read. watch. listen. :: teen poetry

Winners announced!

2011-05-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

The contest is over and the winners have been selected! Congratulations to all our participants for having the courage to write from the heart. Our winning poets are:

High School: Matt G. for Seas of Flowers
Middle School: Anyssa R. for I Once Had a Dad

Honorable mentions go out to Trianne H. for Breeze, Newni P. for Bitter Sweet Dream, and Aaliyah G. for I Am a Poem. Read more about what our judge, poet James Tyner, had to say about our poets:

For the High School poetry winner I chose “Seas of Flowers” by Matthew G. This is a strong poet, someone with a keen eye for detail, the small aspects in the world around them, and how to use the details to create a strong voice in the poem. Powerful lines like “gutted stretches of Armenian Highway” and “little bays of shades / of red and white and yellow gold.”

Runner ups in the High School competition are “Breeze” by Trianne H for its strong images, sense of rhythm, and word choice and “Bitter Sweet Dream” by Newni P for its strong characterization, shape, and voice.

The winner of the Middle School contest is “I Once Had a Dad”. It’s a powerful and raw piece, filled with emotion but not controlled by it. The author used strong line breaks and internal rhyme to take this poem to the next level.

Runner up was “I Am A Poem” by Aaliyah G. Strong voice throughout, and the author took risks with form, changing from a traditional free verse to prose poem and back.

Congrats again! Matt and Anyssa, your prizes are on their way to you.

Contest now closed

2011-05-02T09:06:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in our poetry contest. We'll announce the winners soon...keep checking back!

Inside

2011-05-02T09:05:00.002-07:00

My eyes are windows to my soul.
A glimpse of secrets that I hold,
A light shining from love I know,
My eyes are windows to my soul.

My words reveal what is within.
The love and grace that I've been given, The hurt, the pain, and careless sin, my words reveal what is within.

My life reflects Him that I serve.
His grace in every turn and curve,
This empty girl he's given worth,
My life reflects him that I serve.

--Trianne H., 16

One Plus One

2011-05-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

The same,
But different.
Alike,
yet not.
Separated by face,
Joined by heart.
Love
And hate.
Joy
And pain.
Happiness
And annoyance.
Close,
yet so far away.
Something seen often,
But so rare.
A couple
A pair,
Is made
Of two ones.

--Trianne H., 16

Hope of the Morning

2011-05-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

When does morning come?
When will the dawn awake,
To warm the earth's cold heart?
We shiver in silence,
The pain reaching our numbest places.
It hurts to think,
It is almost too painful to breathe.
Why doesn't the sun come
And warm our faces?
Where is it?
And why is it so far away?
Just when we need it most,
It seems to disappear.
For the day only lasts for a while,
And warmth goes after a time.
Giving way to the cold
And bitter cloak of the night.
When the sky is at it's darkest,
And the cold fills our souls,
Only the hope of warmth
and the dream of the dawn
Keep us alive.

--Trianne H., 16

Breeze

2011-04-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

Blows softly,
gently,
through the trees.
Lifts your hair,
touches your neck.
pauses.
Then comes back.
A shiver up your spine,
it comes
and goes.

--Trianne H., 16

Shadows

2011-04-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

What are the figures

That hide in the night?

Things hardly seen,

You quiver in fright.

Silent silhouettes

That lurk everywhere

From the coziest room

To the murkiest lair.

Crouching behind

Every mountain and tree,

Their presence confuses

The things that you see.

Turning your mind

Away from the light,

Shadows, the ruling

Kings of the night.

--Trianne H., 16

I Once Had a Dad

2011-04-28T16:03:00.000-07:00

I once had a dad
Who was great and made me glad
Who loved his family
My mom said he was very manly
I once had a dad who yelled and lied
When he did this things were never alright
He used to lie to my mommy
And to his family
I once had a dad that said he cared
But he had dark secrets that he never shared
It was sad that my dad acted this way
Some days he moved away
He moved far far away and never stayed
Then he met this girl Tammy
And she looked trampy
Ever since he met her he’s been interested in drugs
I once had a dad that said he missed me
And one day asked me how old I was going to be
I once had a dad who gave me knives
Then I realized when he left with Tammy and her kids
That I once had a dad in my life

--Anyssa R., 12

To: Someone Who I Love, But Just For That Moment

2011-04-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Everyday I love you less and less.
Even if it kills me, I'm going to smile.
Can't deny it, can't pretend it.
Behind this smile is something you'll never understand.
I'll never let this go, but I can't find the words to tell you.
I don't want to be alone, but now I feel like I don't know you.
And I'm not insecure, I just don't trust many people.
I still love you. I always will. I just can't trust you.
It doesn't matter, if I stay or go because I'll love you forever.
To the world, you are one person, but to one person you are the world.

--Newni P., 16

Seas of Flowers

2011-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

The drive plods along
But so worth the jarring
Of the gutted stretches
Of Armenian highway

The great descending roading
Switching back upon itself far too often
From a displacement
Of upstate Oregon

Shaking roads add difficulty
To my attempts to read--
That made me look
Toward the flying landscape

I observe the dismal passing villages
Music blaring in my ears
Through god awful headphones
Putting me in limbo

Keeping my gaze
Fixated on the world
Quickly fading from my eyesight
We suddenly passed oceans

A visual
Of seas of purple
Little bays of shades
Of red and white and yellow gold

Rivers of wheat
Flowing speedily
Glistening like the fluid content
Of a pricked thumb

The watery currents
Are simply flowers
Wild, free, beautiful
Polychrome seas and midsummer snow falls

--Matt G., 15

A Caricature of Paris: Upon Viewing an Exhibition of the Art of Toulouse-Lautrec

2011-04-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

The century-old paper, faded
Inked in comic observation
Of the age of the turning of time
To the dawn of a new age

Reflecting the decadence
Of a new Paris risen
From the ashes of another
Republic lost to war

Through crowded Parisian streets
To the smoky cafes on the corner
While reclining nudes
Lavishly relax in country homes

Open to the artists’ pens
Captured in comic abandoned
Without the formality, but well observed,
and magically captured portrait of a younger, modern age

--Matt G., 15

A Study in Violence

2011-04-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

In the windows to history
The grim visage of Death
Punctuate my vigil
Into a previous yesterdays.

Acts portrayed, that were committed
In the name of purity of a Turkic race
To slay our forefathers
And deny the continuation,
The progression of a long suffering people.

