Writings
Okay...here are some of my more recent poems and a short story that I kept forgeting to post:
I am not really sure what attracted me to Skyler when I first met her. Maybe it was how her hair was streaked with every shade of red, brown, and blonde. Or it might have been how her steel blue eyes pierced into my soul whenever she looked at me. Possibly the way her confidence brightened up every room she entered. Actually, now that I think about it, it had to be the way she would never conform to the way others told her she should be. Whatever it was, she had my attention.
I met her when my biology teacher told me he thought it would be rewarding for me if I tutored one of his struggling students. I loved the subject and I didn’t have a problem explaining the concepts he taught to others, so I accepted the offer.
I have to admit, I had doubts when Skyler walked into the classroom that stormy afternoon. The expression on her face seemed to be the perfect reflection of the lightening threatening to strike the school down outside. She was dressed in a pink tank top and baggy black pants with chains hanging from every pocket and belt loop. Around her wrists were tons of colorful gel bracelets and a small silver ring with tiny spikes on it. She glared challengingly at me as she sat down at a desk across from mine and promptly said, “I don’t want to be here and I am not particularly interested in learning anything about whatever you intend to teach me. You are keeping me from the things I want to do and all you are going to accomplish is putting me to sleep.” She then looked me over and cocked a brow as she spoke again, “You also look like one of those preps that are going to tell me I look like a goth and because of that you are automatically assuming that I spend every night partying and getting high.” She sighed as she watched me. I think she was waiting for me to agree with her analysis but all that was going through my head was, “What have I gotten myself into?”
For the next couple weeks I tried unsuccessfully to help her understand the basics of organic chemistry and how the formation of lipids was going to come in handy some day…although I was yet to figure that out as well. She would sit in that same desk every session staring into my eyes as if trying to read my opinions of her. Then one day she walked into glass with watery eyes and smeared mascara. She didn’t give me the daily glare or rolling-of-eyes as she sat down and stared at the desktop blankly. I knew something was wrong so I tried to appear sympathetic. I knew I would only get yelled at if I asked her what was wrong so I closed the textbook and put it in my backpack, waiting for her reaction. She frowned at me for a moment, trying to figure out what I was doing. She then spoke for the first time since that first day. “What are you doing? Do you think it’s funny that I have feelings just like you?” she asked sarcastically.
I smiled softly as I replied, “No. I just thought that we have been working hard for the past month and I have tried to teach you quite a bit. So, I was thinking that it might be your turn to teach me something.” I continued to smile as her expression became quite perplexed.
“What do you care?” she asked harshly. Apparently she still thought I was constantly mocking her.
“Well, I don’t think I have ever associated myself with someone like you. I guess I am just interested in learning about someone outside of my ‘preppy’ circle of friends,” I coolly answered.
She pondered this then looked into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. It felt like she was sifting through me thoughts, trying to see if I was lying. Eventually she was satisfied and gave me a curt nod. “Okay then. Why do you and all your preppy friends mock me and my friends? We are people just like you. Just because we don’t wear boring clothes and our world doesn’t revolve around the latest sports standings or how well our makeup matches our shoes doesn’t mean we aren’t human.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself but before I could even get a word out she held up a finger and glared again. “Don’t interrupt me like you are superior to me. I am not finished yet.” She waited to see if I was going to try and talk again but I waited for her to continue burning off all the hostility she had built up against me. She continued, “And why do you assume that just because I look like this I am always hyped up on drugs and alcohol or have a huge criminal record? You don’t know anything about me or my friends. You have no right to judge me like you do!” She stared at me as she finished, waiting for me to yell at her as I defended myself.
The first thing that came to my mind was to do just that. I wanted to tell her that I had never thought those things and that I knew she was just as human as me. I wanted to shove it in her face that she was judging me the same way she was angry at me for doing. I wanted so badly to prove her wrong…but I didn’t. Instead I said, “You are absolutely correct. I don’t have any right to judge you like that. I don’t know anything about you. So why don’t you help me get to know you?”
I could tell I had surprised her quite a bit when her jaw dropped and she stared at me in astonishment. “You agreed with me?” she asked.
I shrugged innocently as I nodded. “Well sure. I am not near as shallow as my clothes suggest.”
