The Noble Page, Issue 1, 2014-2015 by MHS Lit Mag

The Noble Page Issue 1, 2014-2015

Stella Coventry

MANZANO HIGH SCHOOL

Special Thanks to: Therese Carroll for her support of the revitalization of The Noble Page… Josh Blondin for his guidance in creating a school publication… Carla Ritz for sponsoring students who published The Noble Page… Teachers who encouraged their students to create and submit… Students who created and submtited…

Table of Contents Original Poetry Flashbacks, Anonymous Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Angelique Haidle Our Home, Nathan Covert Untitled, JR Work Poem, Anonymous The Office, Dustin Baker Ambition Haikus, Michael Leyba The Mind Game, Rozee Benavides The Damned and the Broken, Anonymous The Rose, Brandon Tripp My Sister Says, Nora Valenzuela Untitled, Anonymous Poem 2, L'écrivain Dreamin’, Isaac Garcia Li’l Things in Life, Garret Mason Untitled, Luisa Pennington Untitled, sr Sports, Michael Roybal The Pitch, Nick Clark The Darkest Hour, Kaitlyn Marquez Volcanic Eruptions, Rozee Benavides Up in Smoke, Xaveria Mayerhofer Untitled, Jessa Grace Lantz

6 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 21

Original Writing Not Everyone is Born Smart, Katie Rickers Wolf Creek, Julian Resendiz Winter’s Howl, Anonymous American Entertainment at its Finest, Rozee Benavides Thoughts & Sayings, Klayton Willoughby

22 23 24 24 25 27

Original Photography Untitled, Michael Thai Untitled, Santino Nelson Untitled, Tamera Holyan Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Destiny Griego

28 29 30 31 32 33

Table of Contents (continued) Original Illustration Untitled, Courtney Smith Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Lyrica Draper Untitled, Stella Coventry Untitled, Julie Torres Untitled, Derrick Oglesby Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Anonymous Untitled, Christopher Maynes Untitled, Arianna Trujillo Untitled, Dominic Zamora Untitled, Divias McCabe

34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

Credits

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ORIGINAL POETRY

Flashbacks This can be a month of memories… but it’s heading down a month of hurt… first kiss, first knife, first memory, first flashback, first touch, first cut, This moment of love… is being on edge of me losing the light in my dark world, losing this, unforgettable memories, irreplaceable memories. This hurt is tearing up everything inside of me almost to the outside to where I can’t hide it anymore… In the mornings waking up knowing that I’m getting closer and closer for this knife to go… completely…through me it’s halfway there, today can be the day it’s all the way in, every kiss, every hug, every feeling, every cut… This pain is something I can’t bear with anyone…Since I met you, I didn’t know how I lived without you, Now that I’m with you I’m forgetting how to live without you, my mind is making me go crazy… thinking of how this could be… This love is the best thing in life, he’s showing me that love is real… and it’s something to believe in, but hurts worse than it actually could happen…this love I’m not going to give up on…But I feel like I’m not winning this fight anymore. Anonymous

Untitled Why do my wishes not come true? I wish every day at 11:11, I blow my eyelashes for wishes, But my wishes never come true. Why do my wishes not come true? I throw all my pennies in the fountain, I break every wishbone, But my wishes never happen. Why do my wishes not come true? I pick up every penny, I wish on every dandelion But still the wishes never happen. Why do my wishes not come true? Anonymous

Untitled A place where there are no worries, no tears, no pain… A place where nothing else matters, where time stops, everything is perfect, There’s so much love, so much comfort… It’s Amazing how much is so close, and you have to struggle so much for, when it’s so easy to have, but you’re scared to try for it. Too scared of Everything that has Happened, Everything you have experienced, that you don’t have the courage to let go of what you think about the world, when everything is great, everything that is true, is harmlessly waiting for you to understand it. Angelique Haidle

