Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

My mother is dead.
My father is dead.
My brother is dead.
My other brother is dead.
My sister is dead.
My nephew is dead.
My son is dead.
When will my family stop dying?
I’m never going to get used to it.

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

back
from the dead
The Painted Ladies
tremble
in the heather
the change has come
as ephemeral Large Blues
emerge
from their buried
chamber

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

https://youtu.be/2S9NpUs-x9E

POEM:

The Maga will deliver what is owed
from a great hardware store
a department, the section
necessary fixtures and adhesives
for the job, guaranteed to cement
what’s so rickety, piles as they shift
rise majestic, up to high heaven
where Mag...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

In the fading light of a weary day,
A man stands firm, through shadows play,
His heart a drum, steady and loud,
Facing the storms, beneath the shroud.

Each breath a battle, each step a test,
He feels the weight of the world on his chest,
Memories flash like sparks ...

Perfromed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

It was your curves I fell in love with
Or was it the gentle branches you offered me
Vines entwining you so lovingly
Bowing over to bond with each other

You provided shelter from all around
Protection like no other
Your strength shining in your continuous growth
Wis...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

Little girl. You’ve carried
the burden of my name
my life, interrupted
by a car crash at my
own hands for longer
then you even knew me
on earth.

It’s time you lay down the burden
of my name, my life, my
goals that exceeded expectations
because you have surpassed
an...

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

The Countdown begins
When?
November 5th, Jan.6th
OR
Is it
When does the countdown end?
I have heard one question and one statement over and over
Are you better off
We will fix it
I hear words like
I am traumatized
I am wondering I am leaving
I am scared
That is not...

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?

Estranged brothers confront their mother's grave, unearthing buried resentments and dark secrets.

2. What genres would you say this story is in?

Crime genre

3. How would you describe this s...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

I was, maybe, three
years old, when my mother
said: “I challenge you to run
from here to the corner.”

And, delighted, I ran.

On my spring stick new legs,
I ran,
giving it my all,
I ran,
alongside the old stone building,

While holding my mother’s hand
and I felt t...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

I wanna go home
As the dusk rises
With the sun bending down
And thus, staying there
Until it begins to rise again.

In your car
With the windows down
Does light shine dim
And bright shading the
galaxy, the sky.

Racing down the street
Goes the gas smell and
the steam...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

Dry, arid, desert landscape of Mojave
spartan-like, feisty under the relentless sun,
austere rock outcrops, shrubs,
wildflowers under the clear blue sky,
bloom vividly upon a thousand stars in the cover of the night.
A solid trunk of a tree, a poetry
unfurls its bra...

SHADOWS IN THE PARK, 6min., USA
Directed by Valerie DuPree
Two sisters venture deep into the woods...only one senses something watching. Fear twists into betrayal. Will they survive?

http://www.cavacastudiopictures.com/

https://www.wildsound.ca/videos/audience-feedback-shadows-in-the-park

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

Get to know the writer:

1. What is your short story about?

A female teenager's blossoming sexuality in the hood.

2. What genre(s) would you say this story is in?
Young Adult Drama

3. How would you describe this story in two words?

Urban Sexuality.

4. What movie ha...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

Pain and grief,
Sadness and sorrow
Will I have the strength to make the morrow?

I fear my loss
Will forever emboss.
Can I shed this pain, no matter the cost?

Rage and anger
Are no stranger,
Especially towards the one born in the manger.

You watch your world burn
...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

The sky opens,
raindrops fall,
and sunlight breaks the clouds,
casting its glow
throughout my backyard.

An event, as if tailored for me—
a dance of water and light.
The universe is communicating
through the space between.

I am in tune with the
presence of somethin...

An inexperienced team of thieves attempts a heist only to be double-crossed by one of their own.

Performed by Val Cole

After a brutal assault by his classmates, a bullied and marginalized gay indigenous adolescent in Ecuador embarks on a spiritual journey where he discovers his inner warrior-shaman.

Performed by Val Cole

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

When my final day comes,
And it’s my turn to go,
When to the pain you’ll succumb,
Remember that I’ve loved you so.
Don’t fret, my dear,
For I have lived a happy life,
It’s all alright, my love,
It’s all alright.
Don’t bury me into the ground,
As I don’t want to rot,...

Performed by Val Cole

POEM:

When I die, I’m coming back to haunt the shit out of everyone who ever screwed me over in this lifetime.And I will be immune to your puny exorcisms. And if you’re on my afterlife shit list and you happen to get yourself dead before me, don’t consider yourself off th...