She must not have noticed my subtle comeback, that or she ignored it because she just sat there looking stunned. I laughed as I spoke, “Oh now your tongue is tied?”
That quickly brought her back to her senses for she closed her mouth and shook her head. “No, I just…well…”
I smiled softly as I offered a hand to shake. “I don’t think we ever formally introduced ourselves. My name is David Rainer. Yours is?”
She tentatively shook my hand as she introduced herself, “My name is Skyler Holler.”
After that afternoon the tutoring sessions dramatically changed. She actually participated and acted interested in what I had to say. The last fifteen minutes of our time we spent getting to know each other. I learned that she loved to write poetry and volunteered at the Children’s Hospital by putting on puppet shows for the children who were terminally ill. Little by little we began to gain a new perspective of the other’s world.
About three weeks later I asked her on a date. I took her to the sport’s bar I hung out at with my friends and she took me to a coffee shop she hung out at. Surprisingly, the both of us had an awesome time. We continued to date several times after that and eventually the whole school had labeled us as the “most unlikely couple.” We ignored what they said though. The main thing I had learned from her was to never conform to what others said you should be. She never stopped telling me how important it was for me to follow my heart and do what I and only I thought was important.
That summer she was driving to my house to bring me a DVD that she wanted to watch with me when I received a call from her mother. Skyler had been hit by a drunk driver and was in critical condition at the hospital. I quickly jumped in my truck and sped to the hospital. She was in surgery all night and when I was finally allowed to see her she was deep in a coma. She stayed in the coma for a month. I spent almost the entire time by her side, holding her hand and telling her how much I loved her. Her parents eventually decided that they didn’t want to keep her on life-support. Everyone knew that she wasn’t going to make it. Her parents spent a few moments with her before they let me say a final goodbye. I walked to her side and stroked her forehead. Her face was so peaceful; she looked like a pale angel. The heart monitor flat lined as I whispered the last words she would ever hear. “Never conform Skyler. You are so beautiful.” I kissed her one last time then left the room but her spirit stayed with me. I never again judged people before I got to know them. What she taught me has stayed with me to this day. So I leave you with this. Never conform. You are beautiful just the way you are.
Piece of Peace
It's like a glimpse of peace.
Briefly being able to see the world as more than
our comfort zone.
You can almost reach out and touch every breeze
that caresses the trees that stand below your
perch.
You smess every gentle vapor that rises from your
sister flower and brother mammal.
Able to see every twisting live of the rock in
which you rest upon.
Taste the sweet water that rushes through the
valley.
And the sounds, oh the sounds! Every bird song
and cricket chirp vibrates through your soul
until you feel like you are the note they sing.
But this bliss has not been captured nor harnessed
nor restrained.
It is impossible to reach out and take for
yourself a piece of the regal beauty.
All you can do is let the wond blow away your
anger and the river wash away your fear.
Let the rolling hills be a pillow for your head,
weary from the fast-paced rhythm of school and
work and anything else that wishes to tear the
threads of sanity from your hand.
Allow the sun to warm your heart until you feel
like the sweet embrace of peace was made just
for you.
Because once you leave, all you have left of it is
the fact that you are a little bit wiser and
silently sure of your small place on this earth.
Embrace a Storm
I'll embrace the dark and stormy sky
Touch the swirling clouds as they pass me by
Hold the darkness close as it reaches out to find
my broken heart
And as I cry, let raein pour down and kiss my
lonely lips.
Find refuge in the deser that resides inside my
soul
Sandstorms, please come blow this utter heartbreak
away
Ride the dunes of emotions constantly it seems
And as night falls, I'll shiver in the cold of not
knowing love.
I remember the days when I could dance on the
raindrops
Sang to the stars and they would twinkle with my
beat.
Laugh with my friends and the flowers would bloom
in joy.
What happened to the magic that our happiness
could bring?
But then I remember what happens when the rain
stops
A beauty never known seems to appear out of thin
air.
Forgotten happiness blossoms with the warming sun
Filth of the past washed away in a newborn creek.
So let me rethink all I've known and been through
What if all that I believe in was rewritten on
this day?
Could it be that I've held fast to every trivial
thing?
So let me ask you...what will you embrace today?
