Category: 2018-19 Submissions

2017-18 Submissions

Red

A red dress,
Unconfined in the wind’s grasp.
Whipping like ocean waves,
Hugging her torso.

A runaway,
Atop a mountain cliff,
Abandoned.

Lost souls,
Grotesque and decaying,
Wear red.

A vibrant cry for help,
Craving attention.
Princes with white horses,
Never come.

A damsel in distress,
Her mind floods with misconception,
No savior in sight.

The bold statements,
Like a false smile,
Conceal broken minds.

James Bowie High School

11

All Eyes On You

All eyes on you
All eyes on you
The girl with the curly black hair sitting all alone
She’s the one with the attitude.
The girl who’s always never talking but the one
Who deep inside she has a voice.
When I look at her, I see a leader — someone that
Can speak her mind.
But sees all the discrimination in these hallways
The girl with the curly black hair
The girl that everyone looks at but never talks to
Her pride is inspirational the way she walk with her smirk.

LBJ High School

10

Lost Childhood

The teddy bear
soft with brown fur,
frowning with sadness,
as his beady glass eyes,
staring at me,

Asking:
“Why haven’t you played with me?
Why don’t we talk?”

To be honest I forgot
about him just like I forgot
the stuffed elephant
the Giraffe and even the monkey.

But the bear-
he was special,
He was there everyday
for every year,
when I was crying,
when I was bored,
when I needed a friend.

Until he wasn’t.

Then I had a new companion
Not a friend.
Not someone I love.
But is required to be with me.
My future requires him.
My happiness later
in life depends on him.

It has many layers,
homework, teachers,
peer pressure and bullying,
stress and anxiety.
It is so much
I almost hate it.

But it brings me no joy,
not like the teddy bear-
who slumps down,
worn apart by age,
frizzing at the end
of his feet, fading
under the shadow
of my past.

As its little ear is holding on
by the threads,
so is everything
in my life,
coming apart
every day I age.

James Bowie High School

12

The Difference

She didn’t even notice your eyes.
I thought maybe she’d outgrown your face.

It was the first thing I noticed.
I remember asking her once
if they had filled the room as much as it felt they did.
If they had grabbed her too
by the coat and demanded their independence from the lousy rendition of brown.
The honey highlights had beaten me senseless.
Belittled and torn, my knees gave way.
And as I lay and beg for more,
you conceal your weapon.
And look away.

and she laughed
her eyes lacking the intensity of yours
And replied that they resembled a pot of the
darkest, blandest, and most bitter coffee.

I thought about your eyes after that.

James Bowie High School

11

Humble

How does your heart steadily beat,
under the weight of all of that guilt?
How do you rest against cotton and silk,
as savagery continues to stir in the night?

I watch in disbelief
when you dance upon the raw and bloody flesh
of those who remain lame.

Do you recognize those blind yellow eyes
that gaze up at you beneath your mirror?
How about those ashen, oozing lesions
that dapple the arms reaching for your silver, your gold?

As you bathe in your oils of gladness,
captives continue to rot and spoil.
You are not above the lost,
simply because you are found.
You are not greater than the sick,
solely because you are healed.

Beneath your jewels and your spirits
lingers a pink and fleshy body,
still drenched in that slime and shame.

James Bowie High School

12

Sardines in a Cemetery

Everyone came to Dianna’s party.
Silly Riley and Comedian John and Funny Silvia,
they all came. Even reclusive Will, introvert Sharlene,
and I knew that missing this party would be

social
suicide.

The lights are too bright and flashy-I can’t see-
Was this my cup?- It feels so sticky and sweaty-

Why is

the sound

of the

bass so

damn loud?

Everyone- every-one
is packed into the apartment
like sardines in a can.

Too small a space
Too many people
I can’t-
Breathe-

I manage to find a door throw it open

Breathe.

Sorry silence of a sweet night.
You offer me no comfort.
I look back through
the blue-hued window

But the image is blurry–the glass is murky
Dark and foggy, like a cemetery-
a headstone for all, death be merry
Eyes stare back, fishy eyes
And everyone becomes every
body,
All too quickly.

James Bowie High School

12

My Golden Retriever

I came upon a golden retriever.
She was so cute, I decided to keep her.

She was funny;
always in a good mood.
She never was mean
or with poor attitude.

But then one day
her mind flew away
And all in a flash
She was gone in a dash.

She flew down the stairs
and straight out the door.
Still in the foggy forest
I heard the barks, then a roar!

I tracked her down
and finally caught her.
I knew what I had to do,
I taught her.

I taught her to sit.
I taught her to stay.
So never in eternity
Will she run away.

It’s the end of the year.
It’s Christmas Eve
So I give my dog
a gift to receive.

I see how much
she likes her doghouse home.
She likes the sweet taste
Of her state-of-the-art bone.

I will cherish my dog
Every single day.
I hope that life
will stay this way.

Fern Bluff Elementary

4

Dreams

Sometimes when I lie in bed,
asleep, and nothing to be said
I have these dreams
where my mind starts to beam
and I’ll dream about all different things.

Sometimes I’ll dream about caveman times in the past.
It probably wasn’t a blast.
The cavemen didn’t have many tools
and plus there were no life rules.
They had to hunt and forge for food
and they never were in a good mood.
In fact, they were pretty rude
and had poor attitude.

Then I’ll dream about the next generation.
Will we all live in space stations?
Will there be new discoveries and crazy high tech?
Or will the whole planet just be a wreck…
Sometimes I’ll be awake just daydreaming
my eyes open, both of them gleaming
mostly when I daydream I dream about the present-
What will happen in this next event?

When I have these dreams they’re the worst or the best
and I’ll probably dream once I next rest.

Fern Bluff Elementary

5