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This is a collection of some of my favorite poems:

Another Mountain: By Abiodun Oyewole

Sometimes there's a mountain that I must climb even after I've climbed one already
But my legs are tired right now and my arms need a rest, my mind is too weary right now
But I must climb before the storm comes, before the earth rocks and an avalanche of clouds buries me and smothers my soul
And so I prepare myself for another climb
Another Mountain
And I tell myself it is nothing, it is just some more dirt and stone and every now and then I should reach another plateau and enjoy the view of the trees and flowers below
And I am young enough to climb and strong enough to make it to any top
You see the wind has warned me about settling too long about peace without struggle
The wind has warned me and taught me how to fly
But my wings only work
After I've climbed a mountain.

Winners Creed

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you would like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost a cinch you won't

If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world we find;
Success begins with a person's will
It's all in the state of mind

If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise;
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can!

Footprints: Author Unknown

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it.

"Lord, You said that once I decided to follow You, You'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed You most You would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My son, My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you only see one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Angelou Cotton Bun was gleaning for roots and bud tips when she came upon a baby of her own kind. It was so young it seemed that it could not move about very much.. Just then, the ground started to shake. There was a smell of smoke.. Angelou did not know what think of any of this... She reached for the baby and cradled it in her arms in a manner that seemed almost human.... She looked straight up in the sky in what you and I could interpret as a prayer.... She hopped.. It became more like a leap, for at the zenith of her jump, she had cleared trees 40 feet tall.. Even this young girl cotton tail rabbit realized, that God heard her. In two bounds, the noise and tremors were too faint to detect. She and the baby were safe, for now.

Angelou had landed in the Land of the Leprechauns. You may think that the first thing she saw was a leprechaun, not so! She saw a rainbow, and under the rainbow, she saw an empty black pot. Angelou decided that the pot would be a good place to hide the little bunny until she could find something for her and the bunny to eat.

Angelou knew that the Baby bunny was starved. She blinked at the bunny and it seemed to answer her with blinks of its own.. Angelou decided right then and there that she would name the hungry little bunny, "Blinky." When she was convinced that Blinky was comfortable with the leaves and dead grass she made into a bed in the black pot, Angelou bounded away using her new found powers of jumping. This time she watched the ground below and burned the knowledge of where Blinky lay hidden. That is in case the rainbow decided to move away.

Angelou was at a hillside abundant of roots and buds.. This time there were flowers there that were like candy to the likes of her and Blinky. When she was satisfied she had enough she aimed her nose to where Blinky was and Shot like a cannon ball up and gone. It must have been only seconds that she had left Blinky... Blinky was not there when Angelou got there, he was gone and there was no trace of scent around the pot to tell her that Blinky walked away... there were strange tracks instead.. She scanned the area with her eyes and nose.. Blinky had vanished.. Somewhere deep within the trees she heard a laughter... A strange laughter that matched the tiny foot prints around the black pot... Blinky, poor little hungry Blinky, vanished in the land of the Leprechauns.

Angelou decided that whatever had taken Blinky couldn't have gotten far, so she followed the tracks. What she saw would have made a grown buck weep! There was a warlock trying to put Blinky in another pot, which looked exactly like the one Angelou had placed Blinky in. Blinky looked at Angelou Cotton Bun with terror in his deep brown eyes. Now, since Angelou was brown for the summer, she blended in perfectly with the dirt floor in the shack of the warlock.

She made a surprise jump on the warlock, being careful not to surprise him too much, because she was afraid that Blinky would be dropped into the black pot. It was lucky that she thought about that, because as she jumped up to bite off the warlock's nose, she felt something very hot under her paws. When she had accomplished her task, and the warlock had dropped Blinky (not in the pot) she said, "Byingke one" and once she spit out the warlock's nose said more clearly, " Blinky, RUN" As she was running she thought back to her childhood in the warrens and realized what had almost happened to Blinky, HE HAD ALMOST BEEN COOKED!

The Warlock recovered somewhat and screamed. Several electrical bolts of lightning flashed and hit random areas of the room. The Warlock had powers but in his "no nose" condition, his aim was very poor. He looked for Blinky and Angelou and let out two big thunder bolts of lightning. One hit the front door jamb and splintered it to tiny toothpicks. The next one hit the heavy door and blew it apart scattering pieces of it all over the front yard.

A little brown streak flashed past Angelou... She was not sure, but she was guessing that was Blinky making it out of the house. It was Blinky. Blinky had distanced himself from the house by thirty yards faster than Angelou could imagine. Angelou had no more reason to stay there.. She followed Blinky in nearly the same speed.

There must have been over a hundred wee people that mustered behind her and were all headed for the Warlocks house. The Warlock screamed at her swearing that he was going to get even... Soon the Leprechauns reached the noseless warlock.. his screams of hate toward Angelou became wails of pain. The Leprechauns had powers too. Collectively they were able to dismember and dispatch the warlock. He did not stand a chance against the Leprechauns with his nose detached. That ended a war that lasted a thousand years between the Warlock and the Leprechauns.

The baby was still hungry and so was Angelou.. She took Blinky in her arms and Bounded away toward the Hillside of Bounty, where she raised Blinky like a mother.. Visitors came, there were more babies and soon the Hillside of Bounty near the Land of the Leprechauns along side the Farmer and his Equipment, had offspring from Angelou Cotton Bun that were a thousand strong. They all lived happily ever after.

Fin

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