Veda’s and Upanishads? You know, of course an educated person who has studied the Koran knows that Allah was the God of Abraham, Moses and Ishmael, making Him the same God the Christians and Jews worship.

by Thomas William Freudiger, II

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THE SPECIAL TREE

By Victoria Tallman

      "Our neighborhood has a special tree," Rosalie told her class friends.

      "What makes it special?” asked Freddie.

      A happy grin spread across Rosalie's face as she thought, “When they see the tree, they'll believe me and I'll feel special." Rosalie answered Freddie, "When we first moved here, I saw this tree while I walked my puppy, Flip."

      Buddy the playground bully yelled, "What's special about the tree"?

      Rosalie replied, "It's not a pretty tree, but it is special." Rosalie lowered her head and whispered, "I was looking at this tree, when suddenly, I could feel the tree rumble."

      "What did you do?" asked quiet little Penny.

      All eyes were on Rosalie as she spoke, "I turned around and the tree seemed to smile at me and say, 'I am a special tree'. I pretended to ignore the tree but it said, 'Rosalie, I am lonely too.' The tree then begged me saying, 'Please tell me your secrets'."

      "I told the tree a secret," said Rosalie, smiling right at Penny. "I felt the tree thanking me. It said 'thanks Rosalie, now I'm not so lonely. I've grown a new branch as a trade for your secret’."

      The children’s eyes were wide now as Rosalie continued, "the more secrets the tree hears, the more it will grow."

      "I felt great after telling my secret", said Rosalie, "so, why don't you tell your secrets, and see how big the tree grows."

      Suddenly, the recess bell rang. Rosalie thanked her new friends for listening. She added, "The tree is in the church playground where mommy and daddy tell their secrets too."

      Each child who visited the tree felt better after telling their secrets.  The tree grew new branches with each new secret and soon it was the biggest special tree in town.