Poem

Writing

It Was Ricky

By Anna Schmeer

momma momma momma
it was ricky it was ricky

momma don’t believe that it was ricky who done it
she thinks i killed him

momma momma momma
don’t call the fuzz
it was ricky it was ricky


carpet girl

By Yasi Farahmandnia

in this town
words hold hostages
not meaning.
if i cry i will
bleed, and i will
lose,
integrity and i will
rip apart the frontdrop that has
made my portraits pretty
for (maybe) minutes on end.


Silverfish

By Kayla Doubrava

I’ve never understood why people are so disgusted
by silverfish.
I like the little guys.
They way they scurry around from place to place,
they’ve always got somewhere to be,
perhaps because they don’t like where they are.
I know the feeling.


Beast

By Hiba Faruqi

From the moment a screaming woman thrusts us into the world,
Soft, bloody heads first.
We begin to deteriorate.
For some, that occurs at a faster pace than others.


The Heaven We’ve Been Slouching Toward Is Not the Heaven

By Haley Renee Born

I feel that if I move from this spot I will die. But I take a step forward and don’t.

Forgive me father for I have sinned.


The Trees and Us

By Rachel Stander

Once, before the people moved in,
before they took my brothers
and sisters
and cousins
and friends,
I saw the sun.
I grew up
and I grew strong,
trying to reach the sky.
I meant to make
the world beautiful,
but I was robbed


Five Fingers To Count a Hand

By Callan Latham

I wake before you and in the darkness,
I don’t recognize you right away.
Your lashes bring their own light,
full like fields of crows,
a murder of crows. The birds nested
on the hill I’m sure I’ve told you about
in front of the tomb, white stones holding


Fancy a Game of Darts, Anyone?

By Olivia Humphrey

Pouring all of the liquor you can find in the house down the drain is the most fun the daughter of an alcoholic can have without attending therapy. Isn’t that how the saying goes?


Your Baby

By Saadia Siddiqua

who cares about that umbilical cord when it doesn’t stop you from hurting me
you say I’m part of you but I feel you don’t love every part of me
let’s go through my childhood book of memories
earliest one my neck falling backwards


the code of separation

By Katie Stanos

7 november 2017 (sight)
your veiny, wan feet/expansion/between you/the floorboards/creation of
     space
smacking the granite countertop breaks
     infinity they say


Treading Water

By Katherine D. Westbrook

This is the pretend-dream,
where I am teaching you to swim,
and your body and my body
remember their names in the water.

We pull them from the lake
where they’ve been drowning,
covered in salt, covered in
sweat and horsetails.


Driftwood

By Isabelle Shachtman

She whispers in my ear when hugging me
I want to stay here forever
I don’t want to go

I’m driftwood
I don’t ever stay for long
But I don’t have the strength to pull away


Without Heaven

By Ada Heller

I know
that when I die
I’ll sink into the soil
Be eaten by all the things I’ve eaten
Become the dirt for all to walk upon
I know that my thoughts are just neurons firing
That my heart is a collection of molecules
that happen to beat


Goosebumps and Gummy Bears

By Gillian Knaebel

I am from hard worn leather beneath my feet.
Watching my second home from my favorite place,
4 feet above the ground.
From sounds of gymnastics filling my ears
to a layer of chalk and sweat that coats everything from my
legs to the inside of my throat


Stage 4 Homesickness

By Caden Pearson

There’s a question in her blue, misty eyes.

His don’t answer.


Letters from College

By Megan Schrek

Hey, I miss you

School started yesterday and
I really couldn’t stand
You not being there

They had a pasta bar in the cafeteria
The germs wouldn’t mesh well with your hypochondria,
But the butter noodles were okay


Friends

By Alexa Newsom

Tissues.
Litter my floor.
Scraps of Paper.
Crumpled and overflowing my recycling bin.
Eraser bits.
Cover my desk until the pale wood looks black.


Spaghetti Boyfriend

By Emma Anderson

You were my
Spaghetti boyfriend
Blonde
Full of spaghetti
That’s all I really
Know about you

You were my
Only friend
Bright
Full of potential
It’s strange how I don’t
Remember you


Plight of the Introvert

By Kayla Doubrava

Typing the conclusion of my English essay,
in a loud, dimly lit coffee shop,
I peer over my laptop screen
and see the type of girl you only see
in pictures.


silence

By Katja Rowan

cactus spines
pink flowers
my quiet is not
blurred signs at the edges of
interstate
when the clouds
circle at night
pack of dogs
i will my body
to be
prickly pear
humidity is saturation
saturation of patience


Trip

By James Fitzgerald

Montana and Wyoming
The sprawling landscape of Yellowstone
Against towering mountains
Form a place that I'd never seen before
The animals and people you meet at pull offs
Are what make the experience an experience
Waiting for Old Faithful to burst


Silence

By Katja Rowan

cactus spines
pink flowers
my quiet is not
blurred signs at the edges of
interstate
when the clouds
circle at night
pack of dogs
i will my body
to be
prickly pear
humidity is saturation
saturation of patience


Quotable

By Ayah Abdul Rauf

I'm sittin' on a swing and I'm talking to myself while wearing my chocolate mint licorice peanut butter shoes ...
On a desert thinking about other odd things like yellow flowerpots hidden under the bed of the boy next door.


What if the World Had Peace

By Tim Cooke

chorus
What if the world had peace,
no one in the world would have to sleep wit a piece,
i need to find inter peace,
the peace that’s inside of me.
we all need peace it’s what provides for thee,


The Writer

By Connor Rice

Creating worlds
The writer does
Is it not?

Conveying a message
With interconnected words
And a simple plot

A thousand ideas
A single pen
The writer has at hand

Yet nothing goes
Onto the blank page
Even at his command


Take a Good Look

By Michelle Ortiz

What do you see,
when you look at me?
Do you see my different ethnicities?
I’m Mexican
I’m French
I’m White
TO claim one any of,
Those aren’t quite right
I was born on american land
Therefore I am American


Love Overpowers Evil

By Maddie Miguel

An ordinary villager was he
Poor and only twenty-three
His name was Benjamin
And the princess’s heart he wished to win.
The Princess he so wanted to have
But knowing his chances, he grew sad


Keep Safe

By G.F. Synder

A call is a call as a body will fall,
And all through it all the men will stand tall.
To service the call is to liven the brawl.
On their bellies they crawl while the others may stall.
We remember them all whose names paint the wall.


Big Brother

By Robert Williams

My big brother was shot and killed late night October 17th
At a house party just relaxing trying to do his thing
Got into an Altercation but decided to walk away
But the oppose continued agitating all out of his rage


The Arts Are a Religion

By Alexx Graham

The congregation; working actors, writers, dancers, and painters looking for inspiration
The ministry; museum curators, storytellers, and teachers that spread the word
The saints; those who made sacrifices for art’s sake and are forever embedded in history