2/26/2008

Strings

We woke to a nightmare of dangling limbs
In a colorless glow of perpetual dusk
Some of the time we were dancing for them
The rest of the time we were gathering dust

Blindsided when I first noticed your strings
I shouted at your wooden ears, "It's not true!"
But I had to fall to the stage to believe
My hands and my knees were as wooden as you

Slumped on the shelf like a pile of rocks
All of my joints and my hinges revealed
I called for the one who first taught me to walk
And asked nothing less than at last to be real


1 Thessalonians 2:4   Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.

2/25/2008

100,000 words could not quite explain

152. Sarah Ageno reminds me of my mother.
153. Stephanie Maurice reminds me of Jenny.
154. Juna makes everybody feel important.
155. Piano is great.
156. Especially the minor keys.
157. A minimum of five different girls have/had crushes on Josh Williams.
158. Verdine gets this great expression on her face when amused.
159. Nikki is just fun. On a regular basis.
160. Clean drinking water never gets boring.
161. The music at Rochester First Assembly... yeah.
162. Mrs Reddick actually thanked me for being honest with her.
163. I still can't get over soybeans.
164. This school is fortunate to have Curtis Nguyen.
165. If conditions are right and I squint, I look a little like Mom.
166. I enjoy Laura banter.
167. I like my ceiling decorations.
168. Tiffany initiates conversations with me now.
169. Jessica is a great suitemate with her leisurely, coconut-scented, Jack Johnson ways.
170. I rediscovered Rebecca St James.
171. God is wonderful in so many ways that I can't even put into words.
172. We made rock candy with ROOT BEER FLAVORING.
173. Nick Timmer = breeder.
174. Justin's new song is fantastic. I was so excited to see a new one!

2/21/2008

De'Angelo

"I really love your glasses."
A week before tonight.
You gave me back my smile, and
I thought you'd be all right.
What I saw behind the lenses
Might have clued me in
With time. But no one's ever told
What could have, would have been.

2/11/2008

Murder

OMIGOSH I KILLED TIFFANY'S FISH

I left the window open while I was at the First Assembly church service. It started at 10:00. I thought I'd only be gone for an hour or two, but then Juna and I ate lunch at Michelle's and Jen's with Sheli. When I got back at 5:30 the room had acquired an icy sheen. I closed the window.

However, Tiffany and I could not get the room to warm up. It was still freezing at midnight, which is approximately when Fish (being a Betta and preferring tropical weather) sank to the bottom of his tank.

Though Tiffany laughs at me, I am planning for his burial ceremony.

And a clandestine visit to PetSmart.

Dear room heater,

That was an inappropriate time to stop working.

Sincerely,
Amanda

2/09/2008

Memory #13

Once, when I was about four years old and travelling with Dad, we had to stop to find a restroom for me. It was probably late enough that most of the gas stations were closed. Dad found one, but the door to the bathroom was on the outside of the building. He had to ask for a key to open it.

Jenny and Justin waited in the car, I think. Dad and I walked in to find a singularly crummy-looking little bathroom. He looked frantic and told me I couldn't pee yet. I was embarrassed at the thought of using the toilet in front of my dad, but I was so desperate that I didn't really care, and I was displeased that he wanted me to wait. I begged him to just leave, or at least let me pee.

"You can't sit on that, it's filthy," he said, and began ripping toilet paper off and trying to lay it on the toilet seat. He couldn't cover the surface because the paper kept falling off into the water or onto the messy floor. He tried covering it in several different ways. I could see his frustration, but I didn't understand why the toilet offended him so badly, and I continued to plead. After a minute or two, he finally gave up and lifted me onto a seat strewn with segments of toilet paper like sparse paper maché. He looked truly defeated.

I thought he was being pretty silly at the time. Now I think it's one of the sweetest things I remember him doing.