The Dance

Looking back on the memory of
The Dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How was I to know that you'd ever
say good-bye

(Chorus)
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
If I'd known how the kind would fall
Well then who's to say I might have changed it all

(Chorus)
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end
The way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

Our lives are better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

--Tony Arata

Take Me Back To The Top

Somebody Should Have Taught Him

I went to a birthday party
but I remembered what you said,
You told not to drink at all,
so I had a Sprite instead.
I felt proud of myself,
the way you said I would,
that I didn't choose to drink and drive,
though some friends said I should.
I knew I made a healthy choice and
your advice to me was right
as the party finally ended
and kids drove out of sight.
I got into my own car,
sure to get home in one piece,
never knowing what was coming,
something I expected least.
Now I'm lying on the pavement.
I can hear the policeman say,
"The kid that cause this wreck was drunk."
His voice seems far away.
My own blood is all around me,
as I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say,
"This girl is going to die."
I'm sure the guy had no idea,
while he was flying high,
because he chose to drink and drive
that I would have to die.
So why do people do it,
knowing that it ruins lives?
But now the pain is cutting me
like a hundred stabbing knives.
Tell my sister not to be afraid,
tell Daddy to be brave,
and when I go to heaven to put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.
Someone should have taught him
that it's wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his mom and dad had,
I'd still be alive.
My breath is getting shorter,
I'm getting really scared.
There are my final moments,
and I'm so unprepared.
I wish that you could hold me, Mom,
and I lie here and die.
I wish that I could say
I love you and good-bye.

--Retold by Jane Watkins

Take Me Back To The Top

11:21 A.M.

I lie on my bed
    numb,
    unemotional,
    non-feeling.
Fear stains my memories as I reflect
    on a placid morning in Littleton.
A usual day in choir.
We prepared for concerts,
    blithely indulging in normal routine.
Carefree...Content...
    Unaware...

A sudden blast startles us.
A chemistry explosion?
Deafening eruptions penetrate "Ave Maria."
Sinuous voices now punctuated by gunshots,
    the demonic splintering the angelic.

The choir hushes
    to the rhythm of pounding hearts.
Students scream through halls
    as terror burns itself on innocent faces.

Tick, Tick, Tick--11:21--
    lives are forever changed.
Shock...Hysteria...
    Why?
The sound of bombs ignite horror through our veins
    and send chills
    that pinch the skin like needles.

Some run
Some stand paralyzed in shock,
    numbness engulfing all other emotions.
Billows of powder now blanket the hall,
    creating ghostly images.
I look through the delicate webs of cotton
    and see the fruits of hatred.
Bullets shatter glass
    and invade bodies,
    as malice sears the souls of the perpetrators.

A student prays;
    another hides in stunned confusion;
    a teacher bleeds.

Like children
we are helpless,
    longing to be in mama's arms.

Screaming...Frantic...
    Why?

Two faces
    are plastered against the window.
The horror in their eyes strips away
    my consciousness.
My first instinct is to run;
    I duck as bullets spray the halls.

Our school is now the grounds of warfare-
mortal fighting
in a field of bombs and bullets.
Weapons that have fallen into the wrong hands
have only one purpose and they
are killing us and all I hear is gunfire.
Crackling, Crackling,
Humming, bursting, screaming, ringing, what now,
Too much
Too soon
Too young
So scared
Help us.

I struggle to escape but am slowed
as if trudging through water.
Through the front doors I see milky clouds
that absord the su n;
I see golden light and sunburned pavement.
I cannot get there fast enough.

I am almost to the door.
A bullet ricochets off the pane.
The glass swirls like a droplet on water,
creating rings that shiver and spread,
shattering as I dash through the door-
All is silent.
I have escaped hell.

There is a dark room
where ten broken bodies lie,
and where others play dead.
In the darkness of the library,
angels embrace the lifeless,
and their wings flicker light
against a wall of helpless shadows.
God now wraps His arms
around the school
and gathers the souls of the lose,
makes strong the souls of the weak,
cries for the violence on Earth.

