One Pen 2020 by The Bronx Academy of Letters Writers in Residence Program

Bronx Academy of Letters

One Pen

2020

Bronx Academy of Letters WRITER IN RE SIDENCE PROGR AM

For 14 years, Bronx Academy of Letters has hosted a vibrant Writer in Residence Program, underscoring the importance of literacy and writing. The Writer in Residence Program leverages the expertise of working writers to bring an authentic contemporary writing experience to students. Through elective classes, students sparked by writing dive deep into the art forms of poetry and nonfiction. They publish One Pen, our literary journal, and The Raven, our magazine. Students meet with special guests, attend field trips and submit to contests to connect to the writing world beyond school. The Writer in Residence Program hosts three Writers Forums per year, school-wide performances featuring some of the most revered performance poets in the field. This year, Sergio Jimenez, Elisabet Velasquez and NYC Youth Poet Laureate Camryn Bruno graced the BAL stage.

O N E P E N S TA F F 2019-2020 Writer in Residence/One Pen Editor: Karla Robinson Designer: Christina Kiel Artists: Marielis Rivera, Jason Donado, Jovanna Candelario and Yanellie Perez.

Special thanks to Ms. Resnick and Ms. Garry

Table of Contents Letter from the Editor KARLA ROBINSON Roots GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ Time Matters GUILLERMO OVALLE Thief of Goodness GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ Butterflies MIGUEL JUAREZ Spaceship LEIDY CRUZ Out of Reach ASHLEY GONZALEZ Stereotypes DARREN CLARK The Roots of Life JOEL RAMOS You MARC SAINT HILAIRE Letter to My Brother WILFREDO FIGUEROA Ears that Hear You ISAURA RIVAS Puzzle: Odd Piece MIGUEL JUAREZ Where is Home? COLLABORATIVE POEM Rapunzel KRISTINA BICHER Royal Rebel ELENA BERNARDEZ America’s Bullets CJ PERKINS Life WILFREDO FIGUEROA Survival ELIAN CORNEJO What Lies Ahead KAITLYN ALVAREZ Beautiful, No Matter What LOURDES LLUISUPA Younger GUILLERMO OVALLE 2020 Vision: For My Brother LESLIE PAUL Healing TORREY WATSON Deforestation ELIAN CORNEJO

9 10 12 14 15 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 28 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 40 42 43 45

If I Had One Minute DARREN CLARK Vision TORREY WATSON Dear Ghetto School CJ PERKINS Growing Up ELIAN CORNEJO Future Memories ISAURA RIVAS Shadow JONATHAN CORTES Inner Thoughts WILFREDO FIGUEROA If You Ever See Me LOURDES LLUISUPA Doorway ISAURA RIVAS Finding Myself GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ Clockwise ELENA BERNARDEZ The Love of a Father ISAURA RIVAS Enjoy the Little Things ELIAN CORNEJO Dialogue LEIDY CRUZ Silent Drug ALYSSA CORDERO Mirror KAITLYN ALVAREZ Broken Blessings LOURDES LLUISUPA The Meaning of Life COLLABORATIVE POEM White Lights in Dark Rooms ELENA BERNARDEZ My Journey Through Life MATTHEW MENDEZ Untitled VISSICA QUINONES Unreal MIGUEL JUAREZ Made in China LEIDY CRUZ Nobody Can Own Me HENRY SANCHEZ Nothing Left GUILLERMO OVALLE

46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 56 57 58 60 61 62 64 66 68 69 70 71 73 74 76 78 80

r e t t e L Editor F RO M T H E

HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

I am thrilled to share One Pen 2020! The poetry community at BAL is strong and this book holds gems from my 2019-2020 poetry students, former students who still nurture their poetic voice, and even the Executive Director of the Bronx Letters Foundation. To each of the poets featured in this book: Thank you for your courage, artistic vision and perseverance in a world pushing us towards isolation and inaction. From impeachment trials to mourning icons to wildfires to a global pandemic with school closures and people in quarantine- this year feels longer than usual. But these are the times we need poetry most. Poetry gives us something to lean on and provides a way for us to process our lives and world. Poetry helps us to connect and create community despite social distance. This book is dedicated to the people of the Bronx, past, present and future. We take care of each other in ways seen and unseen. We make the Bronx beautiful. W I T H L O V E , J O Y A N D P O E T R Y,

Ms. Karla 8

Roots GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ

I am the one that needs to watch for others’ feelings, But who will watch for mine? I am the bird with no wings That may not fly, Who sits and waits for others. Or should we say, The dog with a leash around its neck Who waits for an owner that never comes? I am the garden with no flowers. But I know I must bloom. Would I be green and filled with lilies and roses? Or would I be brown and dry with no color? I want to see my garden. Even though there are no flowers, What would it be like if they Would let me see?

