Bonding pathways

Where does she begin?

They say eyes are the windows to the soul

Looking through his eyes

She senses a quiet spirit within

His heart remains to be seen

Passion is not contained

Love leads her to him

Nothing ventured is gained

A higher power decides

The pathways that are crossed

Her love bonds them together

In their unexplainable circumstance

The circumstance

You sit there under a dim light

Cornered off from the public

There’s little noise which you prefer

You admire the old-fashioned decor

A waiter asks what drink you’ll have

You chose a whiskey, top shelf

“Wise choice sir,” the waiter is pleased

You are unimpressed

There’s a phone next to you

Adds charm to the place

It works you assume

Picking it up, there’s no dial tone

You hang up the phone

The whiskey arrives

Taking a sip, your cell vibrates

 Message from an unknown sender

“May I join you for a drink?”

Flattered, you don’t reply

“How’s everything sir?” the waiter returns

You pull out your wallet

“No need, it’s already paid for.”

You ask how

Waiter points to his right

A woman smiles holding up a glass of whiskey

You smile back taking another sip

The bench

There’s this bench

In a nearby park

It’s rusty and old

Many stories are told

Surrounding it are tables

Games play on cold concrete

Wisdom passes fables

Morals are exchanged

The man sits on that bench

Same park, new beginning

There are no tables around

He is left contemplating

Transitional love (cont'd part 2)

It’s Monday morning, and Makayla is sitting at a desk in her home office. She sips her coffee and checks the sales data on K-bags’ website. The sun is shining through the blinds. A stack of papers fall onto the floor from the open window next to the desk, it’s breezy outside. “This month’s sales have dropped a bit…seems like more women are buying the handbags than the accessories,” Makayla says to herself.  She is worried, because designing handbags is more of her specialty than making scarves and wallets. Her assistant, Jena suggested for Makayla to create cell phone cases to help boost up sales. “They’re a hot commodity Makayla, something you should think about” Jena said to Makayla a few days ago. “Yeah that’s true but cell phone cases aren’t my thing. I design handbags. I doubt anyone would want fluffy flowers on their cases,” Makayla said to Jena laughing. “Ok maybe not fluffy flowers, but what about jeweled flowers? Every girl likes a little sparkle right?” Jena said with enthusiasm. Makayla remembers their conversation and mumbles to herself, “Maybe Jena has a point.” The phone rings. 

“Hey you, what do I owe the pleasure of you calling me on a Monday morning?” Makayla says smiling. “I had to call my favorite girl, you know that,” Eric says in a sexy voice. “I better be the only girl mister!” They both laugh. “How are you Kayla?” “I’m good, just here reviewing the sales data from the business. I need to step up my game Eric” she sighs. “Hey now, where’s that confident woman I fell in love with?” Eric always knows how to cheer up Makayla, despite her efforts of self-pity. “I’m still here babe; just feel I could be doing better ya’know. Well anyway, how are you?” Eric is silent for a moment and responds, “Well I heard from Joe. I have to head down to the office.” “Just be careful, don’t want you to become the 5 o’clock news!” Makayla says giggling. “Not to worry Kayla, I am the news remember? I gotta go, talk to you later. Love you.” “Love you too, bye.” Makayla hangs up the phone and takes another sip of coffee.

“Heya Eric, how are ya?” Ben says walking over to Eric. “Hey Ben, have you seen Joe around?” Eric feels anxious and isn’t in the mood for conversation. “He was just here a moment ago. Come to the cafeteria, they have donuts!” Ben says excitedly. They walk to the station’s cafeteria. Ben opens the box of donuts that’s on the table and smiles. “Ah let’s see here, we have Boston crème, jelly, something with sprinkles on it…I think I’ll have a Boston, what about you?” Eric looks over and takes a glaze donut. Before Eric takes a bite, Katie walks in. Ben and Katie worked with Eric at channel 8 News and were also transferred to channel 2. Both are reporters, except Ben reports about education and Katie is on general assignment. Katie has written scripts for Eric for his show. They are all friends. “Good morning Ben. Hey Eric, how are ya?” Katie says holding papers in her hand. “Hi Katie, I’m alright” Eric says taking a bite of the donut. Ben smiles looking at Katie, “Kate, what’s with the papers?” “They’re for…just work Ben.” Katie looks suspicious and walks towards the coffee pot. Eric, still standing, eats the rest of the donut and says to Ben, “So, what’s new?” Ben looks concerned and says in a low voice, “It doesn’t look good buddy. Rumor has it that your contract won’t be renewed. Some are even suggesting transferring you back to channel 8 but you didn’t hear that from me.” Katie is stirring her coffee and walks up to Ben and Eric. 

