Category: 2022-23 Submissions

I open my eyes and rise into The Anymore.
The world is burning around me.
I wish to close my eyes once more.

All I hear is music and allure.
The sun’s a warm comforting glow on my back.
I open my eyes and rise into The Anymore.

122, 123, 124, there’s no more going out of the door.
Laying on the floor that’s as cool as a wool blanket,
I wish to close my eyes once more.

It’s raining with water that numbs my core.
A breeze washes by that makes even the tree’s shiver.
I open my eyes and rise into the Anymore.

No more going outside today with the boiling storm,
Hot enough to burn through the last tree on our street.
I wish to close my eyes once more.

The Anymore dawned with the oceans rising but we couldn’t care, too much of a bore.
I open my eyes and rise into the Anymore.
I wish to close my eyes once more.

I really do enjoy a holiday
Like Halloween or Christmas Day, a time when I get to lay.

Most of the time I’m in a good mood
As there’s at least one thing that’s good.

On Diwali, they give sweets; Christmas has candy canes.
Sometimes holiday visits have dogs like Great Danes.

And whether it’s in Barcelona or Plano,
There’s always good music, from trombone to cello.

So as we head into the holiday season
Try to be happy, there’s more than one reason.

When you find me
At the crossroads of hope and despair
You’ll see that my arms are open
My head tilted to the sky
Embracing the wide world

When you find me
In the deepest, bluest, sea of life
Where both light and darkness dance across the water
You’ll notice that my soul is colorful
Full of light and dark, like the water

When you find me
Buried under the avalanche of truth
You’ll discover that I’ve forgiven but not forgotten
Because memories are the darkness that bind us to this world
Good and bad

When you find me
Among the stars of pride
You’ll hear the song that comes truly from my heart
For the first time
This song will make you laugh and cry at the same time
This song will allow love to echo
As it’s final notes echo
Except they’re not final
Because this song
Is still
Unfinished

I am made of metal
Not quite as light as a petal
Inside water to hydrate me and you
Just like how the ocean is blue
When your heart’s about to burst,
I’ll be sure to quench your thirst
I’ll always be with you,
no matter what you do
just wait, you’ll see
I’ll be there when you need.

COVID
(for my sister)

Do you remember
what it was like
Before?

It’s OK
If you
don’t;
you were only
six, I, nine

I can remember.

Can you tell
me
what it was like
Before?
To be able to hug
and shake hands
Without Hesitation?

to not worry about
Your
Family members
dying?

You might not
but I do

So when you ask
What was it like
Before?

I’ll tell you
About the flowers
and trees
Not about the sad things
Because the Before is gone
And while we hold onto memories
We need to learn to let go, too

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

We all played,
“Tag,
You’re
It!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“Last one there is a rotten egg!
Ha!
You lost!”

One kid
Two kid
Three kid
Four kid

“See you after spring break!”

Who kid
What kid
Where kid
no kid.

Where oh where has everyone gone?

The streets are all empty
There’s no one around
It’s just me and my thumb
and maybe some crumbs

That virus has come
The kids have all gone
And I’m getting quite tired
Of long lasting solitude.

How much longer will I have to go on?

I love you
I love you in the way the moon loves the tides
In the way the sun cares for the stars
In the way the forests love fungi

Time moves forward
Things change, people grow
I will see you less
Going different paths
I will love you

I will age
Time marches on endlessly
I will still love you
In the way fish love the ocean
In the way bees love flowers
In the way cats love sunbeams

I will grow old and die
the world will age with me, as will you
Even after everything
When the world is nothing but mushrooms and rubble
I will still love you

two souls meet, bound to work as one
they dance and play together.
the clownfish brings the laughter
and the anemone sees their fun
and realizes they are second to none.
tied together with an invisible tether
there is nothing they can’t weather
with enough admiration that can’t be undone.

the anemone provides protection
in return, the clownfish is a loyal friend.
the never-ending mutualistic affection
work in harmony to create a playful blend.
thinking in the same direction
their eternal love will never end.

I’m from blazing sun
Sweet smoke of barbeque
Meals served family style
Grandma’s peach cobbler.

I’m from a bridge of bats
Who escape at dusk
Truth lies in darkness
Free until the return of dawn.

I’m from live music that stirs the soul
Breathe in the colorful rhythm
Exhale your troubles
When we sing, we are one.

I’m from blood that runs burnt orange
Reminiscent of fire and flames
Souls tied together with a common identity
We never burn out.

But I’m also from guns
Who deliver harsh ultimatums
Gray and lifeless and cold
Kids who fear for their lives.

I’m from humans who sleep on the street
Figures shivering in the night
Nothing is promised
Homeless, not harmful.

I’m from danger in darkness
Head down, do not reply
Be home by sundown
Bats fly free, why can’t I?

I’m from the home of the brave
I’m from angst and sorrow—an open cry
They say I’m from the land of the free
But they also lie.

One thing I can always come back to,
A most loyal friend.
Nothing I’d rather do,
Until my life’s end.

Cold wind whipping my face,
In the mountain up high.
A most beautiful place,
Evergreens and the sky.

My board I am riding,
Shooting down the mountain,
On my heel and toe sliding,
Snow sprays like a fountain.

It is my annual reward,
The same mountain year after year,
I never get bored,
A place I hold dear.