Collaborative Mural designed by Ms Resnick

Time Matters GUILLERMO OVALLE

Then anger Enraged at everything near me

One One life Mixed with another So deeply intertwined with each other

We were close Really close And when you left I realized how much I’ve changed

One One mistake was made Every knot undone Thrown away Like it never happened

Distancing myself from everyone Made me closer to them when I came back Respect is given not earned I heard that once Nothing to earn Nothing to work hard for

One drop of blood Two Three drops later It’s already too late Yet that mistake Is worse than the wound Emotional pain How we say in slang “hit different” I would rather Put a toothpick under my toenail and kick a wall Than have my mom tell me she doesn’t love me

We are ruins Surrounded by trees so high They cover the light We are music Way past its time Losing you Was one of my biggest regrets But what came after was followed with Nothing but triumph

4 minutes Up on that stage Sharing my side Without knowing yours 5 seconds of reading 6 No’s 7 words Was all it took Followed by laughter

Thief of Goodness

Butterflies

GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ

MIGUEL JUAREZ

Anger Rage Fury Whatever you want to call that aggravation It’s the devil on your shoulder You chose to listen to Instead of your angel That red like fire That devil You chose to listen to the whispers in your ear Telling you to burst Dragging those horrendous ideas to mind

I think I’m in love But I’ve been feeling otherwise These flutters in my stomach aren’t butterflies But cutting knives And not the butter kind If you listen close when she begins to speak You’ll hear a couple hundred sighs And the collective shut of eyes Letters linger on her lips like lullabies I think I’ve drowned a couple times Inside her opal-colored eyes

But is it your fault? Should you have done better? In your heart, You knew it was wrong To follow this thief of goodness Into the cave of darkness Where you hide your worst insecurities It’s the devil on your shoulder You chose to listen to Instead of your angel

She could do something as simple as sit down With the grace of Olympic dives A perfect ten Photo shutter finish on her cocoa butter thighs Catch her wearing loose pajamas on a Sunday She’d overshadow any supermodel on a runway When she wakes up in the morning She smells like vanilla essence The bittersweet recollections of your adolescence Summer camp and piano lessons And presents you got on birthdays Orange creamsicles and double plays on first base Walk past her in the halls And if your shoulders feel the slightest brush Then you might melt to liquid gold The lightest kind of Midas touch I’ve seen the way she drinks espresso during classes And reshapes a paper cup Into an emerald-covered chalice

Sugar packets pouring crystals Napkin origami cranes Gunning gorgeous glances to me through her Giorgio Armani frames She’s nearly perfect in Almost Every Way

Spaceship LEIDY CRUZ

I left my world Lost Traveled into yours Seeking Forced myself to find reasons to stay Hostile Forced myself to find flaws to love Strained You failed to gaze into my two portals As if they were the stars You failed to follow my curves As if they were the constellations You failed to feel my heat as if I were the sun I did not come here to settle I must be loved how God loves his angels I put my heart up for auction The devil was enticed by my desperate gaze Your pockets match your love, So I know he has already won I came into the heavens and found Lucifer His tongue, a worshipful instrument Traveled into my mind Persisted down my eyes Made harmonious melodies with my body This heat is the substitute for your cold love This passion, the substitute for your needs With no escape, nor doors Your spaceship cannot save me now I am trapped in the galaxy of seduction

Out of Reach ASHLEY GONZALEZ

I am that sunset everyone loves to see But once it’s dark they forget it was ever there Expect the unexpected Because no one expected perfection I am the apple in the tree Everyone wants and sees But are not able to reach I’m the money that makes some feel rich I’m the diamonds that make you stand out Shining so bright It makes others want to fight But sometimes I can be the song you skipped Because it got annoying But when you hear it again, it’s not so bad I am the confusing question on a test That makes you raise your hand Because you can’t solve it But when you actually try You realize you can figure it out

Marielis Rivera 18

Stereotypes

The Roots of Life

DARREN CLARK

JOEL RAMOS

Just because I’m black doesn’t mean I’m a bad person Doesn’t mean I’m in the streets Doesn’t mean I’m the toughest

The roots of life Aren’t always something good. They don’t always go together. But does that mean They don’t belong together?

Just because I’m living in the hood Doesn’t mean I’m not educated Doesn’t mean I skip school everyday And it doesn’t mean I don’t have good goals set for myself Just because I got anger issues Doesn’t mean I hate people Doesn’t mean I want to harm others And it doesn’t mean I don’t love others

Brothers argue, sisters argue. Disagreements happen. But it’s always About sticking Together. As long as we got each other, we’re good. We’re all we got.

