POETRY
together
Jasper Huegerich
burning eyes from all directions
imprint ice where no one can see
the sting of frozen conversation
is not a comfort
but it is familiar
anecdotes halted
gaze falling to the floor
numbing shame and
numbing hatred
they won’t like that
they don’t like that
but the eyes
they keep staring
their desires clear
their fury unbroken
they do not move
and they are challenged
they cannot stop it when
they shiver, shriveling
disgusted and
burned out
the truth is a soft fire
crackling and spitting sparks
stories and empathy
are the gauze wrapped around burns
and warm water run over frostbite
listening is the first aid
long desired by pained speakers
and coveted by everyone
still putting themselves back together.
To Know What It Is
Taylor Piotrowski
To know what it is I have to be still
Aware and quiet
Solitude will be mine
and I will be one
Whole, ready, me
Feeling everywhere hurts
when I touch the hidden parts of my mind
My body is aching but I’m not harming her
Listening, I learn
and discover anew
Perhaps it’s me I need most
My soul will thank me
Burning, trembling
I am changing
in overwhelmingly slow tides
Who have I brought to life
I’ve never seen nor known
She is power, grace, and peace
Rawness takes its toll
But within I’ve found my own love
Always
Mahala Heniadis
Big brown eyes
An endless abyss
Both everything and nothing
Everyone else seemed to miss
Your face familiar
But this feeling something new
It wasn’t hard to realize
I was infatuated with you
High on cloud nine
I thank my fear of heights
For keeping me from rushing
And thinking through my frights
But no matter how long I searched
There was no happy end
I locked my feelings in a box
And kept you as a friend
I will always wish for more
But I’ll take what I can get
Because none of you is a pain
I fear I’d never forget
Calm
Emily Moore
City
Swarmed with humanity
Dry summer day interrupted
By sirens
Drilling
Shouting
Everybody rushing to the rest of their lives
Faces blurred among the crowd.
Hidden in the blur
She stood.
Silent
Watching
Paralyzed
Fingernails dug deep into her forearms
Mouth open in a soundless screen
Brain full of TV static.
For hours she stayed
Until time stood still
And humanity turned to stone.
Leaving panic in her wake
She walked
Until concrete turned to grass
And skyscrapers morphed to trees.
The forest rose around her,
hid her and guided her
deeper and deeper into the quiet.
Away from the blur she began to notice
the patterns along the tree bark,
and the sun dappled along the forest floor.
She breathed clean air and absorbed the silence,
cleansing herself of the smog and sirens.
She sat in the calm,
breathing,
until stems wrapped around her
and sprouted flowers from her eyes.
Self Love
Anonymous submission - Delivered by Edgar Allan Crow
When you look in the mirror,
what is it that you see?
Does this image make you happy,
or does it upset you?
But why care for what they think.
You make yourself happy,
you don’t want to change
because of their thoughts.
You love your image.
It makes you unique.
So why have to change?
Beauty
Anonymous submission - Delivered by Edgar Allan Crow
Perfect skin, perfect hair,
Perfect eyes, nose, and body.
Many people search and search to achieve these goals.
While they gain, they also lose.
While they impress others with their looks,
They lose the ones that matters the most.
However, some people believe beauty is only skin deep.
Instead of making one look good on the outside,
They make themselves good on the inside.
Instead of “perfect” skin,
They create an open heart.
Instead of a “perfect” body,
They create a warm soul.
People tend to see only one type of beauty.
Whether it be looks,
Or the kind that is deeper than skin.
With each, both create a new person.
Whether it be the one that looks for beauty on the outside,
Or the kind that looks beyond the make-up and hair gel.
Either way, both can change the world.
Rest
Anonymous submission - Delivered by Edgar Allan Crow
The water remains still
As I stare into the depths
Wishing to step in
Wishing I could let the water consume me
Wishing to feel a calmness
I cannot seem to find
As I wish, a garden is catches my eye
through the mirrored surface
Fresh grass with infant flowers
Growing up the side of the peak that towers above
I wish I could lay in the bed of grass
And grow as the flowers do
I feel a chill as I turn to the horizon
Seeing the clouds in the heavens
They bring life to the dull canvas of of the sky
If only they could bring life to me
If only they could take me away
If only I could rest.
