Category: 2018-19 Submissions

2017-18 Submissions

The Room

The room of things,
The room of me,
Where I’m locked away,
You won’t see me,
You won’t hear me,
You won’t even notice my absence,
Filled with stories and art,
Becoming one with the room,
No I won’t go out to play,
No just leave me alone and go away,
The room is where I hide,
The room is where reality and illusions collide,
Don’t you see the dark inside,
Run,
Now you hide,
Don’t let it mess with your mind,
It’s hypnotizing.

Barton Hills Elementary

5

The Stone

The stone,
smooth as silk and strong as a bear,
the stone
that keeps my secrets, and my nightmares,
the stone
that survives every winter,and every scorching summer heat wave,
as warm as a hug, and as sad as rain on a summer day,
my stone.

Barton Hills Elementary

5

Books

Like an airplane
Except flies higher.
Travels as fast as light
Maybe faster.

To magical lands
Full of mystery and delight.
Horror and survival.
Adventure and comedy.

This and more
All you have to do is turn the page

Barton Hills Elementary

5

Satisfied

My dad always told me I shouldn’t strive to be happy
Now at first, that’s awful
But to explain he said, Son. you can feel happy
but you shouldn’t be happy
But isn’t being happy a good thing?

At times, of course it is
But emotions are fickle
They’re a response, not a lifestyle
Happiness at all times is forced
Meaningless, nothing without context

What you should strive for, he said
Is satisfaction.
It’s a hard state to describe
It isn’t measurable
But it’s important

You’re allowed to be upset
And Sad, and Angry, and Lonely,
But at the end of the day,
Being satisfied means being okay with it
Being in a place where you can look back
See yourself arrayed
And smile at what you see

Satisfaction is hard
Happiness is impossible
Life isn’t about plastering a smile
It’s not about climbing the highest peak
It’s about sitting in your nook on the cliffside
Looking at the view
looking at yourself
Seeing yourself
And loving what you are
Loving where you are
Loving who you are

Cedar Ridge High School

12

What a lovely storm

lightning and thunder tantrum
I muse in the pour, Mississippi up
impish children scream like they are being held for ransom
I allow the rain to fill my soul’s cup
What many see as nature’s wrath
I see as an artist’s patient craft
A bow strikes a cello in the clouds
Thunder her mellow vibration resounds
It takes me back to a younger time
when the scourge of thunderstorms shriveled even my mind
when my grandmother’s words did inspire
a gaze of wonder
that made thunder
seem meek heavenly not at a dire

Westwood

12

The Artist

You are the artist that painted my happiness on the canvas of your own compassion
Your brush fashioned my reason for being vibrant when my mind wanted to be whited out
When I shouted out as my paper-shredder mindscape tore my own drawings to pieces
You were my escape, from that place where my deep fears had real shapes
I’m grateful for all that you’ve done. If there’s some way I can show,
Make you know how you turn my crooked stick figures into masterpieces
When the water colored the edges of my eyes you replaced my faded tones with vivid acrylic
I was a cynic with an acidic mind
A ballistic missile with a fistful of broken dreams
But then, brushstroke by brushstroke, you painted over my lost hope
Helped me cope when all I wanted was to just say nope
And leap off the edge of my own psychoses
You drew roses over my crown of thorns that I wore to make sure I was my own martyr
But you, with your mind, your heart, and a pencil, made me my own starter

Cedar Ridge High School

12

Oh Little Bonnet

Oh Little Bonnet stubborn is your middle name
Only blooming in summer and spring
Well I think your insane
What about winter and fall
Do you care for them at all?
You know you would look lovely shining in winters monotone light
Or swaying with falls colorful leaves
Oh little bonnet stubborn is your middle name

Ah look at you now your so big and blue!
As blue as the sea and sky
Beautiful
But you only stay for a short time
Oh little bonnet stubborn is your middle name

I watch WHOOSH as you dance with the wind
Even when it rains cats and dogs
You never stop
Your wonderful world washes and wipes away my tears
Joy erupts from misery
You might be stubborn always having your ways
But you are my everything
That little tiny soul that brought my life meaning
Thank you little bonnet

Gorzycki Middle School

7

Without Notice

Day by Day
The change of time.
Hitting the hay,
flopping like fish,
surrounded by pillows.
Until the flop stopped,
can’t feel anything.
Than,
a blink of an eye,
the morning came,
eyes dried to sand
heavy as a truck.
And you wonder,
what happen last night.

Gorzycki Middle School

7