Here lies customer service Tombsone engraved, "Not to Serve Us" What is this charge on my bill, I say? Death to overcharges day by day Ghosts riddled with surplus Now I find a way to clear my throat and cuss As she sits dead on the other line Popping gum to waste her time Oh, AT&T-buried in wireless Now my bill is a simple mess. -b.r.rivera

had i lived if i had not died an impressionable thumbprint to lay and co-exist soul stamped and virtually entranced upon memories reserved for future smiles unexpected and inappropriate laughs in silent spaces within this small space of the body cavity i have left my eyes to see the envisioned world which i created to seek and inspire. love and devour the drops and essential goodness of life which i take a huge bite satisfied in the juicy aftertaste of experienced moments and inexplicable beauty where do the skies end and Heaven begin climbing Jacob's ladder and surrounded by angelic celestial matter dense with beauty God's concentrated hues which i see and realize that i have lived for more than me. i lived. i was here. i am the re-incarnation potential not wasted highest of the most High Jesus walks as i touch the sky being upon this planet a Rubik's cube enigma where you cannot fit the spot or imitate the God given reality of my blessed individuality baptized in the worr...

i need a good cry. the kind of cry where i don't care which way my hair bounces and falls over pillows and newly sprinkled sheets of tears. i need a good cry the kind that opens your eyes while even shut, wailing in pain the kind where i just don't give a fuck- and don't offer that tissue again. i need a good cry the kind that mourns and screams yells to the highest point of things run out of air, lungs decreased panting to breathe, God, give me the serenity, grant me peace. i need a good cry. where Maybelline and Covergirl don't mean a thing and raccoon eyes lay weary as my face grows teary the kind where swollen lids are accepted smiles are rejected and i slowly neglect the mirror, the sound, the feeling i need a good cry where my face is numb from body shut-down blood pressure rise stomach hurts, pass me a Tums- i need a good ol' fashioned cry. Clean my soul out. Go ahead and cry, baby. Comfort, is not a doubt. -b.r.rivera

My eyes are heavy. My lids considerable weights after the mundane task of trying to keep them open for hours. My classes are nearing the end when final projects are due, only to start new classes on Monday. I keep trying to rev up the engine , but I think I have cone kaput. Vrroommm....Vrooom....(cough)(choke). Yeah, that's pretty much me. A half revved up engine with barely any fuel. Is this is what I have become? A half zombie of to-do lists, constant supervision over my child and life unfilled of social obligations? I am burnt out. The kind of burnt out that light is at the end of the tunnel, but you are so far from the tunnel you can't even see the light. I mean, the kind of burnt out where makeup is barely used, sweats are now considered formal wear, and my favorite shoes to wear are my white and very comfortable Pumas. Running sneakers. Because I am always on the go, always on the run. After sixteen hours of errands, to-do lists, chores, college courses and a baby....I a...