Forgive & Forget
By Ricardo Torres

Driven whimpers of the dreary wind
A massacre waiting to begin

Die in silence eternal despair
Listen, murder fills the weary air

Trapped emotions bleed a fearful sound
Horror, mourning beneath the ground

Torture a potion mixed with sin
Revenge buries the master in

Sip the poison pass it along
Terror, torture forever belong

Gravitate in mire, waste
Mishap a welcome taste

Fate engulfs those harnessed with decay
Forgiveness lost replaced by delay

Forget the message encoded within
Vengeance destroys no one wins

Enemies rise, fall, bury the sword
Freedom honors those of one accord

Enclosed, escape the doom
Relished relief inside the tomb

God holds the weight for those that tread
Accept the Spirit elude its dread

Only One can bear the score
Save the one you loved before

Petal pushers laced with love
Adorned by the Man above

Lilacs, lavenders, are soft & oh so sweet
Pansies & poesies alike, fall right before your feet

Roses & poppies a treacherous pair can be
Beauty, elegance, behold; there's more than the eye can see

A stem dawns the power to unleash a radiance of wonder
A fragrance of rosemary, basil, & tansy down-under

A delicate shade of grass with blades so slender
Mere mortals fall on their face in awe of its grand splendor

Cotton grass blossoms on boggy shores
Spiral up through the pond's cushioned floors

Orange blossoms, water lilies, deliver a calming mood
Carefree, defiant, the Man upstairs brings the daily food

Watching birds of paradise you can almost hear them sing
Tulips smile so sweetly they make the mountains ring

Carnations are creations made & fit for kings
All the mighty majesty that daring sunbeams bring

Forests, orchards, gardens, delight in the laughter of the thrill
Through the ages men will pass but the pulchritudinous is with us still.

Land of the Free
By Daniel Zamora

How can one sit here and call this
the Land of the Free
when racial profiling takes place
around our whole country?

This process should be illegal:
It should not take place.
No one should be singled out
based on their race.

With deportation
what does the government hope to achieve?
Do they think these people
will just up and leave?

How can we sit here and call this
the Land of the Free
when our government doesn't want
us to live in diversity?

We can only then call this
the Land of the Free
when we set our differences behind us
and live in unity.