My View
by Caroline Radmacher
(10th Grade - Assumption HS, KY)

I look down on the world
See people in a hurry
Who care only for themselves
Cars speed along
Black, battered roads
I see the best conditions
Mansions with massive pools
In cities with few worries
And the worst
Where people must resort to thievery
To stave off starvation
I see their lives
Lit up by my light
And as the moon takes my place
I see some
Settle peacefully to bed
And others just begin
Another tiresome day

-

Who I Was, Who I Am
by Carroll Sandman
(10th Grade - Assumption HS, KY)

I remember when I was
In grade school,
Sitting alone
In the corner of the classroom
Reading my ratty old book
That I had read many times before
That I knew all the words.
I remember how shy and uncomfortable
I was with
Who I was
Who I am
I remember
Wishing
Wanting
Waiting
Until it was time to leave this prison
And become a high schooler.

I remember my first day of high school
So nervous
So scared
That I was going to be alone
So alone
For the next four years of my life.
I remember walking to my classroom,
A junior,
Sarah,
Asked if I need a place to sit
I felt relief
And happiness
That she knew what it was like to be a freshman,
Clueless as to how
this place functioned.

I remember lunch that day,
Facing the endless line of tables
And wondering
Pondering
Questioning
Where to sit.
I remember asking a girl who was in my Biology class
If I could sit with her
Yes
She said,
The girl who would soon be
One of my best friends.

I remember
Meeting new classmates that day,
Asking myself
If they would accept me
for Who I was
Who I am
I remember
Smiling at one girl
And receiving a bright smile
In return.
I remember
Feeling at home
In my own skin
More than I had ever felt
Before.

I remember
Going home later that day
And telling my dad
That I was going to be
All right.
I remember waiting in anticipation
For the next day of school
So I could talk to my new friends.
I remember
For the first time
In my life
Loving
Who I was
Who I am.

-

Donegal Dreams
by Morgan McKenna
(11th Grade - Mainland Regional HS, NJ)

Cottages sit small and sweet
Atop hills of emerald green.
Each with a smoke stack brewing,
Melting away an afternoon mist.
Mysterious colors pierce dreary clouds
Sending promises of sunshine.
Carefully mounted before Sheephaven Bay,
The Castle of Doe overlooks
Yesterday’s future
And tomorrow’s past.
The Corncrake’s rare call muted
By waves barreling onto Marble Hill’s sandy shores.

-

Little Rock Nine
by Sunny Eiseman
(6th Grade - Hilltown Charter School, MA)

People scream
bricks fly
tomatoes stain
hateful words ring through my ears
I stand there
knowing I am the one
and the eight others
beside me
that everyone is here to stop
My head sticks up
my chin out high
and I take a step forward
to the all white high school
The step that was taken
was not just a step towards
a high school
but a step
that helped stop
our world’s error
Thank you Little Rock Nine
for taking a step
for America

-

She Holds Tight
by Kate
(5th Grade - Homeschooled, CA)

Every day
for five years
on the tire swing
We'd tell stories
the History Of Kilts
Hairy Chicken goes to Hawaii...just a few
We'd talk
about friends
about classes...just a few
We'd laugh
together,
about her songs...just a few
We'd be silent
watching our swinging shadows
gazing at the sky...just a few
Our knuckles were white
We held tight.
Now, I can barely remember the chains of the swing.
We hold tight
to the memory.
Her knuckles are white
She holds tight.

-

gone, gone, gone
by Linda Ge
(11th Grade - Davis Senior HS, CA)

i count the days i spend
by the days she didn’t spend
i think of her in the spaces between seconds
the time between the rising sun and the vanishing moon
i think of her like
an old favorite song
i’d forgotten the lyrics to
a yellowing photograph of another life
i see her everywhere (she is the fiery leaf falling from a treeless place
the constellation of freckles on ruddy cheeks
the breeze offering wisdom from far away)
i dream of her in empty alleyways
watch as she fades into the horizon
there she is—standing in front of me and
her mouth is beautifully red in a cut sort of way
“stay,” i say
she offers me an empty smile
her cold breath fills the gaps in my heart
i want to touch her but she’s like mist—i want to touch her and
the place she lingers becomes nothing but air

-

We Remember
by Ilana Zeitzer
(9th Grade - Upper Dublin HS, PA)

We remember
Our saddest day,
And the unity of our weakest hour.
Two buildings standing strong,
Till the planes came down,
To the cowards’ delight.
Fire erupted,
Terror began,
As smoke came,
So did the second plane.
Fire erupted on the other
Screams and yells were heard
As the firemen came,
Other heroes too,
To save the survivors
But risking their own lives,
And paying a high price.
Two buildings crumbling down in flames,
As people rushed around.
More news was heard,
Another building hit
By these cowards,
And more lives lost.
Another plane goes down,
But this one
Never reached its mark.
For heroes were on that plane
Knowing death approached,
But letting no other fall victim.
The world in terror,
The world weeping,
Many lives lost,
Many affected,
Now ten years later,
We make sure no one forgets.
We cry,
As we remember our saddest day,
And the unity of our weakest hour.
We remember 9/11,
September 11, 2001.