Tearing children from the womb
Fathers from sons and mothers form daughters
Serving as a defecation
Upon the very nature of all humankind

Then sooth is mine seeing desecration
Unfounded oaths of vengeance
And Death's visage painted upon a canvas
Damning the cruelty of a million yesterdays
Past long ago

--Matt G., 15

Smoke my Heart, Drown in Me

2011-04-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

Love is not enough, and we’ve lived long enough
We’ve sailed our ship and let it sink
And I drown in our dream, because I died when I said I loved you
Refusing the life preserver, needing to be
Enamored in this emotion trip
And keep each other as the drugs in our veins
As we sink lower and lower into this watery dream of lovers DMT,
We’ve forgotten who we are
We just hold on to each other, as the breath dies in our lungs
And the chemicals hit our minds, and take our life away
Abandoning the universe and scrambling our minds
We’re lost, so lost in our watery grave,
Unable to hear our friends scream
Until the ocean fell away, and we hit the ground
With no one, not even each other, to get us on our feet

--Matt G., 15

5/4 poem (Tired Ragged We)

2011-04-25T11:16:00.001-07:00

Sweet dark calm fills all
The empty spaces around us
Tired, ragged we
Are drowned in the full
Places of our life
Tired, ragged we
Deny no more that
Man can achieve good
Tired, ragged we
Have found long lost s'renity
In the world's dis-ease
Tired, ragged we

--Matt G., 15

2011-04-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

Comeback to yourself
You brand name refugees
Staring through a stained glass hoax
And find asylum in your flesh
Soul dead, god forsaken consumer vessel

Return to the you call home
Find time and unite in the rhythm
Of society out of abstract bounds
Abandon the memories of squandered years
Without a home within yourself

The culture called "culture"
So unironically dubbed Progress' haven
Avoiding the picture of the All-American
The Wall Street corruption
And New York capital glam

Leave your ideas of a monochromatic
World in which acceptance
Remains its own antithesis
So that when you arrive at the individual
You can leave yourself in a glorious victory
Of the flawed, but existent world

--Matt G., 15

Hymn

2011-04-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Impossible to ascertain
Oh you speculators
of the holy and divine;
Lead me not into temptation
To the false jewel certainty
But deliver us beyond skepticism
And bring the world
Into the present, out of the future
Leaving all that is past
In memory, in prose, in verse
Rotting in equilibrium of
Yellowing pages of text
To evolve in step
With Mankind's ignoble parade
For you are friend of all
To the worlds, to the tribes
Of Man and beast
In the foolish debasements
Of lives in Balance

Amen

--Matt G., 15

2011-04-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

The sun shines on to your skin as you lay beside me.
Birds tweet to their love ones, so sweetly.
Flowers bloom into perfection.
Laying in your embrace, can't pull myself away.
Smiling at you, while your eyes gaze into my heart.
Slowly caressing your hair
the humid air, that drowns us in it’s heat Is this love or lust?
What will become of us in the end a spring love or a summer’s lust?
whatever it may be, it has caught us in our web of lies.

--Newni P., 16

The Hardest Word for the World

2011-04-22T08:43:00.000-07:00

What is the hardest thing you know?
What do you think it's hard to say?
Why is the world not in a word meaning?
What kind of word am I gonna use?
You don't know of course.
But what is that word every states and people need.
It's the hardest thing in the past too.
The future might not be like what this word is.
What is the hardest word for the world to be?
I hope later on forward it will be
Hope it won't turn out the other way around
This world was meant to be
What the hardest word for the world, 9
PEACE.
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--Kimberly C., 14

Heaven or Hell?

2011-04-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Whether what sacrifice takes.
Whether what kills inside.
Whether if we get kill.
Whether if God or Devil takes who.
It is Heaven or Hell
Whether who choose.
Whether who got loose.
Whether how far it is.
Whether how much it takes to be one person.
We should all go Heaven.
But it's Heaven or Hell.
We can't choose
We have to be pick.
Heaven or Hell?

--Kimberly C., 14

To Be Myself

2011-04-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm Asian
But You're different
But life is the same
We should all get along
Without tearing a person's heart into halves
Without crying that I can't be you
Because we are all the same
How? By being a person in Earth
Not by what race we are
Cause I get along with many type of race
I know how it feel to be somebody else
I can be that somebody else and you can be me?
It doesn't count as much as
It counts to be yourself and I be myself
Even if others judge
You can't let them tear you from it
It's your personal self
Not their idea of who you should be
Don't change, don't judge
Because there are others who can't understand you
So it's to be myself
and you be yourself.

--Kimberly C., 14

2011-04-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

An early summer evening
The sky darkens, gradually
As I sit on a swing
Green grass tickling my feet.
A sunset symphony
Of wind chimes, seemingly discordant
But oddly beautiful
Strange, pure voices whispering truths
In a language I don’t understand
And the sound of the wind
Running its long, spindly fingers
Through the leaves.

Cacophony, the wailing of a siren
Not too far away
Drowns the soft sounds
Of the wind and chimes.
But as the noise fades in the distance
I can hear the music again
Just as soft and lovely as before
Uninterrupted by the din of human strife.

--Lyndsey S., 17

Vow

2011-04-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

To the depths of desire and want are lies of deception
My love shalt hold all but the true perception
Thys love may be same or greater to thous heart
But none of deception and can change the fire in my souls hearth

For my love shall be strong to thous wishes
There I will want, one of those sweet kisses
To calm the beast within and soothe the rageing soul of desire
For my love will last long and far and cannot refire,

So thy , my love, I will lead you into the depths of my soul to find the peace within
There is no secret device or a foul love, there is only you that cannot be hidden
My heart booms to be with you and only you
Do you wish to be with me too?

I get on my knee and plea
Will you be the one for me
Because my love will never burn more hotly then it does now
For then I will make the sacrid vow.

--Nicole W., 13

2011-04-19T14:31:00.001-07:00

You were my love.
You were my life.
You were my soul.
You were the one I wanted to hold.
But you broke us apart.
But no matter what, always know, you are in my heart.

--Aaliyah G., 13

Take a Chance

2011-04-19T14:30:00.001-07:00

Love is hard to get through
When I'm with you
It just feel like you wanna runaway
Then you didn't do a thing to say
Because you know that I wanna take a chance Make our love to run around to dance Spear our love to people You ignore what I asked to Then I wanna be away from you Later you pulled me back To say you never mean to do those things Too bad that my heart wants me to be away You don't need me anymore.
You just tore my heart pieces by pieces
I wanna take a chance
But your chance is just a little prank
So don't ask, don't try
And don't cry when you need somebody.

--Kimberly C., 14

Tortured

2011-04-19T14:29:00.001-07:00

I'm tired of being alive
There's no reason to say so
And there's no reason to stay for
I feel tortured being a person
Because no one in the world even think I'm somebody I wish there will be somebody out there Wishing is just a waste of time though I dream too for somebody But it's just the same Tortured...
Why does every pain I have
People just say
"Ignore those things
It will go away and don't worry
One day you will be over those stuffs."
I don't believe but I tried
Even if I tried, it's still the same
So there's no reason to be one another
It's the same
Just like being Tortured.

--Kimberly C., 14

I Am Poem

2011-04-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

I Am a misunderstood 13 year old with a dream.

I Wonder what the future holds for me.

I Hear the sound of laughter around me amd I wonder if it's about me.

I See everyone's eyes looking at me and I wonder what they are thinking.

I Want my dreams to come true.

I Am a misunderstood 13 year old with a dream.

I Pretend everything will be okay even though...
...I Feel like nothing in the world can fix my problems in life.

I Worry about what others think of me.

I Cry to myself every night in the dark alone.

I Am a misunderstood 13 year old with a dream.

I Understand what it feels like when you think nothing in the world can help you.

I Say things will get better to myself everyday even though they just get worse.

I Dream of a world with no problems. Where everyone is equal. There is no such thing as judging others. There is no bullying. I dream of a world where everyone is kind to eachother and everybody gets along. I dream of a place filled with love and joy.

I Try my hardest to get my dream to become a reality in any possible way I can. Whether its helping someone with a small task or helping someone with a life problem. Anything helps. As Rachel Scott said, "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go." If I help one person then they will feel grateful and in a good mood and they will help another person and and so on a chain reaction is built.

I Hope one day my dream comes true. Whether it's now when I'm alive or in the future when I'm dead. I don't care. I just want it to come true so others can live off of it. So there will be no more news reporters reporting that some teenager committed suicide because of bullies or not fitting in or whatever. I want it to be over. I want my dream to come true.

