Category: 10th

She is dark and big.

Always there for the family;

Oh, how I love her.

Austin High School

10

What is Kerrville?
To me, it’s a sacred ground
Where songs are the prayers
and I get lost in the one place I feel found
There the language is music
And fingers dance with care
As they swim across guitar strings
Fluttering through the air
It’s a place where you’re not judged
And your voice is always heard
A place where you wake up
And the first sound you hear is a songbird
Politics and religion don’t divide us
We are all one
And we believe we are all connected
We are apart of the sun

When you see welcome home
With beautifully painted white letters
In front I see him place the stones
And red, green and yellow plastic
feathers
Its mix master with red shirts worn
Seeing storp written on a stop sign
seeing this world untorn
knowing everything is going to be fine

walking Around the big green meadow
Searching for my dear old friends
A year since we’ve said hello
These friendships that don’t have ends
kerrparents John and Mary
giving hugs with a smile on their face
It’s John finding watermelon unnecessary
And them giving me a sweet from a peach place
seeing Ken play at camp stupid
And eating burgers late at Camp Buyou Love
being surrounded by folk music
And bugs I don’t know the name of

It’s going to the Music Camp for Teens
lying about my age at 10
the wonderful John and Francine
thanking a stick bug for Austin my friend
It’s the staff giving an opportunity
For me to get up on stage
It’s about making a little community
So that I don’t have to be afraid
It’s about going on a canoe trip
With bill Oliver and Noodles
It’s hoping that the boat won’t flip
And I won’t get bit by anything unusual

Mr.pancake singing silly songs
Jena and Mathew writing poetry
Susan Roads taking pictures all day long
The best music of the century
Loose helping me play the bass
Annie keeping beat with her body
Looking at a smile on everyone’s face
Remember the things that everybody told me

working backstage for performers
keeping the green room clean
seeing Dallis being a supporter
She’s the heart of this magnificent machine
She’s standing at her desk smiling
with Dove Dark Chocolate in her hand
listening to performers inspiring
Making it feel like a dreamland
seeing Rossi, Doc, Fish, and Dave
Smile as I go by
black shirts buzzing bees swarming sound waves
I’m Fascinated by how they fly

But most of all it would have to be
Singing heal in the wisdom at night
another goodbye still hard for me
We all hold each other so tight
each note we sing with love in our hearts
Crying with our fellow man
We all sing in harmony parts
“One day together we’ll heal in the wisdom and we’ll understand”

Kerrville means everything to me
I wouldn’t be the same without it
And though this poem is not complete
I still felt the need to say it
You may be three hours away
But there are wonders that you have shown
Someday I want to be onstage and play
But forever I will call you HOME

Austin High School

Sophomore

Ocean Love
I walked out into the ocean
Felt the water rising past my ankles, my hips, my chest.
Wave after wave
Furiously beating down
On my back
The salt water stings
But I open my mouth and tell her,
(the ocean)
tales of you anyway.
And after I have finished confessing
The salt in her body turns to sugar

Anderson High School

10th

Do you remember middle school dates?
Maybe you touched hands once while reaching for popcorn at the movie theatre
Or he got up the courage to hold your hand while you walked out of the ice cream shop
And didn’t drop it until his mom’s car turned the corner
And you spent the drive home getting interrogated by an intrigued off-duty PTA mom.
My most memorable middle school date was in eighth grade
With the very serious “boyfriend” I “dated” for eleven whole months.
We were three months into our little relationship before we left the texting-only trap
And decided that, because we were so mature, we should go on a proper date.
Our moms dropped us off at the Starbucks at the Domain
We window-shopped while drinking hot chocolate, and I stayed close to him for warmth.
We had our first kiss outside of Tiffany’s.
Our lips were so numb from the cold that it felt like kissing a dead fish.
The first thing I did afterwards was text my best friend. Back then, everything was so exciting.
We lived for stolen kisses and stories to tell jealous seventh graders,
And we knew it was real because we used the red heart emoji when we said goodnight.
Years later, when I text my best friend about a boy, “we kissed!” is not usually the content.
Freshman year, I lusted after juniors and seniors because they made me feel special,
Like I was better than the other girls because my hookups weren’t all legal.
There’s something about being 15 and being okay with feeling used,
Young enough to be naïve but old enough that the stakes are too high.
Innocence disappears in wisps, curling away like the smoke
From the joints we light on rooftops and at concerts and in our bathrooms with the fan running
So that we can forget what happens that night.
We watch it disappear into the nighttime air as we convince ourselves we wanted that
Or drunkenly search for our clothes on the ground.
And our virginities are like our childhoods: we want to be as far from them as possible
But letting go of that last doll is oddly hard.
No kid really knows how young they are.
And as I’m falling in love and starting to feel okay again,
Like I’m forgiven for my mistakes, like there is more to who I am than shame,
It’s hard to remember that not everyone will hurt me
The way everyone has before.
I don’t miss kissing outside of Tiffany’s, and it’s nice not having to get rides from our moms.
I want the middle ground: love without fear, lust without danger
And finally allowing myself to trust.

