The After

Tyler J. Huggins

The mind panics as you mount the stage

Over the future of your coming age.
What to be? What to do?
As life's questions seek to bombard you
Till the shackles of a sunless sky
Cloud the path on which you always rely.

But then you remember what you did achieve

And the power of letting go to believe.
Crushing the chains of that dark confine
To illuminate a road of endless sunshine
And feel the diploma placed in your hand.
Dropping all worries like pennies in the sand
With a trust that things will be all right,
Like holding someone close on a starry night.
So that as your senior year comes to a close
You will always
Always
Embrace tomorrow.
Cinderella 'Tomorrow morn shall be my bride!
I'll visit every house in town
by Roald Dahl 'Until I've tracked the maiden down!'
Then rather carelessly, I fear,
I guess you think you know this story. He placed it on a crate of beer.
You don't. The real one's much more gory.
The phoney one, the one you know, At once, one of the Ugly Sisters,
Was cooked up years and years ago, (The one whose face was blotched with blisters)
Mind you, they got the first bit right, Sneaked up and grabbed the dainty shoe,
The bit where, in the dead of night, And quickly flushed it down the loo.
The Ugly Sisters, jewels and all, Then in its place she calmly put
Departed for the Palace Ball, The slipper from her own left foot.
While darling little Cinderella Ah ha, you see, the plot grows thicker,
Was locked up in a slimy cellar, And Cindy's luck starts looking sicker.
Where rats who wanted things to eat,
Began to nibble at her feet. Next day, the Prince went charging down
To knock on all the doors in town.
She bellowed 'Help!' and 'Let me out! In every house, the tension grew.
The Magic Fairy heard her shout. Who was the owner of the shoe?
Appearing in a blaze of light, Thousands of eager people came
She said: 'My dear, are you all right?' To try it on, but all in vain.
'All right?' cried Cindy .'Can't you see Now came the Ugly Sisters' go.
'I feel as rotten as can be!' One tried it on. The Prince screamed, 'No!'
She beat her fist against the wall, But she screamed, 'Yes! It fits! Whoopee!
And shouted, 'Get me to the Ball! 'So now you've got to marry me!'
'There is a Disco at the Palace! The Prince went white from ear to ear.
'The rest have gone and I am jealous! He muttered, 'Let me out of here.'
'I want a dress! I want a coach! 'Oh no you don't! You made a vow!
'And earrings and a diamond brooch! 'There's no way you can back out now!'
'And silver slippers, two of those! 'Off with her head!' The Prince roared back.
'And lovely nylon panty hose! They chopped it off with one big whack.
'Done up like that I'll guarantee This pleased the Prince. He smiled and said,
'The handsome Prince will fall for me!' 'She's prettier without her head.'
The Fairy said, 'Hang on a tick.' Then up came Sister Number Two,
She gave her wand a mighty flick Who yelled, 'Now I will try the shoe!'
And quickly, in no time at all, 'Try this instead!' the Prince yelled back.
Cindy was at the Palace Ball! He swung his trusty sword and smack
Her head went crashing to the ground.
It made the Ugly Sisters wince It bounced a bit and rolled around.
To see her dancing with the Prince. In the kitchen, peeling spuds,
She held him very tight and pressed Cinderella heard the thuds
herself against his manly chest. Of bouncing heads upon the floor,
The Prince himself was turned to pulp, And poked her own head round the door.
All he could do was gasp and gulp. 'What's all the racket? 'Cindy cried.
Then midnight struck. She shouted, 'Heck! 'Mind your own bizz,' the Prince replied.
I've got to run to save my neck!' Poor Cindy's heart was torn to shreds.
The Prince cried, 'No! Alas! Alack!' My Prince! she thought. He chops off heads!
He grabbed her dress to hold her back. How could I marry anyone
As Cindy shouted, 'Let me go!' Who does that sort of thing for fun?
The dress was ripped from head to toe.
The Prince cried, 'Who's this dirty slut?
She ran out in her underwear, 'Off with her nut! Off with her nut!'
And lost one slipper on the stair. Just then, all in a blaze of light,
The Prince was on it like a dart, The Magic Fairy hove in sight,
He pressed it to his pounding heart, Her Magic Wand went swoosh and swish!
'The girl this slipper fits,' he cried, 'Cindy! 'she cried, 'come make a wish!
'Wish anything and have no doubt
'That I will make it come about!'
Cindy answered, 'Oh kind Fairy,
'This time I shall be more wary.
'No more Princes, no more money.
'I have had my taste of honey.
I'm wishing for a decent man.
'They're hard to find. D'you think you can?'
Within a minute, Cinderella
Was married to a lovely feller,
A simple jam maker by trade,
Who sold good home-made marmalade.
Their house was filled with smiles and laughter
And they were happy ever after.
Little Red Riding Hood And The Wolf 'That's wrong!' cried Wolf.
'Have you forgot
by Roald Dahl To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got?
Ah well, no matter what you say,
As soon as Wolf began to feel I'm going to eat you anyway.'
That he would like a decent meal,
He went and knocked on Grandma's door. The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers.
When Grandma opened it, she saw She whips a pistol from her knickers.
The sharp white teeth, the horrid grin, She aims it at the creature's head,
And Wolfie said, 'May I come in?' And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
Poor Grandmamma was terrified,
'He's going to eat me up!' she cried. A few weeks later, in the wood,
And she was absolutely right. I came across Miss Riding Hood.
He ate her up in one big bite. But what a change! No cloak of red,
But Grandmamma was small and tough, No silly hood upon her head.
And Wolfie wailed, 'That's not enough! She said, 'Hello, and do please note
I haven't yet begun to feel My lovely furry wolfskin coat.'
That I have had a decent meal!'
He ran around the kitchen yelping,
'I've got to have a second helping!'