“I just wanna say I don’t like what they’re doing to you Eric. You’re the best we’ve got.” Ben looks at Katie and back to Eric, “I second that.” Eric smiles slightly but is aggravated by what he heard. “Thanks guys. I appreciate ya keeping me informed.” Katie looks at her watch, “Oh Ben we gotta go, we have that meeting with Joy.” Eric says to Katie, “Who’s Joy?” Ben whispers to Eric, “You don’t know who Joy Saunders is?” Sarcastically, Eric replies, “Humor me.” Ben continues, “Joy is the new assistant director to Joe. She will be deciding what new shows will air and the ones that get the ax. From what I hear, she’s a tough cookie.” Katie interjects, “And she is threatening to make serious changes to the station. Don’t like the sound of that.” Eric looks unimpressed, “So you’re telling me this Joy is a…” Ben hits Eric’s arm as Joe walks in the cafeteria. Katie and Ben simultaneously say, “Morning Joe.” “Morning” Joe says not looking at them. Instead he turns to Eric, “Morning Eric, wait for me in my office will ya?” Eric mumbles “okay” and says bye to Ben and Katie.

“Thanks for waiting Eric,” Joe says as he sits on the black leather chair. “Yeah no problem” Eric responds sounding irritated. “Listen Eric, I know this is difficult for you, but you should know this was the station’s decision.” Joe pauses and notices Eric rolling his eyes. Joe sighs and continues. “You know how much we value the work you do here at channel 2, that’s why we brought you over. The Moore Hour was a hit, why do you think it lasted for two years?” Eric abruptly interrupts Joe and says, “So if it was all that, as you say, why am I getting the boot?” Eric leans forward holding his hands tightly. Joe leans back in the big black chair and smirks. “You know how this business works Eric. You win some, you lose some.” Eric now angry stands up and paces back and forth. Joe is nonchalant over Eric’s reaction and looks at him. Eric then walks up to the desk balls up his fist and slams it down on the desk. The sound could be heard outside the office. “Let’s get something straight, I am Eric Moore. I’ve been in this business long enough to know bullshit when I see it. You can’t just write me off like I’m some intern!” Eric pauses for a moment and continues. “Now something is up and I wanna know what it is!” Joe sits up slowly folding his hands. He says calmly, “Sit down Eric.” Eric stands for a moment and then sits down. 

“Eric, no one is writing you off. We had to cancel your show to make room for new talent. Your ratings were beginning to drop and people wanna hear more about entertainment news than why there’s not enough community gardens. This was a decision made by me and my staff.” Eric leans forward, “So let me get this straight, you and your staff make a decision about my career without consulting with me first? And who’s this Joy character that’s supposed to be your assistant?” “Who told you about her?” Joe says with concern. “Never mind who told me what. You hire some new bimbo, make a decision, and don’t let me in on it? What kind of foolishness is this?” Eric sits back infuriated. Before Joe replies, there’s a knock at the door. Joe says come in and Joy walks in. Eric looks back at her and sneers. Joe signals her to come in. “I’m sorry to interrupt but wanted to let you know our meeting will begin in a few” Joy says noticing Eric’s disgust. Joe says, “No…perfect timing. Have a seat.” Joy sits in the empty seat next to Eric. Joe continues to speak 

“This is Joy Saunders the new assistant director. Joy, I was just telling Eric about you and our decision to cancel his show.” Joy looks at Eric who’s avoiding eye contact. She extends her hand out, “Nice to meet you Mr. Moore, heard great things about you.” Eric responds without shaking her hand, “Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Joy smirks and looks at Joe. Joe says, “Eric, we realize we didn’t talk to you about this beforehand, and you’re right you should’ve been included in the decision process…” Eric yells out, “Tell me something I already know!” Joe continues, “But I’m willing to have you transferred back to channel 8 News. I’ve already spoken to the station’s head, and he agreed to have you return. You’ll be on general assignment.” There’s silence in the room. Eric doesn’t say a word. Joy turns to Eric, “This is a good opportunity for you Eric, something you may wanna consider.” Eric turns to Joy and looks at her intensely, “You know nothing about me.” Joe looks at Eric and says calmly, “Take it or leave it.” Eric stands up and walks towards the door. Before turning the door knob, he looks back at Joe and Joy. “You both can kiss my ass” as he walks out slamming the door behind.