-

Keep It Close
by Clara LaBrake
(7th Grade - Abington Junior HS, PA)

I stand in front of
A flashing light,
Red--to be exact.
I can't see it
I can only sense it,
Like it is drawing
Its portrait
in my mind.

Love is good and bad.
You can hold it
In your arms
Like a newborn baby
Flushed with love and happiness,
Or crush it,
With the thought,
That you can't love,
Although you know everyone can.

What you choose
Is your life.

Lovers read each other's name in the glittering stardust
And hear them
Like they were calling to each other.
But love has consequences.

Love is a friend and an enemy.
So keep it close.

-

Post Time
by Kaitlin Ruiz
(11th Grade - Homeschool, Orange Grove, TX)

Where bugle’s plunge thrums through
the barracks of the grandstand— peeling from rainfall,
teeming with mocked dignity.
Where bettors pull at leather trees,
where nothing grows.
Laying aside leaves,
sheaving through covert folds
and hands bulge—interchange—till empty as a socket.
Where, plated in aluminum
the sorrel treads toward chute one;
widening at a frozen mouth,
chafing at hard metal’s leaving benediction;
and silks twist with motion
synchronized.
Beneath the scrapes of hat brims
where chatter resurrects,
where, grating, railing birds
clack past clocker’s reckoning;
at breezing bay time—
at steely’s fervor—at mud-worn tenacity—
at saddles’ clap—they’re off.

-

Ashes of Auschwitz
by Joanna Jamison
(12th Grade - Goddard High School, KS)

The ghosts, memories emerge to proclaim
the lies, hatred, killings and putrid smell
of burning flesh from mangled bodies
in the mesh. They say that work can set
us free, but this is selection time in Hell's marquee
where the slaughtering of innocent ones, the betrayal
of King David's sons, tell a dreaded tale of woe.
They say this evens out the status quo, these large sacrifices to fire
behind blood-stained mesh and barbed wire.
We march onward to the camp, clothes torn, shoes damp,
with muffled cry and questioning lament.
Will we live or shall we die?

-

Here By Myself Now
by Amiah Taylor
(10th Grade - Harriton Senior High School, PA)

Being by myself isn’t so bad
I’m slowly realizing that…
I’m the best friend I’ll ever have.
Yes, I fight with myself
And I don’t treat me too nice.
I cry myself to sleep and wake up to do it all
Again.
But when it’s not bad it’s good,
Good to rely on me
And not have me disappoint.
Good to stand by me and…
Stand up for myself
Good to be me….

And maybe being here by myself
Isn’t a horror story
But just the opening credits
Of something beautiful,
Something blossoming,
Something new inside of me.
Call me crazy; I’ll call it hope,
Hope for a new beginning.
Another rose to smell,
Another door to open,
A new day, in the life of...
Me.

-

Yellow
by Katie Hoefer
(2nd Grade - Charlotte Preparatory School, NC)

Yellow is the color of the flaming sun and the feeling of fun.
Yellow is the glowing part of the sunflower, dandelions, and daisy hearts.
A duck's bill, the little throats of a daffodil, and summer squash.
Custard hearts and lemon tarts.
Yellow is the inside of a pineapple and a juicy lemon.
Yellow blinks on summer nights, and the things that blink are firefly lights.

-

Maybe if I’m Lucky
by Kymber A. Wachholtz
(11th Grade - El Dorado High School, CA)

Maybe if I'm lucky,
this lovely moment will last forever.
Maybe if I'm lucky,
You'll love it like I do,
This moment with me.

Maybe if I'm lucky, this will spark
the same feeling in you.
Maybe if I'm lucky, this will trigger
a chain of moments with you.
Maybe if I'm lucky, like a dream,
it will repeat itself.

Maybe if I'm lucky, you'll confirm
this feeling and you'll love this moment,
this dream, this spark, as I do.

-

An Ordinary Day in Dreamland
by Alice Niu
(7th Grade - Jefferson, CA)

An ordinary day in Dreamland
Is filled with green skies and pink sand.
There are monsters and demons of all sizes
Waiting to produce ashes.

An ordinary day in Dreamland
Consists of talking pigs and hopping bears
There are deer in wheelchairs
And monkeys in tears.

