This is my ten-form poetry submission to the first annual ATTYS competition. All ten poems are related to the process of coming to terms with different life situations: a miscarriage, the death of a loved one in the Vietnam war; a political abduction; the ex-pat life; a battered wife; betrayal; Alzheimer's Disease; drought; isolation; a mother/daughter relationship. Thank you for reading my submission. I hope these poems "speak" to you! I invite you to visit my poetry blog, The Wonderful Boat, at www.cathychandler.blogspot.com Cover photo, "Transitions", by Catherine Chandler Catherine Chandler

Callie Picket,the-fat-girl-next-door has a big fat secret. Well, a secret she's been successfully hiding from her oh so sexy apartment neighbor Chris Walker. In their first meeting, he mistakes her for a fat guy and she does nothing to correct him. "That awkward moment when the man you love doesn't know you're a woman" Very over-weight 22 year old girl Callie has a mega crush on her hunkie new apartment next door neighbor Chris ...(age 24). The thing is, since Callie is so overweight, Chris mistakes her for a guy but she doesn't tell him the truth because they've become buddies and she doesn't want to lose that bond with him. Then Chris makes her start going to the gym to lose weight and as the pounds comes off, Chris begins to see these changes...like Callie starts to look more girly, and since he's a total playboy and lady lover, he starts getting attracted to her while thinking that she's still a "he". Basically, he thinks he's going gay. Will Callie ever tell him the truth as her lie begins to take its toll on both of them as she and very confused Chris becomes closer? Or will he be the first to finally see her for what she truly is? A Big Fat Liar.

The famous Eleanor "Ellie" Myers' life is not turning out like she dreamed it would. Growing up with a movie star for a mother, she learned to dream big. But then one day, Eleanor's world came crashing down around her, and she found herself on her own, the only thing to her name being the her baby girl, Zoe. Years later, Eleanor's life is finally starting to turn around. But then, she once again finds herself out on the streets of Los Angeles with no one to turn to. Eleanor's saving grace comes in the form of a phone call from a long lost relative, hoping to reconnect over the death of an uncle she's never even met. Eleanor takes this opportunity to flee to the tiny town of Capital Springs, leaving everything she knows behind. However, Eleanor soon realizes that she needs a break from the fast lane to reconnect with who she is and what she really wants out of life. But in journeying to find herself, will she be able to escape the dark past that's chasing her down and forcing her to finally look it in the face?