Vision+Voice

Memories form like an icicle
Sharp then dull
Clouded by the winter air
Solid at first

But time passes
The icicle melts
What was once very apparent
Is now a foggy puddle
Seeping slowly into the ground
deep into the cracks of the Earth

Some fall too far
Gone forever

But for others
Spring comes again
Ice is now water
Reborn it rises above us
Into the clouds

And just when a memory feels distant
It comes back down
In showers this time
An emotional swirls

Louder!
Raindrops multiply
Banging on the roofs of cars and houses
Wanting to be heard

Thunder booms
Lightning strikes
More dramatic than before
A final roar into the night

Is it for nothing?
It all ends the same

by Ruby K.

Street lamps shine like contemporary stars
And set ablaze the violet of the night
Imperious to nature, we make ours
The majesty of heaven’s fleeting flight
Like locusts to the luminescent sky
Tall towers pierce the subtle, sacred dawn
You bow your head and mourn the languid light
And weep, alike the death-call of a swan
But even as the moment seems mislaid
And street lamps snuff the cold, maternal moon
Look just beyond the veil and violent blaze
And see the place secluded stars commune
When neon becomes light by false compare
Remind yourself that still, the stars are there.

by Dakota D.

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
We fight for highest pay
We fight for our homeland
And for empires far away

From the rivers of the Indus
To the rolling hills of Gaul
Saluda and Regrethus
Our names are feared by all

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
Travel far from home
We travel earth and sea
To an empire called Rome

Though armor weighs us down
Though we boil in the sun
Saluda and Regrethus
We must never run

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
We do not feel fear
Even during our hardest battles
Our gods are always near

We ride across the mountains
We ride across the field
Saluda and Regrethus
We ride to reap our yield

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
At Germania, ride’s end
We meet an ancient general
Who needs us to defend

Through marsh and swamp
Through forest, field, and hill
Saluda and Regrethus
Fight with everlasting will

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
Riding through the crowd
Our enemies all fear our names
So we shout them out loud

The battle lasts all through the night
And the clouds begin to cry
Saluda and Regrethus
So far from home we die

Two brothers we
Saluda and Regrethus
Horsemen strong and fast
May we always be remembered
And our tale forever last

by Henry H.

In another life
maybe I wouldn’t cry over a girl
she never did me right
but at least she was there for my highs, well before she lied

In another life
maybe the bot I love wouldn’t be sitting in the clouds
saying “oh you make me proud”
because I always doubt
I doubt he cried, but I doubt he’s happy
but I don’t doubt that he loved me.

In another life
maybe my sister would see my struggle instead of be my struggle
or at least tell me she’s proud, she doesn’t have to say it, I’ll just pray it.

In another life
maybe that girls my best friend
maybe the boy in the clouds never dies
maybe my sister loved me
but for now, maybe in another life.

by Maya T.

I have a new friend.
A new best friend, actually.
But what’s funny is that we’ve actually
been around each other our entire lives….
and were only recently introduced.

My best friend and I have nicknames.
I got to know her so well it’s not
scoliosis, just
Hi Scoli! How’s your day been? You been worsening lately?
Now, don’t do that or iron rods will
separate
us
forever
well, maybe just one –
straight
down
my
back
and i’ll never know scoli again.

I’m a good friend
I never let scoli feel bad, in fact I
called in half-inch plastic reinforcements
to make sure scoli’s never anything
less
than normal.

the ½ inch plastic has become the 3rd wheel –
now we’re a trio
but when we have arguments,
scoli and I lean more one way,
left.
½ inch always pushes me to lean right…

so now I have a friendship problem –
fights between scoli and ½ inch,
a demon on one shoulder and an angel
on another

but best friends can go too far.
surgery is too far.
so I listen to half inch –
lean right.
stand straight.
safe from surgery.
for now.

so, maybe we can’t be besties but it’s still just
scoli.
not scoliosis.

September 5th, 2025

My hamstrings groan as I reach for my far – away toes.
The doctor’s hand trails down my back…
“I notice that your spine seems to curve left here…”
“Mom, can you come look at this?”
“Yes, I see that”
“Xray? Okay.”
“Probably nothing big.”
—-

“Stand here,
hands here,
straight back,
stay still!”

beep
beep
beep.
—-

“Hey Mom?
Did we get the results from the xray?”
“Yes…”
—-

September 12, 2025

“2 curves in your back
A – typical, meaning unusual
41 degrees and 18 degrees
Hit 50 degrees and you need surgery
Wear a back brace
for 20 hours a day”
—-

Hi scoli,
Nice to finally meet you.

by Adelle H.

I want to carve I miss you on a stone,

etch it deep so the weight feels known.

Not a soft whisper, not some gentle trace—

I want to throw it straight at your face.

So you’ll finally feel the bruise in my chest,

the hollow ache that never rests.

