Spawn

They say a mother’s love is eternal.
But how will it survive fire?
This dark head pierced with glowing eyes,
He slithered out of the womb.

I offer him a supple breast,
His nose only smells the blood.
Try to ignore his terrifying face,
A whisper to send him back to Hell.

Those cunning ears swivel around.
Sweat beads down—exposing fear.
Lips curving into a macabre smile.
My throat begins constricting.

To pacify this Devil’s minion,
I offer him a supple breast.
His mouth becomes an ebony circle,
As his teeth tear off the tit.

Peach

Who can deny the taste?
Succulent strawberries dripping chocolate.
I cannot deny such a flavor,
dripping down my throat.

They say that we are lost here,
but I feel found near the ivy.
Rows upon rows of twining fruit.
I snatch up an apple for a crisp bite.

Sweet juices of natural crunch,
forbidden taste moist on my tongue.
They could catch me here today,
but there is no fear in my palms.

No one can refuse these delicacies.
So supple, bright, and round.
I let my tongue linger on the fuzz,
As I bite into her swollen peach.

Cobra

The feeling of fire on my flesh,

Licking the pigments raw and bloody.

The forked tongue of scalding desire,

Scrapping deep into the ivory bone.

Like a creeping spider in my bed,

This nightmare of redemption brought forth.

Talons curling around limp fingers,

Pulling them deeper into the abyss.

He is a whisper in the shadows,

He has the presence of a cobra.

Slithering into open windows,

Penetrating our dreams.

The River

It came with force

Blackness enveloping sight

Scraping the flesh

Sun molding into night

Sand scraping eyes

Lids stuck wide open

A voice glimmers

Someone has spoken!

He shined like a God

Hands grip hair

Warmth beams inside

Mouth sucking air

Yin and Yang: Haiku

Nails on flesh

Her sighs of ecstasy

Cutting the bone

Smile of gold

He embraced her flesh

Ecstasy of light

Wings take flight

Flying through crisp autumn

Wind on her face

Feet crunch bones

Sprinkling the dust of death

Wings lay broken

Bell tolls loud

His time is running out

Murder of God

Kneeling to pray

He kept faith close to him

False purity

False God

He spent his whole life kneeling,

before a God with no healing.

He devoted his life to the light,

without experiencing the night.

Justice never came from the sky,

he began doubting the reasons why.

Empty prayers up to Heaven,

started signaling his aggression.

One day he took the book,

and cast it aside without one look.

This fruitless God became a liar,

screaming he lit the church on fire.

Cladophora

A teacher posed the challenge of writing a poem about botany. So here you go.

Emerald clumps of odor,
clinging to the shoreline.
Some call it seaweed or moss,
but really it is Cladophora-
That plagues our great lake.

This algae is taking over,
high phosphorus causes algal bloom.
Zebra mussels and quagga mussels,
clears the lake’s deep waters.
Bringing rays of light from above.

This excessive light remains,
the number one cause.
The cladophora is thriving,
abundant photosynthesis galore!
Humans are in dismay- no solution!

Phosphorus is the next step,
for us to solve our great problem.
Controlling the amount of run off,
of leaves, grass and dirt.
This step to regain our control.

Powerful algae in bloom,
promoting growth of e-coli.
Tainting once glorious beaches,
 shutting down energy plants.
Loss of money, tourists and summer fun.

Our impressive Lake Michigan,
once so clear and pristine.
Shorelines engulfed with green,
choking out the beach crowds.
Cladophora remains the ruling King.

Princess Leia: Feminist Icon?

In a galaxy far, far away there was the creation of one of the most well known trilogies in the cinema world. Star Wars has become more than just movies, it has been transformed into a lifestyle, a franchise, an important piece of American culture.

It is easy to connect that the Empire could be the symbol of the manifestation of patriarchy, even in a galaxy far, far away. The Empire is severely male dominated, in the series you would be hard pressed to find one female leader or storm trooper on the dark side. However, within the Rebel Alliance you see many side female characters throughout the movie series. And of course, the woman with the highest political power: Princess Leia. She is independent, intelligent, driven and naturally, a leader.

And like so many movies that include a male dominate cast with the exception of one female to play the romantic interest, here is a female character that defies those connotations and rises above it to become one of the most admired female characters in cinematic history.

What about the gold bikini? What about Han Solo?

Both these instances are used as an argument against the idea of Princess Leia being a feminist icon. Well, what about the gold bikini? It is easy to see how this scene in Return of the Jedi turned her into a sex symbol within a fandom universe. However, sex symbol or not, she manages to slay Jabba the Hutt and help Luke destroy the Sail Barge within the same scene. Not only that, she was the one that started the entire rescue of Han Solo, coming to the aid of her ally and her true love. So what if she looked sexy while doing it? And since when does being sexy make you unfeminist? I think the true vision of feminism includes that women can dress how they want and it should not reflect on their abilities, their character or their accomplishments. As well, considering this was deemed the 'slave girl' outfit, she was forced to wear by Jabba the Hutt, this was not a wardrobe choice of her own free will. But regardless, you go girl, help save the day and look damn good doing it.

What about Han Solo, indeed. Many feminist critiques would say that when the romance became evident between the two characters, she was losing touch from the strong icon and merging into merely the weak romantic interest. Well, this could not be more wrong. Not once after the beginning of their romance in Empire Strikes Back does she appear weaker because of it. She is a human, like any other male or female, that is capable of feeling love. She does not become a wilting flower, dependent on her man's needs. She continues to fight against the Empire right to the end, until the final victory at the conclusion of Return of the Jedi.

Princess Leia, feminist icon? Hell yes. For children that grew up watching Star Wars, to those that continue to watch Star Wars to this day; it is evident that the strength and drive of her character is a force to be reckoned with. And for myself, growing up with the trilogy, watching them day after day, Princess Leia was a role model, an example and most definitely, an icon.