Time picks up and I am
vulnerable, insecure.
A dog's bark scream like bullets.
Who to trust?
Our haven is destroyed,
and we are scattered.

I sit immobilized,
while anxiety and guilt wrap themselves around me
and consume me.
Angry...Numb...
Why?
Are there answers in silence...?
Because I am asking you and you don't answer...

Or maybe the silence is just you listening.

--Joanna Gates

Take Me Back To The Top

Can That Be

I step outside what did I hear?
I heard the whispers and
The cries of people's fear.
The lonliness of wisdom,
Can that be?
The sad, sad sorrow that I see,
That is past in the tree.
Is it true? Can it be real?
Can I let them know how I really feel?
The things that I have seen,
The things that I have felt,
The feelings of sorrow that
I hope will soon melt.
I walked through the distances
And thought how it should be,
Of the smiles and the laughter,
That is what I thought it should be.
But can that be?
I walked past the dark houses,
And crossed the open fields.
I walked to the tree to kneel
I took a deep long breath
Then I closed my eyes.
I counted to three,
Then I open my eyes,
I was in my room,
That was a surprise.
But then I had seen that it was just a dream.
I walked to the window and pulled on the sting.
What a surprise to see the sunrise.
In the distance were children with laughter and happiness,
That was the thought that I like to see!
But of course can that really be?
Or can this be another dream?

--Kelly Ann Fleming

Take Me Back To The Top

Life

The snow will fall, the ground gets cold,
A baby's born who will grow old.
A blanket of snow covers the ground,
Still the answer is not found.

A bird will chirp, the grass grows green,
And through the clouds the sun is seen.
The flowers bloom, the bees will buzz,
The world again as it once was.

The sun will shine, the day is long,
The birds they sing an endless song.
They sky is bright, the color blue,
A child knows who never knew.

A breeze is felt and with a chill,
The song has stopped the never will.
The leaves will fall, the color red,
A whistle of the wind is all that's said.

Why it happens all this way,
That is not for me to say.
A baby's born who someday dies,
But from the clouds the sun will rise.

--Danielle Rosenblatt

Take Me Back To The Top

Tears

I did not cry for Michigan.
It seems before my time.
I did not cry for Jonesboro,
too far away to mind.
I did not cry for Palisades
even though it may be mine.
I did not cry for Conyers, Georgie
By then it all seemed fine.
But I poured my heart right through my eyes
The day they shot up Columbine.

The tears they fell for children lose
And children on the line.
My head fell quick into my hands
for parents who must pine.
My eyes stayed glossy to a screen
Watching kids of my own climb.

But,
What shook my body up the most,
What made it hard to breathe,
What bolted all my stomach down
And wouldn't let me leave.
What made me think about those boys
And try to empathize
Was the fight, the fear, the look of death
In on scared victim's eyes.

She described a scene so horror filled
So wrapped with movie cuts.
I though about thses kids and film,
what put them in their ruts.
I ruled out only media-
we all watched similar things
But combined with loneliness and fear
Who knows what games can bring?

One lesson to be learned from this,
The only one for which I'm sure,
Is that a gun manufacturer, movie title, mustic
    lyric, parent, anti-depressant, Internet,      trench-coat, insult, or whatever else,
Is not the thing at fault.
And no gun policy, censorship, parent in jail,
    drug ban, Web-site check, dress code, suspension      or whatever else,
Would have removed their every thought.
We must take looks inside ourself, accepting looks with     love.
For what they didn't like in someone else,
Is what they say in themselves.

--Jamie Rowen

Take Me Back To The Top 

It's Tough To Be A Teenager

It's tough to be a teenager, no one really knows
What the pressure is like in school, this is how it goes.

I wake up every morning, and stare into this face
I wanna be good lookin', but I feel like a disgrace.

My friends they seem to like me, if I follow through with their dare,
But when I try to be myself, they never seem to care.

My mom, well she keeps saying, I gotta make the grade
While both my parents love me, it slowly seems to fade.

It seems like everyone I know is trying to be so cool
And every time I try, I end up just a fool.

I've thought about taking drugs, I really don't want to you know
But I just don't fit in, and it's really startin' to show.