Just because I’m a man Doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings Doesn’t mean I have to hide my feelings and Doesn’t mean I don’t want someone to lean on

You

Letter to My Brother

MARC SAINT HILAIRE

WILFREDO FIGUEROA

Nothing is known about you Not your name nor your theme Nor your origin The anonymous present themselves Your own unique glares from birth showing yourself Your purpose is given a meaning by the anonymous They mold your strengths Your weaknesses Your way of being Creating their own bootleg version of your true self For their own false reality

Dear Brother, If you had one minute to Talk to your brother Who you never met What would you ask me? I would ask whyWhy didn’t I meet you? There wasn’t enough time For me to finally see you before your journey Why weren’t you here for me? Why did you make this decision? Why haven’t you gotten in contact with me? I understand there’s hardly time to reach us out here. Why did you leave? I wish I could have been held by you when I was born. Why did you go before I was born? Do you even know I exist? Why haven’t you visited the family? I know you get released soon.

Or Perhaps, You are yourself and You do have a name and You do have a theme and You do have an origin and You create your own purpose and You mold your strengths and weaknesses and Your unique glare is meant to spread the realization of Truly waking up

Why don’t you try? Is that too much to ask for? Where are you located? I want to find you. Did you know Mommy misses your cologne smell? Did you know she says I remind her of you? Do you still love us? We love you like a fat kid loves cake. We love you like a man loves his new shiny car. Do you remember when Grandma Made us kneel on rice? Yeah, I got that treatment too when I was bad.

You know you’re like the flu. You come out of nowhere, But we’ll never know when you’ll be back. I know deep down in my heart you’ll find us soon. Love, Your little brother Willie

Ears that Hear You ISAURA RIVAS

Just because I look mean Doesn’t mean that I don’t care about anyone Doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be there for you And doesn’t mean there’s not going to be ears That hear you when you speak Just because I don’t show my feelings Doesn’t mean I don’t have feelings Doesn’t mean I don’t feel love, And doesn’t mean that I don’t care Just because people think I don’t care Doesn’t mean I won’t help you Doesn’t mean I don’t have emotions And doesn’t mean my heart is ice Just because I look mean

Puzzle: Odd Piece MIGUEL JUAREZ

Pieces clattering in a cacophony Spread and scattered all abroad randomly Expected all to fit in perfect harmony But not quite allAn odd piece is in the mix

Gears grinding Stop for a moment Now, that’s quite it The odd piece is its own cliché

Click and clack, piece to piece All find matching curves and edges Compulsions complementing idiosyncrasies But not quite allThe odd piece is in a fix Jump in the mix, there’s a place for you, Chip off some edges, Square off some curves And blend through, You just might find a perfect clip when anew But not quite yetThis odd piece takes no risks Now, is it too late? Others seem to have found Perfection. Loneliness births despondency Births depression. Set far apart and Desperately seeking a Congregation But doesn’t quite happen The odd piece feels the pricks

Where is Home? COLLABORATIVE POEM

SadnessIs it really? Or is it an excuse to hide disappointment Alone and abandoned Did I do something to deserve this? A cold, rainy day dripping down my face with tears I close my eyes To hope for a better day To wish for something beyond this To get out of the reality I live in I should have chosen another road

The crow wants to drag me Into the pit of my horrible memories Show me my shadow Drown me in my fears’ reflection But I have already felt the warmth of the sun My favorite teddy bear in my arms The crow is powerless In my heart I feel at home Finally accepted

Now I sit in my disappointment I dream of a place with birds chirping Dark clouds drifting away I can still see the thunderstorm in the distance I am distracted by the most beautiful butterfly Landing on my finger Wings of blue, lavender and yellow bring me hope A small but powerful crow Watches me from its nest of bones and feathers Trying to yank happiness away from me Steal my hope Take me to my deepest darkest thoughts Show me how my life used to be

Rapunzel KRISTINA BICHER

What am I to myself that must be remembered? ~Robert Creeley

cascade of floss &yellow she could not ascend slick scented river because this braid was built for others

at first stemless shadebound [rosette of becoming]

now from her perch &nights &nights

heaven

so blued far

the cord lengthens song grows be for me like rope she says the getting out

casts herself into the air

Marielis Rivera 30

&again

again

Royal Rebel

America’s Bullets

ELENA BERNARDEZ

CJ PERKINS

Why don’t you dress me as a pretty princess Who doesn’t give up and doesn’t quit Royal Rebel Courageous enough to save someone under the train Untie them from the train tracks Before the train comes fast

Blood flowing, it flows throughout the body Bloods falls down the bodies as victims are slain One person is murdered every 60 seconds Why does my happiness have to go with it? Since birth, my dreams and aspirations were shot My free will and hope stabbed repeatedly Why? Why is it there are 151,600 deaths a day? So many innocent lives could have been put to use

Royal rebel Serves her country Feeds her people And offers them a job and a home In the 5-star Castle Corrine Gives the village invitations To her 19th birthday masquerade ball To raise money for the school playground Royal rebel Storms the government And starts a union with the servants To demand protection and body armor for The war against our beliefs Sun of Freedom Rise up to warn people There’s a war and we need our men to suit up Fight for our people Daughter of Peace Stop the war and ask them Can we stop hating on each other and start forgiving?