Our Home It’s like our hearts, were hardly meant to carry the weight of the world. “These books of mine, Keep them close.” She said as she spoke of her soul. “Time elapsed, when my heart collapsed and these pages of mine are extremely cold.” Float along the Milky Way, on a dismal road. There's no deciding where you’re guiding me away. Passing my solemn place. Darling we were once alive, but now we're now alone. We’ve called this our home. This place has taken our vacant hearts captive For far too long. Nathan Covert

Untitled The stale coffee was still on your breath but my cherry flavored cough drop tongue had had enough of being sick and being sick is loving someone who only cares about toothy grins and tanned skin beneath sequins that dazzle and lungs that expel the smoky aroma that can engulf you completely and swallow you whole; My throat was raw, swollen, and my red eyes were cracked all the way into the iris and maybe that’s why I saw things different than how you did. JR

Work Poem Growing up I never had much, but now it feels good to be able to buy stuff. Work, I gotta make it last, if I want to make some cash. It feels good to not rely on nobody. It really makes me feel like somebody. To me, working is a statement, that I am independent. Anonymous

The Office I get out of bed to get some milk, But I was so comfortable in my sheets of silk. Took a shower For about an hour… Got to go to work. Got to the office, greeted by Pam, As soon as I walked in, it smelled like ham. Went to a meeting And Michael Scott Sat in my spot. Walked into the break room to talk to Reed. We discussed how he got His new Pit bull breed. I played a trick on Dwight, So he wanted to fight. He tried tackling me with all his might. I crashed into the lamp which was very bright. It was by that time that I noticed, We were off and it was night. Dustin Baker

Ambition Haikus What gives you passion? It makes you thrive to do more. Call it ambition. Ambition is strong. Your ambition is the key. Ambition will lead. Life is getting by, Keep your head up in hard times. Don’t lose ambition. Michael Leyba

The Mind Game Mental fatigue Self-destruction Tears of frustration Wanting to impress Everyone including yourself “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” All for one goal to hit the set to win for yourself gymnastics is power, strength, speed, and a mind game. Is it the misery of failing? Or the fear of not trying? Rozee Benavides

The Damned and the Broken She fell in love with a boy who never saw himself worthy of a life with love, The boy who swears himself damned. He fell in love with a girl whose beauty was not in her face, The girl whose bright smile was dimmed. She was broken. They fell in the ways eyes would connect, saw inside, begged to see more. With the ways their love filled hearts were closed, but they connected so strong, so right, so perfect. The way love was given and finally gained. Anonymous

The Rose In spring, the rose bloomed onto the sky that it kissed, In summer the rose felt the ocean mist, In fall, the rose felt its shadow grow tall, In winter, the cold consumed it all. Brandon Tripp

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My Sister Says My sister says I don't need broccoli. My mommy says to eat my vegetables. I hid my broccoli in my sleeve. My sister says I should play on the computer. My mommy says that homework is important. I designed an avatar. My sister says to build a pillow fort. My mommy says to clean my room. It was dark under the blankets. My sister says that cats are evil. My mommy says to let Mittens back inside. My earphones barely cancelled out his meows. My sister says to let the ghosts inside my room. My mommy says to stop throwing rocks at the window. The glass was sharp on my hands. My sister says I need to be purified. My mommy says to take the leeches off my leg. The color drained from my face. My sister says that birds are worm murderers. My mommy says that the bird feed doesn’t need nails. I put the carcasses in the street. My sister says I drew a good design. My mommy says cats don't normally scratch down that deep. I pushed the blade down even deeper. My sister says that I look fat. My mommy says that my bones stick out. I fast another day. My sister says that no one likes me. My mommy says that I should call Miranda back. Miranda isn’t real. My sister says that pain is a good thing. My mommy says to take the tacks out of my skin. I wiggle them around some more.

