Author: AvaW

Fight

Violence.
Everywhere.
TV, social media, homes, newspapers, books, you name it, it’s there.
I know about the violence, the bombings, the massacres, the missiles
coming towards America, things that a twelve year old girl should not know.
I run.
Run in fear that my Country will one day not be here anymore.
They Run, we all do,
We all know what’s coming next,
They kill,
Kill themselves and others because they believe that if they kill themselves,
they will not have to see the broken pieces of their country,
Kill others because they believe that these innocent people should go down
with them.
Violence.
Causing so many people to die when they should not have,
Their Families wishing that they could have done something,
Wishing they could have fought back.
Causing innocent babies and kids to die,
They didn’t get to live the life they deserved.
While our country sits here with money, education and wealth,
They have to flee from one country to the next, running from others and
even their own government.
While we are afraid of how people judge us because of our looks, skin color
and weight, they have to deal with masacres every single day.
We wish we were taller, prettier, skinnier.
They wish they had food, water, sleep.
We no longer need to run.
But we need to fight.
Fight with all of our might against anything and everything that comes our
way.
Fight for the people who can’t.
Fight for our rights.
Fight for the life we were born to live.
Fight as children of God.
Fight for our friends,
Fight for our family,
Fight for our country.
I no longer need to run.
I no longer have to fear.
But I’m going to fight.
Fight, Fight, Fight, Fight.

Gorzycki Middle School

7

Pain

Mentally, emotional, and physically
Sometimes I wonder why does it hurt so much
Why am I in this position? Why does it suck
Should I give up, or not?
Mentally, pain can mess with one’s mind
But it’s up to the person to let pain take all of your time
Emotionally, pain can really mess us up
It could play with our emotions and leave us stuck
Physical pain, we all know it well
But it’s not something you would bring to show n’ tell
But as people say, no pain – no gain
So, Pain shapes people into who they are
Even if you have a goal that seems very far
There will be pain somewhere on your “road to glory”
Because pain is always present in any good story

Leadership Academy

12

Whining Chickens and the Scared Eyes of an Old Man

My family are stereotypical Americans.
Big, fat, loud Americans,
like overfed chickens in a slaughter house.

With their gluttonous bodies,
full of ignorance and
distasteful opinions.
Their squawking echos through
the first class train cabin.

The cabin full of
patriotic sods and a lonely,
fear ridden little, old,
innocent Czech man.

Their loud cries of pain
leaving the beaks
of my meaty family,
pierce through metal.

First class was meant to have A/C.
Americans love A/C.
I didn’t know I signed up for a sauna.

Chickens now hate saunas.

James Bowie High School

11

Alligator

Hey, I am learning what it means to ride condemned.
The music is blasting the windows like we are in a cage.
Maybe I am? A cage plummeting 20 miles per hour over
To nowhere.
The tune is good, but not catchy enough to
distract me from our destination.
The dog will be hungry by the time
You get this. Feed her before you leave again.
I think He just wants to drive. So I’ll let Him.
We all need something, but
We usually don’t know how to ask.
He and I don’t know how to ask, so
We keep driving until the wind drowns out the music.
I’ll see you when I see you.

James Bowie High School

12

My family

Extended metaphor:
My family is a circus
I am the lion
Because I am a beast
My mom is a tightrope walker
Because she always stays out of trouble
My brother is a fire breather
Because he always gets in trouble
My dad is a juggler
Because he juggles his responsibilities
My family is a circus
Everyone contributes in their own way

Gorzycki

7

unclear solutions

The hot air balloon gets blurrier
with each slide until It becomes
clear again; with a brilliant resolve
that leads to brown circular frames,
No matter how much you
wipe away the anxious
fog that creeps like a vine
with the edge of a cotton shirt,
The bright green
hills are still visible
but the truth is not.
Because the answer
to the universe
is not merely 42,
and betrayal cannot be foreseen
even through clear lenses
Or from the vantage of a hot air balloon.

Autobahn

All that matters
is the plastic barriers
between the road
and whatever lies
on the other side.

Six feet tall
and covered in ridges
the way some people
are covered in freckles.

Graffiti whizzes by,
a flurry of colors,
shapes

Some looping like ropes
curled up on one another.
Some chiseled cartoon chins.

Bridges and barriers embrace
the colorful art
but the forests through which
the pavement cuts hideous streaks
break the pattern.

The trees sprout over the asphalt
like gothic arches.

The woods ask,
What adventure will you find?

The graffiti asks,
What will be your mark?

James Bowie High School

12

One last word

Plush grass, silky and soft
underneath my bare feet
The blades shiver
listening

to the hush of suburbia
that hovers over the garden
Only chatter over coffee and waffles

The last of the summer warmth
a blanket not quite long enough
cold feet left uncovered

The chatter fades
a reluctant decrescendo
into one sullen word

James Bowie High School

12