Maybe if I could make the team, I'll stand out in the crowd
If they could see how hard I try, I know they would be proud.

You see I'm still a virgin, my friends they can't find out
'Cause if they really knew the truth, I know they'd laugh and shout.

Sometimes I really get so low, I want to cash it in
My problems really aren't so bad, if I think of how life's been.

Sometimes I'm really lost, and wonder what to do
I wonder where to go, who can I talk to.

It's touch to be a teenager, sometimes life's not fair
I wish I had somewhere to go, and someone to CARE.

--Tony Overman

Take Me Back To The Top

Minutes Like Hours

You walk into the store
and stride down the aisle.
You pick me up and
try to look casual while
you carry me down
to the checkout line.
Pull out your wallet,
you soon will be mine.
Your friends are observing
every move that you make.
The clerk asks for ID-
you show him a fake.
You quickly walk down
to the front of the store.
Your friends are waiting for you
as you step out the dorr.
You hop in the car
and drive away from the shop.
Then you shut off the ignition,
and pop off the top.
You take a few drinks
and pass me around.
That's when you decide
to take a drive around town.
You turn on your car
and put your foot on the clutch.
I'm sober, you think,
I didn't have very much.
You pull onto the road
with me by your side,
Taking occasional sips
as you enjoy the ride.
Then the brakes on the car
in front of you squeal.
You try hard to stop,
but lose control of the wheel.
You skid off the road,
and you know you have crashed.
The dashboard is shattered,
the windshield is smashed.
Minutes like hours,
You're in treacherous pain,
that washes your senses,
envelopes your brain.
The screams all around you
are faint to your ears,
as life flashes before you,
your hopes and your fears.
Minutes like hours,
you plead and you pray,
I'll never touch it again,
just let me live one more day.
Your mind starts to go dark,
it falls apart piece by piece.
And then you slip into blackness,
the pain has finally ceased.
Before you entered that store,
you should have thought twice,
for I am the substance
that cost you your life.

--Vidhya Chandrasekaran

Take Me Back To The Top

No Matter What Happens

I remember a time when each day was long,
When the world was a playground and my life a song,
And I fluttered through years with barely a care,
Ignoring the future and what waited there.

School was intriguing and filled with delights.
I played away daytimes and dreamed away nights.
My parents assured me I had nothing to fear,
And that no matter what happened, they'd always be there.

Little I knew of a world outside home,
Where tragedy, sorrow and murder could roam.
All I saw were blue skies, rainbows and stars.
I looked past destruction of buildings and cars.

As a child, my biggest concern was just me;
I had to be happy, I had to be free.
And if I was content, I would not shed a tear,
And no matter what happened, I still would be here.

But as I grow up, darkness starts to set in;
My bright world has turned into concrete and tin.
I now see the violence I looked past before;
My friends start to die and I hit the floor.

Deadly diseases claim people I love,
There are landfills below me, pollution above.
I often think back to when life was a game.
But no matter what happens, it can't be the same.

There are days when I just want to break down and howl,
To give up completely, to throw in the towel,
But I hold my head high and I push my way through.
I have too much to give and so much to do.

And I make a vow that, though it'll be hard,
I'll go on with a smile and play every card.
I'll give all I can, help others and love.
No matter what happens, life will bloom again,
And the strength I don't have will come from above.

So come, take my hand, and through darkness we will sail-
If we all join together, we never can fail.
We'll remember to care, remember to feel,
And no matter what happens, our would we will heal.

--Alison Mary Forbes

Take Me Back To The Top

Terrified Tears

The face of an angel is all that is here,
One beautiful freckly equals one terrified tear.
Not ready to leave but has to go,
Wants to go back but God says no.
Leaving your life is a scary thought,
I guess it's something that can't be fought.
A mother, a father, a sister, and friends,
A meaningful life that suddenly ends.
An angel is what she was meant to be,
Now just think of all she can see.
Looking over her family night and day,
Saying I love you in her own special way.
In the night we sleep, in the day we cry.
She watches us all from her star in the sky.

--Lyndsie Chlowitz

Take Me Back To The Top