Tarringo T. Vaughan » Beyond Rainbows & Yellow Brick Roads

Remembering Savin Street

tarringovaughan — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 14:32:00 +0000

Remembering Savin Street

I can still see him playing ring around the Rosie

with life. But back then when he fell

he was afraid to get up because failure

scraped his knees of confidence too many times

and he was someone I use to know

sitting on the porch alone as he stared

out into the streets where courage played.

Silence stole his laugher

and no one wanted to hear his tears

as he cried in the recognition of his own heart

just wishing someone would listen

to the whispers of his pain.

I can still see him jumping for the branches

of the Cherry tree that was planted as the monument

of his strength. Too many falls to the ground

so he stopped trying to climb to the top

because being knocked down would hurt to bad;

worse than he was already hurting.

And he was someone I use to know

as I remember Savin Street and how he was afraid

to release. He had familiarity in his watered eyes

believing he could never reach limitless skies.

He was plastered on milk cartons of self worth

as a lost child until one day he was found

by himself and learned how to believe.

I can still see because he was someone

I use to know as in his reflective stare

is visions of who I use to be.

from “Beyond Rainbows & Yellow Brick Roads: Collected Poems”

Off The Chain

tarringovaughan — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 13:31:49 +0000

Off The Chain

There was a time during my growing up days where I searched
to unlock the chains of my manhood. I was young/ eager/ ready
and willing to take on that world out there; a world
that held the voice of my bravery under lock and key
for so long.

There were those moments I stood on the edge of cascading curbs
behind unbreakable bars clutching to break away
from the captivity of silence. And I watched my dreams
scream to me to break free but I continued to stand still
as windows refused to open and doors slammed shut
against the progression of my strength.

And I was a prisoner

seeking an escape from the closed in walls that tampered
with my ambition to take on that world that dared me
to challenge it’s victory as my own. The key was hidden
within the barriers of my fear where my mind had to become
the apprenticed locksmith to release the man I desired to be;
a man baring confidence set free into a world harsh and off the chain.

from Beyond Rainbows & Yellow Brick Roads

Purchase at: at Barnes & Noble

Like A Bird Without Wings

tarringovaughan — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 22:09:02 +0000

Sometimes I feel like a bird without wings,
unable to fly; no strength to glide,
no way to escape, emotions hidden inside.

Like a bird I was born to soar
and fly through the winds of challenge.
I was born to spread my wings
and rise to the greatest of altitude
accelerating through the skies of capability
but when unrecognized becomes my ability
I become captured and sunken,
held down and broken.

And everyone walks around me
wondering why I won’t fly
they stare at me with concerned eyes
but seldom do they see the hidden tears
because I shield them –
I shield them behind the bars of constructed fears
that hold me to the ground
stuck in place
and feeling like a bird without wings.

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