from Epiphany 2023
Featured Poetry
AP
Advanced Placement AP, a friend of mine But they didn’t always go by that name They first came to me as GT They meticulously picked me and other naive minds They picked us to be Highly honored A prized secret To their military They draft you early They gave us Hobson’s choice The way out was there Our fingers were right there Ready to grab onto freedom But then a whisper traveled up our shoulders Pulling our hands back And the train passed by us marking the start of the tight hold AP has on our reigns They are hungry for our minds So when we grew up They were then known as Honors Here is where they really get to show off your glory It used to just be a small set aside time NO They wanted our full dedication A specialized section just for us We were angels shining Blinding This is when the separation was known Everyone else looked around Asking Who are they Why are they When did they No questions were answered just a knife cut And the blood of insecurity surged onto the others The outcasted But when we got to our highs of age The platoon members dropped like flies That's when they gained their final name AP They were rebranded They were ridged There was no room for imperfection They called us ATTENTION We had two more years of training The most rigorous of it all We were held down on our knees Chains in hand Whipped Our skin peeling Shedding like a snake Transforming We were twisted and contorted We were soldiers ready to fight for war And for the people who didn’t stand for their flag For the people who didn’t salute They were dragged and dragged and dragged into the dirt You were scum or royalty serving for our great friend AP We bit our bullet We were soldiers at AP’s discretion to build its naval We were pawns moved and moved But no Don’t take time to move back and regroup We need to be on the front line to fight our battle No, your battle So when it's time to take up our seals And put on our hats You will no longer be a friend of ours anymore You will have a soldier turned dark Blackened by your ink As we go into our retirement We salute to you one last time With tears in our eyes To you, Advance Placement, Goodbye by Genesis Medley |
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Fly me away
I'm just a fly on the wall Swatted away when I buzz I helplessly do nothing But sit on the wall constantly listening And listening AND listening AND LISTENING Waiting till the window opens so I can fly out Fly out and find my way to a place A place I can call home Freedom by Genesis Medley |
from Ignite 2019
Featured Poetry
His song
His words were like music, his voice was the melody. I just wanted to keep him on repeat to understand how such a beautiful song can come from someone with so much destruction. By Kylae Kellenberger |
things that fall
In the brisk feel of autumn, leaves start to descend off the finest trees in the chilling of winter, snowflakes fall onto a knoll of snow in a hostile household, teardrops cascade down a child’s cheek in the blink of an eye, time passes in a quick moment in the warmth of your arms and the safety of your voice, i too fell for you by Alexandra Aradas |
Today is my Day
Today is my day Today is my time I don’t care if it costs a penny or a dime Today I will shine Brighter than a phoenix Today I will be a mastermind genius If anyone wants to bring me down To that I say How about you get out of my way? Today is my day Today is my time I don’t care if it costs a penny or a dime by Stacy Lamp |
Gone
Gone. Your voice, your slime, your laugh... My heart. Shattered in pieces. Now, all we feel is guilt. No one listened, Cared, Paid attention. You are no longer hurt. No longer cry. Please, Watch over us all As you fly high. by Sage Ortiz |
Dear Mary My mind races My heart is always broken I help everyone besides myself Sound familiar... Ha, ha Yeah, I know See I’m that girl that you just can’t wrap your head around Some say complicated You see it’s like the real Mary left 2 years, 6 months ago Life was pretty much perfect Now I feel im fighting myself to try to find me Mary takes two steps back as I take one step forward I feel like a ghost Like im there but not While my fat gets larger Smiles get smaller Fake even I want to be happy, but Mary took that How do I find you, Mary? Who are you? Don’t let dad break you down Keep your body right I wish a million times I would wake up from this nightmare That I could look in the mirror and see you My stomach has become that balloon you blew and stretched The marks haunt me I’m pushing myself, Mary But nothing is changing Please get yourself together because I can’t lose her You see, Mary You’re happy with just you Because you don’t let yourself love others ‘Til her She’s so perfect That kiss changed life for You and me Please I beg you for her Tell me how you are you What do I have to do to become me again? Mary? by Caylob M. Hall |
Self Destruction
It spreads like lotion Soaking into the skin Only poisonous It cracks the body From the inside, out It shrivels the mind And darkens the heart Etching thoughts Dark ones Consuming ones No medicine can fix It’s no illness No, it’s corruption Not sickness of the body But of the mind A black mold overtaking Ever so breaking Constant crippling Without cure, Treatments temporary Nothing permanent Often agonizing But, throat is closed No screams heard Lodged in the throat Lost from the lips Eyes make no contact Hiding the truth The fear The pain Dazing into emptiness Lost in thoughts Unable to release Tears fail to fall No escape by Abagale Rickert |