Anderson High School

10th

She wasn’t organized says the clothes on the floor
Joined by school papers scattered carelessly
She was a teenage girl says charger cords
and discarded chapstick containers
she liked video games says the
discarded pile of cases in a corner
She loved music says the broken dusty
CD player tucked carefully under the bed

She loved small spaces says the closet
lined with pillows and blankets
She liked to read here says the pile
of books scattered under the clothes
She liked chocolate says the empty wrappers
Scattered carelessly inside among the discarded socks
She collected stuffed animals says the
Basket in one corner with holes in it’s mesh

She dressed up as a child says the cheap plastic
jewelry in a container on the dresser
She liked cinnamon says multiple scrubs,
sprays, and lotions in a blue plastic box
she liked figurines says the little dolls
and action figures littering the surface
She loved to draw says the sketches and
color drawings taped to the Mirror

Something’s happening says the boxes stacked
on one wall, only half of them filled
she doesn’t like it says the trash cans overflowing with tissues and their boxes
They’d already taken the desk says the
indent in the carpet where it stood for years
I don’t want to leave says the tears that
streamed down her face and soaked her shirt

Anderson High School

10

I feel like I could drop
I stare at the clock

Will this day never end
The time just seems to extend

Minute by minute second by second
Hurry up I beckoned

My bag was packed and ready to go
My excitement was starting to show

A shrill sound filled the air
Kids started going everywhere

They filled the hall
Wall to wall

Most going in the same direction
‘This is almost like traffic’ I thought in reflection

I’d honk my horn if I had one
For the school week was finally done

At home I heard the calling of my bed
Netflix glowing a glorious red

Homework to be ignored till Sunday
And, who knows, maybe even Monday

Look I finally reached the door
I’m so looking forward to video games till the morning hours of four

I walk hurriedly to the bus
For if I delayed it I would cause a fuss

On its route the bus begins
My music pulsing through my earbuds so loud it sound be a sin

Eventually we approach my stop
It would have been sooner if we had a siren like a cop

I rush home my music even louder
I don’t think the Flash could have been prouder

Finally I reach the door
Of my home
my favorite place on earth

Anderson High School

10

Before, during, and after my last adventure.
I had forgotten who I was, who I am.
I had just been stumbling through my black and white, silent movie.
I realize now,
I am an entertainer.
Made to entertain the masses and bring joy to my friends,
Now I must dress in my costume,
Jeans,
check,
Long white socks,
check,
Worn shoes,
check,
Random t-shirt,
check,
Sweat-Shirt,
check,
The main pieces are set.
I take one last look at myself as I walk out the door,
Oops forgetting something,
Flash my hand across my face,
A Smile,
Now I’m ready.
Lets see what my next endeavor will hold.
-The Mad Writer

Austin High School

10

My dear love is scrawny and a nightmare,
Glowing eyes like knives cutting the darkness,
Appeareth grey shadow with matted hair,
Why she cometh from the trees such a mess?
A lion’s roar quieter than her cries,
Begone meowing feline vagrant pest!
What is this dancing bear before my eyes?
Persistent, unwelcome hobo houseguest.
Yet, her wails pluck my delicate heartstrings,
Caressing my leg with whiskers and love,
Purring motorboat sprung from its moorings,
Precious, fuzzy gift sent from up above,
This unexpected present on my door,
Barbed thorn now beloved forever more.

James Bowie High School

10