land of the free

because of the brave,

and yet yesterday

i read a headline that said

that memorial day was losing significance to

people;

how sad is a society so ungrateful

they cannot honor the men and women that died to

keep their country free?

let us always

remember and honor those

who made the sacrifice of their lives

let us not be ungrateful for the

gift of life we’ve been given because each day is a

present that is not owed us,

and let us not be complacent or cruel to

those who gave the ultimate sacrifice who will never

return to their families

except in their memories.

– linda m. crate

 

this job doesn’t pay enough

the sun is shining

birds

are singing

yet here i am forced to forfeit

my time this lovely day

for a job i hate,

but i have bills to pay;

cannot wait for the day where i’m

my own boss and can make my own

dreams come true

because i am more than a sacrificial lamb—

i am over being taken for granted

threatened because first shift

just wants to sit around

and talk

i know full well that the world is not fair,

but i deserve better than all of this;

i am not the cockroach they’ll stomp on or the

girl they’ll sacrifice to their gods—

they all say sweet things to my face

yet they all talk behind my back,

and i’m no stranger

to these childish games they play

because i’ve endured them for far too long.

– linda m. crate

 

i am not insignificant

they aren’t better than me

i am not insignificant

my life matters,

and i’m not going to let them

forget that;

going to keep pushing making all my dreams

realities

going to change the world in a revolution of

love and light

my magic is immortal as my soul

won’t be shattered

even after betrayal and shame i will always rise

to my feet

burning brighter than i did before—

i am a harpy who prefers kindness and flowers

will take your eyes out if i’m feeling threatened,

and i’ll defend everyone i love;

i am the dream maker and destroyer of nightmares

won’t let our beautiful world fall into

darkness forever

because this universe is the only home i have

housing stars in my veins and moon and sun in my heart

i cannot allow this all to fade into

oblivion.

– linda m. crate

you couldn’t love me right

one day

you’ll see you were wrong about me

when i stand in the light of

my success,

and you’re still the same fool

you’ve always been;

might come knocking on my door

looking for forgiveness

wanting to be

friends

let me save you some time

don’t waste your

breath—

you were the one that said we should be

strangers,

and so i won’t give you another shot at breaking my heart;

because the memories still haunt and linger in me

long after you’ve moved on

forgetting me

as you always have

because it’s more convenient to have lust than love

i wouldn’t understand that

because i’m looking for something much

deeper than that

i am looking for a love that is written about in novels

because so many things in life are mediocre

love isn’t supposed to be anything less

than intense in all the right ways—

if you can’t love me right then you won’t get me

at all.

– linda m. crate

 

i’m my own hero

we should all have the right to dream

no one should be able to take

that from us

doesn’t matter what sexuality, creed, religion,

skin color, gender, or what they

identify as;

people are people

we all bleed the same and we all have hopes and dreams

that shouldn’t be crucified simply because

someone can’t understand—

i loved a woman once,

but i don’t regret it at all because love isn’t something

you should regret;

hatred and bigotry are

i don’t really think anyone has any right to tell

anyone

how to live their lives

when everyone has a different path and destination to take—

i am a girl with a thousand dreams

will make them all realities

i’m not going to give up on me

going to believe in myself even when no one else can

because often you have to be your own hero and save yourself.

– linda m. crate

 

the rose fae

can’t get you out of my head

just a ghost i can’t seem to forget

whose memories hound me

to tears,

and i know you don’t think of me anymore;

i know we’re no longer friends

once i had a dream

we were

reconciled

then woke up in tears when i realized it wasn’t real—

i never had the courage to tell you how i felt,

but you were the only woman i

have ever loved;

i was content to simply be your friend because i knew

you weren’t interested but that didn’t diminish

this feeling or yearning in me

i just wanted the best happiness for you

even if it meant watching your success from afar—

i’m sorry i hurt you

you were the one that taught me our scars makes us beautiful,

and woke in me the dreaming when i thought it was

dead;

always struck me as otherworldly

fae of the roses

whose musk you always stole.

– linda m. crate