Language Arts (6)
Poetry Box #16, 2012 - 2013
Untitled
by Matthew
May 14, 2013
I stumble, unsure
Where to go
what to do.
A conflicting happiness runs through my veins
Remorse for my fallen friends
Or triumph in my success over my enemy.
I have gained so much since the final fight
But lost that which is so important to me
In the end
I know that my friends died for the greater good
But I will always remember them.
People think
That I am lucky now
The sacks of gold
I carry on my back
But they do not realize
I do not only bear this weight
But also the burden
Of my cold stiffened allies.
Poetry Box #15, 2012 - 2013
The Watcher
by Tyler
May 13, 2013
The skies have fallen
Buildings have crumbled
And finally
The nations that survived
Are at peace.
I was that outlier
the one that you could never recall
the name of
And when you realized
Everybody that you had trusted
Were not who they said they were
It was too late.
But put the past far behind us
We all helped to save what we care about
Now we have the whole world for ourselves.
And even if I was that outcast
I had strengths in places that you didn’t
I studied what you stepped over
Carelessly, you skipped through the book.
The book that could save your life.
I always thought
That I had no use in this world
I had never met my parents
And never had a home
Thought I was going to be alone
Forever.
I thought my powers were hurting me
but they helped me in every way.
But we are here now
And instead of your face on the posters
Now they are mine.
Poetry Box #14, 2012 - 2013
Believer
by Noor
May 10, 2013
Whispers tickle the warm night
spirits prancing in the glowing moonlight
Swift shadows, gracefully following my trail
Using the stones to conceal them in a misty veil
They all have come to welcome me home
make up all of the time I spent alone
They lean close, murmur in my ear
shut my eyes, drain all of my fear
They speak of what it was like when I was gone
I listen to them speak all the way ‘till dawn
I have waited far too long for this moment
it is all over, I have no more opponents
But the feeling is still incomplete
I thought the feeling would end out sweet
Though the crisp night unfolds into the frosty air
the black sky slowly has begun to tear
Blink back the tears now trickling down my face
Crying in front of them would be an awful disgrace
The time has now come for me to leave
I am glad I can go, with them trying to believe
Poetry Box #13, 2012 - 2013
Grandma
by Amber
March 8, 2013
I look through all my memories of her
they stretch back past when I was merely four.
She’d tell tales of how she and life once were
I’d sit and plead for her to tell me more.
Times changed from when she used to watch me play
The tumor in her brain gave her much strife.
I begged Death not to send her soul away
But then she lost her weakened grip on life.
Protecting wildlife was her main goal
To pass that on we all should do our best
I’ll never let her wish fall down a hole.
‘Til earth is saved, there still shall be no rest,
for there’s one way to let her soul survive:
Protect the earth and keep her dream alive.
Poetry Box #12, 2012 - 2013
Depression
by Josephine
April 9, 2013
Now slowly sinking into depths too deep
the weight of the truth crashing down on me
washed off by the benighted peace of sleep
when woken see I truly am not free
I’m thrashing in strange waters now begrimed
By the truth that came with impending age
I would not have thought childhoods were all timed
My short book of life flipped to the last page
I moved ahead eager to find things great
I found maturity though it’s a beast
This time speed won’t help me escape my fate
I must stop and enjoy the one great feast
I sped ahead now I see from above
I now know we must fill ourselves with love
Poetry Box #11, 2012 - 2013
Untitled
by Josephine D’Urso
March 12, 2013
I’m falling
Slipping on my own life
Sometimes
When you see certain images
It all falls apart
The tight feeling in your stomach
Eating at you
With smiles
too sweet
Fangs under the grins
Dripping with sugar
I don’t want to let go of the past
It wants to let go of me
The stuffed animals piled in my room
They’re calls to the old me
Screaming for her to come back
She’s moved on though
She’s afraid to step outside the safehaven of childhood
So she runs back
To a safe place
To bundle herself in a blanket of childishness
Safe
Where did I go wrong
Screaming
Smiling through bangs and tears
Stop!
