Faces & Voices IV
An Anthology of Verse
and Prose

by
the Composition for Honours Class,
Howard University
(1999-2000)

Professor
E. R. B
RAITHWAITE

Editors
A
NDREW BERNARD
J
AMAAL BROWN
S
ADIA BRUCE
A
SHLEY MCFARLIN
J
AKELA PARKER
K
ENRYA RANKI

    

H  O  W  A  R  D    U  N  I  V  E  R  S  I  T  Y


Faces & Voices IV
AN ANTHOLOGY OF VERSE AND PROSE

Time Passes By
Terri Turner

Time passes by in a flux of lost years.
Masked by the fears of no restraint. As the clock chimes,
A figure steps through the mist.
The plot thickens, as the minutes race past.
A new image comes forth, to reveal the purity of the old.
Deep brown eyes lead to a core of honesty.
Unwavering comforts, not harmed by the flames of despair.
The road ahead remains plagued by the unknown.
The seconds disappear, in a rapid array
Of lost opportunities. 
Silence is what remains.
A shelter from preeminent consequences.
The price on pays for shelter
Can be devastating.
Either to be cloaked by invisible security,
Or to be smothered by inability.
The words disintegrate to miniscule thoughts
Lost in a sea of uncertainty. 
To speak out is to make oneself susceptible
To the pain the unfeeling world can 
Conjure up at the drop of a hat.
To remain silent is to suffer the immeasurable
Anguish of second thoughts.
Time continues to drift, while the unprepared world
Stumbles to an inevitable downfall.
The present is no longer a possibility,
For it has become the past.
The future lies ahead in a haze.
The winding road shortens, as the question remains.
Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn to hours,
Hours turn to days.
Within the sparkling flicker of a moment,
All hope can be lost, or all dreams can become reality.
If only the choice were that simple.
Life is a stream of endless pain and insecurity.
Randomness increase with each breath exhaled.
Matter changes but never disappears. 
Simplicity has never been an option,
Nor will it ever become one.
Consequences follow each footstep, like
The shadow, a prisoner of the human body.
Regret is for the weak, so with each step remain true.
The happiness of one, is equal to the happiness
Of any other…
If only that were acceptable.
            


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© 2000 Howard University
(First Published in limited print edition by
The Composition for Honours Class, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, Spring 2000.)
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