I Am a misunderstood 13 year old with a dream.

--Aaliyah G., 13

Cavalli

2011-04-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Life without you isn't life at all.
No. Its pure death and hell.
Everyone says you're just a crush.
But what do they know?
They say you're just a boy.
Sure. You are.
You are a boy who makes my heart fill with joy.
I love you.
But you don't love me.
Thats the problem.

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:57:00.003-07:00

Nobody will ever know the pain I feel for you.
Nobody will ever know what I would do for you.
Nobody will ever know the love I have for you.
Nobody but you.

You know the pain I feel because of you.
You know what I would do and have done for you.
You know the love I have for you.
You know.
You know and you won't do anything about it.

This is enough to let ME know,
you don't love me too.

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:57:00.001-07:00

He is retarted.
He is lame.
I was just his little game.
He is mean!
His heart is smaller than a bean!
He just hates!
He found a new mate.
Now they date.
I met a big fate.

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:55:00.001-07:00

Is life supposed to be filled with love and joy?
If so I must be dead.
For I am alone in this world.
Alone and unloved.
I drag myself out of bed each morning saying everything will be better It doesn't get better.
It gets worse.
I think I have been cursed.

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:54:00.001-07:00

He's gone.
He's gone from now to forever.
There is no chance he will ever be back.
My heart aches as I try to give hope to myself and say he will be back Even though I know there is no chance I will ever see him again.
Or is there?
Call me crazy but I know I can feel him next to me.
Telling me to move on.
Being there for me every moment I need him like he promised.
Whether he is here alive, or dead barried beneath the core of the Earth, no matter whether if we are together alive, together dead, or one alive and the other dead, in this case him gone and me still alive; no matter what he will always be with me.
In my memories and in my heart.
We will never be apart...

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:53:00.003-07:00

I remember when I was 13
Laying in bed dreaming of you.
Hoping one day you would realize you wanted me too.
I remember you were all that was on my mind.
Oh how you treated me so kind!
You were all I ever wanted!
But things have changed...
Because now I have you...

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T11:53:00.001-07:00

Hugo is more than a name to me.

H is for How you make my day

U is for the Unique things you say

G is for the Glorious way you play

O is for how you Outstandingly blow my mind away...

--Aaliyah G., 13

2011-04-18T10:27:00.000-07:00

Why did he leave me?
How could he?
After all we've been through?
What was going through his head?
It can't just be over like that.
Can it?
No it can't.
He can't just say its over.
No. No I won't let him.

But what can I do?
I can't just force him to be with me.
Or can I?
No I can't.
I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it.

Don't call me stupid, but no matter what happened or what happens, I will always love him and be inlove with him.

--Aaliyah G., 13

Matthew Cavalli

2011-04-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

I can't live without you.
If you were gone I don't know what I would do.
I love you.
But why can't you love me too?
Why can't you just see we're ment to be?
Just you and me.
We can be happy.
Together.
Forever.

--Aaliyah G., 13

LIFE

2011-04-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

It is uncommon
It is unforgetable
It is rational

--Brenda G., 17

2011-04-12T09:04:00.001-07:00

You were my love.
You were my life.
You were my soul.
You were the one I wanted to hold.
But you broke us apart.
But no matter what, always know, you are in my heart.

--Aaliyah G., 14

Bitter Sweet Dream

2011-04-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Standing on the edge of my heart, thinking of him.

Screaming, Why scream? When Nobody can hear my pain.

Slowing tears start to fall, soon moments will be lost in time, washing away like tears in the rain.

I realized how far we have become, Can't deny it, can't pretend.

In the end we'll walk on different paths.

Is this a dream? No a Nightmare?

I love you, so why did leave me, i scream. . .

Every day I wake up and fake that smile so no one knows,

I cried myself asleep the night before, dreaming that you will come back to me.

Another day has ended, still reminiscing the day you left me.

Whispering in my ear before you left "Sakura, Thank You".Leaving me unconscious on the cold bench.

I fear and dreamt of this Bitter Sweet Dream.

--Newni P., 16

2011-04-10T17:06:00.001-07:00

You made me suffer.
You made me go through pain.
You made me insane.
You made me die inside.
You made me cry.
But you make me love you.
And I can't explain why.

--Aaliyah G., 14

2011-04-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

I will never again be with you.
But what can I do?
You broke my heart because I broke yours.
I was unfaithful and my pain is my punishment.
I now can never kiss you.
But never again will I want to.
Or maybe I do.

The truth is...I still love you.

--Aaliyah G., 14

Rose

2011-04-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Our stem keeps on growing with pionts prickling the way, but as soon as we Blossom and Blume, our heart pumps blood into a tainted heart as soon as we Blume today.
Our wings will spread and fly so we can go to heaven but unless we see a light we die and go to hell forever.
We wil be each different on each and every level so each can blossom and blume into different hearts so we can be each different forever.
We can like and dislike untill our roses collapse but we will live together fighting but not fighting at all.

--Gilberto M., 14

Sign of Nature

2011-04-05T11:02:00.000-07:00

The four season
Live life for a reason
Mother nature
You and that picture
Right now the flower petals
Flying down to run outside
The rain is causing
The thunder to come on out
Now it is windy
The beauty grass overflow
I will lay down
To feel the grass as the sky flies by
The forest flow in the beauty of birds
The ocean look like the sign of love
The sky is blue because of the happiness
The mountain is snowing for warmness
This is mother nature
The sign of your picture
You showed me back in forever
A nature, not a love poem
But a nature by the Sign of Nature.

--Kimberly C., 14

2010 Poetry Contest Winners Announced!

2010-05-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

What talent you all have! With 162 poems submitted, you really made the judges work. And work they did, reading every poem thoughtfully and meticulously. So, thanks to our judges and friends at The kNOw. Now...without further ado, the winners!

Winner: Middle School
Swallow Me Whole
by Matt G., 14

Winner: High School
Rain
by Viry, 18

Honorable Mentions:
Holocaust
by Mia, 15

Phoebe
by Antonio, 18

Thanks again to everyone for your submissions. Follow Read.Watch.Listen. for information on the printed book that will publish everyone's poems.

2010-05-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

What is my theme for English 10 E?
My theme for English 10 E is me
How shall I describe myself to you?
Do you want to know what I like to do?
Or would you like to know
The little things in my world that make it flow?