SchoolWhere we “learn” in a “safe” environment But school houses and protect bullies And worry about a sweater More than me retaining information It’s sad we’re taught How to respond to school shooter situations The sad stories on the news about incidents happening Across the nation Trying to find a safe place in a safe place But you couldn’t Trauma from hiding under a desk Seeing your classmates barraged by bullets Lives lost could have been doctors, police officers Or the president But instead we forget about what happened in months Like it came and went

Children of Unity Dream big and bold

Life

Survival

WILFREDO FIGUEROA

ELIAN CORNEJO

I see the place I call home It’s slowly being destroyed And these businessmen With the high-class buildings They destroy our nature

Growing up all my life I was taught to never show my emotions That showing your emotion was a sign of weakness That keeping your emotions inside you Was the only option I was taught that crying was only for females That you’re never supposed to feel The water drops on your face Like water coming down in the shower

I see my society dying We’re all turning against each other The government is what got us like this Making us think we’re enemies They create jobs for us But those jobs aren’t really for us They don’t want to help us They want us to hurt one another They put limitations on us Tell us what we can and can’t do They make you feel The weight of the world on your shoulders They turn you into statistics Like they did to the Central Park Five They try to get rid of us slowly Because they are scared we will come together To fight And become one

That gangbanging was cool You’re not a man If you’re not in a gang You are not a man if you don’t scam You are not a man if you don’t hustle, But in the wrong ways That the block was more important than your own life That robbing people was cool Selling drugs was fresh Doing drugs was the wave The only way you can make a come up is by being selfish That seeing death is a regular thing growing up As I get older I start to realize I had everything backwards Letting out your emotions is a sign of being a man The streets are a way for the government to kill us And not even do anything to benefit us 55 seconds of freedom Can get you 55 years to life Gangbanging isn’t cool

Doing something with your life is Having a job is mandatory to surviving in this world Being a custodian makes you money Being a plumber is cool Being a construction worker is rad Helping others is the right thing to do Being you is the best thing you can do

What Lies Ahead KAITLYN ALVAREZ

Orange sunny side Caged feelings Tend to rise See them float See people shine See growth reflect Say it once Or say it twice Dark alley Long railway I see a future Let it rise Let the feelings sink Let the warmth float No emotions Tend to show

Beautiful, No Matter What LOURDES LLUISUPA

Social media has made it Even harder for people to love themselves Young girls say to me I wish I had longer hair Or a bigger butt Bigger boobs Girls don’t realize they don’t even know themselves Trying to be people they wouldn’t like They got the hair They got the butt Yet when they look at themselves in the mirror They still can’t say I love you After 3 years of having acne I felt like having clear skin is a must I felt like everyone could never Look at me without commenting Now, I can finally say It’s going to be okay Pimples don’t define me My outer beauty doesn’t define me Yes, they hurt Yes they’re horrible Now I realize that I can be proud of The woman I have become A beautiful outspoken woman It wasn’t easy I felt ugly, like no one would be capable of loving me People would criticize me and tell me You look ugly Put on some cream Have you visited the dermatologist?

I used to allow people’s opinions to control me Until, one day I faced myself and I asked Why do you hate yourself? Why aren’t you proud of the beauty God created? To my amazing brown eyes To the talents I am blessed with To the confidence that wasn’t easy to build I told myself it was because I hated the way I look But it wasn’t Until I realized for myself I was still losing myself I had to stop this I touched my reflection Wiped the dirt from the glass, said I am beautiful No matter how many mouths Say I’m not I admire the work of art that I am

Nobody Can Own Me HENRY SANCHEZ

No one can own me They don’t have the power to break me They can’t break me because I am strong I am tall I am not weak I am not a quitter

I am free to fly The hate they give are my wings And I will touch the sky I will be able to reach past my limits Surpass even the toughest This is my power This is me I own myself Nobody can own me

They can’t break me because I say so They can’t break me Because I know that they can’t break me They can’t take me away from me They don’t own me I own myself They will never have the power to break me They will never have the power to own me They will never have that power Because I know they don’t have that power This is who I am They can’t say who I am I am the only one who can say who I am This is my power This is my strength I have no weakness I am brave I am loud And I will let my voice be heard They say I can’t be free But yet I am free Free to be me Free to talk

2020 Vision: For My Brother LESLIE PAUL

Going into court like a substitute Looking at who did it with my 2020 vision Seeing handcuffs instead of Rolexes Seeing shackles instead of Dior It makes me mature Make me wanna do more When I do good, you’re the one I do it for And when times get hard It won’t break my mind When I vision you, I see blue With that in mind, I know God got you It sucks that I can only see you in my mind I would rather see you in jail doing time I was gonna make it, in just a matter of time It sucks you’re not here for my graduation or prom Memories in my head, wishing I could rewind