Don’t grow up
Fighting
Kicking at the beast
A scream erupts out of me
The monster wakes out of its reverie
I look at it
Now rid of its frightful skin
My enemy was Me
A traitor
My own skin disgusts me
I run further into the darkness of childhood
Running past memories
I look out onto the rolling hills of maturity
A glimpse of what it might be like
I dip my toe into the ocean of adolescence
I take one last look at the river of childhood
Then take the plunge
Over the edge
Into the sea
Poetry Box #10, 2012 - 2013
Challenge
by Aiden Williams
March 11, 2013
It’s loud
the stands are crowded
we win the tip
I get the ball
and say to myself
time to dig in
end of the half
down 20
people saying you suck
why are you even playing?
here we go
third quarter
I drive down the lane
spin off a guy
double clutch the layup
down 18
here I come
again down the court
beating the press
slowing it down
top of the key sweet crossover
like butter
step back
and silk sounds
down 16
here we go
down the court again
pull up 3
got it
now down 13
4th quarter 20.6 seconds left
our ball
down 2
I get a screen pop out
get the ball with time
ticking
down
I shoot it
my feet springing off the ground
the ball flies in the air
like a bird
the crowd stands up
the buzzer sounds
Poetry Box #9, 2012 - 2013
Untitled
by Marisa Natarajan
March 11, 2013
That
dorky
girl
weird
different
Judged
Wears
the wrong shirt
judged
Says
the wrong words
judged
Becomes
friends with the wrong people
judged
Nobody sees
the good side,
the positive,
the right.
All they see is
what's different
abnormal
bad
some say she’s like an
alien
truth is
she is the most human
of all
Isn’t the beauty of being human
that we
are all different,
special
in our
own ways.
We have
different
names,
talents,
interests.
So,
who cares if she
doesn’t wear
the right shirt
doesn’t say
the right words
doesn’t become
friends with the right people.
Really
there is no
wrong
right?
So let her be
herself.
Let me be
myself.
Poetry Box #8, 2012 - 2013
Declaration of Empathy
by Josephine D’Urso
February 28, 2013
Now is an urgent time
Children torn from their parents
the kidnapper
death
wars tearing families and towns apart
every drop of blood shed by innocent people
pushes us further into a well devoid
of empathy
that is needed
people in warring countries need us
we must share their pain
walk side by side
holding hands in brotherhood
when towns are ravaged
by natural disasters
are we there to help
if so
why
because we are them
they are us
we are born with the capacity to love
in our time of need
we must remember
who we have loved
who loves us
can the authorities love?
not when the authorities are corporations
not when they’re the ones shoving us
into despair
a democracy means “governed by the people”
are we governing now
are we even being represented?
what are our grievances
maybe they’re little girls
peering out of the windows of their homes
hoping
that no one will come tonight
maybe they’re the enemies who weren’t even considered human
maybe it’s a child howling for momma in a refugee camp
maybe they’re the armies rampaging
into foreign lands
uninvited
destroying
not even in defense
maybe it’s the man standing on the side
of the street holding a sign
that is also his roof
that is also his family
whoever
whatever
they are
they need us
a scream to the government
to the people
trying to escape
out of mouths
tied closed by years of lies
We are not the good guys
How can we be when we’re killing innocent people.
We are equals now
on the battlefield
always equals
there is no black and white
only
grey
when you step into someone else’s shoes
they don’t step out
you become
one
Poetry Box #7, 2012 - 2013
Invisible
by Haley Bernard
March 1, 2013
The man at the intersection
holding the sign
stands there
all day
everyday
waiting
for fate
to make a curve
in the right direction
INVISIBLE
Is this really what we want?
The polar bear
who sniffs at the remains of his iceberg
disappearing
drip by drip by drip
Who’s fault is that?
Could it be ours?
