January 1st, 2001
Table of Contents
Glimpse of the Past- After Hours Ragtime Cafe
On The Threshold of a Dream by Merle Stephenson
A Simple Gift by Merle Stephenson
Born a Siren by Amanda M.C. Millard
We Two Amanda M.C. Millard
Enslaved by Amanda M.C. Millard
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
-Confucius
"A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere."
-Joyce A. Myers
"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
-George Eliot
Who can forget the Rag of the early 20th century? Take a trip back and sit in a cafe with the ragtime players. Several hundred incredible rag midi files in a mass collection at the After Hours Ragtime Cafe.
~~*~~
On The Threshold of a Dream by Merle Stephenson
She was born on the edge of a small town
To a father who was seldom around
Her youth held no childhood rhymes
It was filled hopeless trying times
She dreamed of love and passionate romance
But the reality of life gave her no chance
She married too young to the first love she found
Now she has children of her own with a man who's seldom around
She sees her children play in their tattered clothes
She has the hopes and fears that every mother knows
Then late at night when all is quiet and dark
She lies alone in bed and envisions a beautiful house with a lawn just like a park
She thinks of a boy that she knew who lived up on Baker Street
And as she does a single tear forms in her eye and then drops from her cheek
She closes her eyes and remembers childhood thoughts, how long ago they seem
She has always lived peering through barred gates on the threshold of a dream
~*~*~*~
A Simple Gift by Merle Stephenson
Here is something simple, that's not hard to understand
Something you can hold within your heart, but never in your hand
Something I can't keep to myself; a gift that's meant for you
A hope that all your dreams and wishes will each and every one come true
And when your day is over, when the sun has left the sky
When you lay down to sleep tonight, my gift will be the twinkle in your eye
Some simple words, a simple thought, a simple thing to do
A simple song drifting from my heart whispering, "I love you"
I simply could pretend, you don't mean that very much to me
Simply keep the whole thing to myself and no one would ever see
Though that would be much easier, it would simply be a lie
And so I simply wish for you the very best that dreams can buy
A life full of simple pleasures, each day filled with rays of sun
And a hope that you will understand, you will simply always be the one
A simple look, a simple smile, the simple fragrance of your hair
Sometimes it seems a simple thought is just so very rare
So when you find yourself alone, simply feeling sad and blue
Just remember that I'm out here somewhere simply loving you
~*~*~*~
Born a Siren by Amanda M.C. Millard
i come from the waters of the earth
my life a droplet that escaped into the whirling winds
of travel
to splash on pavements and well-maintained lawns far
away
green things have followed me but kept their distance
until the day when i am ready to again embrace their
life
inside each cell of mine is the water's imprint
which reminds me sometimes
why i know the smell of the ocean
the taste the fluid softness
why i want to leap into the arms of the Pacific
and let it envelope me in its embrace
~*~*~*~
We Two Amanda M.C. Millard
chilled by winter's touch
even inside our room
my pale transulcent skin tries to nuzzle itself warm
under everything it brushes against
then it senses the heat radiating from the boiling
furnace of you
always, your pure dark skin sizzles
awaiting my soothing cold touch
together we neither burn nor freeze
meeting somewhere in between
~*~*~*~
Enslaved by Amanda M.C. Millard
He is a slave
Tethered to himself
He can't escape his own self-perception
He lashes out
Unable to tear through
His massive chains
Of regret, of poor self-worth
He is a slave
That put on some new chains
To hide the pain of the first set
New chains
Of arrogance, of selfishness
Only now his beaten body
Crushes under the weight
~~*~~
Copyright by respective artists, 2000.
