Category: 2022-23 Submissions

On chilly days,
When I am cold,
Nothing is better
Than hot cocoa.
Hot and creamy
Nice and dreamy
All around steamy…
There’s marshmallows, too!
I love this brew!

I look at you like an author looks at their book
my silver stories clasped onto a matching chain
keeping my wrist company, and reminding me who I am.

You are an ode in yourself
you’ve dedicated your mere purpose to me
I can remember my own stories,
but the dangling charms are nice remembrances.

I love how you shine in the light
illuminating some of my darkest days
I love how you jingle when I walk
singing sweet assurances you can’t really say.

I look at the girl on whose wrist I sit, and I say
Look at how far you’ve come
from your childhood nickname to your first boyfriend
when you lose yourself I will be here
and remind you where you’re from.

A coconut tree…
A name tag given to me by my grandmother on my birthday,
the name that has stuck with me since I was old enough to respond to it
“My little coconut,”
“CooCoo,”
When my real name escapes her mouth it sounds almost foreign
A turtle…
An annual family trip to the coast featuring a special guest,
the first boy I’ve brought home
Our adventures in ghost tours, restaurants, and swimming
in the shape of an endangered beauty from the sea
A pendant…
A gift from my parents that brought tears to my eyes,
received on the day my boyfriend officially became family
mine and his initials engraved on a small oval,
that quickly claimed its spot as one of my favorites
A letter…
A,
the first character casted in my splendid show of a name
The name I’m known by in public but never addressed by at home
The second name in the list my mother made before my birth
I appreciate it, for I do not fit the shoes of a girl named Shianne

You are a fine luxury,
but still portrayed as cheap replacement to gold
To me you are worth more than money
To me you are my life story

I will continue to fill you with memories
until one day you cannot hold anymore,
for you are full of my stories.

Beth
Poor sister
Even poorer Jill
Beth in the Wizard of Oz
Looking for any way out
Guess I gotta see
the wizard
Ugh

Lion
Cowardly
hiding in the brush
Knows where the wizard is but
It’s still so far away Guess
I gotta take him
with me
Ugh

Next
The Scarecrow
Does not have a brain
“Ignorance is bliss” he says
He gets tricked, it wasn’t hard
Still so far away,
The wizard
Ugh

A
Man of tin
Blocks the only road
Dosen’t have a heart so he
Insults everybody else
Great now he’s coming
too yippee
Ugh

Runs
into the
Witch having a bad
day Her sister just died too
Beth knows how she feels and asks
Her to join the group
Now to find
Oz

If
Beth finds the
Wizard could she ask
for her sister back Maybe
Stranger things have happened so
Just maybe she could
Not raising
hopes.

Skip
The part where
You hide behind the
Curtain. Lion needs some courage
Scarecrow needs a brain and Tin
Man could use a heart.
All I want
Well…

Jill
It’s been hard
Without her. maybe
you could bring her back. “I’m afraid
I’m not enough Of a wizard
for That” “Then what was
the point of
This?”

“Why
was I brought
Here. What did it mean?”
“How do I live on?” “You have
a choice.” Her sister appears
She’s been here the whole
time. “Jill?” Beth
Asks.

“She
goes with you”
“That’s how your sister
Lives on now.” “So I just click
my heels?” “and when you do
Remember you have
A choice
Click

There was a dog;
A mix of 20 breeds,
Lazy. happy, playful, strong, cute,
but overall Lazy,
Under the bed
In the pile of clothes
Under the sheets
It always hid to sleep
Its pelt of soft fur was warm and fuzzy
Being a descendant of 20 breeds
Lazy, lazy was the dog, but it always looked for a comfy spot,
And lazy it got.

Under the faint light,
I snuggle inside,
My brain goes limp,
My limbs feel funny,
I rest myself,
In my pillow,
I look up,
To the sky,
With heavy eyes,
I roll to my side,
I sleep through,
Storms and all,
I snuggle in,
Oh so deep,
Oh I sleep.

On the Oak Branch
The Squirrel Scurries over,
Jerks his Head, Looking around,
Checking for Dogs, Cats, Birds.
All’s Safe
All’s Sound
He lies Down, looking at Clouds
His chest, Rising, Falling,
Blinking, Slowly
Until, finally
He,
Falls,
Asleep,
To,
Dream.

You below in the wind
leaves change in every season
Your orange leaves fall

Under a tree
The rabbit lies down
Wiggling its feet
Sinking into a warm bed
Curling up its body
Sighs and closes its eyes
Dreaming of a beautiful carrot farm

Any song may not be a symphony,
And as of now they may not be admired,
But one day, they may live a life of Infamy,
Or it’s too late and they must become retired

Next to the big, bright window,
Lay a sloppy dog who was not a widow,
He was tired and bored from the day,
He was so tired, that he needed a lay,
With his big sloppy body & his big sloppy face,
He lay to rest for his fin,
And then he will wake up,
Just like any old sloppy mutt.