The Shell and The Glasses

Just the aftermath.
After the sinister kill.
Oh but we was scared,
It was just an accident.
No Piggy, that was murder.

Better Things To Come

Description:
Hope: –noun, the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. Often times we find ourselves relying on hope to get us through tough times, whether it be in the face of disaster, loss, or massive change. These works of art express situations where we need to hope that things will turn out as planned or that somehow they will fall into place; other times we feel that we need to hope for others and dream of better lives for them.

Synopsis:
Poems about hoping for the best. When things seem their most bleak, we hope for better things to come...

A Removal From Terry Street by Douglas Dunn
"Hope" is the Thing With Feathers by Emily Dickinson
May Miracle by Robert Service
Hope and Faith by Alfred Ramos
Begin Again by Susan Coolidge
Times of Uncertainty by Miles Patrick Yohnke
The Instinct of Hope by John Clare
Bird Of Hope by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Paper Men To Air Hopes And Fears by Robert Francis

Silver Lining—Benjamin Moore 2119-60

Gazing out the window,
pondering the outside.
The nighttime sky
silent,
somber.
Idle
and waiting for her.

The moon hangs low in the sky;
It's ripe with mysterious milky light.
So close
her fingers seem like they could dance upon its surface.

She fingers the silver window pane.
Forbidden to break through,
for the horrors that would await her if she
dared
go out.

Her hands
longingly linger
at the hinges.
The entire world at her fingertips
only separated by a
thin sheet of glass.

She is trapped by the impending walls of
fear.

Her outside world
existing only
when laced with the silver lining of the window pane.

She smiles to herself
there's a silver lining for her...

but

what about the outside looking in?

Perplexed and
realizing that
the world sees her
through a dirty window
of an
unimportant
unnoticed
apartment.

Isn't there any worth in me?
She pondered.

Where is my silver lining?

Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher: Wintergirls was by Penguin.

Genre: The genre of the hard-hitting novel is realistic fiction.

Where I Got It: I found this book while looking through Anderson's works after reading her novel Speak, which had affected me so much with it's beautiful writing style and edgy topic that I was very interested in reading more by the author.

Single Sentence Summary: Cassie and Lia are best friends and wintergirls, but when they enter in a deadly competition to see who can be skinniest, Cassie succumbs to the pain and pressure, and Lia is left haunted by her best friend’s agitated ghost and forced to overcome her inner demons and thaw from the brittle sheet of ice that confines her.

First line:“So she tells me, the words dribbling out with the cranberry muffin crumbs, commas dunked on her coffee.”

First Chapter Summary: The first chapter starts immiditely engrossed in the story with no introduction to the characters whatsoever. It is made evident that a tragedy has occurred, stating:"...body found alone in a motel room..." and then furthermore, "It's not nice when girls die." It's obvious that the character is conflicted about the event because she speaks about not letting herself hear this (the news) and "...my walls go up and my doors lock," to show that she is trying to shield herself from the topic

Verdict: This book keeps the reader in stitches and entices them to come back for more. It is masterfully written with grace and delicacy even when describing the grave topic of self-destruction and eating disorders. The novel provides tremendous insight to the mind of Lia who struggles to deal with the loss of her best friend and the anorexia that stifles her. Wintergirls, like Speak, gave me a greater understanding and appreciation for the strength, and resilience of those affected by these destructive disorders. This is a book that I will carry with me for a long time and that, with the passing of the years, I will continue to come back to.

Cover Comments: On the cover there is a depiction of a young woman's face covered by ice. This symbolizes the frail and fragile bodies Lia and Cassie were trapped in, Cassie never got out. The ice also emphasizes the "Winter" part of the title suggesting that the girls aren't dead or truly alive, but in a state of hibernation.

Drifting

We are all drifting...

Pacing
by the water.

Every path
an improvisation.
Sketchy;
irregular.

We are all drifting...

The time had come for the assembly;
for business.

We need an assembly,
not for fun,
not for laughing,
not for cleverness.
We need an assembly
to put things straight.

We are all drifting...

We decide things;
they don't get done

Ever.

We've got to-or die.

We are all drifting...

Things
are breaking up.
I don't understand why.

Looking beyond them
at nothing.
Remembering the beastie,
the talk of fear.

We are all drfiting...

I know there isn't no beast.
I know there isn't no fear.

Unless we get frightened of people...

We are all drifting
and things are going
rotten.