SECONDHAND STEVEN

Here's a little story

About a little boy

Who had secondhand shoestrings

And secondhand toys

He had secondhand hamsters

Who had lost most their hair

And a secondhand clock

On walls which were bare

He had a second – hand watch

- which no longer told hours

It just clicked away seconds

And made a "ding!" on the hour

- So secondhand Stephen

Had secondhand friends

Who played the same games over

- and over again

They played deflated basketball

And baseball with dowels

They played with secondhand super-heroes

Who had lost all their powers

They built kingdoms from cardboard

With toilet-paper-roll towers

And the sign on Steven's clubhouse said:

"STPHN'S CLBHS!!!"

'Cause Stephen didn't have

Any vowels

Stephen's mother and father

Worked at a secondhand store

That raised money from donations

Which they gave to the poor

At the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen

- Where they all volunteered

They served secondhand food

'Til it all disappeared

They fed people who were homeless

And some who were just hungry

Who would come to the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen

When their bellies got grumbly

They ate day-old donuts

And day-old "fresh bread"

And while none of it was fancy

Everyone left fed

So secondhand Stephen

Didn't mind, anyway

That he had a secondhand life

When he woke every day

Because Stephen was happy

In his home filled with joy

For his family was together

And that was better than toys

Now Stephen has a talent

Which he shares with boys and girls

Which he shares with both his parents

And hopes to show the world

That with secondhand pencils,

And pastels and pens

And paints that are dry

And brushes that bend

And with charcoal from chimneys

Or with juice from a beet

He can make any picture

That he's started to think.

He made a war between dragons

That was covered in fire

Where both dragons roared

As they flew ever higher

Both kicking and punching

And fighting in waves

'Til they gave up

- Too tired

And went back to their caves

He drew a unicorn once

Who's horn was a red flame

Which Stephen designed

For when he makes video games

With trolls, giants and orcs

And elves, dwarves and thieves

That fight in big battles

- Stephen draws them as he sees

Which ones are the heroes?

And which ones enemies?

How one day war is over

How one day there is peace

Which then makes him draw a pasture

And a forest with the moon

And knights swinging swords

- All in one afternoon

And then he shares with his friends

Who make stories for each one

Then they act them all out

Until each battle is won!

One day Stephen

Was at the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen

It was really cold outside

And people were slipping

On ice that was frozen

From the night gone before

And so over and over

People came through the door

Of the 2nd Street Soup Kitchen

'Til the room filled with warmth

From a room filled with people

Just trying to keep warm

And there in the crowd

Was a girl dressed in blue

With the lightest blonde hair

And eyes like the moon

Blue eyes like the color

Of a glacier that melts

Stephen saw in her smile

She was like no one else

Stephen shared all his pictures

To her eyes - as she stared

And as he flipped through his notebook

She started to share

"Hi - My name is Tarynn

- And I like to write

It's something I do

Almost every night

I like to write stories

- But I can't make those drawings

And then she pointed at his notebook

And said:

"Wow - They are awesome!"

Tarynn kept sharing

She told Stephen such stories!

They were fantastic and funny

Like things seen in movies

When he went with his parents

To Saturday matinees

When it cost only four dollars

So early in the day

So they started making stories

Stephen and Tarynn together

She'd write some great words

And he'd draw them as pictures

And as they worked together

Things just started to look

With her words

- and his pictures

Like the pages of books

So they wrote their first story

About their first meeting

About how he made pictures

And she filled them with meaning

With each one, helping the other

They always ended up even

So they made their first book

And called it "Secondhand Stephen"

SAW THE SILVER

(WIP)

She had to be a stripper. Not really in the literal sense but a stripper nonetheless. All night through the date she continued to unveil herself just a little bit more. He couldn't stop thinking of Moonraker, the James Bond film. He was just a boy yet had somehow managed to procure a magazine that showed this amazing golden-skinned woman with side boob. It was a Moonraker tribute or fanzine or whatever... It was. He was seven.

Now he was on a date with that chick from Moonraker. After all these years she was still more than he had ever expected. She laughed at his very best jokes as if they were at a very good comedy show. At the bar after dinner she reached over and casually (while laughing) put her hand on his thigh.

She was literally a Goddess. And as the date continued he became ever more giddy.

It was as if somewhere there were people filming him and soon they would pop out from the bushes and the alleyways with cameras and microphones and let him know that this had all been a joke.

There was no way that he was this lucky and he would marry her right now.

Unfortunately Vegas was 1000+ miles away. And they weren't even that drunk.

She said she "Never smoked" but when she was drinking she really liked to step outside for a red. They went outside and there before them stood a behemoth of a man who had to easily be pushing 280 pounds. He was all muscle and had a chin from a movie that starred either Jay Leno or Jackie Chan. The man had a cigarette jutting out of his mouth and was still holding a pack of Marboro's in his hand. With all of the confidence he could muster he said to the monolith "Bro, I will give you $20 for two cigarettes?"

And with all the cleverness and glamour of the character in that aforementioned movie the giant said "Nah bro - it looks like you're having a better night than I – you can have the whole pack..." and as he handed him the pack he also handed him a golden zippo that was encrusted with what had to be jewels.

Looking at the lighter she grabbed his hand and pulled him as she started running away. He looked over his shoulder certain that the brute was about to annihilate them both - yet all the Goliath said was "Have a good night bro!"

This was real!

He was already in love.

Life had always been rough and full of turmoil. After years of trying to work and support both he and his mother he had finally been forced to watch her succumb to cancer. They were finally on their feet after all those years of struggling and then he had to watch her go.

No matter how he tried or what he had tried he never once managed to find a good woman.

And yet here he was on a date with a woman from Moonraker. As they came by the entrance to the park she asked him "Which way is your home?"

He felt bile rise up in his throat and just barely burn his vocal chords as he said

"Through the park, on the other side."

And she said "Let's go!" and pulled him.

As they moved further from the street he could feel the moisture of the trees and the whole environment as it breezed through him. She pulled tightly and clung to him as they walked. She faltered in her steps for a second and turned and looked at him with beaming eyes. Those eyes were where intensity and delight met.

Suddenly and seemingly solemn she looked at him and said "It's been a long time."

"It's been along time since I met a man."

He nearly swooned and started pulling on her as he led the way home.

He was going to show her what a man was.

Nearly through the park and with the street now in full view he could see the form of a man sleeping on a bench. The figure was dark and hooded and on his side. As they approached him - he suddenly felt cold.

She took notice of the man too, and as both of their attentions became focused on the man - the man rose suddenly from the bench swinging fully with both his arms.

They both saw the silver and heard the sound.

The sound of an aluminum Louisville slugger swinging through the air.

The sound of her collapsing face.

For what had to be fractions of a second he stood there and watched the swinging unfold. He heard the sound as her forehead indented.

And then the rage filled him and he pushed forward with all of his might towards the man with his out reaching hand. He lifted the man up so high he fought to stand on the bench to lift him even further.

He looked up at the man as he dropped his bat and heard the last breath of the woman from Moonraker.

Holding him high in the air he watched as his would-be assailant suffocated - while clinging and grabbing at his wrist.

He hurled him down and broke the man over the bench.

Then collapsed to the ground, and began to weep.