An ordinary day in Dreamland
Involves blue lions and rodent bands.
Dinosaurs dance ballerina
And hamsters play the tuba.

An ordinary day in Dreamland
Has talking camels and walking candles.
The world is ruled by battling beetles
With their feet in colorful sandals.

An ordinary day in Dreamland as you can see,
Is one filled with many surprises along the way.
There can be talking animals and singing bamboos,
But don't forget the main character in any dream is YOU!

-

The Ruins
by Lisa Delao
(11th Grade - Woodbridge Senior High School, VA)

On days such as this
when the sky's burning lips
pucker up to kiss the cusp
of the sea,
I long to
sail into the sunset,

unravel Horizon's rigid line
tear through a tightly stretched canvas
that leaves no room for wrinkles,
pull on a loose string and run rampant,
jump waves like hurdles,
clear the image once again, strip it
of all clutter. Leave only Earth's heartbeat.

Start there, a single da-dump booming
in a prolonged silence.

Sitting and stirring,
stirring and sitting through imperfection.
A dove swoops down to peck
stars into the night sky, says it’s okay to wish.

But man cocks his rifle to murder beauty.
We want no part in what we cannot control,
so we tie strings to life and create a puppet show.

When the planets align over our burning sky
I shall take hold of the brush and repaint
Horizon's line. Drag my eraser like clockwork
deleting time one through twelve, so hands can
move freely according to the eternal sun and moon.

-

Mother Speak to Me
by Saurabh Jha
(9th Grade - Utica Academy of International Studies, MI)

Sitting alone
Darkness surrounds me
No one to guide me
Mother speak to me.

When you left for heaven
You took the soul of me
Thus my heart’s filled with sorrow
And my mind with despair
They’re both crying out for thee
Mother speak to me.

I long to hear your voice
I still remember the sound
Of your sweet melodious voice
Guiding me through the days
So much that it now fill my nights with longing
Thus I’m gazing out through the night
Vainly searching for you
But for me you cannot be found.
Mother speak to me

Your unconditional love gives me courage
Your reassuring word to encourage
You helped me be free
And showered love on me
You knew all my fears
And wiped away my tears
So I’m waiting here for thee
Who gave the gift of life to me
Helped me grow and set me free
Mother speak to me

Weeks have become months
Months have become years
Now all my tears have dried
And yet I hear your words echo in my ear.
Memories slowly start to disappear
As life moves on, year by year.
I have you locked away so no one can see
But in truth my heart still cries for thee
Mother speak to me

-

Thunderbolt
by Heather Schmitt
(9th Grade - Assumption High School, KY)

Cackle, Kaboom, Crack!
Silence. I’m frightened and feared by all people
But I can’t comprehend or understand.
I make a colossal crack in the air
But it’s my electrifying brother who does the catastrophic crime.
Cackle, Kaboom, Crack!
Silence. I put terror in the hearts of children
And cause people to shake, shiver, and stress
But I’m just a sudden sound
I can’t do any disastrous danger
                          Cackle, Kaboom, Crack!
Silence. I arrive during raging rainstorms
I boom bang and cackle
I am loud like a singing siren
So be cautious of my comings
Cackle, Kaboom, Crack!
Silence.

-

My Family
by Graeme Lane
(4th Grade - Georgia Cyber Academy, GA)

My family likes to annoy
And with each other we like to toy
To show you the people who surround me
Let's take a look at the family tree.
My little sister
Like a blister
And the baby twins like to say
To everything "okay" and "hey!"
My older brother is real smug
His response to every thing is a shrug.
Then what happens to my Dad
Well...he gets real mad.
Through all this someone stays calm
That single person is my Mom.
Me on the other hand Why, I am quite grand
I always think, "can it be
that these people are related to me?"

-

Never Land
by Hali Haskins
(12th Grade - Woodbridge Senior High School, VA)

For: Holli

Never land like you could fly forever
as if your arms had feathers floating from every pore
and every bone in your body looks like a sponge.
Even on some days
when your heels feel heavier than your head
so that you might want to rest on a patch of grass,
never land.
Because the air is cleaner up here
and I’m telling you this because I care
and if it helps you, remember the time we spent suspended in Neverland
on a tiny ship that could fly, and never land.
Remember that it wasn’t your favorite
but you waited anyway.
Remember that you never land.
Know that I’m here beneath you, and that I won’t ever let you fall.
Keep the feathers in your pores
and the hollow in your bones,
and little sister,
please never land.

-

Rhythm sticks
by celeste
(3rd Grade - Chantilly Montessori, NC)

I feel good and free,
just alone with wonderful me,
peace in my young heart,
with sticks I feel great you see,
the wonderful me.

