Pieces - By Request

Pieces

By Neil Dracos

I once asked you, "What do you like best about me?" A question cryptic, answer hard to see. You told me you love my eyes, I said it was your hair. But when I look in myself now, that answer isn't there.
My love cries for only you. And when you ask what I love most, one answer can't be true.
My hands long for the feel of your hair, yes, your hair. These twins seek it even in my sleep.
But my eyes see yours alone, even in the stones. They howl to gaze deep into your soul, lighting new fire from the coals.

My arms crave the touch of you in my embrace. And only in your arms does my blood race.

My feet feel like lead most every day. But move like a hare’s if you’re even a mile away.

My mind is married to yours, a love intellectually pure. And every time our lives connect, it seems all the newer.

My heart is bound to yours by weightless chains. You’re always there to abate my pains.

I once asked you, "What do you like best about me?" A question cryptic, answer hard to see. You told me you love my eyes, I said it was your hair. But when I look in myself now, that answer isn't there.

Bump - By Request

Bump

By Neil Dracos

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Pain beneath my breast,
never have I been so shattered.
Will I find rest?

Ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump.

Have I ever felt more alone?
Wings like angels on my back,
below my ribs a heart of stone.

Ba-bump, ba-bump, crack!

Veins of ice, toxic blood.
Heart beats,
slowly pumping poison mud.

Raging stinging.

The jab of shards,
in a world so cold.
Fate has dealt the cards.

Tinkle, tinkle.

Life in pieces,
I find the pain,
most of all music eases.

Tinkle, tinkle…..bump.

Forlorn

If tears were shed for every time
we'ed lost a friend to death
or for something we've lost
and can never find again

Would it make a difference
in everything we've said
or just remind us of selfish sorrow
while wishing we were dead

Do we really cry for love
do we really weep
for all that;s passed us up
and all we'll never keep

Sitting here and crying
for all the time that's gone
makes me wonder if it's real
or am I just forlorn

Noumenon

My soul bleeds for a reincarnated heart beat,
cries for the sun to arise on a vicious and dreadful night,
kills me a little each day to keep me weak,
laughs at the fear and folly of my life

My Friend

I didn't know until I found you what I was really missing,
the warmth of your smile, the jig in your walk,
that funny little laugh and the way you talk,
it all makes sense somehow that it was meant to be,
seems it means a friend for you as well as it does for me,
I would miss you should you go and grieve a fond farewell,
until that happens I will always hold you dear,
and when your a million miles away, or have no phone to talk,
I will think of all the laughs we've had and all of our little talks,
and welcome you back with a great big hug,
and simply hold you in my arms,
and knowing what I have always missed,
for as long as I've been around,
I have found I have grieved and grieved
until you were finally found

I wonder

I wonder,

if one day all my mistakes will add up and I will become a winner...

I wonder,

will the rain ever stop and the sun shine in my heart forever...

I wonder,

When I am gone will they plant a tree above me instead of a headstone...

I wonder,

Will you ever come back to me.....?

Study Notes for TAKS

Study Notes for TAKS

Multiple Choice Questions

Read each question completely

Underline your evidence

Eliminate possible wrong answers

Take your time and stay calm

If you are unsure, pick which is most right

Use context clues

Short Answer Essay Questions

Read the question completely

Your answer should relate to the question

Each answer should have 5 or more sentences

Use quotes to support your answer, at least 2

Write which paragraph you found it in

Reread your answer to make sure it makes sense

Make any corrections necessary

The Essay for 10^th thru Exit

Read the prompt completely

Make sure your essay relates to the topic

Be Specific

Use Details

Write a minimum of 5 paragraphs

Use 5 or more sentences in each paragraph

Use your own experiences

Write complete sentences

Reread your work and make any corrections

The night before the test

Eat a good dinner

Go to bed early

Try to have a good breakfast

Arrive to school on time

Write like you read and not like you talk

Look for:

            Setting – time and place

            Characters – Main and supporting, antagonist and protagonist

            Conflict / Resolution – The problem and its conclusion

            Theme – Universal message

            Plot – the series of events in the story including introduction, climax / turning             point, and the conclusion

            Point of View – first person: I or we, third person: use of characters names,               omniscient: all seeing

            Mood - Tone that is set by time and place, use of figurative language

            Foreshadowing – Hints to what is to come next or soon in the story

            Flashback – Interrupts a story and relates to a previous event

            Irony – the difference in what appears to be and what really is

            Dialogue – written conversation between two or more characters

            Symbolism – a symbol that stands for something beyond the obvious

Read between the lines and make inferences

Make predictions

Look for comparisons and contrasts between the two stories

Draw a venn diagram

Make an outline

Compose on the scrap paper

Use persuasion in your paper

Organize your written work

Check mechanics

Read everything you write back to yourself