Unexpected Beast
Forget about him, His lies grind at his teeth, Why can’t you see them? You say you like me, My eyes say it will forever be him. He came into your life as unexpectedly as a thief, He’s going to tear us apart and change what’s beneath. I want us to be happy and forever be in peace, Even if that means I have to slay that annoying beast. by Desmond Holle |
Lost
Some days I don’t feel anything I don’t feel my heart beating, I don’t feel the winter wind stabbing my skin as I go by. Some days I fell everything I feel my heart beating so fast I think it might leave my body, I feel the cold winter cutting me like blades to my wrist. But I still don’t know what’s worse, Drowning in the waves or dying from thirst. by Kylae Kellenberger |
To forgive but never forget
You’ve hurt me badly, to the point I’ve thought about ending it all. But I’m here to say I forgive you. I know most people may think I’m crazy, after all how can you forgive someone who’s given you all the reasons in the world to never forgive them but instead get revenge. I thought about revenge several times but then I would be the same as you, I would do something to hurt someone and find joy in that. That’s not who I am, I refuse to hurt you. So instead I’m going to forgive you, but I’m not a fool so I won’t ever forget what you did to me I hope you know that. by Kylae Kellenberger |
Pure heart and soul
Her heart hung heavy but not from pain of past relationships, but from the love of her finally becoming her true self. The person everyone else didn’t think would ever show such as beauty in her heart. Someone who was once broken and dull, she now shines bright and even though she may be broken she doesn't let that stop her from pushing through. by Kylae Kellenberger |
My Own Victor
You beat me down to the point I felt as if I was nothing, you made me believe that I was nothing. I’m done with that! From this point on you will listen to me, you will show me respect, you will never put another hand on me again. Yes, you hurt me mentally and physically, but that’s not the case anymore. I will rise up and face all my demons head on; but you won’t ever be one of my demons. Instead, you are something I’ve overcome, something that I’ve destroyed. I’m the victor now! You have no more control over me- I am the victor! by Kylae Kellenberger |
Lost
Some days I don’t feel anything I don’t feel my heart beating, I don’t feel the winter wind stabbing my skin as I go by. Some days I fell everything I feel my heart beating so fast I think it might leave my body, I feel the cold winter cutting me like blades to my wrist. But I still don’t know what’s worse, Drowning in the waves or dying from thirst. by Kylae Kellenberger |
Ocean Child
My heart is like the ocean, my heart above the surface is tough and doesn’t let people who can’t take the waves in the crashing against the sand through. But if you are strong enough and have the strength then you can come and explore the beauty that’s been hidden from the world. By Kylae Kellenberger |
Adventures pt. 4
sometimes you catch me smiling for no reason and you ask me why but the only thing i do is shake my head. what you don’t realize is that it isn’t for no reason, it’s for you. even when you aren’t looking, i smile to myself because the very thought of you makes my heart beat out of my chest, you make me weak at the knees, you make me tongue tied and my mind runs wild. so, when you catch me smiling for no reason, don’t question it and just let me shake my head. by Liv Nguyen |
Three
I’m alone. I wake up at 3 And cry myself to sleep. I worry about everything, Every thought on steroids, Always at 3 I think of him And it’s comforting. I think too much And it kills me. I am loved but still don’t Know if I am. I’m not free, but I want to be... at 3 I wake up and think, Gazing at my flickering tree Wishing I wasn’t were I was. Only wild and free. At three I lay awake Then fall sleep with The same dream. by Ann Cromer |
A Letter to Simon
i know how easy it would be for you to end it all right here. i know the hardships you face and the self-confidence you lack i know you have no clue where your life is right now and much less where it is going. but, i’m here to tell you that it’s okay. it’s all going to be okay. for all the ups and downs you face, i will have your back every step of the way. when everything in your life goes wrong and everything falls apart, i will be the right for you to look for and the one who holds you together. if the weight of the world is too much for your shoulders to bear, then i will carry it with you. just as you would for me. when you are so uncertain of everything going on, i will be the one thing you can be sure of. while everyone is saying nothing lasts forever, you will be my nothing. by Liv Nguyen |
Why You’re Nothing Like the Ocean
I could compare you to the ocean I could say how your eyes shine bright like the sunbeams battling against the currents I could say how your skin is softly rough under my fingertips like the yellow sands I could say how you guide me through dazzling emotions that save me from the treacherous water I so often drown in But I won’t say any of that You’re not the ocean. You’re better You’re not some cliché seen on every other journal in a student's book bag You’re not typical enough to be compared to something so mundane You’re elegant, you’re wild, you’re magnificent You’re not the ocean You’re not the sun You’re not the sands You’re mine and I’m yours and that’s better than any stupid ocean by Leilah Melerine |
What love is to me.