I love the little simple things
BBQ, family, and a good read
Poetry that rhymes and stick on earrings
If you want to know more, just follow my lead

Country music is my thing
I love to smile and I love to sing
God is my rock; He guides me everyday
Whenever I get lost, He shows me His way
I live in the mountains and play lots of sports
My favorite is volleyball, but I like all sorts

Softball is in season
I am a captain of my team
Love all my gilrs without reason
This year has been a dream

I have loads of energy and I love to be outside
Running and laughing, you won't hear me sigh
Unless it's one of happiness
Summertime is my bliss
I live and I eat in the warm sunshine
Carefree summer days make me feel oh so fine

I'm learrning to drive a stick shift becasue my daddy says so
My Missy is a freshman and even though
We fight and we bicker
She is the best sister

I have curly brown hair and bluish green eyes
I stand just about five foot five
I have freckles in the strangest places
Not just on arms and legs and faces
There's one on the bottom, right on the bottom of my foot
Don't believe me? Just take a look

My mom is amazing
That's all I can say
Dad says I'm growing
More like her each day

As you can see
My family is a very large part of me
Beneath all the laughing and running amuck
I was blessed with my family by a dumb stroke of luck
That luck that has helped me to be me
This girl that you see
And that is my theme
For English 10 E

--Shannon, 16

I Am Poem

2010-05-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

I am Patrick Kim
I wonder what my life will be like
I hear my friends and family
I see what they expect from me
I want to be the best I can be
I am Patrick Kim

I pretend to be what I dream
I feel what my heart desires
I touch it to remind me what my goal is to do
I worry what might happen
I cry when I am sad or when great things happen
I am Patrick Kim

I understand what I need to do
I say I can do it when I am put down
I dream it will come true
I try my best to accomplish my goal
I hope I find it in myself what I really want to be
I am Patrick Kim

--Patrick, 14

2010-05-03T07:45:00.000-07:00

As I sit and stare at the sparkling stars that speckle the sky
I place a fake smile on my face, attempting not to cry
But sometimes, I fail to confine these feelings of mine
Feelings that arise, more and more, as time goes by
I am inflicted with multiple personalities that constantly collide
I am conflicted with these thoughts of suicide
Deprived, I am tattered and torn inside
By the tides of tormenting demons striving to conquer my mind
And tonight, the unbearable pain is suddenly personified
By bitter tears that further burn and blind my already distorted eyes
And I continue to cry, all alone, through the lonely night
But as soon as I see the sun begin to rise
The tears in my eyes run dry and I place all of my pain aside
I decide to hide behind a smile that lies
And I pretend to be fine in spite of the strife in life

--Eduardo, 15

MY FRIEND

2010-05-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

I knew from the moment I met you that our story was to be written and never forgotten
That nights would be lived and days would be desired
That we would laugh and cry together
That we would fight and make-up
That every day would be an adventure as long as we stick side by side
This I know that no matter how far you stand and how mad we may be
I will always be there.
I’ll be your warmth on a winter day
Your shelter when its raining
The sun to brighten your day
The moon to guard your sleep
I’ll hold your hand and never let go
And renew your heart when its broken and cold
I would never let you fall
And if I do just know this
I will always be there to get you back up…
Your that spice to my chili
The sweet to my sugar
The bitter to my sour
Everything and anything
Any one can ever need or want from a person
Your perfect
To me you have virtues that over see everybody’s
Your flawless
I cannot see how my life would be without you now...

--Elena, 17

It's All Up To You

2010-05-03T07:36:00.000-07:00

I don't know what you want me to do

The ball is in your court

It's all up to you

I'm tired of trying, you can never hang out

I'm not your boyfriend nor your girlfriend

I don't have to please you

Don't expect me to stand here

Waiting, I'm through

I'm done with my role of

The invisible friend

Things need to change but

I won't be the one changing them

The ball is in your court

It's all up to you

Make your decision

Don't wait for me to do something

Communication isn't a one way thing

So quit staring at me with your watchful eyes

I'm not your property

There is no need for jealousy

Make a move or let me be

You hang out with your friends

And I don't say a thing

So why can't I spend time with mine

Without you getting in between

I'm not your babysitter, you're not mine

I don't know what you want me to do

The ball is in your court

It's all up to you

--Sandra, 16

Ignorance Lead Demise

2010-04-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Can you
      hear me?
Or am I
     Still to be
             ignored?
There are
so many
obstacles,
that keep your
mind from
    reminding you
      of me,
Do you realize
that I'm
slowly fading?
I'm not who
I used to be,
but you wouldn't
   know that,
      would you?
If someone asked you
            what my
favorite color was,
or of my
psychological path,
what would you
     Say?
I just wanted
   to let you know
     that this was my
           ignorance lead demise,
Can you tell?
Or
do you have
no idea
what my words mean?
It's fine,
   if you don't,
just leave with
your ignorance,
because your
ignorance isn't helping me.
     I have nothing left
         to say,
       if you're not listening,
everything I said,
   you didn't hear.

--Destiny, 15

A Horse to Love

2010-04-30T16:52:00.001-07:00

I ride the bus to school each day,
I pass the same horse on my way.
At times she’s outdoors eating grass
Beside a rail fence when I pass.
But when she’s standing near her shed,
Then I just see her neck and head.
The horse is spotted gray and white,
Her ears, mane and tail are light.
I’d like to take the horse a treat,
A carrot, or some food to eat.
I’d like to pat her ears and nose,
And rub her neck…Do you suppose…
I’ll have a horse when I am grown?
A spotted horse to love, all my own?

--Nancy, 12

2010-04-30T16:51:00.003-07:00

I whisper to the moon my lovely tune and await for the sun to rise at once.
For the night light holds my love's reply.
Who now stands on the other side.
My heart smiles knowing
That the moon that lights my night
Will whisper my lovely tune
Then my love will know
for no ocean side
No mountain high
Can keep us apart.

--Elena, 17

Don't Remember November

2010-04-30T16:51:00.001-07:00

I hate the never vanishing memory in my head.
Why, it was a day in November with my sister all alone, glum, fatigue… our heads filling with resentment.
Out at night… just us together,
As there was very little light, we went back inside.

Finally, as our parents pick us up in silence, No words until we reach our house.
As they spoke the words that broke my heart, “She’s gone.”
I broke down with despondency and slept in tears.

--Amanda, 12

Why?

2010-04-30T16:50:00.001-07:00

Why? I thought we were friends! Am I over reacting? I don’t think so. Usually it’s me and you guys! Rite? Well idk but I’m mad! I really did think we were friends? Why me? Why am I the one you don’t want to invite? Huh? I still don’t know why? And, I’m not mad at just you, I’m mad at you, that one, the others, and myself!

For you what’s wrong? I so thought we were really good friends, we sit and talk all the time, hang out together and go to the movies together!

For the Others, why? Aren’t we all friends here, why didn’t any of you guys tell me? Huh?

For that one you know who you are. Why don’t you like me? You didn’t even talk to us till your friends left you! And they chose you over me? Why??? Now they always ask where you are! They never care where I am anymore!

And for myself, why am I not likeable? What did I do that made you guys not want to invite me? Why?

Am I over reacting? I don’t think so! So still what’s wrong? Why? Why didn’t I get invited? No excuses! I thought that we were all friends here? But I guess not. Why?

--Carmen, 12

My Little Sister

2010-04-30T16:49:00.001-07:00

I can’t wait until you come out,
Although I know you’ll scream and shout.

You’re getting all my old baby clothes,
To decorate your room, we’ll go to Lowe’s.

I know you’ll share a room with Mom,
I think your middle name is Dawn.

Even though we wanted a boy,
I’ll treat you like my own baby toy.

Can’t wait till you come little sister,
‘Though you’ll be a pain like a blister.

--Mystery, 12

Gummy Bear

2010-04-30T16:48:00.001-07:00

Gummy bear, oh gummy bear,
Sweet and sour gummy bear,
Yummy, dummy, gummy bear.

Orange, yellow, green and blue,
Pink and purple, last but true,
What do all these mean to you?

Gummy bears so sour and sweet,
They are such a tasty treat,
Ones I’d surely like to eat.

You see, I see, they are here,
Eat them till the bag is clear,
As we walk along the pier.

Gummy bear, gummy bear, gummy bear.

--Michelle, 13

New World

2010-04-30T16:47:00.003-07:00

If I could open up a whole new world

The flowers they wohood growho

The bees go buzzing by eye

look at that cute guy

if I could open up a whole new world

but i can’t open upn a whole new world

the flowers don’t really grow

i want the bees to go bye bye

what’s with that guy?

