LIFES UP & DOWNS
LIFE IS AN OVERWHELMING CHAIN OF EVENTS
FOR AWHILE ...
IT CAN TAKE YOU ON AN INCREDIBLE HIGH
THEN OUT OF NO WHERE
QUICKLY DESEND YOU
INTO A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF GLOOM
AT YOUR LOWEST OF LOWS
YOUR FINGER TIPS AND TOES
SEARCH FOR THE SMALLEST OF CRACKS
DESPARATELY GRASPING FOR LEVERAGE
TO BEGIN YOUR STRUGGLE UPWARDS
WITH EACH SUCCESSFUL FOOTHOLD IN PLACE
YOU GET EXCITED
VISSIONS OF ESCAPING
FILL YOUR MIND WITH GREAT PLEASURE
REALITY SOON SETS
YOU HAVENT REACHED THE TOP YET
WITH A HEALTHY DOSE OF REALITY
YOU SUDDENLY REALIZE
YOUR NEXT POSSIBLE FOOTHOLD
IS FOUR INCHES BEYOND YOUR REACH
A SINCE OF FEAR SETS IN
YOU’RE NERVOUS WITH SWEAT
PANIC BEGINS
YOU GASP WITH SHORT AWKWARD BREATHS
IN THE MIDST OF FRANTICNESS
YOU SLIP AGAIN
INTO WHAT SEEMS TO BE
A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF GLOOM
THEN OUT OF NO WHERE
WHILE YOU SIT IN A POOL OF SELF PITTY TEARS
AN INCRREADIBLE STRENGTH COMES OVER YOU
YOU DRY YOUR BLURRED EYES
TO LOOK UPON THOSE GLOOMY WALLS
WITH THE CRISPEST VISSION YOU'VE EVER HAD
BEFORE YOU’RE EYES
YOU SEE CRACKS AND CREVICES
CREATING A PATTERN FOR YOUR ESCAPE
THAT YOU ARE POSITIVE
NEVER EXSISTED BEFORE
WITH EACH FINGER FINDING EVERY CRACK
AND EVERY TOE IN CREVIS
YOU QUICKLY PULL YOUR SELF OUT
OF WHAT SEEMED TO BE A BOTTOMLESS PIT OF GLOOM
EGARLY ANTICIPATING YOUR LIFE
TO TAKE YOU OIN YOU’RE NEXT
INCREADIBLE HIGH.
AJLH 1997
BY MY HANDS
IM SMOKING IN A CREATIVE FRENZY
I EASILY DUPLICATE AND IMAGE IN MY MIND
UPON COMPLETION ...
I CRACK MY KNUCKLES
STRETCH MY ARMS HIGH AND THEN WIDE
I TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND RELAXINGLY SIGH !
DEFENSIVLY HELD BETWEEN MY LIPS
I EAGARLY LIGHT A CIGARETTE
WITH EACH HAUL THAT I TAKE
I CRITIQUE MY OWN WORK
AS I PONDER MY COLORS OR CHOICE OF WORDS
IN MY HAND ANOTHER CIGARETTE BURNS !
SMOKE SPRIALLS UPWARDS AIMLESSLY AND FREE
SO SIMILAR TO THE IMAGES IN MY MIND I SEE !
AT THE END OF THE DAY ...
MY HANDS ARE SORE , MY VOICE IS MARRED
AND TWO PACKS OF CIGARETTES
EMPTY THEY LAY
BESIDE THE CREATION OF A PRODUCTIVE DAY
DONT LOOK TO MY FACE TO SEE WHO I AM
JUST TAKE A LOOK AT MY HARD WORKING HANDS .
HANDS COVERED WITH PAINT
SMUGGED WITH INK
NICOTINE STAINS AND JOINTS THAT ACHE
THEY ARE THE KEY TO MY MIND
SO FRAGILE AND STRONG
CREATIVE AND SELF DISTRUCTIVE
MY HANDS SHOW IT ALL !
AJLH 10 -20-97
CROSSROADS
They were the happiest years of my childhood
The first ten years of my life
I cling to those years so deep in my heart
For with out them who would I be?
During those years I learned to smile laugh and love
I was barefoot and carefree,
I leapt with out fear into my world of imagination
And in my dreams my world I concurred.
During these years the best of me was formed.
These are the worst years of my childhood
The next six years of my life
Malice animosity and fury broke down the doors
Of my perfect world
Resulting in disappointment and spitefulness
All I had known suddenly disappeared
I imagined, dreamed and created a way to survive
I began to write, paint, drink and smoke.
The carefree child had become a loner self -confined to her room
Where in here creations her world was once again the same.
During these years I formed a hardened shell
Little did I know it would mature into strength.
Alone and confused
I stood sadly in the center of my life
Rewinding and playing each aspect over and over again.
I eagerly pondered my short life.
It was during this process that I became whole.
All of my good had merged with my bad
The fog had lifted and the sun rose bold
My first theory was thought and understood.
You must know love to enjoy happiness,
You must suffer disappointments to gain strength,
You must embrace imagination and the ability to dream,
For without them…
What is your motivation to enjoy or survive,
What life has to offer?
AJLH 2002
Artistic Vision
I sit in silence
Across the room
Stairing amilessly
At planks of wood
My eyes wander up and down
Back and forth
Around and around
My eyes are searching
For shapes and figures
That create an image
From start to finish
Imagery tossed
Through invissible air
Superimpossed on the object
Artwork appears
Now the challenge begins
To combine the two
The image and object
Create something new
To complete a piece
Of my own design
Is to take something common
And bring it to life.
AJLH 1995
