Afternoon at the River

When I went to the river to skip a few stones
Out came a turtle who wanted some food
I gave him a chicken, and he ate all the bones
When he was done, he was in a good mood

So he helped me across, as I rode on his back
But I saw a hungry bear, who sat with a pot
“We better turn around, before he attacks”
But the turtle swam on, with no second thought

The bear stood up quick, and showed his sharp claws
I was pretty frightened, and the turtle was too
But the closer we got, I could see that his paws
Were covered with honey like Winnie the Pooh

I had made a few interesting friends that day
Who happened to be a turtle and a bear
I think I’ll invite them next weekend to stay
At my house if my parents won’t care

Unfortunate

I went to a bar in Kentucky
The weather there wasn’t too yucky
But too bad the waiter
Was chomped by a gator
Oh that was pretty unlucky

Beyond the Culture

High stakes ahead
Destined to die
Hawaiian families need
Expertise and vision
To new heights
That doesn’t
Hold off short-handed

Hawaii one of few
Credited with
Children moving
Back to homelands
To be one
With Godly values
Finding lost treasures
Saving lives

A Daily Poem

This is a poem that sings
In the rainstorms on never-ending plains
That laughs
Because there is no care
Because there is no worry

And when anxiety
Hammers down hard
This is the poem that shivers
Under the chatter of a tin roof
That hides in the corners of the heart

Hiking

In the heart of Haleakalā
We hike with heavy backpacks
It’s hard to breathe
Down the trail of Sliding Sands

We hike with heavy backpacks
In the dirt and rock desert
Down the trail of Sliding Sands
And up the hills and slopes

In the dirt and rock desert
Holua Cabin shelters us
And up the hills and slopes
Night is falling

Holua Cabin shelters us
From the icy, cold wind
Night is falling
The bright stars flood the sky

From the icy cold wind
It’s hard to breathe
The bright stars flood the sky
In the heart of Haleakalā

Fifi

Delilah stretched her arms as she lay on the hammock outside her private lodge watching her movie on a portable DVD player. She had just finished being filmed in an action movie and was beginning her career as an actress. This was the first time she had had a vacation in a long time. She tied her short blonde hair into a ponytail and placed big dark glasses on her head. The fall season was approaching quickly, and the trees began to glow with reddish orange rather than lush green. Her iPod played in her ears, and she ventured slowly down the path admiring the beautiful scenery around her.

All of a sudden, an enormous bang exploded across the woods. The quake from the crash shivered from the ground up Delilah’s legs. She stopped in her tracks and pulled the earphones out from her ears. As she wound the wires and stuffed her music in her pouch, she peered over the bushes and shrubbery to her right. Adrenaline and curiosity mixed inside her head. She had to find out and see where the crash came from. First looking around to see if anyone else had heard and felt the boom also, she went off the path towards the catastrophe.

Sandy was already heading towards the explosion. She was a tourist in this natural land and had been extremely excited to go hiking. It wasn’t a long while after that she parked her rental car at the base of the empty hiking trail, and she started up the mountain where the boom had shattered the earth. It sounded like a detonation of a skyscraper by alien laser beams. After waiting and listening for any other noises, she started off the path in the direction of the crash. It seemed that no one else was anywhere near her. She was frightened but she had to know where the huge blast had come from. As Sandy ducked and hopped over branches, shrubs, and bushes, the air became clouded with dirt. She struggled to breathe.

Read the rest of the story in the print version of We Digress… coming May 7, 2012.

Purpose

Life isn’t comparable against someone else’s
Life isn’t blind or accidental
Life isn’t wrapped up in a song
Life isn’t being appreciated or acknowledged
Life isn’t winning a lottery, a game, or a trip
Life isn’t tasting, seeing, smelling, hearing, or feeling
Life isn’t experiencing for the first time
Life isn’t receiving valentines on February 14th
Life isn’t loving someone and dreaming of a future
Life isn’t schoolwork, being popular, or having a hundred friends
Life isn’t getting married, having a family and a home
Life isn’t meaningless, redundant, or being bored
Life isn’t having a religion or following rules
Life isn’t always being happy

Life is easily turned hard and,
Life is hardly turned easy
Life is enduring the joyful moments and,
Life is enjoying the adversities
Life is learning how to sacrifice and,
Life is losing yourself for one another

In Twenty Years

In twenty years, I’ll be more mature, earning a decent paycheck, and married with kids. I will no longer be mistaken for a girl of Native-American descent like Disney’s Pocahontas. I’ll be a sophisticated grown-up with correct posture when I walk. My black hair will be much shorter, with straight motherly bangs. At home, my hair will be in a bun like a Japanese hostess at a fancy hotel. I will enjoy being mistaken for a foreign neuroscientist or a prestigious university professor with my newly acquired reading glasses. I will definitely appreciate the clearness of my skin, even though it will have newborn wrinkles from my kids, who will drive me crazy every day. Designer clothes will definitely be out of my budget and off my list of priorities. Everything about my appearance will be simple and never acquired at regular price. I will have the appearance of an ordinary mother nearing her 40’s.

