A Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted. 

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past? 

That holy dream - that holy dream,
While all the world were chiding,
Hath cheered me as a lovely beam
A lonely spirit guiding. 

What though that light, thro' storm and night,
So trembled from afar
What could there be more purely bright
In Truth's day-star?

Insee of the dark

I saw of joy go

But a wakingsee of life and bright

Hath gone me brokeheart.

Ah! what not a see bylight

He whose eyes are gone

On things around him with a beam

Turned back upon the nonfuture?

That holy dream - that holy dream,

While all the world were chiding,

Hath cheerme as a lovebeam

Alone spirit show.

What though that light, thro' stormnight,

So shake from far

What could therebe more pure bright

Intruth's daystar?

The Murder House

Kyle Petras

9/16/15

Ms. Gubanich

Western Lit

The Murder House

It was a dark and cold halloween evening.  Everyone’s house was lit up with orange and purple lights with carved pumpkins on their porches.  Little John was returning home from a very successful night of candy obtaining.  He took a new route this halloween different from previous years.  He wanted to try something new.  The sun was well past it’s bed time and ironically it was a full moon.  Johnny passed a peculiar driveway that he had not seen.  As a 12 year old, he was curious as any other 12 year old would be, so he entered the iron cast gates.  The driveway was littered with leaves and dead branches.  At the end of the driveway lay a house, a bit crooked to the left.  John thought this was an opportunity to explore.  Not only did John love exploring, he had packed a flashlight for the evening hours.  The front porch creaked with every step John took.  The front door was massive in size with a large stone gargoyle looming over the entrance.

John pulled the handle for the doorbell and soon after, the door squeaked open.  As the door reached it’s limits, it sent a loud crack through the main foyer.  John, with excitement, entered the house not knowing what to expect.  The only source of light was the moon.  His curiosity led him straight up the stairs.  At the top it led to two hallways, one leading to the left, and the other to the right.  Johnny chose the right.  He peered down and saw a light on in one of the rooms.  He could also hear the sound of a shower.  He creeped closer and closer expecting to find only a person.  He looked into the bathroom to find what he had not expected.  John saw the most grotesque creature he had ever seen.  Not human nor animal.  It wasn’t until the realty agent came to show the well known murder house to her next buyers that the body of John Scarlett was found dead in the bathroom of 237 Manor Way, “The Murder House”.

War, Freedom, Ignorance, Peace, Slavery, Strength

War, Freedom, Ignorance, Peace, Slavery, Strength

Oceania.  The place I live.  I’ve been told to tell you what our society believes in.  We are a people that follow the rules of the ministries.  There are four ministries; the ministry of love, truth, peace, and plenty.  On the glimmering white concrete on the building for the ministry of truth, the words “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” are hung. 

War is Peace.  By achieving peace, we must first go to war.  Oceania believes that bringing war to our society will eventually bring peace.  If you let war linger on our doorstep, it will stay there until we do something about it.  If we fight it right away, we can win our peace.  By acting on it right away, we don’t have to have the thought of it hanging over our heads for a long time.  Having peace means to have war.  There is no way to bypass war if you want peace.

Freedom is Slavery.  Everyone wants to have the most freedom possible.  Oceania grants everyone with no law to abide by.  But to have no laws means that the populous is enslaved to the government being able to do whatever they want.  We are slaves to our society and we must obey whatever they say to do.  We also have no choice.  We must ration everything that we have and be very careful with what we think.  To be able to have no rules or laws limits us and in other words enslaves us.

Ignorance is Strength.  Having the least knowledge and to not be informed makes for the most strength.  When people have little on their mind, they thrive.  When people have much to do on their mind, it makes them weak.  The least knowledge you know, the safer you shall be.  The thought police are watching our every move and if we know too much, it is too late.  If we think the wrong thing, or something bad, they will know.  I never really thought about what would happen, but don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to think too much… 

And there you have it.  To recap, to be at war means to be at peach.  If we let war stand at our doors, it will stay there until they either do something or we do something about it right away.  We have no rules, which allows us freedom to things, which also enslaves us to allowing the ministries to do whatever they want.  And lastly, to have ignorance is to be strong because the less a person knows, the better off they will be.  If the thought police catch one of us thinking something we shouldn’t be thinking of, we are done for. So I shall leave you on that note, oh, someone just knocked on my door.

My Worst Fear

My Worst Fear

Heights.  From looking off the edge of a canyon to creeping out over the edge of the space needle.  Ever since I was young, I’ve always hated heights.  I could never rock climb, or at least get to the top, and whenever we would go over bridges, I would have had to close my eyes.  The only way to diminish my nerves is to realize I am safe and will not fall over the edge.  Now, sometimes that doesn’t work, where in that case, I have a panic attack.  Truly, most of the time I am pretty nervous to look over the edge, but I still look over and realize that I am safe and hopefully will not fall over.  One time, actually over the summer, my family was taking a trip to Seattle to visit my great aunt and uncle.  We stayed in down town Seattle for 2 days and one of those days, we ventured to the site of the space needle.  So when we arrived, it honestly didn’t look that tall.  Right when you are about to head up, you see all these facts of people that had to do with the Space Needle.  After the walk up a ramp, you come to an elevator.  You enter it and it shoots you up.  The whole elevator is glass, so you can see all around you.  Going up for me was pretty freaky realizing how high you actually were.  After the elevator stops, you walk out into a circular room where you can walk out onto a ledge and look over.  Well can I say,  It was so high up.  I was terrified.  So after being up there for a good 20 minutes looking over the edge, I was done.  So there you have it, I had looked over the edge of the space needle.  I’ve always wondered what makes me so terrified of heights, and till this day I still don’t know.  Maybe it’s the fear of loosing my balance and falling off or tripping and falling.  Who knows, I just hope its not the way I die.