Poem of the Day: Silentium

SILENTIUM
By A. J. W.

A long, classical black dress trailing on the floor...
A head held high, but filled with thoughts of doubt...
Ears filled with the sound of a thunderous applause...
All eyes focused on one person...
All eyes watching her...
All with the highest expectations...
A graceful bow before she sat down on the slick black bench...
Silence...
Cold, oppressive silence...
The world was quiet there...
For a second she forgot what to do with her fingers, but they soon found a place on the white keys, her red painted nails a brilliant contrast with the pearly ivory colored keys...
Silence...
Cold Blue Eyes staring her down...
She took in a deep breath...

...and didn't let it out...

...she filled the theater with a total absence of the music they all so desperately longed to hear...
She stood up...
Cold Blue Eyes shot shivers down her spine...
She opened her mouth to speak...
Silence...
Cold Blue Eyes nailed her tongue down...
She fought for freedom...
The pressure...
The silence...
Collapsing over her head...
Failure...
Humiliation...
Betrayal...
She looked into Cold blue eyes and broke away...
She was no prisoner...
It was her on the podium...
Just her...
Alone...
Silence...
She broke her chains...
Freedom was close...
She fought against the tide...

...she found only silence...

...nothing waited for her at the end of the road...
If she took her first step towards freedom...
She really would be alone...
Was it worth it?...
What would she gain?...
What am I thinking? she thought...
I can have freedom...
Cold Blue Eyes tried to command her...
No longer...
Silence...
No longer...
She found a voice...

"Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for coming here to see me. I know you were all so looking forward to seeing my performance, but I'm afraid I have bad news."

Cold Blue Eyes stood up and stared at her...

"I've forgotten my music."

Cold blue eyes stood up and left...
Shocked silence...
Her Atlas lost his strength...
Her whole world fell...
She ran through a bottomless pit...
She had to escape...
Something about fresh air crossed her mind...
The stage was empty now...

The theater was empty now...
She was free...
She ran down the streets...
Never-ending streets...
Shattered silence...
The City was alive...
A beast that had eaten her silence...
She flew away...
She stopped abruptly when she saw the Lady...
Liberty...
She vowed to be like that Lady from that moment on...
No longer would Cold Blue Eyes knock her down...
Her own eyes would let her gaze into the light...
She would no longer let Cold Blue Eyes see everything for her...
She was so caught up in that one wonderful thought...
She was so caught up that she didn't see the real lights...

...sometimes our daydreams will come true...

The world grew quiet...
Someone else screamed for her...

...she knew the cost of freedom now...

No one had been there to watch over her...
Her guardian angel had flown away...
She was so confused...
How could this happen...
The world snapped into black and white...
Things disappeared...
Disappeared one at a time...
The last thing she saw was the tall, erect Lady Liberty...
She smelled the gasoline nearby...
Felt hot air rush by as astonished people yelled and cried to get her help...
It was all her fault...
She could've prevented the accident...
Cold Blue Eyes...
Freedom...
Then, she heard silence, and closed her eyes...
She was peaceful...
She had lived her own life...
SHE WAS FREE.

Poem of the Day: The Differences

THE DIFFERENCES
by AJW

What can a poem do that a paragraph cannot?
Well...a paragraph is a restricted, uniform pile of words...
...A poem is a free fall tumble of your thoughts onto paper...
Paragraphs are the steady heartbeat and thump of steady heart...
...Poems are scrambled eggs...
Paragraphs say what you know you should be saying...
...poems say whatever come to mind, good or bad...
Anyone can write a paragraph on why it's important to show allegiance to your country...
...Not everyone could have written a star spangled verse declaring their allegiance...
Paragraphs are ordinary, and can be boring...
...poems are unique and never the same...
A paragraph is a standard of excellent academics...
...A poem is a free opinion that will impress people more...
A paragraph is sawdust...
A poem is grass with dew on top on Saturday morning...
A paragraph is like bow-tie shaped pasta arranged perfectly on a plate...
A poem is a tangled quagmire of spaghetti with tomato sauce on top...
A paragraph is dusty, too salty, old cracker...
A poem is a cookie with a warm brown center...
Paragraphs are clear, white skies...
...poems are windy days with patterned clouds...
Paragraphs are blank sheets of paper...
...A poem is piece of paper filled with thoughts that need to be said.

Poem of the Day: Definitely Worth It

DEFINITELY WORTH IT
by AJW

"BAND! TEN HUT!"
A thousand images flash before Their eyes
Days and days of August heat
The sweating
the swearing
The screaming
The yelling
The friends
never ends
The heat
Can't be beat
Their feet
they ache
Their strength's
Gonna break
Be strong
For the throng
Be brave
Time They gave
The work
Never stops
Feels like
They're gonna go
Berserk
"BAND! TEN HUT!"
The aching feet
Snap to attention
To the beat
Permanent in their heads
Eyes look up
Up at
Their Drum Major
They see many things
But mostly the same
Bright eyes
They're ready
For this
Ready
To look up
Into the crowd
Be blinded
By florescent
Football lights
They're ready
to win
To triumph
High Chins
Straight backs
There's nothing
They lack
They're here
Today
Now
They're here to win
"BAND! TEN HUT!"
They're ready
They remember
The sweating
the swearing
The screaming
The yelling
With pride
It was all for
A good reason
For this
This feeling
Like none other
Eyes with pride
They know
They're gonna win
And when they do
They're gonna cheer
Like none other
All in perfect rows
Lined up Real Straight
Their eyes so bright
Their set so great
They're a little nervous
They're all wound up
Gonna wait
Almost ready
Announcer speaking
Their form is steady
Inside they're shaking
Now they're ready
They take their first step
Started already
After all
They are
The one
The only
LOUDOUN
COUNTY
MARCHING
BAND