Category: Writing

Kristen Bernard

Sounds of aircraft roar above my head
Gunshots ambushing me from 360 degrees
I lay motionless, in a pit of dust
With my faint heartbeat, I hear Helicopters circling
The dust comes alive
Creating a tornado of anger
Engulfing my body

I was not afraid anymore
Peace fell upon my soul
But my mind was filled with sorrow
I knew the pain that I would cause.

To my mom and dad,
 I thank you.
Thank you for the courage you have given me.
To my blood brothers and sisters,
I love you.
Do not lose sleep
Cherish those photos of us smiling together
To my brothers who had my back,
It’s not your fault.
Be at ease.
For everyone,
We bare that flag of freedom.
Freedom is not free.

Sabrina Barrella

I am a dandelion, a plant with subjective
beauty, worth determined by unfaithful
hands, a vermin to the garden inundated
with roses, thought deadly to the naïve
man, armed with a trowel and wacker,
poked and prodded by the thorns
of my neighbors, a reputation
with an unknown beginning,
a new face, a blank and innocent
mind, a little hand lifting me high toward
our shared provider, a breeze whisking
away what I once held dear, a newfound
lightness, a mother slapping the wrist
of her son, a look of despair and dumbfoundedness
as he cries, But Mama, that’s my favorite flower.

Caley Asbee

Trevor Vals

In my sixteen years of life, I have made many mistakes. I would love to go into great detail of those mistakes with you, but I think I might kill myself after from embarrassment. I’ve been right about a lot of things and I’ve been wrong about plenty more.

I, however, know that I am certain about one thing. That I, Walter Keen, am in love with Maggie Lowe. And I am in a deep and broken universe where Maggie doesn’t love me.

It started as any romance should: a friendship. Just a school friendship, but one day I asked if she wanted to get frozen yogurt with me and she said that frozen yogurt was her favorite, so we went and got the ice cream knockoff. I didn’t pay for her because, between you and me, I didn’t have the money, but I wanted it to seem like it wasn’t a date.

And then we went again the next week. And the next. And eventually it became our Wednesday ritual. And then I suddenly only wanted to be with Maggie. We started going to the mall together, doing homework at each other’s houses, binging all the shows we could find, and talking all day long. I got to know my new best friend more than anyone I’d known before.

It may have been my lack of relationships in my life, but it felt like we were becoming a couple. And I had fallen for my Maggie. It wasn’t until I asked her out on a proper date that I learned of my error. She did not, in fact, feel the same. Her only focus was supposed to be on getting into the college of her dreams. And the weirdest part was that we continued our life like nothing happened.

So here I remain, in love with my best friend, and I have nothing to show for it.

Hayley Arthur

Bodies are bodies

Don’t put them on a pedestal
These looks are just dispensable
We’re humans, not collectibles

They’re awkward, gross and flabby
They’re flawed, not like a Barbie
Gotta know this to be happy

They’re not my soul, they’re just a shell
Put my mind on show and tell
This flesh is glorified too well

Bodies are bodies

She lost weight, see that bikini
She’s flawless and now she’s skinny
So they’re saying “Wish that could be me”

I’d trade years to be an envy
My priorities are scary
This significance I bury

Like the scale we check for weight
It tips to exaggerate
Our clothes and what we ate

Bodies are bodies

I exchange things for attraction
It’s a terrible transaction
I know it’s selfish, but it’s fashion

And I’m beautiful how he made me
Wearing clothes and being pretty
That’s okay, just don’t be greedy

Guys, sex’s not all she wrote
There are other beauties, folks
Why’s every song about a hoax

Bodies are bodies

No matter what position, they exist in
By flaunting all this flesh that glistens
We’re giving Satan ammunition

When I’m in heaven I will fly
Every flesh that I deny,
The Lord fixes up a prize

We worship these broken temples
Obsessive with every pimple
Taking pictures like it’s simple

Bodies are bodies

Nothing more and nothing less
Don’t stress about how you dress
With your actions God is impressed

We’re racing in these cars
But I think we’ve gone too far
Without stopping to check our hearts.

Let’s transcend this empty culture
We’re as dark and grim as vultures
We can pave the way for others

Remember, bodies are just bodies.