Love is the boy with sapphire eyes that never fails to stop shinning. Love is getting lost in Conversation, even after the sunshine has been taken under the moonlight’s wings and the clouds have been captivated by the glimmering stars. Love is the understanding that it is possible for two hearts to be mended perfectly together even after they have been separated before. Love is having the courage to put yourself out there, time after time again, just to prove that you truly love one another. Love, well, that’s the boy who I will continue to fall for no matter what mask he wears. by Kylae Kellenberger |
your sweater smells like lavender
I never liked lavender- until I met you lavender has always been too much the scent, too strong- too overwhelming my head spins at the slightest whiff of it lavender curdles my stomach how could something meant to soothe, meant to relax, be this unbearable? you love lavender, you adore it you wear it like a perfume your hair, your skin, your sweater, intoxicating. Lavender. It grew on me I don’t mind lavender as much Anymore by Lauren Additon |
What love is to me.
Love is the boy with sapphire eyes that never fails to stop shinning. Love is getting lost in Conversation, even after the sunshine has been taken under the moonlight’s wings and the clouds have been captivated by the glimmering stars. Love is the understanding that it is possible for two hearts to be mended perfectly together even after they have been separated before. Love is having the courage to put yourself out there, time after time again, just to prove that you truly love one another. Love, well, that’s the boy who I will continue to fall for no matter what mask he wears. by Kylae Kellenberger |
When the introvert gets bored
When I sit alone in the dark I start to think about life How my “friends” are no longer my friends Why I have no motivation to get my work done I wonder in the dark If they know these friendships are being forced They have to know In the dark I think About stabbing a few words Out of me but I come to terms With the only words I can bleed out “Sorry” “I hate myself” And “Stop talking to me” by Zarah Stowe |
D.B.G: Would You Remember
If I died at a young age would you remember me Or would you let me fade away like a distant memory Would you focus on the bad that I've done, Or would you cherish the good and remember it vividly Could you forgive me for my wrongs when I am gone Or would I be forever hated and scorned for my history What would you remember about my past? The first time we met or the maybe the last The sports I've played Things I've done The jokes I told, all in good fun Or maybe you will focus on the time that we shared The good, the bad, or what we did without care Would you remember me when I was little Or after I grew tall A better question is, would you remember me at all But instead would you forget me, and all of my success Would you forget the plan after a sacrifice like a game of chess Could you forget all the times I made you laugh Could you forget all the fun we had in the back of the class Or the cyphers we had at lunch, watching everyone rappin Could you forget all those things like none of them happened Or forget my memory and never again mention Like my life was book of nothing but fiction Could you forget all of my wild and crazy convictions Would you forget all about me and my existence by Sai’Vonn Jenkins |
From the Ashes
There was once an eagle named Growth
She danced towards the future, promised everything
Then she froze in unexpected agony
Surely it would go away
Growth looked alive, but inside was pain
Soon, her feathers fell out as she cradled her poor head
She couldn’t fly the same
Her flock left her behind, out to that gloating promise
That cackling promise
That crying promise
That shattered promise
Growth turned to Decay,
She cried out in despair.
She rotted in her own filth,
Scavenging the floor for anything to get her through.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing is there.
Bloodshot eyes fell onto an old red feather.
Decay clenched the plume and jammed it into her wing.
It didn’t fix her broken head.
It didn’t fix the pain.
But it was all Decay had.
She scoured the earth for more feathers,
Each spine giving new purpose,
Her flight was wounded but she was in the blue.
Decay became Living
And cried out in the air.
She rose from the ashes,
Still in pain
Still had to take care.
But her wings were on fire
The old promise was scorched
Living created her own to keep
Until the creator swept her away
Up to the heavens
She bowed to the crown,
Her pain gone
She didn’t bother to look down
by Rebekah Wood
There was once an eagle named Growth
She danced towards the future, promised everything
Then she froze in unexpected agony
Surely it would go away
Growth looked alive, but inside was pain
Soon, her feathers fell out as she cradled her poor head
She couldn’t fly the same
Her flock left her behind, out to that gloating promise
That cackling promise
That crying promise
That shattered promise
Growth turned to Decay,
She cried out in despair.
She rotted in her own filth,
Scavenging the floor for anything to get her through.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Nothing is there.
Bloodshot eyes fell onto an old red feather.
Decay clenched the plume and jammed it into her wing.
It didn’t fix her broken head.
It didn’t fix the pain.
But it was all Decay had.
She scoured the earth for more feathers,
Each spine giving new purpose,
Her flight was wounded but she was in the blue.
Decay became Living
And cried out in the air.
She rose from the ashes,
Still in pain
Still had to take care.
But her wings were on fire
The old promise was scorched
Living created her own to keep
Until the creator swept her away
Up to the heavens
She bowed to the crown,
Her pain gone
She didn’t bother to look down
by Rebekah Wood