Why?

--Carmen, 12

Shine Again

2010-04-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

Shine shine, shine again

you can open up a whole new world

shine shine, shine again

and the flowers they wi hill grow

shine shine, shine again

the bees go buzzing by

and you wonder why you wonder why

why you can’t find that guy

when the bees go buzzing by

just shine shine

and the flowers they will grow.

--Carmen, 12

Path of a Peach

2010-04-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Watch a butterfly float slowly by,
A caterpillar crawl down my skin.
See a bluebird hop along the ground
To interview one of my kin.

I, a round and fattened one,
fall carelessly from my home.
Watch me as I fall to the ground,
And land next to a garden gnome.

I look up at my cousins,
For they are green with envy
That today it is my time, not theirs
To fall in joyful frenzy.

Now here comes a pair of feet,
For I am smaller they,
To pick me up and put me down
In a basket full of hay.

In my straw carriage, I take a ride
To the grocer's store.
Out of the basket and onto the counter,
I watch the grocer come through the door.

He puts me onto a shelf,
Where more hay is underfoot;
Then a bell jingles and people stream in To come and take a look.

My mother has always told me
That when came my day for market,
To study faces carefully
And see what they would target.

Some are happy or overjoyed;
Few are sad and lazy.
Others look as if entranced,
While some are thick and hazy.

I hear what they are saying:
"Good-day", "Good-bye", "Hello".
A few chatter nonsensical things.
Some will start with "So...".

Business men dress in suits and ties;
Some look ready for the beach;
Yet while I know talk and faces,
Dress is a mystery to me, a peach!

--Georgia, 12

Shed It Out

2010-04-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

How do I explain love?
Like blood flowing through my veins.
But I dare not shed it out
for I would never be the same.
And even though each night
all I think about is you.
I dare not shed it out
but I would if I could bring myself to.
How do I count the ways
I don't want a broken heart.
So I dare not shed it out
Yet to you I would, with it, part.
I still cannot depend on something in which I am unsure
Therefor I dare not shed it out
Because you are in love with her.
And Love I only wish upon you
that you would not pretend.
Because if I were to shed it out
we would not last until the end.
SO for you my dearest darling,
for only you I will hold on.
And when the time is right I'll shed it out
but until then, my love, so long.

--Ivy, 14

My Friend

2010-04-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

My friend, you are so wise.
Your cover so hard
Your soul so thick
Your endless vocabulary

You always know the right words to say.

We came to be
when my teacher said
Always befriend a dictionary

--Claire, 13

The Song That I Forgot To Play

2010-04-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Come; let us take a walk along the beach
We’ll play tag with the waves,
And feel the sand brush our toes.

Let the wind caress your body,
Let the sun paint your face.
And as the day is setting lazily in the west,
We’ll stop and hold hands
To exchange passionate kisses.

Walk with me, darling, in this lonely beach
And when the night awakes
And the only sounds you hear
Are the crashing waves and the ticking of our hearts
We’ll wish to live forever young.

--Christy, 17

Forbidden Fruit

2010-04-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Sweet fruit
Yet bitter skin.
Mistaken for poison
but i see what others do not.
Forbidden for me to touch
Yet it draws me near with it's scent.
Flesh never to be touched.
But then,
Who needs to know?
I could feel, taste, smell and touch it
And the story shall never fall from my lips.
My elder befor me may hav felt this temptation
But have become pious and strict.
Scared they have become,
Scared that this fruit would lead them wrong.
Maybe they were right to feel as such.
Maybe they couldn't handle such freedom.
Freedom from law,
Freedom from restriction,
Freedom from punushment.
I eye the fruit with curiosity.
I think,
"Maybe i shouldn't,"
Yet something draws me closer,
Ever so closer to the edge.
Then i think again,
"What's the harm in just one bite?"
I take it in my hand,
Eying it again,
But this time with envy,
With lust.
So i open my mouth,
And bite into the fruit.
The skin so bitter,
So sour.
As i move to spit it out
The flavors I've been craving capture my toungue in their grasp.
Sweet flavors that must have come from the trees of Eden,
Flavors so sweet that i can't even begin to describe.
Then it vanishes.
I go to turn away,
But i hesitaye for a moment.
I think once more,
"Maybe one more bite, or two,"
Then i took another bite.
Then i was lost to the world,
Forever.

--William, 15

Dance of the Demons

2010-04-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

with voicews like silk we cackle and chant

as we whirl around the funeral pyre

feasting on the blood and bones of our anguished foes

we satiate our desires

--Nou, 14

2010-04-30T07:34:00.000-07:00

Standing side by side
All the way
Always here to help you through your day

Helping you up
When you fall
Making you stand tall

Catching your tears
When you cry
Here to make your hopes high

Just being there
Through thick & thin
I call you my friend

--Julie, 13

DOWN THE DRAIN

2010-04-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

My dreams to be with you have gone down the drain,
You nor love me or hate me
But I love you so much
And im almost ready to let you go
Not yet though
So be aware, you wont have to be afraid of me,
Cause im almost ready to leave...
Forever.
Goodbye my friend and crush,
I loved you so but you did not,
So a I remember you had 3 years...
You never took it.
So goodbye my love,
My heart can not take it anymore.
Goodbye.

--Verenize, 14

I WISH YOU KNEW

2010-04-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

I wish you knew I love you...
I wish you knew that all I do for you is the work of love...
I wish you knew I would die for you...
I wish you knew I'd give up anything for you...
I wish I knew if you love me...
I wish I knew if you adore me...
But there's no way to know...
Till you confess...
I hope you love me...
I hope you adore me...
I hope you would die for me...
I hope you would give up anything for me...
I wish you knew I love you...
I hope you love me...
I wish...
I hope...
I pray...
I think...
I dream...
I plead...
I do everything to do with asking...
You're my hero...
You're my doctor...
You're my star...
You're my eye...
You're my brain...
You're my sun...
You're my everything...
I love you...

Verenize, 14

WAKE UP

2010-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

Everything is finally great in my life
So why can’t I dream, unless it’s haunting?
Why can’t I sleep, without crying?
I know I’m not that sad at all
I just feel so left alone
But everything is so good
Everything is really so great
Something’s just missing
Something...

Why hello there, Mr. Nightmare
My something has appeared
You watch my shadow,
Then walk away through your own
I will wake from this dream
Shred the pain with force of will
I will show no hurt as I meet your eyes
But they're steady and strong
Like the angel you pretend to be
This isn’t right
We’ve been through this before
Night after night
I can see your soul through those emerald eyes
I back away
And fall through my sleep
To stand on the dark side of the moon

I close my eyes and say goodbye
Goodbye like there's no tomorrow
WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP.

I sit up in bed
Shaking, shaking
And stare into the dark
Whispering sweet nothings
Because it takes my hand
Takes my mind far away
To somewhere bitter cold where I can breathe
Somewhere cold where I can wait
It’s easier there for me,
Because nothing can be colder than me

Because that angel in my dream,
I sing to when I wake
“I want you, I need you,
You crawl under my skin,
You help me to breathe in,
You take my hand,
And won’t let go
When I wake up,
I miss you so.”

But it’s been a long night
And I can’t look back
I took the time to get my life back on track
Everything on the outside is so good
My dream keeps me slipping,
No matter how hard I try
Even when I say I’m fine
Emerald eyed Angel keeps me awake,
Keeps me asleep
I hide my pain
WAKE UP. WAKE UP. WAKE UP.

