The Girl and the Pearl

The Girl and the Pearl

Once upon a time there was a girl who sat in front of a dead frog that lay before her in a dissection tray.  Her lab partner had just left to go to the bathroom to relieve herself after witnessing the formaldehyde covered carnage that they had performed on the little amphibian that lay before them.
The teacher then began showing them on an overhead projection the stomach and what to expect inside of it.  With scalpel in hand, the girl slit the tough preserved lining of the stomach.  Inside of the small sac was something that was not in the projected image at the front of the class.  It was the size of a pea, white, and smooth. The color was of pearl and it was a perfect little little sphere.
She lay it under her tray and at the end of class she washed her hands and the small pearl.  Yes, she knew that pearls came from oysters, but this one came from a frog and she was taken by how something so pure and beautiful could come from something so grotesque.
That night the girl dreamed.  She dreamed of a young man who appeared to be not much older than she.  He walked with her through the empty hallways of the school, through fields covered with flowers of colors and scents that she had never experienced with her own eyes.  He walked with her along beaches in faraway lands, and he held her in his hands under an old oak tree that smelled of life itself.  At the end of the dream, she knew it was the end and that her time with him was over.  He took her in his arms and kissed her.  He asked her for the pearl.  She said no because it was dear to her and then she woke up.
The next night and for many nights to come, she dreamed about this man.  In her heart she knew that he was real.  He loved her and somewhere he lay sleeping in his bed and someday they would fall in love and be together.  Every night he asked her for the pearl that lay in the palm of her hand.  Every night she said no.
One day she woke up and it was a new and different day.  This day she turned sixteen.  This was a magical day for many girls.  Today she became a young lady.  She would gather with her friends that night.  They would talk and giggle about boys.  The would wear makeup, and they would eat the magical ambrosia that is pizza.
School seemed to take forever, but she finally made it home.  Her friends were due to arrive at any moment.  The doorbell rang and when she opened it.  It was him.  His hair was a bit longer than she remembered from her dreams.  In his hands were two boxes of heavenly smelling food.  He eyes lit up when he saw her and his mouth dropped open.  “I know you” he said and walked in.
Her own mouth agape, she stared at him.  Her wish for the past weeks was finally coming true.  “I know you too” she replied.  He put down the boxes and she wrapped her hands around his neck.  He was really here and just like in her dreams, he knew her also.
They danced in those few minutes alone.  Her head on his chest and his cheek lay on her head.  “I have friends on the way” she said.  He looked down and kissed her.  “I need to go, but I’ll be back.  Give me something to remember you.”  In her hand lay the pearl.  He reached for is and she pulled back her hand.  She said no because the pearl was dear to her.
She turned around to find something else to give to him and when she turned back to the door he was gone.  The only thing that remained were the pizzas.
The celebration was a melancholy event.  Her heart ached for him.  She didn’t even learn his name and he was gone.
The next day she sat in biology class running the pearl between her fingers and it compressed in her finger.  She knew that pearls do not bend.  A tiny bit of blood fell out of it.  As this happened, the teacher walked by.  “What is that?” he asked.  “It’s a pearl” she answered.  She explained to him how she found the little miracle though she didn’t dare tell him about the man whose appearance in her dreams accompanied the arrival of the pearl into her life.  “No, Anne.” he said. “That’s not a pearl.  That is a calcified tumor from the stomach of the frog.  He had probably been sick before he was caught.”  He picked the pearl/tumor out of her hand and threw it into the trash.  She never saw it or dreamed of the man ever again.

The End.

Tree of Life

Tree of Life

Looking up, I can see,

A splendor known only to me,

Green leaves and branches of old,

Crawling beetles, and a little mold.

Branches bend, and leaves fall down,

The ground is red and green and brown.

The color livens the darkening sky,

And a lingering sparrow catches my eye.

The branches have now become bare,

A loitering sparrow has now become rare.

The towering arms of the gigantic tree,

Cry sorrowfully because they are so lonely.

Spring comes again, and the sky is gray,

Little buds form, full of leaves, await May.

The tree is reborn and full of cheer,

And gleefully thanks God for another year.

The End.

Walking

Walking, walking, walking,
Through the city, so grey.

Walking, walking, walking,
Nobody’s Looking my way.

Walking, walking, walking,
Through the town at night.

Walking, walking, walking,
Hoping nobody wants a fight.

Walking, walking, walking,
Through the woods, so brown.

Walking, stopping, praying,
Nobody’s around.

Walking, walking, walking,
So peacefully in the rain.

Walking, splashing, living,
No heat, no worry, no pain.

The Moon

Enter the night!
Said the Lady of the Moon,
Her silky light shone down on me.
I looked up and she hid her sorrow,
But a tear fell to my feet.

Why do you cry, oh lady of the night?
I asked with my heart now heavy.
For my true love, I cannot see.”
And so I sung a song of her love.

She now sings the song I wrote,
But this makes me sad.
For she is the one I love.
And that fact, she will never know.

The Firefighter

Thirty-two years,
On the line,

Fighting Fires,
Yours and mine.

Braving death,
And killing smoke,

Through nooks and cranies,
I will poke.

I am proud,
Of my strife,

Waiting nervously,
To save a life.