Then added with a frightful leer,

'I'm therefore going to wait right here
Till Little Miss Red Riding Hood
Comes home from walking in the wood.'

He quickly put on Grandma's clothes,

(Of course he hadn't eaten those).
He dressed himself in coat and hat.
He put on shoes, and after that,
He even brushed and curled his hair,
Then sat himself in Grandma's chair.

In came the little girl in red.

She stopped. She stared. And then she said,
'What great big ears you have, Grandma.'
'All the better to hear you with,'
the Wolf replied.
'What great big eyes you have, Grandma.'
said Little Red Riding Hood.
'All the better to see you with,'
the Wolf replied.
He sat there watching her and smiled.
He thought, I'm going to eat this child.
Compared with her old Grandmamma,
She's going to taste like caviar.

Then Little Red Riding Hood said, '

But Grandma, what a lovely great big
furry coat you have on.'
Believe in Yourself!
by Barbara J Laing

Each day that we live in Life

Is a gift for us to hold -
An exciting adventure
Just waiting to unfold.

We may dream our every cherished dream

And reach for each distant star,
Towards the endless possibilities
And challenges there are.

Believe always in yourself -

Become all you’re meant to be
Always nurture this belief,
And success you’re sure see!

And, should you ever be discouraged,

Know this happens to us all -
Times when every single person
May falter and then fall.

And yet each failure is a lesson

That, once learned, we may go on
And find new faith and energy
To build our lives upon.

So, look for the good in everyone,

To yourself be always true,
And you’ll find even the darkest clouds
Hide skies of purest blue.

