You Can’t Have It All

But you can have the wind
And its push like a supporting friend that keeps you going.
You can have the glare of a four-month-old puppy,
It’s pure innocence.
You can have a day off from work when you’re sick
And waste it doing nothing.
You can have a mean sister when you’re young,
And a nice sister when you’re older.
You can have a great Saturday with your friends,
And a lousy Monday with the same people.
You can have a hot pizza,
Dripping with cheese,
And regret that you didn’t wait for the scorching food to cool off.
You can have a game of basketball,
Where you miss every shot,
And enjoy the whole match.
You can fall from your bike onto a pile of mud,
And simply laugh it off.
You can have a homework assignment,
Which will take you hours to do,
And spend the day sleeping and watching TV.
You can have your heart melt with a video of a puppy on YouTube,
Like chocolate in a microwave.
You can spend a week trekking in the mountains,
With great views of the Himalayas,
And the highlight is coming home to your warm bed.
You can have your heart broken by somebody thousands of times,
And mended by someone else.
You can have these things and many more,
But can you exceed your stock and store?

Nugget – Benjamin Moore AC-9

I breathe the air of this desolate diner,
And trudge upon it’s dusty base.
No other restaurant was any finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.

We went there twice a week,
And ordered the same thing.
Talked to the waitress with the rosy cheek,
As my daddy took off his wedding ring.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

They dubbed me what I ate,
Every time I went.
I ordered and didn’t hesitate,
And only she would have it sent.
She would bring me the plate,
Of those golden nuggets,
I’d eat it all as they would confabulate,
In the end it seemed unreal.

The white floor was now gray with dust,
The sand now covered my daddy’s leaving ground,
The one where he left me,
I wish he’d stayed around.

He told me was going,
He told me not where he would dwell,
He left without me knowing,
He smiled and wished me well.

I sat in my booth for what seemed my entire life,
Trying to figure out what I had done wrong,
I carved his name into the table with my knife,
And left crying.

Now, revisiting the place of my childhood shame,
I scanned the vacant room and at the booth I gazed,
And saw my daddy’s name,
But I stepped back and shook my head, amazed.
I sat down on the floor crying as I saw what had been written.
Right under my daddy’s name was one word.
Nugget.

No other restaurant was finer,
Than my daddy’s favorite place.

Where I'm From

I am from the Middle East,
From deserts and ruins.

I am from the heavily guarded house, with four different guards and spikes surrounding.
From the smoke, who's scent has come from far off in the distance.

I am from the small patch of grass,
The oasis between the sand.

I am from the Colombian groups and Bolivian friends.

From being able to do anything,
And from being cut from the soccer team.

I am from the catholic family,
The family that goes to church once every two years.

I'm from Colombians,
And a long family tree painted with yellow, blue, and red leaves.
But I'm from kebabs and shawermas.

From the time my sister fell off a camel,
The time my dad rolled down a sand dune,
And the time we watched shooting stars deep into the night, on top of the orange boulder, listening to the howls of the coyotes.

I am from those moments.
A latin tree cast into the East.
Where I am from is not where my sprout emerged from the ground, but where my branches reached out to the world.

Book Review: Left for Dead

Beck Weathers titled his book “Left for Dead” mostly because on his expedition to Everest, he was literally left for dead. After being found and left on the cold ground with his dead friend, he got up as “a dead man walking” and stumbled back into camp. Although the title had a literal aspect, this event was reflected on his relationship with his wife and kids.

This memoir is about Beck Weathers, a middle-aged man trying to find a distraction from his suicidal thoughts. That is why Beck turned to mountain climbing. And although this was a way to keep him from killing himself, it was also tearing him apart from his family.
This book is put into several forms. It ranges from his encounters on Everest and his present tense thoughts. There are also parts where the people in the memoir write, such as his wife, the person who saved him, etc.

In his memoir, Beck realizes that he really does want to live, and that he has so much to live for. This memoir is Beck’s revival. Much like most details in this book, his revival can be related to his encounter on Everest and in his personal life.

This book would be recommendable to mountaineers, but not to those looking for a meaningful book that captivates them. To me, this book was slow and, even though I could relate to some of the places he went in Nepal, (e.g. The Ciwek Clinic.)it was also uninteresting.

Lines We Love:
“I had a lot of class, all of it low.” This was referring to how he acted around his family before his realization.

What I Believe

By Pablo E. Castillo

I believe in a beautiful sunrise,
But only when the world is still asleep.

I believe in dreams and nightmares,
But only because they both exist in the real world.

I believe in a better tomorrow.

I believe in mistakes,
Because the mistakes you make will define you, and make you a better person.

I believe we all lie to ourselves,
Because nobody likes the truth.

I believe that the smallest things can change a person,
Like a small tug of a pin can cause an explosion.

I believe in hope.

I believe in free speech,
But not when the words spoken are filled with threats.

And I believe in a peaceful battle,
Or a revolution,
Because the world will change for the better,
Past perfection.

The world will move forward,
Fueled by hopes,
And beliefs.

Once Upon A Time In Mexico

In Mexico, the people lived peacefully in their polytheistic society. One day, Spaniards came to the land of Mazatlan in ships, riding horses. The Mexicans did not know who these Spaniards were, and the regal creatures they rode upon were not familiar to the people. The Mexicans, although with some dissension, concluded that they were gods. They assimilated the Spaniards into their society and welcomed them into their land. The Spaniards decided to play along, but they knew they had to be meticulous with what they said or did, as they planned to conquer the land, and because of this conspiracy, they came to be known as the Conquistadors.

As the Mexicans came to know more about these Spaniards, they started to lionize them. They were fascinated by the technology they had in Spain. Because of this idolization, the people were fooled and deceived the day that the Conquistadors overthrew Great Mexico’s power.