Vision+Voice

I cannot breathe
But I don’t miss it

Breathing includes life and life includes living
Living ends in death and the prick of misery
It includes ends and beginnings and decisions I won’t make
No
That I can’t make

I cannot be
But I don’t care

I have walked this earth as a shell of a girl that I once knew
Who picked up petals to drop them from the tallest tower
Just to try and catch them when they fell
The shell of a girl who believed in the peace
or rather the peace of people
But was trampled by the elephant in the room

This girl could breathe
Would breathe if able
I’m supposed to breathe for her
To keep her memory alive as if she is the weight of a pebble in my pocket
But she isn’t a pebble, she is a boulder that weighs on my shoulders
She is the giant that came from the beanstalk
She is the beginning even if I wish she was the end

I can’t breathe
And I miss it

---

Anderson High School

12th

 

She wasn’t organized says the clothes on the floor
Joined by school papers scattered carelessly
She was a teenage girl says charger cords
and discarded chapstick containers
she liked video games says the
discarded pile of cases in a corner
She loved music says the broken dusty
CD player tucked carefully under the bed

She loved small spaces says the closet
lined with pillows and blankets
She liked to read here says the pile
of books scattered under the clothes
She liked chocolate says the empty wrappers
Scattered carelessly inside among the discarded socks
She collected stuffed animals says the
Basket in one corner with holes in it’s mesh

She dressed up as a child says the cheap plastic
jewelry in a container on the dresser
She liked cinnamon says multiple scrubs,
sprays, and lotions in a blue plastic box
she liked figurines says the little dolls
and action figures littering the surface
She loved to draw says the sketches and
color drawings taped to the Mirror

Something’s happening says the boxes stacked
on one wall, only half of them filled
she doesn’t like it says the trash cans overflowing with tissues and their boxes
They’d already taken the desk says the
indent in the carpet where it stood for years
I don’t want to leave says the tears that
streamed down her face and soaked her shirt

---

Anderson High School

10

“The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core strength within you that survives all hurt.” – Max Lerner

I miss the little girl I once was
The one who lived and breathed
She will always be a part of me
I have hurt and have been hurt
I have forgotten and forgave
But I will not waiver from myself
I will not shrink as others stand tall
The girl I once was is gone
Along with the beliefs she carried
But I will hold her memories close to my heart
As if they were as fragile as a snowglobe
I will stand in front of her but also
I will stand in front of myself
because
I can finally breathe

---

Anderson Highschool

12th

Once there was a victim unheard
Trapped and enslaved in a cage like a bird
But at one time that cage blew away
Knowing it was her time, her day
The bird flew away to tell her story
The horror, oh the horror
But they found in her glory
The strength that she wields
Her voice and her shield
Because of her, all the birds flew
And they knew
“Me too.”

---

Casis Elementary

5th

I feel like I could drop
I stare at the clock

Will this day never end
The time just seems to extend

Minute by minute second by second
Hurry up I beckoned

My bag was packed and ready to go
My excitement was starting to show

A shrill sound filled the air
Kids started going everywhere

They filled the hall
Wall to wall

Most going in the same direction
‘This is almost like traffic’ I thought in reflection

I’d honk my horn if I had one
For the school week was finally done

At home I heard the calling of my bed
Netflix glowing a glorious red

Homework to be ignored till Sunday
And, who knows, maybe even Monday

Look I finally reached the door
I’m so looking forward to video games till the morning hours of four

I walk hurriedly to the bus
For if I delayed it I would cause a fuss

On its route the bus begins
My music pulsing through my earbuds so loud it sound be a sin

Eventually we approach my stop
It would have been sooner if we had a siren like a cop

I rush home my music even louder
I don’t think the Flash could have been prouder

Finally I reach the door
Of my home
my favorite place on earth

---

Anderson High School

10

Why
By kahshanna kingston

Why, why do lie ? why do we make up stories til we’re 6ft under the in a hole, a big grave filled with LIES. why do we cry feel sorrow and hurt ? is it because we’re happy,sad,and mad.
Why do we laugh , i know why i laugh, because i feel the love. Why do we love ?
Because, the more we love the less hate there is.
But, when you grow and your young child asks “mom why do we hate ?” because some do not know what they do, so we FORGIVE. “Mommy why do we forgive ?” so, we can forget.

---

L.C. Anderson High School

11

Before, during, and after my last adventure.
I had forgotten who I was, who I am.
I had just been stumbling through my black and white, silent movie.
I realize now,
I am an entertainer.
Made to entertain the masses and bring joy to my friends,
Now I must dress in my costume,
Jeans,
check,
Long white socks,
check,
Worn shoes,
check,
Random t-shirt,
check,
Sweat-Shirt,
check,
The main pieces are set.
I take one last look at myself as I walk out the door,
Oops forgetting something,
Flash my hand across my face,
A Smile,
Now I’m ready.
Lets see what my next endeavor will hold.
-The Mad Writer

---

Austin High School

10

There must be something in the water
The water that fills the glasses of men.
Men who dismiss me because I’m not exotic.
Because you will never find my hair on somebody’s cheap wig.
Because no one goes into the doctor’s office and asks for my nose
Because there are lotions filled with bleach meant to lighten my skin
And Whiten my mind
Just like how you whiten your teeth to brighten your smile.
I’m confused
Does this mean that I need some new double Ds
And a bag full of weave to make you want me?
There must be something in this water.
This water that I’m drowning in
You’ve filled the pool over my head and I can’t swim
Meanwhile, there are foreign girls sitting by the beach getting a tan
Darkening their skin while you tell me to lighten mine
But I’m fine
The surgery will only take a little time,
and some blood to make me the girl that can
finally, feel wanted.
Finally feel like more than somebody’s second choice.
Finally feel like a girl who isn’t surprised when a boy shows interest in her.
There must be something in this water
That you force down my throat
Because now as I look in the mirror it’s harder and harder to resist
Your grip. This must be the feeling that gets people to slit their wrists.
When you’re tired of fighting and want to give in because the water tastes like poison, but promises heaven, so you just keep drinking
Until you realize that you’re not who you thought you were anymore.
Your hair has been burned and your skin is boiling.
Some days you can’t even remember your own name
It’s insane, but it’s true
You don’t know what to say and you don’t know what to do
so you just blame it on the water.

---

Liberal Arts and Science Academy

9th

On a forest path with the rocks sliding off the edge
Green vines tangle with the tree branches
Tiny red petals folding over each other with a yellow stem like a birthday candle
Green leaves shaped like two hearts curling off the stem
A perfume surrounds them
A heavy pink fog
Our twin hearts and ambitions tangle together
Until they are a knot of yarn
That can’t be fixed until someone cuts the thread
My sister plucks a red bud and pops it in her mouth
Dad said it was poison
She said it tasted like watermelon

---

Ann Richards School

7th