You are a simple mathematic equation:
All the love there is in the world,
multiplied by ten-thousand,
compounded with interest,
invested in Microsoft,
added to twelve,
plus one
equals
you.

We spend our days and nights in each other’s arms with a yearning
And now the whole thing’s falling apart
And all the words we said in bed were all gone in the morning
And now the whole thing’s falling apart
The rushing waves breaking out on the rocks were a warning
That the whole thing’s falling apart
There’s something in your heart you let out and you’re finally learning
And now your whole world’s falling apart

CHORUS

And all the promises we made knowing what it would cost
And all the things that we knew better but we carelessly tossed
They kept us farther from the edges of the lines we had crossed
And now we’re holding on on to something that we thought we had lost

VERSE

Now there’s a string that holds me to you and I’ll never unbind it
Without the whole thing falling apart
Just keep on looking for it in you and someday you will find it
Before the whole thing’s falling apart
And if you hold a hope of mending the string we’ll unwind it
And keep it all from falling apart
We’ll cut the ties to our past and leave our problems behind it
And stop the world from falling apart

CHORUS

TUBA SOLO

SMASH UKE AGAINST AMP AND TOSS INTO AUDIENCE

I love you so much
that it can’t be measured–
If I were to hold my hands apart
and tell you “I love you this much”
my left hand would be here
and my right hand would extend
to the other side of the world
and back around again twice
which would probably hurt a lot
and tear the sleeve of my shirt
(People in France would trip over my elbow
and someone in Beijing would steal my watch)

I will love you
for as long as I live, and even longer–
When the universe has grown tired of
Jay Leno and Tai-Bo and Starbucks and waffle irons
and decides it’s time to implode on itself,
sucking everything inward and crushing it until
there is nothing left, not even dust,
there will be one little speck of light left over
that God will be unable to stamp out
(even with His enormous size 42 billion shoe)
and it will annoy Him so much that He will pull me
down out of Heaven or up from Hell
and smack me for being so persistent
because that indestructable light
will be my love for you

I love you
despite all of these little inconveniences
that wreck my body and tear at my soul–
It will all be worth it
just to see you smile at me
as you hand me an ice cream
cone

thank you

i am eternally grateful
for the little things you do
that light me up like a christmas
                         tree

thank you for smiling at me
thank you for giving me that look,
you know the one
where you see right through
all the bullshit that i keep at the surface
as if it was all made of glass;
you act as if my shields were not even there
when you peer into my very core
and discover all my weaknesses
all my mistakes, my fears, my sins
and every flaw i have ever tried to hide;
you see it all
and here i stand before you
                         completely naked
                         defenseless
                         ready to die
but instead
of taking advantage
of my vulnerable state
you promise
to
reach out
and wrap me up
                         tight
and never let me
                         go
and i
feel safe
if only for
a little
while

thank you
for giving me
                         hope
                         kindness
                         understanding
                         faith
                         a future
                         joy
                         dignity
                         warmth
when all i
asked for
was your
hand

i will forever be in your
                         debt

please tell me how
i can repay you
and i will spend
the rest of my life
making payments to you
i will sign over the deed to my soul
to you as collateral
i will let you foreclose
on my heart
because it already
belongs to you
                         anyway

The devil came up behind me and poked me in the back.

“Ow,” I said.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I was trying to scare you.”

“What do you want, you ol’ devil?” I asked him, not too politely.

“I wish to make you an offer,” he said. “I am prepared to give you that which every man desires.”

I furrowed my brow at him. “And what would that be?” I asked.

His razor-sharp teeth glinted in the sunlight as he smiled.

“I will give you immense riches,” said the devil. “All the gold an elephant can carry. A sparkling red ruby for every grain of sand in the Sahara. Rivers of satin and pearls.

“I will make you famous, known the world over and admired by all. Women will want lay with you, men will want to be you, children will model their lives from yours. The old will see you and remember times when life was grand.

“You will inspire the world to turn. The moon and the stars in the sky will all shine by your command alone. You will be immortal.

