Category: 2022-23 Submissions

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
At night the moon rises in the sky.
Who am I?
Me! Beautiful me. You! Beautiful you.
We are all different that’s what make us all unique.
We are all special in every way.
We shine like the sun.
We are all happy, sad, angry, scared. It is okay.
You are you. No one can change that.
You can be anything you want.
Just believe in yourself.

the heat of the blazing sun

the sight of seagulls taking off, so fun

the smell of salt water and sunscreen in the breeze

the taste and touch of sticky-sweet popsicles, brainfreeze

the feeling of sand in your sandals, hands in the pockets of my flannel.

i thought ”I never want to leave here.”

i wanted to stay forever at Galveston pier.

i remember running back in the rain

rough, ridged, rocks

soaking-wet socks

The years turn to days,
days to minutes.
No time in space,
but on Earth, limits.

The seasons are fast,
and you realize,
life doesn’t last,
as you fly to the skies.

We are forlorn,
Simply candles that burn.
We mourn,
no matter people turn,
to memories.

And memories are forgotten,
never revived.
they are buried as corpses,
shriveled.

Everything ends,
even memories.
Do what you will with that.

Spring, Summer, Autumn Winter, how exhausting
But the heat ain’t so amazing
‘Cause it’s always so blazing
Why do I live in Austin?
Can’t I move to Boston?

I got a new cat
She is really cute
Her name is Talia
I think she is a beaut
She loves to play around the house
Her favorite toy is nerf bullets
She prefers them to a mouse

Winter is getting as cold as a freezer
In time, the lakes will ice.
Now we need to buy warm blankets,
To sleep like a bear.
Early morning tells you to sleep more;
Resting feels like being in heaven.

But it is time to party!
Right now the harsh wind warns you to stay inside with friends,
Eating food that is as warm as a summer day
And play as much as you can.
Kindle a fire to keep you warm!

Soft and quiet,
Becomes loud and fierce.
My voice, me,
Your voice, you,
Their voice, them,
This voice, a mystery.
Traveling around the world,
This voice reaches everyone.
This voice changes everyone.
This voice is loud and strong,
About change.
This voice can be big,
And this voice can be small.
This voice can be you.

My face goes numb,
My stomach dropping like a
Neverending rollercoaster,
waiting to reach its end.

Had it already been 13 years?

You don’t notice how
much more time you
wish you had with the pet
you’ve loved,
till they’re actually gone.
Like, gone gone.

The room was silent,
too silent.
I had been prepared,
But not prepared at the same time.
Kinda like when you didn’t
study for a test,
But your still shocked you failed.

My moms eyes glossy and red.
Her nose pink and shiny as if it was December already.
But it wasn’t.
It was May 11th.
STARR testing had just finished.

I come home and
see my parents in the kitchen,
still trying to comprehend how
they were gonna tell me the news.

“She lived a good life.”
“We are all going to miss her.”
“Just think of the happy memories.”

No no no no no. Not now.

Still frozen like a statue,
I accepted the fact,
Shes gone.

My first time on an airplane, my head blocked the window for my elderly seatmate, I was that transfixed.
I told the old man my cousin’s wedding was in Monterrey, and learned he was coming home for his brother’s funeral.
La vida es divertida, he said.

Serendipity is bred in this setting to a confluence of stories
Crowds of questers cut off from social reality.
Drinking in the morning, brushing teeth beside one another.
Uniquely bored and free enough to get to know one another.
Any airport is more alike another than the city outside its walls. Closer, paradoxically.
Smiling, straight-backed stewardesses sell us a century-old American future.

My first time traveling alone, my flight was delayed for a military memorial.
A soldier slept underneath my cabin, flying home to his mother just like I was.

I think of the romance of flight, da Vinci, and brothers Wright
Could they have guessed we would divide the sky, too, by class?
First, business and economy—as above, so below.
Winged men make conference calls and watch the birds trapped under ceilings high like cathedrals.

My first
Broken bone

Was when we got
our brand new trampoline.

I was jumping by myself
when my brother decided to join.

We jumped together,
having the time of our lives.
Not knowing he would bounce
too high and fly me
into the air.

I landed on the side
of my leg and *crack*!

I cried.
My eyes hurt so bad
they leaked with sadness,
pouring out the pain and sorrow.
My stomach throbbed
from the agonizing torment
I was putting on myself.

My parents didn’t know
what to do.
It was the most
massive, bulky, gross, purple lump
ever seen on the face of the earth.

They took me to the ER.
My leg was tingling.
Am I going to be ok?
Will the pain ever go away,
I thought to myself.

Closed

I went home and forced myself to sleep
into the everlasting dark hole of doom.