Married to a Memory

The one time you looked me in the eye and weren't afraid of the love you saw shining out.

The one time you acknowledged my love as something other than weakness.

The one time you understood, if only for a moment, the sincerity in my words and in my actions.

The one time I pleaded with your soul to set aside our differences, and your head finally got in the way of our hearts.

I replay them incessantly, imagining what I could have done differently.

  To have made them memories of realities instead of daydreams past.

Speech III: Four Myths About Sewing Projects You Can Throw Out the Window

As I get more comfortable with public speaking, I need fewer notes to address the audience. This is the outline for a speech I gave about making a costume for a skit in second grade. I was a pink space-cat, and I hot glued a bed sheet together to make the costume. It was a little tight, and fell apart almost as soon as the skit ended.

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Four Myths about Sewing Projects You Can Throw Out the Window

General Purpose: To Inform

Specific Purpose: To inform the audience how not to start a sewing project

Intro: Every now and then my mom would let me follow through on an idea I had with varying degrees of success.

>Barney’s Birthday Party

>Cat costume for school

Based on this extensive technical background, I’ve taken it upon myself to debunk four myths on how to start a sewing project.

Myth I: Find a teacher with more knowledge than you.

>My mom and I had the same skill level when it came to sewing.

Myth II: Gather the necessary supplies: fabric, sewing machine, a pattern to make the costume

>None of these things are necessary.

Myth III: Test for fit.

>Only if you plan on wearing it for longer than a few minutes. If you can get it on, it fits.

Myth IV: You will learn from your mistakes.

>This only applies to half of your mistakes. My next project was a costume for my American Girl doll.

>I didn’t bother finding a teacher.

>I still didn’t have any supplies. I used the pillowcase that matched my own costume.

>I did test for fit. It’s a lot easier when you can pin the fabric directly onto the model.

Conclusion: Now you know how to make a costume with nothing more than a hot glue gun and a refusal to quit. Whether you are are a precocious 8 year old, or a precocious 28 year old, you can do anything you set your mind to. Everything else is a myth.

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I slayed 'em with the jokes during this speech. I've been asked to rework it for a humor speech contest in which all the area clubs participate.

Featured Poet: Esther Brincat with "Do You See Us?"

Do You See Us?

By Esther Brincat


Do you see us?
Standing together under a starry sky
you tilting my head up
and even though I’m shy,
I look you in the eye.

Do you see us?
you bend down to kiss me,
and when we kiss,
with the moon as our company,
the stars shine in our bliss.


Do you see us?
dropping me off on the driveway
kissing me goodnight
I stand on my tiptoes in my red beret
to reach your lips to finish the day.

Do you see us?
Falling asleep in your arms
I sleep in peace,
because I know you will protect me from harm
and throughout the night you never release, me.


Do you see us?
Teaching me your world, showing me your life
I swear I will love you- with no fear,
no hurt- no pain- no strife

Do you see us?
Because I see it,
I fall asleep alone-
Just wishing you were by my side.
Do you see us?

Tick Tock

The clock tells us what to do
Where to go
What to eat.

The second hand moves around
around the face of the clock.
Tick Tick Tick Tick
- Tick.

Tock. Time to go.
Door clicks open, clicks shut.
Time to work.

Trudge in. "You're late." Leave for class.
Get to class. "You're late."
"By midnight tonight."

Late in the afternoon
No to waffles
No to Ronald
Time to eat once more today.

Throw away the clock.
If time existed, it would be
Time to usher in a new age.
It's time to break the monotony
And help our fellow man
Heal the world

Our generation is accused of selfishness,
But ours is the generation
Capable of World Peace.

Featured Poet: Esther Brincat with "June 20, 2012"

I want you to know,
That I am here for you,
And although I know-
I am breaking your heart in two,
Just know that it kills me to even do this to you.
After knowing what I did,
Seeing you in pain,
It is like I slid,
A knife across my vein.
All those promises-
The way you treated me,
Made me feel like i was your girl,
A beauty queen,
I can’t help feeling that you deserve more,
Deserve way more than me,
My mind keeps reeling,
My head spinning,
My heart needs healing-
What I did
There is no explanation
Just shows you that I’m just a kid
Not ready for the real world I guess
Maybe you can forgive me,
And we can move on,
From this catastrophe

Speech II: How to be a Decent Human Being

 This is the second speech I gave for my public speaking club, Toastmasters International. I've mastered the appropriate length. The goal was to organize the speech, and to have a clear structure.

