"Friends or Frenemies"
By Nicole Babich
On Chopin
"So the storm passed and every one was happy."
Things are not what they appear
People treat themselves so dear
They look away and fake a smile
One can only live half a life for such a while
Everyone has a secret
But not all know how to keep it
Ignorance in these cases is bliss
To never know what you've missed
My class acts like a family
Except they exempt people like me
My speech for graduation is so bad
How can I write dear things when they make me so mad
They talk behind me and hide it as poorly as an affair
You can see their judgment in the air
I can hardly see what I've done wrong
So I sing this pity song
The storm won't pass and all is not well
A happy family is a stupid fairy tale
Secrets only last in books
Real people can't hide their looks
This isn't a storm of weather
It's a storm of hateful measures
They think I do not know and that I'm blind
But about them I think not so kind
I speak ironically to show them up
Like Chopin said passion cannot let up
[See April 5's posting for a brief statement about Nicole Babich.]
* * * * * * * * * *
"Becoming"
By Carolee Salat
I am woman of this world
Of this earth and water
Of these woods and valleys
It is who I am --
And I rest in the knowing
That when the thorns and brambles of life
Stick me and bruise me and sometimes
Pummel the breath out of me
The sharpness is softened --
And I can rise beyond
And embrace the bone and skin and heat of my being
And go into this world and through those fears
To become a verse in this song.
[See April 25's posting for a brief statement about Carolee Salat.]
