The pencil and paper get so confusing sometimes
that all I'm really able to think about are
these rhymes
these lines spill out of me
like a falling cup of tea
All I can do is just write
If I don't, I won't be able to sleep @ night
So like I said these lines are just pouring out
Sorta like the end of a water spout
into the Night
  
  
  
               Eyes sewn shut
               hands held tight
               we'll never go to sleep tonight
               The nightmares drift through
               my mind all day
               as I slowly, slowly start to --
               drift away
               Hold me so tight
               Hold me so close
               don't let me drift away tonight
               Just wait 'til we're both here
               then we can both drift away
               with no fear
  

with these tired hands I twiddle
this pen between my fingers
the sounds of the night come
crashing through my window
outside I see someone tiptoe
the night air breathes freshly through
the screen
of the windows that I've seen
So when will I find the
right window to let me out
into the world
the window that lets
the wind in and gives
my hair a twirl?
  

To Be a Man
  
by Cody Brogi

Life is just a place to be played.
I was lucky to get out of the game when I did,
I thank God I got to keep my head,
I say rest in peace to my friends that ended up dead.
To be a criminal mastermind is how I got paid --
to think of all the dirty money that can be made ...
I've made my life better,
a huge sacrifice,
I'd rather be happy with something
than sad with nothing,
But you always got to be careful that your past does
not catch up with you.
You've got to beat the darkness with your own willing hand
And figure out what it really means to be a MAN.
  

look in my eyes
  
by Cody Brogi
(Age 16, Foster-child)

look in my blue eyes and see the hunger and pain.
this young soul has seen people slain.
my dark past will follow me like a stalker --
I can only wonder, will it get darker?
and still I create beauty with my pen or marker.
I come from a place where you keep your eyes to yourself --
doesn't matter if another person is in distress,
that choice is yours --
long life or early death.
'til the day I take my last breath,
I am to carry an unspeakable burden on my shoulders.
love to me is in the eye of the beholder,
But still to the day my soul is set free
the weight will still crush me,
But to defeat me is impossible -- God has dealt me a good hand,
for this my soul is not anymore one of the damned.