--Ashley S., 15

Waiting

2010-04-30T07:24:00.000-07:00

Look at you and look at me,
a match of perfect enemies.
You’re a beauty and I’m a beast
Some say that this is not meant to be.
I am here and you are there,
Our love is filled with despair.
Kept apart with destiny unknown,
Waiting and waiting as years unfold.
And I begin to question,
Does this really have to be?

--Andrea, 13

HUMIDITY

2010-04-29T15:24:00.001-07:00

I am what silences nature
I make the earth seem hollow
Your voice echoes in that emptiness
Echo, echo
My disease ridden weather,
Makes it impossible to swallow
I make your skin feel like leather
Your sweat mixes with the sulfurous air
You glance at the lying thermometer
Ten degrees too low
The air stands still
Waiting until it can be free
One day where work is not expected
But no one is grateful
No, you hate me
Wish me away
Wish I was Rain

--Ashley S., 15

ONE SIDE FIGHT

2010-04-29T15:23:00.001-07:00

She sits, she cries, she weeps, she wines Her mother says, "What's wrong with you?"

She beats her fists against the wall,
Screams until her throat feels raw
Her mother says, "Calm down."

She screams and pushes and shoves so hard Her mother shouts, "Behave yourself!"

She storms through the house, throwing furniture Her mother screams, "Come back here!"

She slams the front door behind her anger Her mother cries, "What in the world did I do wrong?"

--Ashley, 15

2010-04-29T14:42:00.001-07:00

Blue sky, warm sun
Love it when I feel your love
Warm smile, strong kiss
Your air makes me feel this kind of bliss Baking breeze, chilling rain Your mood swings make me feel insane Long nights on the roof, Make my love for you feel brand new Loved you from my very birth Live forever, Mother Earth

--Ashley, 15

Walls

2010-04-29T14:41:00.001-07:00

I wish there were walls around me
so I can't be hurt.
These walls are growing.
I can feel them surrounding my heart
as strong as brick.
All I want is to never be hurt
by you or anyone else.

You can always find a way in,
a crack or a crease
but not this time.
I will lock you out of my heart
and never see you again
because it brings me
pain, sorrow, and bad memories.

You, my Dad, the one I love
but wish not to love.

--Kristina, 12

An Ocean's Inquiry

2010-04-29T14:39:00.003-07:00

Painter! O painter there on the shore!
Where do you learn your grace?
How often you’ve created
Recreations of me
My jagged rolling waves
And endless blues and greens
So where do you learn to turn
The blank of the canvas with which you start Into the beauty of myself And why o why, painter on shore O why do you call that painting art?

--Marianne, 16

Origins

2010-04-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

But who could try to stop the ones who never started.

The founders of our words and sciences and art and..

Find the words to rebuke the ones who'll never need you,

Hands tied, eyes closed, try and bite the hand that feeds you.

--Hannah, 17

Splish, Splash

2010-04-29T08:03:00.000-07:00


Splish, splash the water comes,
    Splish, splash the water goes…
I walk into the water,
     It feels good on my toes. 
I run, sing, dance and play,
     Until the sun goes down to stay. 
Soon I'm strolling back to town,
    to find the water has gone down.
There I see a crab named Joe,
    I can't believe he bit my toe... 
I scream, cry, yell in pain,
     To find it doesn’t hurt the same. 
Soon I’m lying in my bed...
    Ouch!  I think I hit my head.
 I’m not quite sure…

     But I think I’m dead.

--Savanah, 15

The Past

2010-04-29T07:42:00.001-07:00


The past is many things to me.   
                                  Proudly and painfully into my genes.
She is my dreams and my nightmares,  
                                  I love her and I hate her,
Everything good and evil,    
                                  Always wondering
She is all the hope I have    
                                  Why the past is never my present and my future,
And the reoccurring hopelessness,  
                                  Instead of something that lingers
The air I breathe and the pillow that smothers,  
                                  Like a sweet and bitter taste on my tongue.
She is most every happy and sad thought,  
                                  She can give me all the images of happiness
Bringing me up and pushing me down.  
                                  And torment me with how it all went wrong.
She gives me peace     
                                  But the past doesn’t even remember me.
And an overwhelming sense of remorse.  
                                  She has tried to throw me out.
She is my mother and my reaper. 
                                  She does not long to come back for me.
She is responsible for all of the love   
                                  So I am forever the past’s victim
And the hate that I have,    
                                  And her curse, her joy and remorse,
She is all I am proud of and all I regret,  
                                  She might have given me up
She is all that makes me great and unbearable. 
                                  But I can never rid myself of her.
She is all that I hope to remember   
                                  I never want to fully forget,
And all I wish to forget.     
                                  Because of everything she was and is not
But I will always want to remember,   
                                  And everything we were and are not.
Even if I know I should forget.   
She did me so much good and bad,
That I have engraved her    
                                  All because she is all that will always be behind me.

--Tamera, 16

Oh, What it would be...

2010-04-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Oh what it’d be if the world
Had the heart of a small child
Completely trusting the lord
With hopes and dreams so wild

Excitedly awaiting the morning
With a smile and kiss for mom and dad
Who knows what the morning will bring
But it just can’t be anything too bad

You just trust what you’re told…
That Santa is on his way here tonight!
A cup of hot chocolate for a night so cold You bow and pray he'll make it alright.

Then you rest your head to awake in the morn'
It’s your routine for the eve of such a great day All you’ve know since the day you were born How were you to know the price you’d have to pay

But you have to grow up some time
You have to face all of their deceit
Face the lies of every nursery rhyme
You have to feel that heat

Then dream of a different life
Dream of your own escape
Away from all of the grief
Where the worst is fixed by tape

To your glorious childhood
Where everything had joy
Where when you’d been good
Christmas brought a new toy

Christmas trees and the star
Presents wrapped with a bow
A time slipped on so far
That you don’t even know

Visiting every shopping mall
Santa’s little girl has been real good!
Hasn’t misbehaved at all!!!
…If only we could return to our childhood.

--Marianne, 16

The Man and the Rose

2010-04-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

The rose bud is closed. It can not bloom until someone comes along to pen it. It needs to have the proper care in order to bloom. Then a yound man comes along to water it and give it the proper sunlight. The rose feels blessed for the sweet man that has finally let it bloom. Without the man, the rose would still be a bud. Then the man leaves the poor little rose just when bad weather hits. The rose runs dry from lack of water. The man is not there. The rose falls from lack of sunlight. THe man is not there to bring out the sun. A thunderstorm comes and the petals fall off the rose. The man is not there. The rose loses all hope. The man is not there.

--Emily M., 16

2010-04-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

I see these girls, soon to be women, around me that don't have a clue what they're worth. They let people (mostly men) control them like they're a controller or whatever they call it on one of their stupid electronic games that they think is real life by the way and they can press any button or control just to get you to do whatever they want. Now girls, don't fall for this, but I knwo mostof you do. They'll call you "baby" or "just plain fine" or "girl, you sexy" instead of just calling you by your name. The question is do they even know you have one? Eventually, one of those lines usually works on some of us and then they ask you out. By this time they know your name (or at least I hope). By the time you get into this relationship you're already sprung by their charm or their whit. As girls naturally are, like our brains, our feelings start to move faster than the average guy's. Now normally this wouldn't be a problem if the guy could keep up with you. Now I'm talking about their feelings although I guess the same scenario could go for their brains as well. Anyways, ladies, as I was saying, they stop courting you. In other words, they stop calling, they stop giving you attention and showering you with their sweet words that you though would last forever. Now it's too late for you because you've already fallen for him so you just except it. That's your first mistake. Now girl, if you ever see him flirting or kissing another girl you better drop him faster than a carton of sour milk in the trash. And don't ever except his excuse of "I don't know what you're talking about" because you know he does and if you do believe that load of you know what, it's your own fault for staying with him. It's called appeasement. Learn it in History class. History. Like he should be to you.