My Sister Says (continued) My sister says that medication will make me smarter. My mommy says that she can’t find her pills. My stomach feels weird. My sister says that hamsters deserve to die. My mommy says that Mr. Ruffles isn’t in his cage. I bury the charred rodent in the back yard. My sister says that mommy’s earrings are too perfect. My mommy says that I am grounded. Shards of glass fall to the ground. My sister says that mommy is unfair. My mommy says that I need to grow up. My eyes become raw from crying. My sister says that mommy is evil. My mommy says to let her in my room. My music can’t turn up louder. My sister says that mommy killed her. My mommy says I don't have a sister. Mommy is wrong. My sister says mommy needs to be punished. My mommy asks what I am doing. Blood drips down my arm. My sister says my mom looks pretty. My mommy’s head rolls across the floor. I’m not done. My sister asks what I am doing. My mommy doesn’t say anything. I want my sister to be with my mommy. My sister’s body is on the floor. My mommy’s body is next to her. I lay down next to them for the last time. Nora Valenzuela

Untitled You taught me that God was above all else. You made me sit through countless hours of catechism and you taught me all of my prayers. And now I know that even the devil can whisper holy things. Anonymous

Poem 2 Caution: Beverage may be hot. I've never been one to take warning labels too seriously, how dangerous could coffee be? I've never quite understood the value of a coffee cup, the liquid itself gives me the shakes, much like she does and I've never found the correct time to wait so that it doesn't burn my tongue just like I've never found the correct moment to tell her that I may be, possibly, kind of, a little bit in love. Kissing her was like sipping on hot coffee, I didn't wait long enough but if I had waited any longer I'm not sure that it would have had the same taste. You see, she may have tasted like fire but I have always been fascinated with how fire danced across forests and lips. Caution: You may fall in love. I've never been one to take warning labels seriously, how dangerous could a girl be? -L'écrivain

Dreamin’ Lucid dreams, day dreams, night dreams. You could dream about ice creams or river streams. You could dream about your future. You could dream about being smoother or cooler with the ladies. Or you dream about your career. May you be in fear because MY future is near! I daydream all the time… About my future in sports. I work hard everyday to achieve my dream. I work hard everyday with my wrestling team. We work hard under beams of light. They consider as “alright” or “okay” But I’m going to prove them wrong, just watch. Tick tock, I don’t got time to waste. Remember, dream about anything you want. I’m dreamin’! Isaac Garcia Li’l Things in Life It’s all the li’l things that we love in life, The simple things that we appreciate here and there, Sleeping all day and working all night, Do it right and we could end up anywhere. It’s all the li’l things we look forward to, Where we’re gonna be and what we’re gonna do. It’s all the li’l things that we do, The stuff we never seem to notice is the best. Doesn’t matter when, why, or who, Live it slow, live it to the fullest, Remember all the li’l things. Remember all the stupid things. Remember all the crazy things Make every single moment count. Doin’ stuff you wanna do shows what you’re all about. It’s all the li’l things that make life worth wild. Do what you want don’t be scared like a child. Make every moment count. Show ‘em what you’re all about. Tell the haters to get out. We’re gonna go all out tonight. Garrett Mason

Untitled you looked at me and told me that I was the best thing you had ever had. the green and gold flecks within your irises shone and blinded my eyes. all I could do was close them and kiss you. your lips tasted like heaven as the glided smoothly across my own. I wanted to find peace, I wanted that happy-cloudy-place, I wanted you. I wanted you. I wanted you. I wanted you too much. So now when you don't look at me, my chest collapses as if under a mountain, and now when you don't kiss me, my lips burn as if scorched with acid. I looked at you and told you that you were the best thing I had ever had. I didn’t get a response. Luisa Pennington

Untitled I know that I hurt you, and I’m sorry. But you broke me, I was your property. You owned me down to the core of my soul, but look now I’m nowhere to be found. Who’s the one to blame? Should we even blame? Or just struggle to pick up the pieces that remain? sr

Sports I love to watch and play sports. They are a big part of my life. Sports…a place where I can forget about everything. When I have a bad day, I get stressed, But then there’s practice, And the day gets better. Michael Roybal The Pitch It’s a game that everyone knows of, one that many people play. It’s a long grassy field Surrounded by thousands cheering. It’s a place where dreams are made… and where they end… A place of heartbreak and celebration that is felt by everyone. This game unites the world as one. This is soccer, The game we love and live for. Goals last forever. Nick Clark