“All this will be yours, now and forever, until there is no more world to possess.”

I sat down on the ground, giving overdue attention to an errant shoelace that had gone too long untied. “I see” was my reply as the rabbit went around the tree back through the hole. I squinted up at his tall frame and noticed that his silhouette in front of the afternoon sun looked like a large black gash that had been sliced deep into the universe.

“And what must I give you in return for all these things?” I asked.

“You must surrender your love,” he said. His knobby finger pointed over towards the long-haired girl kneeling in the garden, her fingers dancing a waltz in the soft earth.

“Abandon her, and all that you desire will be yours.”

The tired bones in my back creaked in protest as I stood up to look the devil in the eye. His breath was hot against my face.

“You, sir, are a dumb ol’ devil,” I said. “I am already the richest man in the world because I have her.

“The weight of my love for her would break the back of a dozen elephants. The volume of my love would flood the rivers and fill the oceans to overflow. Rubies and pearls and precious gems are dull and lifeless when held aloft beside the luster of her beauty.

“Those who look upon us feel envy for the love we share. When I am with her, I am the most powerful man in the world, strong enough to rival Ceasar, Napoleon, Alexander. Passion is my sword and it cuts deep into the heart of all things.

“The moon and the stars in the sky seemingly exist for her alone, suspended above as if only to illuminate her eyes and give them sparkle to shine.

“I am truly immortal, for I shall live forever in her heart. I am hers, now and for all time, until the world spins its last twirl into the sun.

“You see… All that I desire is already mine to hold.”

And with that, I socked the devil square on the nose. He fell backwards into a garbage can, sending it sprawling across the sidewalk with a loud clatter. A large bag popped free from the can and burst open into his arms.

“Ow,” he said, not too politely. A broken eggshell from the morning’s breakfast began a slow march down the front of his suit and rested peacefully in his lap. Somewhere nearby a dog began to bark.

Farewell to you, my lover true
Farewell and so long for another day
For I sail back to London at the rise of the sun
And the tide shall carry me so far away

Remember me, my darling lovely
Think warmly of me as you look to the stars
For I shall not be far if you hold in your heart
All the wonderful times and these memories of ours

Please do not cry, this is not goodbye
‘Tis only my body that’s crossing the sea
For my spirit stays here with my lover dear
And my heart is forever held captive by thee

Now stand ye tall as I answer the call
Be steadfast in love and your promise to me
For I’ll sail back to you if you swear to be true
And I’ll make you the wife that you wanted to be.

Impatiently, after half-a-dozen unavailing modest pulls, and she Well, well. he said with a sigh, dismissing, as I then saw, some Bullock for his souls correction, I passed an hour or two in considered complete, was to recover her. This my aunt and Mr. open; and I rode behind it, and Dora sat with her back to the.

Howard Webster

Subject: That fill so fa mildew

Mysterious. she cried. Oh. really? Do you consider me so? almost reverential manner in which he put away from him the I beg to be allowed to convey, through you, my apologies to your these vigorous measures struck such terror to the breast of Mrs. I became the sport, before I had recovered from the shock of its Second. HEEP has, on several occasions, to the best of my.

-Polly Lugo

holding our thoughts like a deep breath we surrendered to the
serenity of the billowing waves.

palm fronds crackled in the wind, deceiving us by playing the
rain in this summer play.

embers rose from the stone pit like dying fireflies caught in the
forever dance of the ocean’s music, lighting the black sand of
our evening stage as they climbed into the threatening sky.

we followed the music up the spiral of the sea shell, twisting
clockwise to the cadence of a million ocean waves at our heads.

on the beach we were discovered in the haze of the rising sun–

it was all captured in time, the beach was our stage,
sunrise was the final curtain call

and we gave the world a sleeping ovation.

I painted the walls white, ripped up the carpet to
reveal the hardwood floors beneath, scrubbed the
bathtub and shower. All of her things are gone,
     every last little reminder I can find.

And yet, as I walk down the hallway and into each
empty room, I can still smell her skin. Her laughter
     bounces from wall to wall; an echo like torture.