--Emily M., 16

Lost and Confused

2010-04-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Lost and confused in the world of today.
Lost and confused in the world of yesterday.
Im sure I will be lost and confused tomorrow.

Why am I lost? Why am I confused?
I do not know. Do you?

Perhaps it's because I've lost my mind.
What's a mind? Can it be lost?

Maybe it's because of life experiences or life inexperiences.

Believing in him makes me confused.
Not believing in him makes me lost.

Life brings to many distractions, things that keep you from whats important.

--Haylee, 18

Ode to Middle School

2010-04-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Ode to 7th and 8th grade
How I wish I had gotten an A

Even though I tried as hard as I could
And studied for tests like I should

When I saw my final grade my 7th grade year I caught myself saying, "Oh, Dear!"

I didn't get any A's but I got all B's
But I had not got my grade where I wanted it to be

The first day of school I didn't want to lose hope So I decided not to mope Before I would be at the end of my rope

Each night I would take a look
at my book
Each night before I went to bed
The next morning I reviewed what I had read The night before Then I would hurry out the door

And finally, my 8th grade year
I caught myself NOT saing, "Oh, Dear!"
Because I got my straight A's
Like I had always dreamed

--Makenna, 14

_R_E_A_L__

2010-04-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

I needed to get out of there,
but i was trapped in that lonely place.
Chained to the wall with fear and judgments, I barely had strength to find the escape.

No one can hear my thoughts,
they are soundless to the world around me, so i stay shackled and write them down, instead of screaming these thoughts aloud.

I would rather stay true to myself
and stand up for what I believe in,
than blending in to this unattractive
and fake world that surrounds.

I lean on the one who loves me,
for this is my final attempt to escape.
Now I have gained strength and find happiness, in this real love overflowing with grace.

--Jill, 16

Sketches

2010-04-28T14:17:00.001-07:00

The Storm

Water flows off
The side of a planet
And a ship came sailing off
Swan prow falling
With water down sequentially
Into nowhere

‘No one knows
What happened to us
But after the storm
Our sons and daughters
Settled on a rainbow’

On the other side of the storm
Land flowed off the world
Until it came to a tree
And hit a cloud
Near where a man sat on the grass
But the storm still raged behind him.

Images

A new face
Has been drawn
On the lines of the world
It will not stop talking

Its hair
Grew until it became
The tail of a young comet
Sailing through alien stars

New life grew
At the beginning of form
Staring into the mad eye
Of distant space

The Face

The eye was joined
By another
Onto a sallow face

Grew into a nose
Added a deranged smile
This ensemble was crowned with hair

Sallow face
Maniacal look
Pointing up

But he wasn’t crazy
He saw something… awful
As if he stared into the face of death

He said
Something cryptic
About everyone who was not afraid

‘Who knows?
It’s as if
The song

Lasts forever
And then…
You wake up

Yet
You are still
Asleep’

Interlude

The smaller face
Who didn’t stop
When speaking
Found a companion
In boredom
In Nonsense

A cloaked blank figure
Both speakers disregarding
The large face’s fear
Instead drinking
From a well
Of an eternal dalliance

Constantly talking
And not saying anything
He said (she replied):
‘Oh gossip
And all that toss’
As an unknown death approached

The Pilots

A flight of metal birds
Roaring their call
To a muddy sky

The Face’s fear
A horde of planes
Disturbing grins displayed upon them

They released their message
Of swift, utter death
And nearly no one feared them

And while
The bombs fell
The Pilots said

Something
Extremely depraved:
‘We love you’

And then a flash
Of nothingness
The horizon filled with trees

Trees of fire
Orange trunk and
Red, burning leaves

The land was full
Full then burning
The land was empty

The Watch of the Survivor

‘I can’t believe it
I’m…
Not dead…
Not dead…
Alive

Gone!
Everyone I’ve ever loved
Is dead
Burnt to an ash
In a few swift seconds

EVERYONE!
I HAVE
EVER LOVED!
… … … … …
And only I’ve survived’

Despite his screams
He reclined unfazed
On the last hill, in his last chair
Taking one soft, slow drag
Blowing smoke, into a dead new world

Flowers

It has been so long
So long since
The world was killed

The fear had died
Radiation had subsided
And life appeared

Life abundant
Unstoppable in reclamation
Of the world’s corpse

A few chutes
Shot up from the ground
New life, green and good

Leaves moved in a cool breeze
And the stems grew longer
…then the flowers appeared

(this was inspired by a sequence of conceptual sketches, unfortunately I cannot show the picture)

--Matt G., 14

It's No Good Until It's Gone

2010-04-28T14:16:00.001-07:00

The water in the well
is not diamonds
until it is gone.
The only water left
are our quickly drying tears.

Some have lived quite remarkable lives,
but those some lay in caskets
to barely have their legacies told.

Then people
     go back
        to people.

Then humanity
     goes back
          to humanity.

Then water
is left r
         u
          n
           n
            i n g
from the pump,
only pumped by life itself.

Then in the end,
what did the dead really have to say?

-Seize the day, life is the diamonds running from the spout, but only you have the hold of the pump.

--Souvixada, 14

I Do

2010-04-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

When I’m with you
You know I’d do anything for you
Because you’re my Juliet and I’m your Romeo And I never want to let you go

If I lose you
I wouldn’t know what to do
Because you’re the half that makes me whole I always want to hold you close

When I first saw you
I didn’t know what to do
I wanted to go up and say Hi
That is, until I saw the other guy

I always thought you’d be the one that got away That is, until the very next day He just wasn’t right With all his lies

You’d finally had enough
So you ended things, tough
That’s when I met you
And now your saying “I Do”

--Matt A., 14

O Great God

2010-04-28T14:14:00.001-07:00

See the morning see it rising
over the mountains high
See the mercy in the mighty hand of God
Who imagined the sun
and gives source to its light
yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night How ausome is the Lord Most High

Risen Reining Lord
your beauty fills the skies
you laid aside your royalty
to wear the sinner's crown
I'm only yours now

I need you like a burning flame
a wild fire untamed
to burn my walls down
I'm only yours now

I want to live like there's no tomorrow I want to dance like no one's around I want to sing like nobody's listening before I lay my body down I want to give like I have plenty I want to love like i'm not afraid I want to be the man I was meant to be I want to be the way I was made

When we see your matchless face
in speechless awe we'll stand
and there we'll bow with greatful hearts unto the great I AM

--Aleyna, 12

2010-04-28T14:13:00.002-07:00

and ever so sweetly,
the bird of reason sings.
what you love, you must lose,
much like your wings.

and all that you were,
or could ever hope to be,
will be burned by the sun
and lost in the sea.

--Hannah, 17

Just Let it Unfold

2010-04-28T14:13:00.000-07:00

It's only a tiny rosebud,
a flower of God's design.
But I cannot unfold the petals
with these clumsy hands of mine .