Okay...thats it.
I am not really sure what attracted me to Skyler when I first met her. Maybe it was how her hair was streaked with every shade of red, brown, and blonde. Or it might have been how her steel blue eyes pierced into my soul whenever she looked at me. Possibly the way her confidence brightened up every room she entered. Actually, now that I think about it, it had to be the way she would never conform to the way others told her she should be. Whatever it was, she had my attention.
I met her when my biology teacher told me he thought it would be rewarding for me if I tutored one of his struggling students. I loved the subject and I didn’t have a problem explaining the concepts he taught to others, so I accepted the offer.
I have to admit, I had doubts when Skyler walked into the classroom that stormy afternoon. The expression on her face seemed to be the perfect reflection of the lightening threatening to strike the school down outside. She was dressed in a pink tank top and baggy black pants with chains hanging from every pocket and belt loop. Around her wrists were tons of colorful gel bracelets and a small silver ring with tiny spikes on it. She glared challengingly at me as she sat down at a desk across from mine and promptly said, “I don’t want to be here and I am not particularly interested in learning anything about whatever you intend to teach me. You are keeping me from the things I want to do and all you are going to accomplish is putting me to sleep.” She then looked me over and cocked a brow as she spoke again, “You also look like one of those preps that are going to tell me I look like a goth and because of that you are automatically assuming that I spend every night partying and getting high.” She sighed as she watched me. I think she was waiting for me to agree with her analysis but all that was going through my head was, “What have I gotten myself into?”
For the next couple weeks I tried unsuccessfully to help her understand the basics of organic chemistry and how the formation of lipids was going to come in handy some day…although I was yet to figure that out as well. She would sit in that same desk every session staring into my eyes as if trying to read my opinions of her. Then one day she walked into glass with watery eyes and smeared mascara. She didn’t give me the daily glare or rolling-of-eyes as she sat down and stared at the desktop blankly. I knew something was wrong so I tried to appear sympathetic. I knew I would only get yelled at if I asked her what was wrong so I closed the textbook and put it in my backpack, waiting for her reaction. She frowned at me for a moment, trying to figure out what I was doing. She then spoke for the first time since that first day. “What are you doing? Do you think it’s funny that I have feelings just like you?” she asked sarcastically.
I smiled softly as I replied, “No. I just thought that we have been working hard for the past month and I have tried to teach you quite a bit. So, I was thinking that it might be your turn to teach me something.” I continued to smile as her expression became quite perplexed.
“What do you care?” she asked harshly. Apparently she still thought I was constantly mocking her.
“Well, I don’t think I have ever associated myself with someone like you. I guess I am just interested in learning about someone outside of my ‘preppy’ circle of friends,” I coolly answered.
She pondered this then looked into my eyes for what seemed like an eternity. It felt like she was sifting through me thoughts, trying to see if I was lying. Eventually she was satisfied and gave me a curt nod. “Okay then. Why do you and all your preppy friends mock me and my friends? We are people just like you. Just because we don’t wear boring clothes and our world doesn’t revolve around the latest sports standings or how well our makeup matches our shoes doesn’t mean we aren’t human.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself but before I could even get a word out she held up a finger and glared again. “Don’t interrupt me like you are superior to me. I am not finished yet.” She waited to see if I was going to try and talk again but I waited for her to continue burning off all the hostility she had built up against me. She continued, “And why do you assume that just because I look like this I am always hyped up on drugs and alcohol or have a huge criminal record? You don’t know anything about me or my friends. You have no right to judge me like you do!” She stared at me as she finished, waiting for me to yell at her as I defended myself.
The first thing that came to my mind was to do just that. I wanted to tell her that I had never thought those things and that I knew she was just as human as me. I wanted to shove it in her face that she was judging me the same way she was angry at me for doing. I wanted so badly to prove her wrong…but I didn’t. Instead I said, “You are absolutely correct. I don’t have any right to judge you like that. I don’t know anything about you. So why don’t you help me get to know you?”
I could tell I had surprised her quite a bit when her jaw dropped and she stared at me in astonishment. “You agreed with me?” she asked.
I shrugged innocently as I nodded. “Well sure. I am not near as shallow as my clothes suggest.”