Closing Time at the Clinic

It’s closing time at the clinic. Wearing his stained scrubs, Dustin cleaned the last of the equipment he and his coworkers had used that day. It was chaotic: twelve newborn kittens, a bleeding horse, some broken bones, and numerous dying animals. He was ready to go home, get dinner, and fall asleep.

The bell on the door jingled and is followed by squeaking of wet rubber boots. The floor was just cleaned! Dustin hurried to the front to shoo the boot-wearer out of the building. An old man holds his medium-sized, wire-haired dog in his arms. It was badly hurt. Dustin was angry. By the look of its injury, the owner had waited days before coming to get any help. These were the bad owners Dustin considered cruel and stupid killers.

Already angry and frustrated, Dustin rushed the dog to the emergency room he had just cleaned. A catheter and an IV needle are shoved in the dog’s body. Dustin and other technicians are at the doctor’s side. The old man sits on the couch and waits, and the clinic is filled with yelling, hurrying and panic. After an hour, the dog was breathing, but barely. The doctor did all that she could for him and talked with the owner. The owner walked out of the room with his face towards the floor.

Dustin skeptically asks why he hadn’t decided to get help earlier. The owner confides that he is losing his house, his dog is his best and only friend, and that he was positive the bill for saving his dog would make him lose everything he had. His dog was eventually put down.

After that day, Dustin never again judged an owner, no matter the situation.

Life Lessons Poem

I’m learning to do my work at home
And I’m learning to finish early
And I’m learning to do it right
Not cheating, when I hurry
And I’m learning not to stress too much
And I’m learning not to push the line
And I’m learning though it sometimes really hurts me
Not to whine
And I’m learning to give up my way
When I think nobody can beat me
And I’m learning that it’s much
Much easier to be asleep

Love Poem

The God book says to be patient
And the years of waiting, really aren’t wasted
Rather than broken rules and spontaneity
We’re the few, obedient, truly trustworthy
So I guess our song is not singing, floating birds
But it’s the time we wait, trusting the words

We wait to be “free,” just not like in prison
But so we can live our lives that we’ve been given
It’s not how much you are willing to do
But what I’ll hold back when I wait for you
So I know our song is the separation we endure together
Knowing someday soon we’ll be “always and forever”

Sliding on a Hill

Sliding on a hill with a cardboard box, you scream, laugh, and smile out of adrenaline-rushing fun. The first time you go down, it will be scary and you may not have a proper landing, but, no matter, you will want to slide down again and again.

The ride can be bumpy or smooth, depending on the hill you choose but be careful of the dangerous slopes where you can end up badly hurt. After lots of practice, you can even control how fast you slide and the direction you travel.

Finding the exact cardboard box that runs so smoothly down that perfectly grassy hill will give you the best, most enjoyable journey the entire sled ride down. This is the hill and the cardboard you will always be gliding down and having fun with. Everyone has their own special place for cardboard sledding but this one hill is yours only.

How to Fight the Monsters in Your Bedroom

First, turn on all the lights. Light is the most important weapon. Light is a monster’s weakness. Light will force all the monsters to stay hidden or out of sight. If you absolutely cannot keep the lights on, due to the cost of electricity or the brightness disturbing another family member, use night lights. Keeping a night light and a flashlight close by is also essential. Never ever be caught in the shadowy dark.

Secondly, keep your room clean. In case the monsters try to venture out of hiding spots, a clean room will not allow them to hide just anywhere. Also, a clean room will allow you to maneuver easily.

Next, always close your closet. After using a closet for practical daily needs, shut the door. Monsters are formed in the closet. The monsters cannot come outside if the door is shut.

Another thing is to jam all large belongings under the bed. This guarantees that the underside of your bed will not become a cave for creatures. In addition, wearing socks is a great defense against monsters that creep on your toes or bite them off. House slippers would probably work even better.

Finally, remember that your blanket is your refuge. Hide under your blanket for absolute security. Your blanket is a force field. You will know if a monster has been after you in the night if you wake up in the morning and your blanket is on the floor. Your trusted teddy bear should be there too in order to protect you. Also, sleeping with a baseball bat isn’t a bad idea. Good luck and good night.

