Exclusive Ink

Author: lwortley

  • WHEN I REMEMBER

    by PAULA

    When I remember you, I don’t think of IV
    and physical therapy.
    I chase the times you’d make me quesadillas
    not caring about your crippled hands paining
    you.
    The picture of Spongebob that hung on your fridge is now plastered to mine.
    Yellowed parchment, crumpled up like brittle
    sandpaper.
    When I run back to those days,
    I lose myself in a green apartment complex
    with a snow-dusted gazebo, two over-sized
    dumpsters, and a cramped elevator.
    Now when I reminisce, I itch and sweat,
    like I’m in an asbestos-lined laundry
    room.
    You taught me to never idolize time.
    And time is the one thing I
    couldn’t idolize if I wanted to.
    You have to have something to idolize it.
    Rather, I’ll sit comfortably on your foam
    bed and blue couch and let the salt sting
    me, like festering bacon in a frying pan.

  • WATER’S SYMPHONY

    by KYLA

    Dripping, the water clashes against the coal black pavement of the neighborhood streets. Soothing me like Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Eerie, but relaxing, like a hot tub at Syberis Spa, a romantic escape from life’s pressures.

    Stress relieving like a back massage from a chiropractor. Soul soothing like a harp. Hypnotic like a violin. Extravagant like a cello. Prius like an organ. Rhythmic like a loved one’s heartbeat. Sweet like the bass drum in a dream.

    Heart-capturing like a smooth storm of radiant violet petals. Comforting like the exemplary tempo of a flute. Swishing like the swaying of a composer’s stick. Livening like the “hark” of an angel’s voice.

    Fluttering like the flowing chorus of gleaming butterflies. Falling from a piano’s highest key. Placating like a soft droplet of rain hitting a grassy plain. Plop, plank, shhhh.

  • INDIANA

    by JAMMONICA

    Being near the monument downtown. The monument has soldiers and horses. It’s very pretty during Christmas time. The monument is tall and it’s right in the middle of downtown close to the mall. The lights on the monument are pretty and bright, and it stands out for some people to take pictures. The lights on the big tree explode with color. It’s as big as Ted Mosby’s nose. The feeling of Christmas time is peaceful and joyful. And being on the streets is sometimes that way and sometimes not. Because it’s loud and cold. Like being in music. When it snows it’s so amazing but it’s worse but you’re amazed by the snowflakes.

  • NEW YORK

    by FERNANDO

    Well living in New York is really big for me because where I’m from music and dance are really big. You have people that can dance and sing, and that was one of the main things I did. I liked to sing and I like a lot of country music because it makes my feelings show. I remember when my Cuban friends and I were playing around throwing a football from a balcony from the top floor down to the street. One time we hit a car, and the man got out and we thought he was going to kill us. But we just ended up getting a lesson from our parents. It was kind of funny. We didn’t have many toys so the street was our playground. The way people dress is so common like you don’t have to go outside and dress to impress. You can go outside with shorts and a sleeveless shirt and not get judged. The people there are nice – most of them. There are a lot of cubanos, brasileños, venezolanos y de hondureños. Y, a veces, the Bronx is so relaxing.

  • MUSIC

    by CURTIS

    Music means the world to me; it gives me chills as I listen
    It has the greatest value in my life like diamonds as they glisten
    Music is a part of me; without it I don’t exist
    It’s always by my side and in my head as I reminisce
    It comes in all emotions, influences the way we act
    Everyone can relate to a song, and that’s a fact
    Without it my life is empty like a random dumpster in a crowded plaza
    And without it my life is fake like Jay-Z and Beyonce’s daughter

    Music means the world to me; it gives me chills as I listen
    It hooks me and reels me in like a country man going fishing
    Music is a way of life, a way of swag and culture
    It leaves me at the end of the day flying high like a vulture
    I listen day in and day out
    Whenever I have headphones in I want people to stay out