Category: 2022-23 Submissions

Daddy lost me a month ago and checked every place he knew
The diner, the basketball court, and the great big blue
He checked my doctor and my dentist too
He even checked the neighbor’s bathroom where everyone did their poo
Although he checked every place he knew
He never thought to check the place he left me,
Right here in my room, still waiting for him to take his turn while we were playing Clue

The darkest day, the lightest night,
I’ve gone with both without a fright
A flying turtle, a slow, slow bird
I haven’t seen them, I’m not a nerd
The tallest bug, the shortest giraffe
I’ve been with both without a laugh
The darkest day, the lightest night
I’ve gone both without a fright

An elephant from another
dimension, where their floor is
our sky, stomped and
ripped our sky open, a grey
and pink gradient gap.

A library full of books,
is nothing more than ‘stuff’,
though all those words have wisdom,
all those words are not enough.

Words can cut like daggers,
they can shatter beyond broken,
words can be allies, enemies, and tools,
but words can’t be unspoken.

The floor dissolved into thin air,
left me falling, falling, falling,
I dreaded the wound, that my words had torn,
I was calling, calling, calling.

I poured my heart into a poem,
desperate for the tear to be bonded,
I mixed my soul into that paper,
waited, and then you responded.

“my mind begs to forgive you”,
the words weaved into a rope,
a beacon, an exit from the darkness,
my heart swelled with hope.

“my heart differs”,
the word sliced my rope to strings,
I didn’t know how long I’d last,
what would the darkness bring.

I don’t blame you in the slightest way,
I’ll empty your ocean with a cup,
that beautiful wall my bullets tore down,
I’m here, we can build it back up.

Drops of water cannot soothe a forest fire,
oceans of fury will always crash and will churn,
forests of guilt cannot be chopped down,
I’ll try, until your heart does not burn.

And though you may not hear me,
I’m fighting, climbing, calling,
and until I find a hopeful rope,
I’ll be here, falling, falling, falling.

I hear the voices in my head. I hear them, I hear them, I hear them. They say you are nothing, you are nothing, but I say I am something, I am something. I am me and me is someone so those voices in my head will never bother me again.

Like a basketball
I go swish
Like a lilo
I could be ur stitch
Or like a camera
All we can do is flick
I’m just saying
I could be there
As long as you wish

America is the best
We are the land of rights
We put enemies to the test
By winning all the fights

We have guns
And we have farms
We have tons
Of digital alarms

We’re the most diverse
In geography and race
We don’t need to reverse
We have lots of open space

We fight for freedom
We will never regret it
We didn’t build the colosseum
And that we will admit

We have the best economy
Were the most advanced by far
Advanced in astronomy
And inventors of the car

Now what i’m trying to say here
Even though we arent perfect
We have faced every frontier
And every trail we have trekked

Setting sun on a glistening night
The edge of my happiness, my light
You steal it
You take it
You end me
Setting sun, setting sun, dreams slowly waiting

The colors dance outside my window
Many find it beautiful, the hue, the shade, the tint
I lie in silence, awaiting the fall
Toward the ground, I watch it end

Why do you come, why do you come?
The moon shines through the blackening sky
All alone, no one to come save me from your misery
I easily fall apart; I wish I could save it

Darkness slowly listens around the corner
It stains my mind, and I question my fear
All alone, claiming morning as my peace
You are mystery
You are terror
You hold me tight

I look…
The clouds are fluffy bundles of cotton candy
Swans float on the diamond blue waters
A serene setting, calm and peaceful.
The galloping winds, dancing forests, singing birds; tweeting, chirping, humming, whistling,
The water waltzes and swings, a dance it has practiced since the beginning of time.
The view is remarkable, yet leaves the sightseer speechless.
An inconsequential cabin leans to the shores edge.
All alone, yet surrounded with joy.
The colors swirl around, vermillion red, tangerine orange, cerulean blue.
The garden covers most of the lovely land around the pleasant refuge.
The property stretches for miles, past the bubbling brook, and the exuberant wood.
I could stay; and live in this tranquil place forever, undisturbed .
But I must go, for it is only a painting.
Only a masterpiece,
Only a dream.