"Last Visitation of the White Goddess" by David Sellers

It was on the first night of the summer
In the magical middle of June,
And I had gone down to the Rapidan River
To write poems and howl at the moon.

Now I’d always heard that the goddess
Luna, Selena , Cybelle…
Is a muse that drives poets to madness
As the full Moon when casting her spell.

And I felt all youth’s yearning returning,
After years of regret and neglect;
Yeah, I swear that that night was so clear, Dear,
That I truly believed we’d connect.

But it’s years since that night in midsummer,
Since that mystical evening in June;
And you never came back as you’d promised,
And I’m too old to howl at the Moon.

"The White Goddess" by Lexi Smith

White Goddess

I’m left clinging to this goddess
So white and frigid, she shames snow
I’m strapped around her bodice
All my gluttons of today she now knows

I don’t deserve this frustration and pain
I didn’t drink or party, or even play
Every experience supposedly has a gain
All I can see is white as bright as day

Abandoned with my lifeless goddess
I try to get it over with quick
Let the sickness take me in its fist
Purge all my bile, all my secrets that make me sick

Hours upon hours this lonely day I’ve spent with her
Cold, frigid, and hollow as she may be
At least she was there when no one else’d stir
My porcelain goddess, she’s always there for me

Poems by Lexi Smith

But I Shouldn’t

I’m hurting, but I shouldn’t
I’d say it, but he wouldn’t
I’m torn from the inside
Gashes so long, so wide
I’m hurting, but I shouldn’t

You love me, but you won’t
You could say it, but you don’t
I’ve watched you as you’re leaving
So long I’m no longer seeing
You love me, but you won’t

We belong together, but we can’t
We should love, but we shan’t
Every night I hope and I dream
Every morning it turns to steam
We should love, but we shan’t

Decisions

Promises gone up in smoke
Years turned into a hoax
Wrong decision after wrong decision
Feelings ignored with precision
Tears done and dried
From eyes that saw lips lie
A heart broke without intent
Love that used to seem heaven sent
Dreams weighed down and lost
Every decision comes with a cost

My Marine

So strong and valiant, so ready and brave
He faces those challenges yet to be seen
Adventure and glory are what he craves
All in a day’s work for my Marine

It breaks my heart to watch him go
To face enemies more ruthless, savage and mean
But he’ll always return, this I know
Because it’s just the way of my Marine

Loyal and courageous until the very end
Always the first on every scene
He was born to serve and defend
All in the life of my Marine



Dedicated to my confidant and best friend, Jeffrey Herther

"Kissing Lady Killers" by Lexi Smith

Kissing Lady Killers

Easter morning this year felt like any other Sunday morning, at first. Bonnie is up making breakfast and Dad is reading the paper. Uncle T is sleeping soundly on his bed that is one side of our couch while my brother watches a movie on the other side.
I wake just in time to be first in line for breakfast, which is important if you actually want to get more than a bite of eggs or a strip of bacon. After I have grabbed my usual three pieces of bacon and spoonful of eggs, I make my way over to the couch to steal my brother’s seat and see what he’s watching. I press play on the DVR and the movie Lady Killers resumes. It takes me a minute to realize why I have a sudden feeling of déjà vu.
It takes me back to my first kiss…four years ago. I was in 8th grade and it was my first official date, at least, my first official date that my dad knew of. I was going out with a boy from Caroline named John. He was cute and Puerto Rican. I had met him at the restaurant my family frequented weekly, where he was a busboy. For a few weeks all we did was stare at each other from across the restaurant, averting our eyes when ever they happened to meet, and when he occasionally asked if I’d like a refill. Even if my glass was full I batted my eyelashes and said, “Yes, thank you.”
Finally when the waitresses, who knew us both well, got tired of him not doing his work and me not paying eating the dinner they brought me. They pushed me up to the counter and forced us to talk. All I remember about the entire situation was his smile and that at the end he asked me to the movies. I nodded and gave him my number; then rushed out the door so I wouldn’t be left in Ladysmith.
We decided to see Lady Killers on Easter so that there wouldn’t be much of a crowd. We both hated crowded theaters. My dad drove to Lake Land’or to pick him up. We ended up being there an hour early. We had some extra money so we stopped for lunch at Burger King and then walked the rest of the way to the theater. Since we still had some time, John won me a stuffed dog out of the claw machine. It only took him six tries.
Finally, we took are seats in the very back of the empty theater. I was so nervous that my stomach could have won the gold medal in gymnastics three times over. It only got worse when he took my hand. Slowly, as my nerves calmed, my head slid to his shoulder. At some point, I actually started paying attention to the movie rather than how much my heart was pounding, but that was what led to me flinching and holding his hand too tight and hiding my eyes in the crook of his neck. He chuckled and tilted my chin up. He leaned in halfway and left the rest to me. I wasn’t sure if I should kiss him. It would be my first kiss and I didn’t know if I was any good at it.
In the end, I leaned in.