Make Me Dance

Make Me Dance

I want you to be for me
What the wind is for the trees.

On a bright summery day,
that tree stands majestic,
stands with beauty,
stands with wisdom
that can come only from
long, slow growth
through many years of patience.

But then...then comes the
summer storm.
And with it, all its power
but most importantly...
wind.

The wind that makes the tree dance.
The wind that dances in its leaves
The wind that plays with and causes the sway of that tree,
thus enhancing the beauty of the tree.

On its own, the tree is mighty,
elegant, to be revered.
And with the wind, it stirs
all that is grand and glorious.

I want you to be for me
What the wind is to the trees.

Hole

Last night, my grandfather passed away after living over nine decades on this Earth. I am so blessed to have been able to have him in my life and have a relationship with him. Because he lived so long, I had a chance to get to know him as an adult, and I think that has made a big difference in who I am now. Today, words came to me that expressed my feelings about his passing. I was waiting for more to come, but this was all that surfaced. By far, this is the shortest poem I've ever written, and I guess that's because there is no more to say. He was a great man.

Hole
by Leslie Williams

Just because my grandfather died

doesn’t mean

the world has just ended…

…but it does mean the end of

a part of my world.

Important Things

Important Things

By L. Williams

God has more important things to do

Than to listen to wishful prayers regarding

Basketball hopes and dreams.

God has more important things to do

Than to listen to the empty promises that

A good game will guarantee a change in lifestyle.

God has more important things to do

Than to entertain the notion that

He can and very well should determine the outcome of a game.

God has more important things to do…

Such as listen to the focused thoughts of a young man

Who knows that a strong mind will lead to a stronger performance.

Such as listen to the desires of dedicated player

Who wants so badly to make a commanding statement in a game.

Such as listen to the hopes of the committed team

Who can’t help but think that this one moment is what it’s all about.

Such as listen to the heart of a Captain

Who is willing to sacrifice everything for his team.

God has nothing more important to do

Than to listen to the ones whom He calls His own.

For all things we do

Do them for the one

Who answers our

Thoughts

        Desires

            Hopes

Hearts

With the way that fulfills His purpose for us…

For then will God listen to our important things.

Awareness

Awareness

by L Williams

If you don’t realize that

you don’t know anything

until you have a realization about it,

then can you

ever

really

                 know

anything?

It’s a conundrum, isn’t it?

Goingthrough life inarapidpace

knowing everything

but realizing nothing…

until the realization

happens and you

realize

something that you have

“known”

all along.

And then it hits you.

The AHA! moment

that we often hear about

but may rarely experience…

and then…

and then this realization takes over,

washing our perspective in the bleach of understanding,

ridding the “knowing” of all the stains

of bias or

self-pity or

ignorance

creating this realization that is

blinding as the midday sun,

sometimes too hard to look at

yet gripping enough to draw our gaze.

And then you realize that

you didn’t really know

what you thought you knew

until you had that realization about it.

Until we realize

we don’t know

until the realization comes,

we can never truly

know anything.

Short Story - Portrait

I assigned a writing task to my students where they had to create a story based on a picture after studying it in depth. They could not look up the background for the picture, but instead had to come up with something on their own. I decided to do my own portrait story as well. My story is below.

The day was over, and it was finally time for Henry to go out visiting…and by visiting, everyone in the town knew exactly whom he was going to visit. What gave away his destination was the new brightly colored orange shirt that he chose to wear because “she” liked that color on him. That shirt contrasted nicely with the dark blue coveralls that he chose to wear on top. The way his clothing fit on him showed a young man packed with muscle yet because he chose to hide his physically strong frame under these crisp new clothes, everyone knew how good his character actually was. In a town such as this where everyone knew everyone else’s business, it was good to know that fine young men such as Henry existed. And that is the same reason why everyone wanted to protect Henry from “her.”

After jumping down the porch steps on this very important day, a day that everyone knew was coming and dreaded it at the same time, Henry began his long walk up the lane on his way to Ellen’s house. Ellen was the one occupying all of Henry’s free time as well as his thoughts. Ellen was the girl who made her own introductions to the shy Henry. Ellen was the young lady who wormed her way into Henry’s heart, despite the warnings of friends and family. Ellen was the outcast from her own community not because of her meager beginnings but because of the type of person she was known to be…a person with low character.

As he sauntered up the walk in only the way that Henry could, he felt the eyes of his family boring into his back, weighing him down under the weight of the stares. He slowed his pace, trying to decide if he was imagining their disapproval, unsure and unaware of their silent prayers that he stay and not make the mistake of proposing to that girl. Instead of stopping completely, Henry decided to quicken his pace, thinking “the faster I go, the faster I can return with the good news.” Little did he know that his mother carefully descended the steps of the small porch. Just as he reached his hand out to open the gate to the road, he thought he heard his name in the wind “Henry…?” But he was determined to be on his way, yet as he grabbed the handle to the gate, he stopped as if frozen in time at the voice and the strain he heard in the way his mother said his name “HENRY…?”

He did not turn around. At least not all the way because he knew what he would see should he choose to look his mother squarely in the eyes. He would see her disapproval. Her pleading. Her humility at having to ask, not forbid, her son not to make this mistake. But most importantly, he would see her unconditional love that she had always had for him. He knew that looking at her would mean not making his way to Ellen.

Instead, he chose to listen to his mother as she searched for words to that would guide him without the overbearing tones and demands that she knows mothers often make of their oldest boys. Henry almost felt sorry for his mother as he listened to her fumble over her words, and in many ways, he knew that she was right. All of the remonstrations that she stated were sound and quite valid…even though it took her a while to get them all out.

Still, he couldn’t help but think of Ellen…the love of his 19-year-old life. After the talking ceased, all matters were laid bare as if skeletons were neatly placed side by side and the silence settled, Henry did the only thing he could think to do. Without turning back to face the rest of his family who were eagerly watching from the porch or his mother whom he knew would have nothing but hope and tears dancing in her eyes because he had stopped to listen that long, he opened the gate and walked away.

But not in the direction of Ellen’s…

Some People Just Suck

Some People Just Suck
by Leslie Williams

You know who I'm talking about...
Those people who
couldn't
care
less
about whomever or whatever
simply because they are
THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE...EVER,
or so they think.
They are the ones who want
all the glitz and glory
all the attention
all the praise
regardless of whether they
deserve it or not.
But you know what?
The fact is that
some people just suck,
and no matter what I do,
they will either love me or not.
And I'm finally okay with that...
more than okay, actually.
One of my goals in life will be
to not become one of them,
and my other is not to dwell on them
because...
they probably wouldn't care anyway.

Staying Strong (when I feel so weak)

Staying Strong (when I feel so weak)
by Leslie Williams

Why is it that we women will put ourselves
through pain and misery for a man?
And it isn't just once or twice
and then we learn our lessons.
It is constant, repetitive torture.
Doormats and women - see the link?
Why can't we be stronger?
I don't want to stay in this state
of gut and heart wrenching misery.
Constantly worrying about being loved
is not working of me.
What to do? Slide into the background.
Be hidden from the things that
continue to beat me down,
wear out my tired drained heart
so that it can revive itself.
Then, when my heart is needed again,
it can be ready to love:
Because right now I am trying to
stay strong when I feel so weak,
and I can barely breathe.
Rest, recuperate, rehabilitate.
This is my heart's path
if I am to live.