The Darkest Hour We all need to look into the bright side of our darkest hours. A time our mind we all believe is only negative, which happens. We tend to come to the conclusion there is no passion out there. Yet instead, there it was, obvious, so clear, your mind. Let your energy go, let if flow. It’s who we are, the one we feel, our soul. Don’t reverse reminiscing on our fear… Detour the path and embrace it, become whole with it… the serenity. Let it become your closest feeling of divinity. We are almost equal, You and I. Kaitlyn Marquez

Volcanic Eruptions They were there. You were afraid. You panicked from the anger brewing within. You acted. It erupted. Death. Unforgiving death. Everything was lost, you believed in the old ways. But, it gave the land new life. And you forgave everything. Rozee Benavides

Up In Smoke I remember the horrors, The stench and the fumes. I remember the chills, Of hellish hot rooms. Choking on smoke, Pretending it’s air. It’s not quite the same, And there’s no one to care. The colors of orange and yellow and red, The colors of death Stirring from your bed. Try to breathe in, But there’s simply no air, Try to breathe in Doesn’t anyone care? Alone, alone In a torrid red sea. Alone, alone No one’s coming for me Xaveria Mayerhofer

Untitled I will never let my daughter call herself a woman, for she is not defined by a man. The way that her body will grow and learn to curve like mountains and crevices, those paths are not to be walked on unless she grants permission. She is not an open trail, and each boy who laughs at her for crying when she falls is one more boy who will cry when she does not. She is a girl, but she is not a woman. She will grow older, yes, and I will call her by her name and not her gender, for who cares if she wants to be "male" or "female" - that will not determine her worth. And when her first love leans down to kiss her their lips shall not be tainted by the claws of control. I will not have my baby believe she is only accounted for by her figure, by what she can give until she breaks. She is not worth just 706 dollars a week while the boy next door makes 160 more. Gender does not determine worth, and neither does money. And for those who believe that only a man can provide for a family, what happens when his fist rains down upon those he once tucked in? Is he still worthy of your love then? When he provides for the alcohol but never the food, is it the fact that he had money at all what determines his loyalty? And I know not all men have an idea in their head to capture and blockade any walking creature with opposite body parts, but for those who do, this was for you. Jessa Grace Lantz

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ORIGINAL WRITING

(miscellaneous genres)

Not Everyone is Born Smart I believed an Advanced Placement (AP) student was naturally smart. I thought that only people who have high IQs and can solve Rubik’s Cubes should be in AP classes. Seeing these students around school would frustrate me to no end. I am the student who spends hours doing a homework assignment, whereas some students only take one hour to do it. I am the hard worker, not the student who understands everything because they are just “smart”. Throughout my first two years of high school, I wanted to compete with the “smart kids”. I decided to take AP classes my junior year, regardless of how challenging they seemed. I wanted to prove to everyone, including myself, that I am indeed smart. The class that showed me how smart I truly am was AP US History. I knew AP US History was going to be challenging before I even started it. My previous history teachers were either too lazy to truly teach the class or were in possession of illegal drugs. Needless to say, my past history classes were not very informative. I first realized that this history class was going to be rigorous when I was assigned a lot of homework during the summer. Once I started studying for history, my “fun and relaxing summer” was history, but I was not going to let the workload tempt me to drop the class, so I committed my summer days to doing this homework. The moment I walked into the classroom, my teacher informed his students that one student had already dropped the class. His exact words were: “He did the right thing.” What immediately went through my head was that this class should not even exist because of its difficulty. I was intimidated, but I had spent my entire summer preparing for this class. I was not going to let my hard work go to waste. On the second day of school, I was given my first test in the class. Luckily, I was able to work on it with three other students. Two of these students did not read the book over the summer, so they were clearly unprepared. The other student was one of the “smart kids” I was always intimidated by. He immediately underestimated the knowledge I could bring forth to help our team, but I did not blame him. He was the only one in the group who had taken AP classes before, so the odds were in his favor. While we were taking the test, it was obvious I was more prepared than the “smart kid” was. He became slightly more confident in my abilities, but he still doubted me. We ended up scoring a 93% on the test; the highest score in the class. We would have scored even higher, but the “smart kid” convinced me that some of my answers were wrong, when they were actually right. I should have never doubted myself. Throughout the year, I surprised my teacher, my classmates, and myself about how smart I really am. The lowest GPA I ever earned in that class was a 102%. I completed both semesters of my junior year with five A+’s and two A’s. This experience has taught me to not underestimate myself. I have now realized that I am smart, but I am not one of those “smart kids” who can sleep in class and then get A’s on their transcripts. I am smart because I am willing to work hard to learn the things I need to know. I may not graduate in the top 10 or get an impressive ACT score, but I know I will succeed in my life because I work hard and no one is going to convince me that I am not smart. Katie Rickers