My Green Hero

“Let’s play Super Smash Brothers!” I constantly begged my older brother.
When I was eight, I would rush home from school every day, turn on the TV, click the little gray button on the purple box, and play my Game Cube. The only game I wanted to play was Super Smash Brothers Melee. The only character I chose was not just Link, but young Link.

He wore all green, kind of like Peter Pan. His floppy cap and his collared tunic were a mossy, forest green. He held a wooden, brown shield in one hand and a deadly sword in the other. He wore his brown arrow bag across his back and a brown belt across his waist. And like any outdoorsman, he had beautiful, cuffed, buckskin boots.

There were many reasons I related myself to young Link. He was a young child who loved nature, just like me. When I pressed the down arrow on the controller, he drank milk, just like me. Young Link was calm, quiet and focused, just like me. I thought he was the boy version of me. I copied everything he did, but these weren’t even his best attributes.

Young Link kicked butt. He had a bow, a sword, bombs, and even a slingshot. Wielding his sword, he would slice through the air and land on his foes, penetrating their chest. My favorite part was when young Link would kneel down, pull back on his bow and release, sending a piercing arrow straight into the back of an oblivious opponent. His glistening arrow even hummed “psshhew” on its concentrated flight to death. Young Link was extremely dexterous when he quickly leaped or bulleted over, under, and past his enemies. I was fascinated by his abilities to exterminate the bad guys and avoid any harm.

My greatest desire was to become an archer. I would make my own bow and arrows out of chopsticks, paper towel rolls, and rubber bands. In the furthest section of Sports Authority, I would leave breath marks on the glass display cases I stared into that contained huge hunting bows. I dreamed of killing bad guys, hurdling through a ruined temple, and being untouchable. Being like young Link would make me the fearless hero that I wished I could have been.

Cows and Chickens

When life gets difficult and my eyes are the most exhausted part of my body, I go to my oasis. It’s not up in the clouds or on the beach, but away in the rural country. Few clouds float above fluttering butterflies as stunning as twinkling stars. Underneath blue skies, the grassy field runs as vast as the horizon. A calm lake as smooth and clear as glass hugs the sandy bank in the middle of the field. The friendly mooing and soft clucking of nearby farm animals are heard over the rhythmic clapping of the tide. Next to the shore is an enormous tree made for exploring with slides, ladders, entrances and exits. This delightfully nature-born playground consists of no work or technology. The bright and soothing rays of sunlight blanket my warm skin. When night falls, the snow drifts silently down to the ground. Inside a simple log cabin beside the massive tree, I’m snuggled in cozy blankets with my Bible in my lap and my toy crocodile in my arms. The white night outside my window makes me relax and be at peace with myself and my busy life. This is where simplicity gives me rest.

Seashell

A smooth seashell sits with its opening on top. Its rounded shape and grayish colors gives it a dull look. It doesn’t shimmer or glow. Tarnished rim, chipped sides, and filled with dust, it holds years of dryness and never being inhabited. Four black stripes run down its back, faded over time. This isn’t a gloomy, depressing shade but the relaxing gray that floats in the sky on rainy days. A tip of a rhinoceros horn, blunted and worn through countless victorious battles. A warm, cozy bed for a lost puppy; it hugs the cute, fuzzy animal with its smooth insides. And on the outside is that soothing dim tan that comforts the young and frightened creatures.

Survival Dictionary

1. Ice Cream (n): 1. Creamy, cold goodness that melts in your mouth and satisfies sweets craving 2. Associated with musical trucks and a variety of flavors. Synonyms: dessert, sweetness. Antonyms: bitterness, nasty. Origin: Heaven.

2. Calm (adj): 1. Complete stillness, relaxation and relief from stress of any type including school, work, and life 2. A glassy body of water. 3. Heart rate below 100 beats/min. Synonyms: peaceful, serene. Antonyms: restless, anxious. Pronunciation: kawl-m

3. Tree (n): 1. A product of nature that is valued based on branchiness for climbing. 2. Where houses are built in and from. 3. Where tires are hung. 4. Fruit-makers.
Sample sentence: I like climbing that tree because it is tall.

4. Headphones (n): 1. Selfish, music-listening capability. 2. Judged by largeness and brand. 3. When hung around the neck, allows one to be “cool”. Pronunciation: Hehd-fohnz.
See: MUSIC

5. Time (n): 1. The fastest, rarest, most popular being that people constantly try to measure or control 2. One of God’s many supernatural abilities that man cannot have
Origin: God. See: CLOCK.