Category: 11th

I am a firefly, burning with ambition and curiosity.
I wonder about the world around me and where my inner light will guide me.
I hear the melodies of crickets chirping in the distance.
I see inexplicable beauty in nature.
I dance majestically in the dark night sky.
I am a firefly, burning with ambition and curiosity.
I yearn to fly far beyond the constraints that this world imposes on me.
I feel the glow of the moonlight on my face.
I touch the hearts of others with my warmth and bright light.
I worry about what I do and if it is too much or too little.
I cry about the past, but am hopeful for the future ahead of me.
I am a firefly, burning with ambition and curiosity.
I understand that my inner light is the brightest light of all.
I believe strength comes from within and I can do anything I set my mind to.
I dream of the things I cannot see, but can feel in my heart.
I try my best to look for the good in everyone.
I hope that people will look up to me and that I will be an example to others.
I am a firefly, burning with ambition and curiosity…
Who will illuminate the world with my inner glow.

James Bowie High School

11

LC Anderson High School

11

A perpetual buzz
hummed from the far corner of my quarters
while I laid upon my mattress, lumpy and cold.
Oh when would it
cease?

There serenely sat darkness,
yet a sliver of piercing light crept,
peering through the window,
seeping under the door,
slithering throughout the room
in the otherwise
colorless night.

And still the
Buzz
illuminated all, when all that was ever wanted
was Dark.

I stared up at the ceiling from my nightly throne

Exhausted

from the day’s toils, unable to catch even a glimpse
of
Ever. Evasive. Sleep.

The sounds of the night seemed to

Shudder…
Shake…
Shift…
Churn…

Like the thoughts in my head.
Relentless.

Finally,
in the lobby of my lobes,
exhaustion built,
buzzing like a factory of countless bees,
(or perhaps sheep)
until at last
it was full and the noise faded–

James Bowie High Shool

11

They make me whole
They make me realize my
own worth
And not once have they
loved anything but all of
me

Identity is strange
But I’ve loved finding
mine with you
Beautiful and intelligent
No label could ever veer

He, She, They,
What’s the difference?

I only see them for them
And I love this love

Early College High School

11

Light is funny that way
you see,
Darkness flees at its sight,
Its gleam reveals things hidden with all man’s might,

But in gluttony it yields another blindness.

Thus to live in darkness is to have acquired
A keener vision of things most inquired

Retreat therefore,
From the flashing lights,
Into the still quiet darkness–
awaiting sight’s completion.

Away from that place with all that radiance,
That place where everyone pretends to see

McNeil High School

11

It was a bitter winter’s day when my inhibitions became a distant memory
With the abundant warmth of my house still caressing my skin
As I tread through a winter wonderland flecked with sparks of light, strokes of dark
My pockets held mittens and a small note I wrote a few hours ago
In case someone came across this place and I was nowhere to be found

You’d promised me you’d meet me before the sun rose
Because you didn’t like the sunlight
Said it took away something from my appearance when it shone
I didn’t agree, but didn’t speak
Not wanting to raise my voice, constricting with uncertainty
You reassured me I was like the sun to you
And promised that I’d always be your one and only
As long as I’m in your life

The shadow of the tree wove a pattern on your cheek
I see it now as vividly as when you first met me
The color of your eyes when they filled with tears
Sweetened with the maturation of your professed love
In the frozen landscape, your words generated heat

I recall a feeling of detachment
Lack of sensation
Bottled in a syringe
That was locked tight
In this world of shadow
The way you squeezed the inside of my palm
Threatened to burst the cap
And my imagination would run like liquid gel
Smooth onyx streaming in a river of confession

You hated when others would walk their dogs in the park
You said they were just obstructions in the way
Following a map to a chest full of treasure
You’d it so there you and I would be alone
And I would feel lonelier than ever when I was with you

I had told you the night before three words
I specified that friends could love each other, too
Why didn’t you understand that?
You were so desperate, you said you needed me
And couldn’t accept it when I said I had enough
I had hoped a night’s sleep changed things in the morning
But it failed me just as I had failed you