It is
INVISIBLE
A dying world
What about the oil
drained from the ground
taken
used
gone
Filling up
warming up
atmosphere
INVISIBLE
A sick world
The poor
fleeing
cold
dying
What do they have?
Barely a shaggy tent
a small bag of grains
at the most
A hungry world
INVISIBLE
They don’t
listen
care
notice
The gasoline companies
climbing a mountain of money
BLIND
Large companies
low pay
BLIND
And why this way?
Money
What happened?
Just stop
save it
conserve it
Earth
Life
Happiness
INVISIBLE
flushed down a drain
disappeared
GONE
Not seen
noticed
INVISIBLE
Stop
oil
hunger
inequality
war
All wrong
Did we have to come this far?
Poetry Box #6, 2012 - 2013
Reflecting the River
by Natalie Dodson
February 5, 2013
I reach out to her,
and she engulfs me
I hold her hand,
watery tendrils, clear
undisrupted splendor
I want to save her
fate is sneaking up behind her
disguised in
still fish, belly up
we tell secrets
she murmurs
“fragile”
I understand;
she’s-
delicate as a newly formed petal
vulnerable as a hatchling
a moment more
I wait
her ripples suggest
she wants to tell me something
more
but it’s my turn now
I kick off my flip flops
polished stones under my feet
dive into her depths
Open my eyes to the
swirling sandstorms
fish flitting their silvery bellies
but I came here
for my friend, the river
She helps pull me down
lets in air pockets
so I can breathe in a glistening sanctuary
she’s so powerful, majestic
I get to the heart of her
and quietly whisper
“you are dying,
and you need to be rescued”
construction tore at the connection
between us
severing our intertwined lives
and we plummeted
into shadows of who
we once were
Poetry Box #5, 2012 - 2013
They Are Gone
by Noor Wahle
January 31, 2013
When there is nothing left of the crystal clear rain
if you manage to still stay sane,
You might need to restrain
for there is nothing more to gain
When there are no more icy, blue oceans
you must hide any emotion,
For if you make one motion
you will start a commotion
When there are no more loud, thundering rivers
you may just quiver,
For you may think it is bitter
that you have lost our giver
When there is no more sweet, pleasant water
there is no need to bother,
For when things get hotter
we will all go to slaughter
When they are no more
you will realize, what we took for granted before,
And as they fade into the setting sun
no amount of forgiveness, shall make it undone
Poetry Box #4, 2012 - 2013
Who is Faith?
by Lois Peach
November 14, 2012
Who told you
that the sun will always
rise tomorrow
all our troubles
gone out with the moon
Who’s merry soul
guided you through
the flowing river
feel the water swish against you
Who helped you decide
who you are and
who you will always be
even if try to change
who you are
it won’t work
Who wiped away the tears
through your sorrow those
tears come back sometimes you
need someone to be there
Who showed you how to
braid your hair use your
nimble fingers to tie
back your problems
Who was the one
who helped you and
guided you when you
were sick they are
always there
one day
you wake up and
they are gone
Does that mean the
sun has not risen, the
water won’t flow? You
can’t wipe your tears that
cascade down your face,
your problems fall in front
of your eyes you can’t see
you're blind, you're nimble fingers
clumsy and weak, you feel
strong arms lifting you
up, pushing your hair out of
your face, you feel
weak but you know
that they’re strong
Comforting and
helping whatever goes
wrong. And even when
they are gone, they are
still in your heart. The
sun will still rise the
tears may still fall
but you can use
all their help in
anything at all.
Poetry Box #3, 2012 - 2013
Everybody Needs a Helper
by Vinny Carfagno
November 14, 2012
I stumble over the unconfident gravel
Splash into the pond of insecurity
stuck
splashing, thrashing
for help
The one that saves me
My hero, my savior, my saint
I rise up
Upon all the disbelief
breaking through the clouds
reaching for the stars
Success is mine
I stumble again
And who is there?
My helper