Healing TORREY WATSON

Poetry should be medicine It fixes everyone’s emotions Or even brings good memories and Makes you put that joyful smile on It can even make you feel like You’re in a comfortable place Like home, laying down in bed Just thinking It makes you open up your fear To now sharing your nightmares Becoming a confident person Not caring who judges you Poetry should be medicine so it heals all your feelings It’s like a diary you keep to yourself But you share with your peers and strangers Who agree with your feelings

Started getting high hoping it’ll go by But I still feel that pain, I’m just wasting my time Took a loss, I failed and prevailed Got back on my grind Now all I know for sure is that I will shine

Deforestation ELIAN CORNEJO

Humanity’s way of thanking Mother Nature for all she’s done is Cutting up her gifts To use for paper and space for factories. She gave us a beautiful world for us to destroy. This makes me wonder if these things are worth it Why don’t we just restore her gifts? Plant trees, Clean up our mess and waste. Make the world an overall better place! We see destruction on a daily basis. Instead of trying to help we turn to social media. Escape from the real word and its madness. The Amazon rainforest and Australian wildfires We express our emotions to these tragic events We don’t do anything to help stop them Close to 500 million animals died Now on the verge of extinction Skies turned red like a post apocalyptic world We witnessed dark skies in Brazil As if the sun never existed Is this the way we say thank you For everything Mother Nature has done for us?

Jason Donado

If I Had One Minute

Vision

DARREN CLARK

TORREY WATSON

If I had one minute to say What it’s like to be a kid Growing up without a parent I would say it’s really tough Because you wouldn’t expect To lose one of your idols as a minor It makes you question yourself a lot like Who am I now without her? How am I going to handle this pressure? How can I make the family better without her?

Look at him He’s seeking help Wanting us to look them in their eyes See the pain they’ve been through in their faces He doesn’t want to be in this type of position right now Showing how angry he is Seeing his lil’ amigo being hurt And not able to show it He keeps an angry but strong face

I hear voices I see a whole new world I feel blessings coming I smell a good scent of air I imagine change for the better I see happiness

Dear Ghetto School

Growing Up

CJ PERKINS

ELIAN CORNEJO

Red and blue chairs Nappy hair White walls Barred windows

Deep down, I think to myself My childhood is really over. No more playing games, Skipping class, Playing around. High school is done.

Sometimes 45 minutes feels like sitting in a cell No wonder we get free time and Gamble and fight in here There’s arguing and laughter So much quitting and failing grades This doesn’t matter is what they say Some finish Some don’t Some come Some won’t It’s a 50-50 chance who you become Dealing with these Bronx schools You can be successful Or end up another person in your family You were told not to be You can end up in the streets Or you stay in the books But the streets you can’t escape It’s like it got you hooked Constantly told you’re not going to succeed So it’s what they make you believe They tell you death and jail are your options But if I succeed I would shock them I see myself able to provide for my family And to get my kids and wife whatever financially Just to have a storybook life and end up happily So when I do, don’t come and congratulate me This product of what I am is not what you used to see 48

Time to plan my future. Get a job, Provide for my family. Adulthood is in effect. Start doing adult things like taxes, Voting, Driving, Investing. Thoughts come in my head like Am I set? Do I have what it takes to make my life great? What are my goals in life? Will I be able to change my silly habits? Am I going to become successful in life? Every day is a day closer To me finally becoming a man.

Future Memories

Shadow

ISAURA RIVAS

JONATHAN CORTES

I walk out of 2019 Leaving sadness and Depression And walk into 2020 A new year that I will focus On myself Forget about all the sadness And just make it into Happiness and memories

Depression is my life Comes and goes The feeling is heartbreak and suicidal It looks like a smoke of purple and black It’s heavy like a fog In life, some moods you may go through will be Darkness The aura becomes a shadow That turns into someone else Your world is falling down

I walk into 2020 just to be Happy To do me, and only me And do what satisfies me That I’m only going to do What makes me Happy No matter what peoples’ opinions are

Breaking, breaking Breaking and breaking Into 10 thousand million pieces Until you feel you can no longer fight You start getting numb Feelings start to fade And all you feel is breathing, cold pain Sadness starts to take over your whole world Emotions become silent My mind starts to speak for me It says to me Stand up and speak for yourself Depression is my life

Inner Thoughts WILFREDO FIGUEROA

Don’t let anyone kill your dreams. Always remember to be yourself. Your life is what you paint it. Believe in yourself. Anything is possible. Just believe. And never put your head down Cause you don’t want to lose yourself. Be the best you that you could be Don’t let what people think of you shape who you are. You mold yourself into your future self. Most importantly, don’t forget your value. You’re meaningful to those that care about you And those who will come into your life to support you. Don’t let people tell you the right and wrong path Cause you make your destiny, not them. The wrong path is just lessons and mistakes. Take those lessons and mistakes And make the best from them. Chase a bag and graduate. That’s how you make the best of your mistakes, Cause everyone makes mistakes, not just you. But it’s what you take from those mistakes. Show people that they don’t define you. Cause what defines you is your success. You learned from them. Put all your demons to rest.