You couldn’t pretend to be sane
You started screaming and shaking
Complaining loudly about how the world was against you
Angry at things you could only see
So jealous by my happiness
Frustrated by the fact that I had guy friends
My name on your lips was a deadly weapon
To ensure that you’d hurt me with it over and over again
Puncturing my confidence in my personality and goodwill with your bad association
And to see that no one could stop you from standing within my arm’s reach
In the softest, most dangerous voice you’d croon to me
Telling me about a hidden paradise, one far away from your wreck of a reality
Only I, as the girl, didn’t possess the keys
That’s when you broke the news that you had to be the one to take me

What kind of paradise is it, one without the sun, or passerby, or seemingly anything
The way you wouldn’t ever smile unless at least nine of your fingers were attached to me
And if your head wasn’t resting on my shoulder at any given time
Or if you were imagining a particularly dirty series of things
“Lilli, it’ll make you happy, the way you were meant to me.”
I’ll be the one to make you happy
That’s my line you took against me when I was at my low
If only I knew then what I knew now
You tried to give me what you needed, not what I did
The way you would kiss my neck without my permission
And take advantage by refusing to let me go
When I pushed you away
You made me think I’m insane
All those times I didn’t recognize how dangerous you were
Trying to negotiate what’s been broken when you lied and omitted and threatened
In the nights you would call my phone to talk about yourself
And not even tell me that you were in the mental hospital
And that your mom had handed you your depressants
With an instruction to overdose
Or that girl you talked to for a week
That kept away from you after you shattered their fragile trust
I lost my 15 years worth of dignity on the spot
But you never respected it in the first place
Honestly I don’t care if you do
I can enjoy the sun rising in the morning without you
I can bask in being alone without feeling lonely
I never needed a man to make me feel happy
When you talked about a hidden paradise
There were always details that didn’t feel right
A melody out of tune, a movement out of sync
Looking now it’s clear to me all along
The hidden paradise was inside me
Refracted through your desperate intentions
And twisted through your broken heart
It took me a lot of struggle with you to find where it was
It took everything I’ve been through to realize that I was enough
My day with you has come to a conclusion
I am enough

Round Rock Early College High School

11

The last night of November
The frost crept through the door.
It seeped through my fingertips
And turned my blood to snow.

World still dark
Warm and milky, your breath tickled my cheek.
Your gentle scent and mild heat
Nestled against my arm and neck
And began to thaw
The ice from my lungs.

Together in near silence,
Two slow breaths formed as one
With your weight upon my chest.
I am comfortable in your presence.

The shivers in the air dissipated against your frame.
The dawn chased the dreams, faded, from my mind
And drew the sleep from my eyes.
I see you, my wordless companion;
Has it already been eight years?
Sophie, my precious pup, life is better when you’re near.

LC Anderson High School

11

Missing words and captive thoughts
Under fire
Never enough
The lights stay off and eyes go blind
I only want to see tonight.

Lonely spaces are
Left unspoken and undone.
Shadows creep from all the corners.
Eyes can’t see as hearts grow numb.

I hold this dirt, this little dust.
It is my world and my country,
The ground below and the sky above,
Hold my everlasting loyalty.
But this starved land can’t save a soul
And it won’t protect my family.

I’ve forgotten how to ask for the things I need
Because, here, even hope has lost its meaning.
I don’t know about hope, but I know there is hunger
For a brighter night and for a tomorrow
Filled with food and family
Threatening to break free.

Growing pains bringing change;
I’ll feed my hopes on this.
For while my world has closed its eyes
I won’t sleep tonight.

LC Anderson High School

11

I am left unanchored and alone
Just a small thing made of dust.
No better than birds or sun-bleached bones
Worm trails and river stones.

I am made of winds and grass,
Cicadas, mouse-holes, roots of plants.
Rivers, dewdrops, wells, and webs
Small things held in little hands.

Happy, angry, missing faces
Sad eyes and forbidden places.
“There’s no place I want to go but home
Where I am safe and well-fed.”
Well-said.

LC Anderson High School

11

Dirt underneath my fingernails
Is better than the dirt on my body
Made by filthy hands
And all of their defiling.

I want to wash it clean.
It’ll never be enough
To scrub away the stain.
No innocence left untouched.

I want to make the world run red
Or even muted black and blue,
But even then I cannot run
Fast enough away from you.

LC Anderson High School

11