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How to be a Decent Human Being (5 to 7 minutes)

Intro: Religo-politics aside, Religion is a collection of moral codes designed to bring mankind closer to deity. If you boil down all the major world religions whether it be the Baha'is, the Muslims, or the Christians, the take away they all want you to get is to be a good person. Three precious-metal rules explain how to be a good person, and we’re going to start with the classic Golden Rule.

I. Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated.

1. A good example to follow:

If you see a man on the side of the road, pick him up. He may not be your

brother, or your son, but he is somebody’s brother and son. Pick him up. You want someone to do the same for you and yours someday.

2. A poor example to follow:

My mother likes everything to be sweet and happy. When her children frown, she sings, “If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay. Quickly turn it upside down and smile that frown away. No one likes a frowny-face. Trade it for a smile. Make the world a better place by smiling all the while.” You need to calm down before I stab you in the neck.

II. Silver Rule: Don’t treat others the way you wouldn’t want to be treated. In other words, don’t be a jerk.

1. A good example of this:

A state legislator in Kentucky proposed the most recent bill requiring men to jump through a series of hurdles before having access to erectile dysfunction drugs. There have been a few bills like this, and they are all there to prove the point that we should all just stay away from each other's beds and genitals from a legal standpoint.

2. That was a little heavy, so let me move right on to a poor example to follow:

Maybe you don’t like being tailgated. Maybe I don’t like driving behind someone going ten under the speed limit, and then speed up once I am in the other lane so I can’t pass you. Maybe there’s some middle ground where we don’t aggressively act like jerks.

III. Platinum Rule: Treat others the way they want to be treated.

1. A good example to follow:

Take your cues from the person you’re interacting with. If you start talking to someone who clearly does not want to be in a conversation, leave them alone. Don’t assume that they want you to rescue them from isolation. Maybe don’t threaten to stab your mom in the neck anymore.

That person you tried to pick up off the side of the road earlier? Don’t drive really slow behind them after they’ve declined your offer. It’s going to be awkward for both of you when the cops come ‘round in response to a passerby’s call. I would know.

2. A poor example to follow:

Addicts refusing treatment probably won’t be treated the way they want to be treated (or untreated), and children don’t get to chose their dinner or bedtime, or raise themselves in any way. Other than that, the platinum rule is the way to go.

    Closing: We as a species have to start with ourselves. We can’t change others, we can

only change ourselves. Once we’ve taken care of ourselves, we can take care of our families, and then we get involved in our communities, and show the example of the decent human being to our neighbors. It’s not just our community either, but communities across the globe, and pretty soon world peace is possible because we took the best of the metal rules, and stopped acting like colossal jerks one person at a time.

Featured Poet: Esther Brincat with "What I Want"

What I want to hear from you,
Is that you will always hold me up,
And you will never let me go.

And if I cry and swear to leave,
You will grab my hand as I turn
Kiss me on the lips
And beg me to stay.


What I need from you is to love me,
To shun me from those harsh words,
And for you to rock me to sleep,
As I sit in your lap and we count the stars.

I want you to miss me-
And when you look at the starry sky-
You will think of me.
As often as I think of you.

I want you to want me-
To want me to run up to you and hug you
To grab your hand just to feel how string it feels in mine.
To stand on my tiptoes to kiss your cheek.

I want to see your smile-
I want to see your eyes sparkle
When I wrap my arms around your waist and pull you to me.

I need you to love me
As much as I love you.

Woman 2012

My beauty is a weapon.

My curls are my armor.

My wit is my shield.

I have no heart.

My Muse

You were just a muse,
 Now you are dried and gone,
Did I love you or just use,
 The star I hung my dreams upon?

I used to praise you daily,
 Steadfast in every action,
Steadfast as comet Hayley,
 Now you are a distraction.

Did I give up too quickly?
 The waiting hurt my pride.
Should I have waited until sixty?
 Waited 'til I died?

With you, all knew I was obsessed.
Inspiration at its best.