Wolf Creek As I woke up, I could feel a bump and a staggering pain coming from the back of my head. I tried to stand up when I really realized where I was. It was Wolf Woods. People always told stories of what happened here. People say a stray wolf, or something else… “Is anyone here?” I yelled, as I heard myself echo off in the distance. But I knew no one was here. They closed off the woods to people after what happened to those three kids. Now here I was by myself in the middle of the night, on Halloween, no less. As I kept walking, I kept yelling hoping someone else was here other than me. “Hello. Is anyone else here?” Again, I hear myself echo off in the distance. There were always stories about people just waking up in the middle of the woods with no one else, but the pain on the back of their head. Then I heard something behind me that sent a chill up my spine. First, just a scream, then a long, loud howl. It didn’t sound very far off. I ran as fast as I could, but I started hearing steps get closer, and closer as I ran. Then I tripped on a tree root. Luckily there was something to hide under. Whatever it was didn’t notice me. I saw it as plain as day though. It was standing on two legs, hair long, and all over its body. Large yellow eyes, shining as the full moon hit them. Then I saw its teeth. There was blood all over its mouth, and what seemed like pieces of clothing. I kept trying to tell myself. “It’s all a dream it’ll be over soon, you’ll wake up and this will be all over.” The creature must have heard something (or someone) else, because it took off in the opposite direction of the exit, as fast as it had come. I left, I tried to tell people what happened, but no one believed me. I try to forget what happened, but then I hear the scream for help, and it all comes back. Julian Resendiz Winter’s Howl Winter is a time of year where the days get shorter and the nights become longer…a time where the weather becomes colder and in some places, snow blankets the earth and all its beauty…a time where earth rests and takes its warms sunny days with it and leaves the residents a cold and sometimes beautiful world...a world where the wind howls a very cold yet comforting howl. I can’t describe it, but the howl of winter can be comforting, almost as if its telling us that summer will eventually return. But we must be patient and enjoy winter as it is and so we wait. We wait for summer, and as we wait, we listen to the winter’s howl. Anonymous