Jovanna Candelario 52

If You Ever See Me LOURDES LLUISUPA

If you ever see me Sitting alone at a table People surrounding me but Never talking to me It isn’t because I can’t make any friends I learned people cannot handle the truth People who weren’t completely honest Supportive of me Didn’t hate on my dreams Didn’t hate the idea of me Becoming better in every way That’s what being real means to me I will tell you how it is

They lost me If you ever see me walking by myself With no one beside me it’s because At some point in my life people end up leaving me I learn to be on my own Their intentions were malicious So if I say I won’t miss you Goodbye or We’re done I’m letting you know I won’t be coming back My story with you has ended Like a chapter of a book A chapter that won’t repeat I will move on With or without you

Most of the time I’m alone I’ve had people switch up Tell me they love me, but still Spread nothing but lies I’ve had people who never Spread positivity I’m always giving them great energy and Giving them all my love and effort To end up getting nothing in return I end up with no one again Most of the time I’m alone I used to have big crowds But they started to get smaller The more I experience, the more I started to notice How toxic they were to me How unreal they were I didn’t lose them

Doorway

Nothing Left

ISAURA RIVAS

GUILLERMO OVALLE

I live in a doorway Where I can see my light side and my dark side. In the doorway, when days are Passing I choose which one I want to be. For the day, I can be the light side or the Dark side but, Each day is different. My mind and emotions choose which one I want to be. In my light side, I see happiness. I see the light of the sun. But happiness is not forever. Happiness can come and go At the same time. On my dark side, I feel a rainstorm that lasts forever That always stays on your mind and In the center of your stomach.

I’m made up of Butter rolls and orange juice for breakfast Cup of noodles for a midnight snack 50 cent bag of chips Dollar sprite “Oh and don’t forget to pick up Julian” Where I’m from What you breathe out Is better than what you breathe in Teenagers becoming nihilist Due to adult lack of understanding Work after work Followed by more work Never really got time For anything Better to stay by yourself Than surround yourself Going home late Night after night Lecture after lecture Door slam after door slam You think to yourself What am I doing here? You start to care less and less Until there’s nothing left You know it’s coming soon The tears, the cries The “I miss you’s” And most of all The goodbyes...

Clockwise ELENA BERNARDEZ

The sky in Honduras is light and beautiful It’s hot and burning Melting like an ice cream You feel like you want to cannonball into a cool pool Jumping off the rock into the cool water Slipping on the mossy rock was so painful I cried When the sun rises, it’s beautiful Silver gray clouds floating in the back My fears of the past Haunting black pain Nightmare When I was hurt The sun healed me as it rose When I was in pain When I was torn to pieces When I am in my room Hiding in the blanket I can’t breath I feel that I am collapsing I am falling into the dark pit

The joy of seeing my Grandfather Walking quickly with his cane White and blue like the color of the Honduras flag Happy to see me and my brothers and Mom Then, finding out my grandfather became the soil again When petals die they end up growing back Rebirth Like people in my life The way we laugh and dance Eating fresh mango from his tree I feel my leaves are breaking Petals are falling down The sun is giving us light to grow back A beautiful tiger lily sprouts from the seed

I am a seed in the dirt Breaking apart Shattered heart Everything in my life is crushed Death of growth is not going to kill me The stem will heal me Help me rise up and bring me water Wash me down Wash all the pain the seed has been through

The Love of a Father

Enjoy the Little Things

ISAURA RIVAS

ELIAN CORNEJO

If I had one minute to say What it’s to be Isaias’ daughter I would say It feels amazing having a father To love you and be there for you Hearing my father say Never give up Respect so you will receive the same back

We take our world for granted We walk around every day in the streets To never see how beautiful the streets actually are

A man that sacrifices To push his family forward A man that doesn’t care about himself But cares about his daughter and son A man that always looks happy when he is sad Always does things right Love of my world A world that I always have you present Even on the good or bad days But thinking of how strong you are I learn from you to be happy even if I’m not The peace of his company Sitting in the park having the breeze on your body My father, but at the same time a friend A father that wants you to do better But to do better than him The peace of his company Breeze in my heart A smile like my dad’s Seeing and feeling tranquilidad