She must not have noticed my subtle comeback, that or she ignored it because she just sat there looking stunned. I laughed as I spoke, “Oh now your tongue is tied?”
That quickly brought her back to her senses for she closed her mouth and shook her head. “No, I just…well…”
I smiled softly as I offered a hand to shake. “I don’t think we ever formally introduced ourselves. My name is David Rainer. Yours is?”
She tentatively shook my hand as she introduced herself, “My name is Skyler Holler.”
After that afternoon the tutoring sessions dramatically changed. She actually participated and acted interested in what I had to say. The last fifteen minutes of our time we spent getting to know each other. I learned that she loved to write poetry and volunteered at the Children’s Hospital by putting on puppet shows for the children who were terminally ill. Little by little we began to gain a new perspective of the other’s world.
About three weeks later I asked her on a date. I took her to the sport’s bar I hung out at with my friends and she took me to a coffee shop she hung out at. Surprisingly, the both of us had an awesome time. We continued to date several times after that and eventually the whole school had labeled us as the “most unlikely couple.” We ignored what they said though. The main thing I had learned from her was to never conform to what others said you should be. She never stopped telling me how important it was for me to follow my heart and do what I and only I thought was important.
That summer she was driving to my house to bring me a DVD that she wanted to watch with me when I received a call from her mother. Skyler had been hit by a drunk driver and was in critical condition at the hospital. I quickly jumped in my truck and sped to the hospital. She was in surgery all night and when I was finally allowed to see her she was deep in a coma. She stayed in the coma for a month. I spent almost the entire time by her side, holding her hand and telling her how much I loved her. Her parents eventually decided that they didn’t want to keep her on life-support. Everyone knew that she wasn’t going to make it. Her parents spent a few moments with her before they let me say a final goodbye. I walked to her side and stroked her forehead. Her face was so peaceful; she looked like a pale angel. The heart monitor flat lined as I whispered the last words she would ever hear. “Never conform Skyler. You are so beautiful.” I kissed her one last time then left the room but her spirit stayed with me. I never again judged people before I got to know them. What she taught me has stayed with me to this day. So I leave you with this. Never conform. You are beautiful just the way you are.
Piece of Peace
It's like a glimpse of peace.
Briefly being able to see the world as more than
our comfort zone.
You can almost reach out and touch every breeze
that caresses the trees that stand below your
perch.
You smess every gentle vapor that rises from your
sister flower and brother mammal.
Able to see every twisting live of the rock in
which you rest upon.
Taste the sweet water that rushes through the
valley.
And the sounds, oh the sounds! Every bird song
and cricket chirp vibrates through your soul
until you feel like you are the note they sing.
But this bliss has not been captured nor harnessed
nor restrained.
It is impossible to reach out and take for
yourself a piece of the regal beauty.
All you can do is let the wond blow away your
anger and the river wash away your fear.
Let the rolling hills be a pillow for your head,
weary from the fast-paced rhythm of school and
work and anything else that wishes to tear the
threads of sanity from your hand.
Allow the sun to warm your heart until you feel
like the sweet embrace of peace was made just
for you.
Because once you leave, all you have left of it is
the fact that you are a little bit wiser and
silently sure of your small place on this earth.
Embrace a Storm
I'll embrace the dark and stormy sky
Touch the swirling clouds as they pass me by
Hold the darkness close as it reaches out to find
my broken heart
And as I cry, let raein pour down and kiss my
lonely lips.
Find refuge in the deser that resides inside my
soul
Sandstorms, please come blow this utter heartbreak
away
Ride the dunes of emotions constantly it seems
And as night falls, I'll shiver in the cold of not
knowing love.
I remember the days when I could dance on the
raindrops
Sang to the stars and they would twinkle with my
beat.
Laugh with my friends and the flowers would bloom
in joy.
What happened to the magic that our happiness
could bring?
But then I remember what happens when the rain
stops
A beauty never known seems to appear out of thin
air.
Forgotten happiness blossoms with the warming sun
Filth of the past washed away in a newborn creek.
So let me rethink all I've known and been through
What if all that I believe in was rewritten on
this day?
Could it be that I've held fast to every trivial
thing?
So let me ask you...what will you embrace today?
Okay...thats it.