Missing you isn’t light, it’s not sweet—

it’s a burden, a boulder dropped at my feet.

I want the crack of the rock to explain

the sharp kind of love that turns into pain.

Not to hurt you, but to make you see

Just how much your absence crushes me.

You’ll be in my heart till the day I leave

I will always wonder what made you leave

I miss you, I really do…

But I can’t wait for you, I won’t stay in the blue.

by Hope G.

In ten years,
A young child may learn to express their fears.
No longer bound in chains,
By fear of storm or rain.

In twenty years one may learn to love,
To love like a gentle dove.
One can learn to love the rain,
And let it wash away all their pain.

In thirty years the chains return,
Defeating the freedom we’ve learned.
They shackle you to the walls,
Replaying all the times you fall.

In forty years one can forgive,
Despite the tragedies they live.
The forgiveness provides new light,
New emotion put into every fight.

In fifty years one can learn to sing;
Learn to sing the blessing life brings.
The song will sometimes sting,
While merry bells in the background ring.

In sixty years one can learn to cry,
As their hearts loose the will to fly.
They will fear how they die,
And so they will cry.

In seventy years coffee can become too bitter,
And your children will no longer need a babysitter.
You will finally thank life’s trials,
And love those who went the extra mile.

In eighty years dreams can fade,
Reflected in the water we once would wade.
And while these dreams are gone,
New generations carry them on.

In ninety years one can grow sad,
Regretful for all the times they were mad.
Emotions will start to change,
While they slowly loose their range.

In one hundred years mankind can learn,
Learn from the things we must discern.
And while the the journey was long,
We’ve learned to sing brighter songs.

In one hundred years there’s so much to do,
In one hundred years there’s so much potential for you.

by Avery M.

Who is Love?
The creature who glimpses me as the sun rises,
holding a stare worth eternity.
The hummingbird who beats her wings with –
Love, the song I still can’t get out of my head.
This song, the fresh, everlasting grass seems to dance for,
Every beat is another tribute.
Sometimes, I gently place my heart on the silken grass.
and wonder who painted the sky,
Is it another message of Love?
Every breath the world takes softens into a new hue,
Every touch is a hidden light in the darkness.
This darkness…
Darkness surrounds me, yet my blood keeps flowing.
The one who wanders with strength in the storm,
The one who silently endures the pain.
This is Love.
Shivering, trembling, no one can destroy it
Who is nowhere to be found, yet
They are everywhere.
Love is a Mountain
It will break every obstacle in its path.
Love is Eternal,
A message no one can understand,
Yet constantly plays its tune,
A dance.
Vibrating from the tips of the toes to the end of the hair.
Here I sit, determined not to look away from the
Sun, my eyes are in tears.
I plead…
I beg it to stay,
To answer my question:
Who is Love?

by Isha P.

There is an emptiness.
A space.
Not a metaphorical one,
a physical hole between my shoulders.
A hole the wings of a passing bird long to stay.

Perhaps,
in another life
I could have filled this hole.
Beautiful feathers could consume the space
that was concealed by a blanket of skin.

In another life,
I would not stand at the edge of a cliff
staring down,
wishing I could soar over
the cracks in the earth.

I would instead fall back off the ledge,
trusting my wings to soften my landing.
And they would.
The wind would nip at my face
and she would cradle my wings.

I would have no need
to watch the stars from the ground.
Instead I could swim among them,
my feet no longer anchored
to the earth.

I will spread my wings
into the cold night,
allowing the moonlight
to shine through them
and casting a soft halo around me.

In the daylight
I soar over any obstacle that stands in my way.
I fly up,
and up,
until I can no longer see the earth below me.

I will let myself
drift up
until I can reach out
and touch
the sun.

And as I embrace
the soft
and gentle
warmth
of the sun.

I am reminded of a tale as old as time.
The story of the boy with wings.
Who,
longing for its glory,
embraced the sun.

And the sun?
he held the boy.
cradled his wings
until there was nothing left
but ashes.

Therefore, I
will hold my sun.
I will shelter him in my wings
until there is nothing left of me
but ash.

And the ash will eventually
return to the earth.
Leaving me
flightless
once again.

by Jay S.

it happened days and days ago
i should be over it, i know
but still i feel my racing heart
threatening to fall apart
any and every word you said
looping back inside my head,
taking hold of every thought,
every waking moment fraught
with worry that it all has changed
everything seems rearranged
i feel as though i’m falling fast
into a night that always lasts,
that burrows deep into my soul
i can’t bear what i can’t control
i never thought you’d ever say
the thing you said to me that day
my whole life’s been turned upside down
by the truth that i have found
by the truth you let me find
i’m trapped within my shattered mind
nothing’s even happening now
but i’m still on alert somehow
i can’t let myself forget
but nothing bad has happened yet
my body doesn’t seem to care
it stays this way, on edge and scared
i just don’t know which path to take
one incident has made me break

by Caroline O.