-

The Stone
by Jakob Reha
(8th Grade - North Polk Jr. Sr. High School, IA)

Boys
are sitting there,
sitting on cold stone.
Boys
just sitting there,
bandaged to the bone.
Boys
still sitting there,
freezing and alone.
War
has put them there,
has put them on the stone.
War
just dropped them there,
and hurt them to the bone.
War
has left them there,
has made them sit alone.
War
and sitting there.
Their sacrifice is shown.
Death
may soon be there,
for the boys who're on the stone.
Death
so all beware,
for boys who sit alone.
Death
brings freedom there,
brings freedom to that stone.
Death
he did go there,
and made their troubles go.

-

Courage
by Blake
(10th Grade - Homeschooled, TN)

  When you're young
You need courage to stand up to a bully
Or to ask an adult you don't know very well a question
Or maybe to ask an adult for a Reese’s Cup.

When you get a bit older, though, things get slightly more complicated.
When you're a teenager
You may need courage to say no to peers trying to get you to try weed
Or to tell an adult that you have taken weed
That you bought it with the money from babysitting little Janey down the street.
You need courage to help your friends through difficult times in their lives
And to be able to tell them that things will get better
When you yourself are going through a rough patch
And you're not even sure you believe your own words.
Courage to talk to the girl or boy you may have a crush on.
Then you need courage to spread yours wings and soar off into adulthood
Leaving behind the carefree ways of a child
And ready to take on the rather frightening responsibilities an adult must take on.

When you're an adult
You need courage to stand up for what you believe in
Whether it be religious, political, or a personal conviction.
You'll need it once more to say, “I do,” at the altar.
And you need courage to be the strong one when needed
Even when you can barely hang on yourself.

And should you reach old age
You need courage to look back on your life,
Tell yourself it may not have been the best it could have been,
But it was yours
And you had one heck of a ride
And that now it is time to move on.
Then,
You simply need courage to let yourself out the door of this life,
And on to the long path of eternity.

-

Alone
by Danny Lear
(10th Grade - Master Charter Shoemaker Campus, PA)

My heart is pounding, my eyes feel heavy,

My soul empty as the joy in my life

My spirit broken, alone I sit here surrounded

by family and still all alone.

Friends everywhere but I’m still by myself

I feel a hole in my stomach,

not from lack of food, but from emptiness, loneliness

There’s no one to hear me cry

No one to wipe my eyes and tell me it’ll be ok

No one to pat my back and hug me

There’s only me and my lonely tears.

-

Pavane
by Stephanie Guo
(9th Grade - Canyon Crest Academy, CA)

This is penultimate,
the pavane
I cannot play any longer

and even if the notes were
sometimes upright (or
no, I think uptight) –

How many pages must I turn?
See the cadenza, see what was mine
(alone) this solo
that which you have taken soli.

Stop pressing that index finger
to your temple. You will go (you always do)
and give Bach his pavane.

Tell him my hands have left the lid
and the velvet of the bench has gone
to winter.

Let the soli return its
solo and

Watch me –
watch as
I let my fingers drop and

Still sinking,
I cannot remember if you
Are a single shard of joy

Or the jagged truth.

-

Footsteps
by AE Ebner
(10th Grade - Cherokee High School, NJ)

In the mud there were footprints
and on our boots there was mud;
our jeans covered in dirt and grass stains.
We said we didn’t understand time or why people
ever went to sleep forever so we tried to understand.
We took a string
and ran through the forest in circles
hoping that we could build
a web like spiders and capture answers.
But we got lost
somewhere,
between the creek
and the stars above, we were
tangled up in the weeds.
With heavy hearts
we walked to my house and without any
answers I watched you, head down,
leave.

-

Come Join Me in Immortality
by Russell Maclin
(10th Grade - Central Buck High School South, PA)

and we shall have a fantastic brunch.
The kitchen here is quiet and quaint,
and although some things are outdated
the food never loses the poignant taste
that we enjoyed so many years ago.
I miss you my friend, but only so much
for time works differently here.

You will see as we sit down and eat together
how remarkable it is to know
that if we were to wish it so
the struggles of mankind—
the laughter and tears
the gentle arms and gnashing teeth
the swaying crowds and silent solitudes—
every hopeful look or child birth
every inspiration—shout of joy,
more: every toil and triumph any person shall know
will quickly flicker in and out of existence
as the rain slides softly
down our window.

-

Periwinkle
by Maya Brown
(12th Grade - Woodbridge Senior High School, VA)

Perhaps this purple is an
Expression of the melding of two beautiful flowers
Rather than two colors.
It can be described as a soft
Wind across the skin or cotton candy
In the mouth of a
Nostalgic man, woman, or just a
Kid for the first time at the fair and
Loving
Every minute.

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