Leon Ebinger Poetrya waterways project 7 publication Leon Ebinger Barbara Fisher & Richard Spiegel Po etry co-directors Thomas Perry Assistant Tom Mitchelson Waterways Instructor Sharon Jones, Principal RIESE. Stephen E. Phillips, Superintendent Alternative High Schools and Programs ©1995 Waterways Project of Ten Penny Players, Inc, funding support from NYS Council on the Arts, Con Edison and participating schoolsAs the Days Go On As the days go on, I gaze up in the clouds into heaven, Thinking about you 24-7. I know it's a tough time for you and I Thinking of the time I could spend with you while it's passing me by T regret this fiasco and wish things were like the past, Praying to God every night that I go home at last! But I know this is a test of faith, Hopefully, things will change for the better, And we won't have to witness any stormy weather. I pray to the Lord hoping He hears my cries, So I can once more see your innocent eyes.Love Love is much like colors, It can change from a bright red to a dull black Especially between lovers. It can be as pure as the morning dew on a Sunday morning. It can be violent like when it's raining and storming. But after all storms, comes a bright day And you can bet that my love is here to stay.Tear Drop A tear drop can tella story About a tragedy or a victorious glory. It bares the weak and the sensitive As it manipulates the gullible's sympathy A drop of tear holds a tablespoon of sorrow A tear is squashed by a tissue and dried til Another morrow. Experience eludes future scenarios if learned from.... Protecting your feelings is insulating your emotions.... 4Fading As I sit in the pens waiting, I feel my life is fading. See, I'm going to court to get sentenced 5-15 For the crime I committed and now wish I could redeem. I did a robbery without a care, Not knowing the consequences that would be there. lended up getting bagged While my co-defendant caught a toe tag. He tried to run from police, thinking about getting away, But instead his fate was sealed by a train. The accident was brutal with bluntness, Now I'm catching the rap and what's £---- up is I'm the youngest. The D.A. said 5-15 was their lowest plea,They said if I blew trial that would be The last of me! So being scared and unaware I copped out without a care. Now I'm sitting on the bus wishing and hating As I regret the mistake that makes me feel Like I'm fading.How Time Flies ‘You notice how time flies by the second, Thinking of the days we shared in the past and how I regret it. It's true how they say when someone is gone you Realize what you had, Iremember the times we'd argue and you'd be mad. I wish things could be the way they were before ‘cause I see how you cared and showed me that Your love was pure. Carmen, I need your love, And I know it’s meant to be ‘cause you were Sent to me from the man above. Ijust hope that in the end you're there and Solemnly swear to be mine, ‘Cause I don't want to have to live my life Thinking about how time flew by.Cherish Icherish the way you make me feel, It makes me know that our love is sealed, Even in good times and bad times, When I'm mad you still come to my mind. I cherish all the sorrow and the laughter, I cherish spending the night and waking up with you the morning after, You're always there to support me, And ‘cause of that, I now that there will never be, Another that I will cherish like thee.One Second I was on the floor when it went down. A kid was looking around for anybody who Looked at him with a frown. There was a Spanish kid in the corner waiting for his VI, When the first kid stepped to him, saying, "You look kinda fly. Bein’ you sportin’ all that gear, If you the man, what you doin’ in the rear? What, you think you all that?" And that's when the kid spit his gat. Without any hesitation or wait, He laced the kid in his face. The boy screamed in despair, And everyone looked without a care.C.0.s quickly ran to the scene To find the boy with blood stains on his shirt and jeans. The boy was rushed to the hospital on the double, While the boy who cut him ran ‘cause he knew He was in trouble. After the incident, the boy was sent to the bing For 120 days to pay for his devious ways. See, all it took was one second for this to take place, Now the boy has to walk around With a lifetime scar on his face. 10Rikers Island The bus lets you off at C-74, Once you're in the reception office, Don't have no friends anymore. They give you an ID with your picture on it, And a blanket for your bunk when you lay on it. After Mod 5 they send you to a house in the building Where you hear about the physical cutting And mental killing, See, the building is full of hardcore gangsters, And out in the Sprungs are jailhouse pranksters. In the Sprungs you don't have to worry about getting cut or beat, To most kids in the building, out here is sweet. After awhile, you know the code and become wise 1And start rockin' Filas on VIs. But most take it to their head thinking they're top dog, Not knowing that there's someone else Who is considered over all. Til the day you're on that ‘hardcore high’ trippin’ Is the day you get caught slippin’. He was a shorty who I thought could bring no drama, But now I gotta buck-forty I gotta show my mamma. 12Alone What is alone? Is it to be at one with your inner being? Is it to touch and have no feeling Or to look and see nothing? Isolation brings along frustration And the thought of emancipation brings you into Temptation to the reality of your wits, Visualizing life as hermit, Solely glancing at a path of darkness, In the midst of returning to your creator In which you no longer yearn for the Feeling of being needed or wanted; Instead, an infinite companionship between the mind and soul. 13Life Life is like a race: It can pass you by only If you can't keep up. 14Solitaire As I sit in the corner of my cell, I think to myself and wonder How the hell I ended up in jail. The mental urge keeps yearning for me to approach, As I'm on the verge of psychotic insanity while Talking to this roach: Solitaire is the ultimate hell. 15Jazz Artists The music was the way from back in the days, Charlie Parker, aka "bird" Played the sax with a style never before heard. Coltrane, another sax player Reigned in popularity with all flavors, Then came Dizzy Gillespie and Lionel Hampton With a tune to ease ya’, Which started out with Dizzy's trumpet named Night in Tunisia. Max Roach, aka "Albino Red” played the drums for Bird's quartet while touring the South, As jazz progressed on, the music was made the mouth. From be-bop to scat The legendary Cab Calloway would sing 16"Minnie the Moocher" on stage in tails and white top hat. Louise Armstrong played the trumpet and sang a little While his reputation grew and he earned the nickname “The Great Sachmo." And still today she is known from decades ago As the woman of jazz known as Ella Fitzgerald, She had a voice that could sing a lyric with care And so deep that it could be heard from the Apollo to Times Square. Another bird best known as Donald Byrd Played the trumpet to a tee And note by note he expressed the music under an enchanted melody. Charlie Mingus played bass with a vibe That thumped in your face and so unique it rocked! Now today, upcoming artists pay tribute 17To the legends who played in the Blue Note and the Cotton Club, and many started their fames Playing small-time in taverns and pubs. As for the future, new legends are yet to be born, Following the tradition of plowing their horns. 18In Search of a Song helumese