The writer within

Told you I could be a better writer

Push the envelope, take chances

It’s not that hard, really

Writing is my motivation

I am a fighter

Cry out adjectives

That fall onto a blank page

Nouns which complete me

Speaks from the heart

Oh the emotions they give

My tone, a descriptive force

Sets the mood of experiences

Photos enhance the scene

Quotes converse

Free-write is my resource

Stories are sent

For readers to embrace or reject

Although it's challenging

I strive to be a better writer

So my personality can always vent

Beach water

After receiving the unknown letter, she feels she needs to put her mind at ease. She decides to go to the beach. It’s cloudy outside and the weatherman said it’s going to rain. She doesn’t care. She grabs her raincoat and tote bag, and heads out. As she walks towards the train station, someone bumps into her. Without hesitation, she yells back at the teen male saying, “Hey watch it next time!” When she goes into her pocket for her metro card, it’s not there. “Dammit!” she yells aloud and walks over to the metro card vending machine. She buys a new card and proceeds to the turnstile. With her face frowned, she walks down the stairs passing by a group of giggling teenage girls. She looks over at them and keeps going. One girl yells out, “Whatcha looking at chick, I know she ain’t lookin’ at me!” She ignores her. Already annoyed by the metro card incident, she isn’t in the mood for confrontation. 

“Ladies and gentleman, the Brooklyn bound F train is being delayed due to a police investigation. Please be patient.” Everyone on the platform begins yelling profane words and sucking their teeth. She shares the same sentiments. Twenty minutes later, the F train arrives and she gets on. She stands for a few minutes until a seat is available. The people aren’t that diverse. Many young people dressed in baggy attire or tight fitting clothing. Most of the women are dressed in short shorts with their bathing suit tops exposed, few have jackets on. Most of the guys are dressed in blue jeans and white T-shirts. A panhandler comes on from one stop, and begins asking for money. He is a “starving artist” he says. She gives him a dollar and he says, “God bless you sis.” After a few stops, more families with their children get on as well as different nationalities of people. It's interesting the way a train ride changes as it proceeds through stops, she thinks to herself. There is no music played, many passengers aren’t listening to anything. She listens to her iPod. Erykah Badu’s Window Seat is playing through her earphones.

As the train gets closer to her stop, she moves to a window seat. There are fewer passengers at this time. Where did everyone go? She looks out the window and it does look cloudy as the weatherman predicted. She hopes it doesn’t rain; she needs to go by the water. The train arrives at the last stop. She gets off, and finds her way through the maze of this train station. Once outside, she smells the rich flavor of hazelnut coffee and donuts. How tempted she is to buy something. She keeps walking. When she gets to the boardwalk, she hears club music playing and sees a lady dancing. It’s a small crowd surrounding the dancer. The deejay is saying “Ahh yeah!” into the mic as the music is blaring. The lady dances well. She now wants to dance. A shirtless man approaches her saying, “Hey you wanna dance?” She smiles and shies away. The guy, persistent and not bad looking says again, “You wanna dance?” and starts dancing besides her. She replies, “Why not” and they begin dancing to the beat. The wind from the beach water blows through her hair, as she smiles at the guy now dancing in front of her. At this moment, the deejay yells into the mic, “Ooh wee! That’s what I’m talking about, go go go!” A new song is playing, and there’s a larger group of people dancing. The guy moves on from her and dances with the lady dancer. She giggles and dances her way from the crowd. 

She walks to the middle of the beach where there’s an extension to the boardwalk. This stretches out into the farther part of the beach passing the shoreline. Many older gentleman are there fishing, as some couples are walking holding hands. She stands in a small cutout of this boardwalk extension, and looks out at the horizon. There is a mist in the air, still cloudy, but no rain. She takes in a deep breath and begins to reflect. Questions of where am I going in life, to why am I alone, crosses her mind. “That Beverley is something else,” she mumbles under her breath, as she remembers their conversation about dating. She questions about that too. She feels her iPod sticking out of her coat pocket. She takes it out and puts in into her tote bag. When she reaches in, she feels a piece of paper. It is the letter that Beverley gave her. She holds it in her hand and walks towards a seating area. She sits down and rereads it. “I don’t know how to feel about this. Why now?” she says to herself. As she looks up, an older couple passes by. The man looks at her and smiles. She smiles back. She sits there for some time with the letter still in hand. The breeze picks up speed, and the smell of sea water tickles her nose. She sighs out loud and throws the letter back in her tote bag. She gets up and walks away.