Our mindset has been changed by our own society Working everyday to chase a bag Our rent and bills are due next week Working to buy the newest designer brands Not enjoying the simple things This makes me wonder if I’m one of those people My eyes so glued on my phone To even see the attractive sunset The beautiful pavement we walk past every day Not even listening to the birds chirping Jealous of the people Who take advantage of what we take for granted Noticing the little things we don’t pay mind to Just enjoying it I wish I was one of those people Who take the time to breathe in the fresh air Like if it was their first time Who take the time to hike And see the world from a different perspective

Dialogue

LEIDY CRUZ

I “I wasn’t mad or angry, just lost and confused Imagine this Being ripped out of your home And left into the wilderness” “Oh, so he was home?” he asked “Yeah, he was home. But after a while of being left in the wild, You get used to it You get used to roaming around in the dark night Hanging with wolves, snakes You forget home. You forget what safety meant You forget how much you loved home Start to love the wild” “How do you know you won’t go back home?” “I don’t I’m used to the wild, I can never be tamed again”

My conscience told me The Wilderness will reveal to you The path which you came from You will follow it It’ll lead you home You’ll walk inside Feel like a trespasser Then you’ll look at your closet and smell the clothes You’ll see memories in the jewelry You will kiss the picture frames You will wish to wake up and go to your kitchen Instead of hunting for meat Your heart of stone will deteriorate Your heart of iron will melt Left with weak knees To fall onto a floor That is more than happy to have you You will remember your home and choose to stay No matter who decides to rip you away No matter who blows, and blows and Deteriorates this home You will make a pact to put every brick back You and home will be with each other forever

“Well, what am I? If he is home?” “A spaceship,” I said “A ride around the globe To remind me that the universe Can’t compare to home.”

Silent Drug ALYSSA CORDERO

Love is not something you can describe with words It’s a matter of how you feel Love has the power to make or break you Help you build or tear you down Keep you happy or make you miserable It is a two faced apparition That can have so much power over you Once you summon it into your life

Love always lasts forever No matter the distance or silence That’s left in between Love will fill the gap Even if it cannot be seen

Love is a pretty rose with broken petals It’s not perfect But yet we all still want to know what it’s like To have it To truly feel it To know what it’s like to feel okay with being vulnerable Because you know your heart is being taken care of To wake up with butterflies from a good morning text Because it’s the fact you were the first thing on someone’s mind But love is one hell of a drug It’s the most dangerous one of them all But I’m not going to overdose on it I’ve fallen in love multiple times But with the same person Love is when you see past all the flaws When you can connect to someone Emotionally and mentally When their hug can take you into another dimension Where there’s nothing but you and them Love is when you can accept someone for who they are Instead of what people portray them to be Love is when you can see through all of these things and Still be able to let them go...

Mirror KAITLYN ALVAREZ

Make it seen Let it be heard No emotions Locked away Stay hidden Don’t come back Stay where you are I’ll be right back Black & blue, blue & black Say colors Till they come back See it carefully Like you mean it What do you see? A perfect reflection of yourself Let your voice be heard Let your words be known Meaningful, isn’t it?

Yaniellie Perez

Beautiful words Bad memories Stay hidden Don’t come back Or they’ll haunt you forever

Broken Blessings

The Meaning of Life

LOURDES LLUISUPA

COLLABORATIVE POEM

I didn’t ask for much, just consistency and honesty and The love I give back. At one point I wonder, Am I the one that caused your lack of effort? Is it my fault you showed me no love? What did I do wrong? If only you could tell me. But you wouldn’t even say a word to me.

They used to scream They used to shout They used to yell We got the horrible news We cried

Perhaps you didn’t want to talk to me. But you should have told me Instead of causing me pain. Instead of bringing me sadness I started to lose hope That maybe this wasn’t meant to happen. Whatever happened to the promise of Let’s be happier? Whatever happened to loving each other Despite what life throws at us? What happened to us? What made you lose trust in me? Why couldn’t you give me that happiness I wanted? Where did I go wrong? Did I prevent better things from occurring? Did I stop my own blessings? Was I the cause of my own disappointments?

They see you They think for you They criticize you We were devastated I wanted to forget I ever existed But then, we understand the meaning of life We will continue to suffer if we do not grow We are afraid of change Afraid to change the way we think It’s tough Like trying to push your past away Trying to push your feelings down into your soul It’s not easy The roots of life can be tricky sometimes Ever changing Memories constantly changing routes An everlasting lane Happiness that will never fade away

My Journey Through Life White Lights in Dark Rooms ELENA BERNARDEZ

I live in a doorway Between heaven and hell Where the Devil and God has their own space Hell has bodies all over the room Souls sucked up like a vacuum Dreams and memories gulped like blood Shadows of darkness Fear of being buried alive With no flowers Your son too scared to see you Flat underneath the tombstone Darkness in me around my chest Inside my eyes I see the dark forest Everything else leaves But the darkness tries to escape Release itself So it could look for the next soul to haunt for life Ancestors guide me But I won’t listen to them They try to tell me there is something right behind you In the other room Healing Trust A waterfall of holy water A big cross up in the ceiling in the middle of heaven To keep Hell from entering inside their home Life Strong and kind-hearted 70