Unfamiliarly Familiar
Halie Barber
I felt the anticipation running through my bloodstream
And beads of sweat dripping down my forehead
It was nothing short of a dream
I was not used to the climate there,
Especially in the beginning of June when it gets warm
I was not used to the frizziness of my hair
I sat on the couch with my back facing
our door with my laptop in hand, trying to stay calm
I was trying to stop myself from anxiously pacing
Thoughts of finally seeing you for the first time
Were starting to form in my head
As that day I was finally able to see what is mine
Before you opened the door I was growing
Anxious that you were only a character in my head
I was terrified at the thought of you not showing
But there you were and there I was
Standing face to face in that rented apartment
And I came to realize there truly was an “us”
On top of it, my sweat beads were now uncontrollable
Shaking in my legs and in my arms
My reaction was laughable
After waiting for what seemed like years
I was finally in your arms
It was then that I truly had no fears
The world could have been flipped upside down
Torn in half and burned to its core and
I wouldn't have known
You made everything okay, more than okay
And it felt that way even when you had to go
Because I knew you were mine and you would always stay
It was then that I realized, home is not a place
It is not somewhere you sleep, eat, or bathe
Anywhere could be home if that were the case
Home is a feeling of belonging, of safety, of love
It is a feeling you get with someone or something
They make you feel home wherever you go
Home is with you, I am sure of it
Because wherever we go together, I feel like I belong
Even if we aren’t familiar with it
Thank you for letting me come home
Thank you for making me feel not so alone
The Fawn
Isaiah Holland
As dusk approaches in the bright blue sky
The evening fawn wandered about in the greenish bush
The young one did suddenly approach a path of some sort
Lost
Confused
The little one pursued coplike
Viciously working
The little one brushed through the reeds, nettles, and tall grass before his side
O’ the fawn hears something…
Splishhhhh
The sound of a creek is there
Looking about
Jumpers were spotted,
Squirrels were squirming,
Water was flowing,
The leaves rustled above the big canopy
Wind blew
Sky was blue
The air was glittered with flowing cotton
Pause….
The fawn creeks, across the wooden board
A steep drop not looking down
Across, appears a slope
Little feet make an effort up
Up
And
Up
Now at the top,
The fawn stepped on the oak bridge
Of honor
He looked about, saw the valley
Vividly, one he would never forget
Coral
Anna Poull
A coral polyp: a small creature of the sea
Forging a place for itself in the vast reef
Establishing itself as an individual among the masses
Growing
Creating a groundwork on the sandy floor
Adding new pretty pink parts each day
Building up its hardened shell
Preparing for the attacks from the world outside the reef
Hurting
Throbbing as sections crumble under the strain of storms
Struggling to understand why the parrot fish that swam serenely through the coral’s boughs suddenly took a second piece from the coral itself
Realising
Understanding that doomsday dangers don’t come only from the outside
Accepting that the hardened shell built for the tiny polyp within has become protection from the ones within the reef's boundaries
Breaking
Releasing the older sections
Watching as they fall to the saffron sand
Making room for new limbs to stretch out
Flourishing as each bough of salmon pink coral reaches towards the bright sunlight high above
Living
Following the lives of the tiny tiger sharks who grow bigger and leave the reef
Watching as new polyps come and old corals go
Rebuilding after the attacks and the storms
Standing tall for thousands of years to come
A Day Without the Light of Kindness
Sydney Rychtik
A day without the light of kindness,
is like drowning in a sea of sorrow.
Everything around you seems lifeless,
as you wonder what comes tomorrow.
Hostility will consume each day like a devouring fire,
but the dark cloud will continue to pursue.
Your minuscule quantity of happiness begins to expire,
as it turns your mind blistering blue.