American Entertainment at its Finest It’s a calm October night, chilly, yet comfortable. It’s almost Halloween. People are milling around Albuquerque looking for something to do. Why not a haunted house? Who wants to be scared out of their pants on this tranquil evening? Well, Americans do! "Quarantine the Haunted House," presented by Blackout Theater is the cultural scene. The Quarantine is an interactive haunted house where the individuals play a role in the story. The Zombie Apocalypse is happening, and the people (the customers) are seeking safety by going to the Quarantine, a cornfield maze. The storyline of the haunted house is sensational on the grounds that people feel personally involved in this postapocalyptic world. Patrons purchase their tickets outside of an old, rickety shack and then go to wait their turn to enter the maze. The grounds are rugged; people stand in line on a dirt path. While standing in line, I noticed two distinct groups. The groups were friends and family that went to the haunted corn maze together. I could tell where one group ended and where the next group started because they clustered around each other in separate spaces. Each little entity was comprised of about five to seven individuals ranging in gender. The age of the members of the group appeared consistent; they were all in their late teens or in their early to late twenties. Generally, in the U.S., individuals of the same age socialize together. However, there were a few outliers in terms of age. In group one (the first body of people standing in line for the maze), it appeared as if they were teenagers on a double date with one extra male. There were three males and two females in this circle. I assumed that the two couples were on a date because each male purchased the twenty-dollar ticket for himself and their female friend. Typically, in the United States, the male pays for the date. Also, the females were clutching the males, which reveals a level of intimacy greater than friends. As these young adults were standing in line, they seemed to be nervous. They were jumping up and down in place, laughing anxiously, and appeared jittery. In spite of this, the teens were still waiting in line to be scared! As the group was about to start the maze, they were handed a flashlight by the haunted house guide because it was incredibly dark outside (scary!). In their entrance into the maze, the last male went to the back of the group as if he were their last line of defense. Almost immediately, one could hear the screams of this horde as they went farther and farther into to the zombie-infested maze. Group two moves up as group one makes its way into the maze. As we all hear the screams of the former, the individuals of this group silently look at each other, then burst out into a nervous laughter. Group two consisted of six individuals who appeared to be in their mid twenties and a elderly woman with a small white dog on a leash. Perhaps, she was one’s grandmother. There are three males and four females. This group, like the one before, appears nervous and scared already. “Why am I even here?" “Oh god they’re [zombies] ugly!” “I’m not ready to go!” Was all that one could hear from them. Again, like with the last group, a male is at the back of the line when they start their tour.

American Entertainment at its Finest (continued) In group two the lines between whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with whom in terms of a dating relationship are blurred. I believe this was the case because as humans develop, their social roles evolve. As a result, they behaved differently amongst each other than the teenagers did. Gender roles in the United States are explicitly seen here. The stereotype of the strong and courageous male protecting the distressed damsel is all too apparent. The men paid for the tickets, acted tough, and fulfilled their gender identity. Children are taught how a man behaves and how a woman behaves at a young age. Therefore, the individuals were expressing themselves to the basic gender socialization in the U.S. Ultimately, the Haunted House industry is a gargantuan deal in the United States. The industry brings in a net worth of $300 million dollars a season. Americans are paying to be scared! We are going out of our way to feel this adrenaline rush. In other countries around the world, this is not the case. Countries outside of the United States do not have anything similar to a haunted house. Even westernized countries such as Germany and Italy do not do this. In Egypt and Liberia, for example, the threat of danger is too real. Citizens of these countries do not pursue these negative highs because the risk of an actual deadly event happening is almost certain. Perhaps, this reveals the culture of the United States is safe, secure, and the members do not understand the black cloud of a genuine threat. Our society may take our safety for granted. Ultimately, this particular scene was a perfect example to observe American society because you can clearly see the process of enculturation through gender socialization, the life cycle stages, the inner workings of personal relationships, and the concept of violence/security. Rozee Benavides

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Thoughts & Sayings A snake may shed its skin, but it’s still the same snake. I may not have been born with much God-given talent, but my hustle never sleeps, I never fold, I keep moving forward, and I go that extra mile. That’s the only way I know. I’m not just reaching my goals, I’m burying them. There’s a little spark in me, I’ve got to light it, looking for the lighter, destroying everything just to find it. Get comfortable with being alone, that way you’ll make decisions from the heart, not the mind. Why do people reach for acceptance? Not everyone is going to like you, you should be alright with that. Life is about balance, trial and error, and finding harmony with the things and people you share it with. Klayton Willoughby

ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Michael Thai

Santino Nelson

Tamera Holyan

Anonymous

Destiny Griego

33 Â

ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATION

Courtney Smith

Anonymous

Lyrica Draper

Stella Coventry

Julie Torres

Derrick Oglesby

Anonymous

Christopher Maynes

Arianna Trujillo

Dominic Zamora

Divias McCabe

This edition of The Noble Page was created by: Luisa Pennington, Editor in Chief and Xaveria Mayerhofer Melanie Mertzig Christian Rossi Aaliyah Shannon Maggie Thompson Katlyn Wesley