MATTHEW MENDEZ

I feel like I’m stuck behind a gate Isolated from society Left alone to watch the sunset And I don’t want to be alone I want someone by my side To follow me on the journey through life Someone who will watch the sunset with me Realizing I will change who I am It starts with that special someone I have those feelings And those feelings have me by the neck They are telling me to not take control And let them take over But I can’t let that happen I want to be me and I want people to know who I am I am whoever you want me to be I can be anything I want but I want to be who people want me to be I have what it takes so I dare you to challenge me Make me into whoever you want me to be Don’t be surprised when you come out wrong I can be anybody and anybody can be me You don’t know me Nobody does And that’s what makes me who I am I will let you into my life But I can’t assure you that you’ll stay there If you mean something to me, you’ll stay But the moment you hurt someone or even me You’ll be gone from my life

I will forget about you just like I was put behind that Gate shutting me away from society It hurts to be hurt and you’ll learn You will learn by my hands what happens when you Hurt someone important to me I care about everyone from the moment I meet you I have the power to make judgments Based on what I see I know things about you before you even tell me Before you tell anybody I figure these things out Sometimes I’m wrong, but to me Failure is the next step towards success I will get better and you’ll regret everything I will fall to you but I will get back up I will make sure you stay down And know not to mess with me I’ve been hurt and everyone has But for me, my next step in life is figuring outWho am I?

Untitled VISSICA QUINONES

Morning rhymes like morning chimes Celestial stars that revolve around you Like hearts saying you cute on Snap That smile that strings me along away in a meadow Not the ghetto The song you sing with your voice Is no longer a choice that I make To pick and choose from cars Buick, Audi, Alfa, Romeo You are my Bentley and out we go, Something about you You’re as fresh as a box of crayons at a doctors visit So clean and crisp, brave and vibrant The way you love me, you don’t cage me out like my last You clean out my demons like sage do

Unreal MIGUEL JUAREZ

You held my hand so tight. We watched the stars all night. But still I realize, There’s something in your eyes. The way you say you love me And that we are meant to be Is killing every piece of me. If you could only see.

Goodbye my love, and be happy. I’ll be fine, you have nothing to worry. Take his hand and you will see That I was never your destiny.

There’s no doubt you really care, But it’s your heart you can never share. And though you tried your best to love me, It’s just not meant to be and so I set you free. It’s hard for me to let go, But it’s the only way I know To spare you from suffering, And to save my heart from dying. It’s true you want my happiness, But it’s time to be honest. And as much as it hurts, I’m going to say it now. It’s time for us to break our vows. Still, I thank you for everything. And it’s your love I’ll forever be missing. And now that I have to go, Remember what we had was never a show. I love you dear and so I fear You’ll be miserable if I am near. So take this chance and explore the world. Let your heart be your sword

Made in China LEIDY CRUZ

I love you We are forever I will never leave You can trust me You’re the best I ever had You are my only one I changed I promise One more chance You’re the one I see in my future My phone died I was sleeping Sorry I believe you

Jovanna Candelario

Younger GUILLERMO OVALLE

To my younger self, I trust you But stop caring so much. Learn about the streets quick Or be submerged by them. Keep your morals But stop caring so much. Respect everybody But make sure to stay to yourself. I know you too well And you’re very Vulnerable.

Don’t let others’ opinions Dictate your life. Touch as many roofs as you want “Dunk” on everyone Especially CJ. Eat to your heart’s content Cause you don’t gain any weight. And most of all, Ask for forgiveness not permission.

To my younger self, I trust you. No matter how much energy I had, I will always be me. I experienced all the bad things For you, So live the good ones To the fullest. To my younger self You won’t know March 28th the first time I experienced real hate. And June 12th- real heartbreak. You’ll experience every September 22nd, Every first and last day of School, work, vacation And so much more.

Finding Myself GIOMARY RODRIGUEZ

I am running into a new year My struggles at war with my revolution The struggles of leaving the old me Are holding me back And for that, l must get up Because I am not blind, I see what I must do to escape The shy girl who cries a river at night The shy girl who buries her pain from her mother Who tries to understand Why she felt as if the world would eat her alive I can’t go back into the darkness I am struggling to climb out of the void I wish I could say why I must go The feelings of loneliness and isolation That have kept me safe From being defined by this inhumane society There are a million reasons Why I should stay in the darkness But maybe I like being in this haze of nothing Comfortable in that grayness Some look for trouble, others don’t But I have a compass to guide me From the gloom into the illumination Maybe I can be someone different