Avoiding the act of indecency,
will leave you in a state of delight.
Your life continues peacefully,
and your mind is not a gunfight.
For we know that you can choose your mindset,
but kindness should always be deadset.
Until Him
Emma Delie
Never was it full of warmth; only a simple flutter.
Never did I think I would feel the full emotion of love.
Never.
Until him.
His damages could break hearts, but I only saw his strength.
His soft green eyes guard his thoughts and constants, only I saw straight through them.
I admire his imperfections and insecurities, reminding me of the beauty within humanity.
He enlightens me with challenges which never fail my heart nor mind.
I have never craved anything more than to make this man beam.
And I have never felt more completed knowing both his demons and angels.
His phrases catch my mind and thoughts; admiring his complexity.
His scars tell me stories, memorable ones, but sad ones in moderation.
And his poetry paints his palette; defining his soul.
With everything in me, there is nothing I would change about him.
Hunger
Anonymous submission - delivered by Edgar Allan Crow
I was water.
Smooth, gentle, but glass like.
He was fire.
Hot, destructive, and angry.
Together my gentle waves came crashing down
like the glass my heart,
mind,
and soul
is made of.
His fire died out just like the lives of the many beautiful full trees in autumn.
His spark,
flare,
and passion
burned faster than he did
until he was stripped away to the
empty,
shallow,
selfish
person he truly is.
The only thing he wanted from me was a
vacation.
He wanted to be in
paradise
for six months out of the year.
When he realized his six months was up
he moved on to his next woman who he
treated like a rose
that could be
thrown away because of her
thorns.
As my hands turned
numb
and my mind went
blank,
his lying,
hurtful,
relentless
words soon became the sentences that
rang in my head
at night.
Migraine
after migraine
the singular words that I soon realized were
lies,
sunk into my brain
until they were unreachable
but still lingered in my ears.
He never loved me,
he loved my ability to pretend
that I didn’t know who he actually was,
what he actually was.
His hunger
dripped from the corners of his mouth,
looking at me like I’m
just another girl he can break,
break so easily.
Just by the look in his
eyes
I knew he could.
My
beautiful,
caring,
loving
soul
was
washed away
by the
waves
that began to
crash uncontrollably
and beat down
till there was
nothing left to me.
I am the shell
of what I once was.
He changed me,
changed the way I
lived
and
loved.
The deep love
I had for him was the
only thing on my mind
till there was nothing else to think,
besides the feeling of
pain,
sorrow,
and my
aching mind.
He made me feel
anything but whole.
I felt
broken
and every day I felt
less and less
like myself.
His heart
was empty from the start,
I was too
blind
to see it,
and too
numb
to feel it.
As the days go by
slowly,
your name still
rings
in my head as a
negative connotation,
but at the same time it
rings with
passion
and
unconditional
love which leaves me
aching
for
days upon end.
It must hurt
to know that I am your most
beautiful
and
loving
regret.
Anxiety
Anonymous submission - Delivered by Edgar Allan Crow
I don’t like to speak his name but he knows mine all too well
He blinds me with his dark hands, my world no longer pastel
I can’t see him coming, he makes no sound, taste, or smell
He gets power out of my tears
He chokes back any sound I make
He’ll gladly cover my ears
When I try to talk it aches
I stutter and shake
He smiles from behind me
He makes sure I can feel it when people stare
Even if those people aren’t really there
I can no longer sleep
Breathe
Eat
He’s always there and I’m never safe
He holds my wrist tightly
I try to creep away lightly
But he always sees me
I can no longer run
Will I still be followed at thirty?
He says it’s only just begun
My music is the only thing that helps
But it’s not forever
He’s clever
He brushes his hand down my neck
He knows I’m a wreck
His music plays in minor
His torture methods are designer
He speeds up my breathing
The panic starts to seep in
He scratches up and down my skin
God help me I feel him
And suddenly it stops, there’s no more pain
Apathy covers him up, my anxiety
But he will surely come again