The secret of unfolding flowers
is not known to such as I.
The flower that opens so sweetly
would in my hands fade and die.

If I cannot unfold a rosebud,
this flower of God's design,
then how can I think I have wisdom
to unfold this life of mine.

So i'll trust in him for his leading
each moment of every day,
I'll look to him for his guidance
each step of the pilgrim way

For the pathway that lies before me
my Heavenly father knows.
I'll trust him to unfold the moments
just as he unfolds the rose

--Larry, 15

2010-04-28T14:12:00.001-07:00

it sings it's song in a silver tone, full of bliss, marked by desire.
it's name is love, the tiny fowl
a hypnotic song all did admire.

I used to hear, but have since been deafened notes gone awry, fate did contort the bird, the prey. and hate the hunter a tune, a life, a hope cut short.

--Hannah, 17

2010-04-28T14:11:00.003-07:00

The clock never stops.
we must exert and exhaust,
to cherish all we've found,
and forget what we've lost.

An opposable force
Our strong state of mind,
a code of delinquency
never failing to bind.

That which we value most,
only time can steal.
Our naivety fleeting,
Our struggle is real.

--Hannah, 17

2010-04-28T14:11:00.001-07:00

I can take this now,
soft and slow.
The Coup De Grace,
the final blow.

But should it be,
that it's my time
My work is through,
I've done my crime.

Hilt to chest,
and regret to say
a forlorn farewell,
Ah, Touche.

--Hannah, 17

I Will...

2010-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

I Will Not be the one to let my mother take care of my child.

I Will Not be the one to feel sorry for myself.

I Will Not be the one to put the blame on him.

I Will Not be the one to forget my responsibilities.

I Will Not be the one to be ashamed.

I Will Not be the one to Give Up.

I Will be the one to finish my education.

I Will be the one to except my responsibilities.

I Will be a good role model and Mother.

I Will be Positive!

--Haylee, 18

Falling Horse 20

2010-04-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

Pegasus drowned,
In the water cemented across the stars,
And the stepping-stones.

Buckled wings,
The nebulous whorl
Between his shoulders,

Ghosting through
The clear vapor
Riding on a wave,

on an eternity.

Caught in an endless rift;
tangled in rips of a
bottomless tide pool.

--Meghan, 18

I Am

2010-04-26T14:35:00.001-07:00

I am shy and loving
I wonder if my life will be stunning
I hear the wind Blowing
I see a light Glowing
I want to live until I'm ninety eight
I am shy and loving

I pretend I'm fine
I feel like I'm dying
I touch the warmth of your heart
I worry and then get struck by a dart
I cry for love and understanding
I am shy and loving

I understand the pain inside
I say I won't deny
I dream of your sparkling smile
I try to be in denial
I hope my life is stunning
I am shy and Loving

--Cynthia, 15

The Dawn

2010-04-26T14:34:00.001-07:00

The dawn is mellow and calm
As the color of your eyes
The sky is nervous
Just like me when you go by
The clouds are crawling away
As the eyes of the sky open
The wind is cold
And the eyes of the sky open
My feelings turn blue
As the sky turns cloudy and grey
My cries are covered by the sound of thunder My depression belongs to the rain And my agression belongs to the thunder My feelings paint the elements of the sky My surroundings are distant and cold And the world is spinning up my heart The door of the clouds open And secrets are thrown out As I embrace the little drops coming from the sky Because only they can grasp what I feel in my heart But the color of your eyes Is the color of my heart And I'm enraged with my heart For leading me into your eyes It lets me know that I'm a fool And as the day fades away So does my love It seems to me That I'm not spinning anymore And I'm not crying anymore That this cold and blurry day is no more And beyond what I've gone through I was by myself So I have to dissapear Like the day And close my eyes Like the sky As I drift away in my dreams I cross against a rainy day And a dawn the color of your eyes.

--Carla, 16

You and I

2010-04-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

i look in your eyes and what do i see,
the spark between you and me.

the silence comes and the silence goes,
but this feeling is real and will never appose.

the moon dies down as the sun becomes alive, but with your hand in mine, the moment has just arrived.

as we lay low and watch the stars fly,
i can't help but think another day has gone by.

--Danielle, 15

Gone Forever

2010-04-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

Each day passes by
Leaving us with no goodbye

Its so hard to know your gone
Just knowing i’ll be joining you far along

We swim and wallow in the pain you left us Drowning in the happiness that missed us

Traveling and seeking for you as we do
but we end up with nothing left

Trying to make my day brighter
Why should I even bother

Your not here to wipe my tears
You are not here to hear my fears

A child struggling for ten years
How did you manage to make it so clear

God took you this very day
there you went above and away

I stare at the bed you lay in while it is going down I start to pray that I wont break down

As I watch you go down I know you go up
Oh my how much I we grew up

I wish I knew you I could’ve gone and seen you It seems like yesterday we were young

March 25th was the last time I could’ve said bye and that I love you

Now I sit and write this poem in my room I hope you get this soon.

--Cynthia, 15

Alone

2010-04-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Don't you feel alone like no one understands, just like in the lyrics of heavy metal bands?
I feel alone like no one cares,
when people walk by no one dares. Their all afraid of me like I'm a monster ready to kill, but I'm just another kid seeking a thrill.
At school I get torchered and beat,
when at home I get the same defeat.
All day and night I work hard to please, but alone I stand like a filthy disease.
Life is good I have a family,
but when they dont believe the things you say, you live life alone day by day.
when no one believes the words you sell, alone you sit in you tight small shell.
I get told what to say, do, and feel,
when ever did I sign for this horrid deal?
Alas this is the end and I will just say, I have to live life alone day by day.

--Keenan, 17

Masks

2010-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Where I come from,
we all wear a mask.

We each have our reasons and,
there isn't one that looks quite like another.

Each is unique,
it matches the person.

What do they say?
Why do we wear them?

Some are just shy,
or afraid of the world.

Aren't we all?

Not completely sure
if they want to know what's out there.

Very modest?
They try to go unnoticed.

Cowardly?

A mask helps them hide,
with only plain colors.
Nothing too flashy.

Then, there’s their counterpart.
Those that live to be noticed.
Attention seekers.

They wear ornate designs,
bold colors meant for loud statements.
They want all eyes
on them at all times.

Then, there's the tricksters.
They like to wear masks
in order to fool.

It gives an advantage
to have a disguise.
They usually have
a double sided mask.

Mischief and chaos occur.
Hopefully,
it’s all in good fun.

My favorite kind,
is the rarest of all.

A transparent mask.

It’s just one step
from truly coming off.

But people are people.
We're all kind of slow.

Self-conscious?

Some people wear their masks
for the rest of their lives.

They never come off
It’s incredibly sad.

I’m still trying to figure out,
which one is mine.

--Pamela, 15

Individual

2010-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

It’s kind of weird;
The way I am.
I’m not made from the same mold as everyone else.
I’m just my own kind of person
With my own thoughts and
My own kind of interests.
Like writing—
No one can take that away from me.
To belongs to me
And me only.
It’s fascinating,
The way a page can go from being blank
To being filled with my words.
The words that were once my thoughts.
My thoughts that were once influenced by my observations.
Observations of the world around me.
Of this empty house.
Why am I writing about a house?
Because my thoughts led me to it.
The thoughts that I dared to think.
The thoughts that they told me were forbidden.
The thoughts that set me apart.
The thoughts that make me the way I am.

--Kristalyn, 16