So, in this way you’ll feel such peace

Throughout each and every day,
And a sense of tranquility
That you never could repay!
Vijayalakshmi Harish Sep 2012
The Accidental Polyandrist for the failures
Destiny’s games are stranger than there is ridicule and humiliation
most games invented by man for the winner
and Draupadi’s swayamvara is for sure this beautiful handmaiden
amongst the strangest tales ever told
every eye that sees
A truly blazing beauty is she, looks on amazed
a princess like no other at her -a rare jewel
a rare fiery spirit has she with some secret fire set ablaze
This daughter of Agni
her eyes hot embers
The drums announce the happy news her hair wisps of flame
today she shall choose Krishnaa-the dark skinned
from amongst this gathering of kings like the fiery coal that is by ashes hid
the one who she shall espouse
in every heart she rouses
a prophecy has already foretold an uncontrollable passion
that she is to be Arjuna’s bride stunned, they stand as statues
the swayamvara is but a test to tempt incapable of any action
that expert archer out from where he hides
the desire to win her
every king from every land is a great motivator
is here to attempt and while all try
to win her hand none seems worthy
but no sign of the one she wants
every king that rises
but the contest has been announced falls unable to bear
and hence must be begun the weight of the bow
a test truly fit to try let alone string and employ it!
the Gods themselves
then rises Karna
on the ceiling truly a great archer
a revolving platform surely he will win her
on the platform says everyone in their mind
a jewel studded fish
but before he even touches
on the floor a vat of oil the bow he is stopped
lying beside a great bow and shafts by the beautiful Draupadi
the fish is mirrored he is humiliated
in the oil
“who is this false king
the the target lies who dares to assume that
in the fish’s ruby red eye the high-born Draupadi will condescend
but a challenge fit for kings to marry a low-born sutaputra?”
cannot be so trouble-free!
silenced and insulted
The eye, itself, must not be looked upon Karna resumes his seat
its reflection in the oil is the map to strike but a desire for retribution
not an easy feat to accomplish is in his mind-a tiny seed
only the best dare try this
the one who rises next in the midst of all this
is clothed as a Brahmin turmoil and confusion
but his proud gait and muscled arms Krishna arrives
are that of a Kshatriya with his beatific smile

respectfully he picks up the bow “Dear aunt, I am your brother’s son

strings it with love your troubled brow betrays
with arms upraised and face turned below some confusion
he launches the arrow can this child offer you some consolation?”

it strikes the eye “God bless you my child

which falls to the ground I’ve heard your praise
the Brahmin has won! You are wise, so advise
he is garlanded by Draupadi how this quandary can be resolved

their eyes meet with hasty words

in silent acceptance of i have told my sons
their magnetic attraction to share this woman
a scorching passion and doomed her to a life of debauchery”

a stunned silence in the hall “Do not worry aunt

and then hell breaks loose this isn’t a problem at all
kings rant and princes protest this woman in her past life
how can a princess marry a priest has gained a boon of five husbands

they rise together the boon was given

up in arms by Mahadeva himself
and are routed and besides a mother’s order
by the Brahmin and his brothers is always supreme

with the Brahmins Draupadi goes let all five of your sons
to their hut-a humble abode wed Draupadi
with folded hands they stand outside in the karmic logic
as the eldest calls, “Look mother, see what we’ve it isn’t an iniquity
got!”
Dear Draupadi listen
a gentle voice replies from within these men are none other
“whatever be it, share it than the valourous Pandava brothers
amongst yourselves, your hand was won by Arjuna
it equally belongs to all of you”
it is your destiny
“Mother, what have you said to be the spouse of all of them
what a dilemma we are in and do not worry
you-we have never disobeyed worldly laws are not here applicable”
and yet to obey would be a sin!”
Hearing this was
The mother comes out and is aghast a stealthy listener-
at what she has done Draupadi’s brother
her order once given cannot be revoked now both overjoyed and dismayed
by convention
in confusion
he approaches his father
and apprises him
of the matter

both father and son are

unsure whether to rejoice
that the Pandavas are alive
or curse their loved one’s predicament

plagued by mixed emotions

they are restless
then Vyaasa comes
to their relief

the kind sage shares his wisdom

that the marriage is inevitable
part of the Grand Plan
mortal laws must not interfere

a woman having
more than one man as spouse
isn’t always an immorality
they may fearlessly proceed

and so it is
that the marriage was celebrated
Draupadi became the
accidental polyandrist!
 in me all that fire is repeated,
If You Forget Me in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
I want you to know and as long as you live it will be in your arms
one thing. without leaving mine.

You know how this is: Pablo Neruda

if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,

the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,