Genesis: Homecoming Spring 2016 by Nhscsgenesis

Genesis: Homecoming Spring 2016 Volume 02 Northbrook High School

Raider Cir N #1, Houston, TX 77080

Table of Contents Acostumbrada by Amber Ortega 7 Alone by Giselle Zarazua 8 Alphabet Soup by Andie Martinez 9 Alzheimer’s by Mario Sidonio 10 Angel by Lesly Reza Olguin 10 Angel by Yazmin Rodriguez 11 The Ash Stays by Nikolas Robledo 11 As I Walk by Alejandro Olvera 12 AZ by Jacqueline Rojas 13 Baby Blue by Nikolas Robledo 14 Beach Head by Nikolas Robledo 14 Beautiful and Lovely by Ashley Smith 15 The Beautiful Game by Jesus Perez 16 Become The Audience by Matthew Campos 16 Beguiled by Reyna Morin 18 Betray by Carla Ramirez 19 A Blackout Artist’s Life by Amy Rodriguez 20 Blue Deity by Thomas Rodriguez 21 Blue Grotto by Jennifer Escobar 23 Bombardment by Nikolas Robledo 27 By Myself by Nikolas Robledo 28 Can’t by Nikolas Robledo 28 Changing Me by Marrion Barrios 28 Circles by Carmen Lozano 29 Closing Comments by Marrion Barrios 31 Coffee by Jasmine Martinez 32 Cold High by Diana Hernandez 33 Collided by Liz Vaquero 34 Colorblind by Yazmin Martinez 35 Colour Pallet by Logan Gargotta 36 Conference by Kevin Vergara 37 A Conversation With My Father by Gladys Navarrete 38

Creators by Ernesto Lopez Daddy's Rose by Jasmin Rodriguez Dark Times by Mario Sidonio Daydreamers/ Nyquil by Wade Borrer and Alicein Killingsworth Dealers by Alicein Killingsworth Defining The Unknown by Amy Rodriguez Dismissed by Jasmine Gutierrez Don’t Worry About It by Kevin Vergara Drained by Reyna Morin Dream Demolition by Jose Arriaga Fender by Alicein Killingsworth Flower Child by Alicein Killingsworth Future by Lorena Munoz Generation by Nydia Mejia The Ghost Tripper by Jennifer E Mejia Gray Matter by Amy Rodriguez Growing Up As A “Hispanic” by Matthew Campos Happening Now by Jasmine Martinez Her Body by Nikolas Robledo Her Voice by Nikolas Robledo Hidden Melodies by Nikolas Robledo Honest Love by David Barziza How Y’all Feel by Kevin Vergara Human Nature by Wade Borrer Hush Mommy by Nydia Mejia Illusion by Jannin Rodriguez In May by Jovani Streety In Memory of You by Amber Ortega Independent by Cathy Oropeza I Understand by Alecein Killingsworth Jealous by Diana Hernandez Justifying a Loss by Mario Sidonio

39 40 42 43 45 45 47 47 49 49 49 50 52 53 54 55 57 59 61 62 62 62 64 66 68 69 70 70 72 73 74 74

Knack by Lesly Reza The Knife by Lorena Munoz A Letter To My Best Friend by Gladys Navarrete Leprechaun by Jennifer Escobar Let It Go by Giselle Zarazua Look Into Eyes by Alicein Killingsworth Luminance by Esmeralda Interial L.R.L by Alicein Killingsworth Males by Nikolas Robledo Masked (Chapter One) by Halle Spitler Modern Love Story by Mario Sidonio Mother Nature by Alyssa Luna MVP by Jasmine Martinez My Attempt At Describing You As An Author Would In A Book: by Jacqueline Rojas My Love by Reyna Morin Needed Someone by Carla Ramirez A Nomad's Follower by Jose Vega Normally I Wouldn’t Say by Kevin Vergara No Time For Passion by Nicky Vargas Regret by Ivan Ramirez Remember by Alicein Killingsworth Repressed Feeling Diana Hernandez Restraint by Jordi Cabrera Shattered Glass by Gladys Navarrete She by Ashley Marquez Sin by Reyna Morin Skyscreamer by Tomas Rodriguez Some Glide by Sonny Perez Sometimes Water by Alejandro Olvera Strong Bond by Amber Ortega Suckerpunched by Giselle Zararua Tattoo (Six Haiku) by Gabriela Torres Tell Me by Ramon Villalobos Tired by Reyna Morin

75 75 76 79 81 82 83 85 85 86 92 92 95

96 97 98 99 100 101 101 102 102 102 103 107 108 108 115 116 117 118

119 120 121 4

To The Boy I thought I Loved by Cathy Oropeza Toxins by Alicein Killingsworth Trainee by Adriana Gonzalez Trying to Forget by Mario Sidonio Untitled Document by Mario Sidonio Untitled by Noemy Carrion Wanted Somebody by Carla Ramirez Why? by Diana Simon Winning by Kevin Vergara Wish by Alicein Killingsworth La Mujer by Lorena Munoz World War 3 by Noemy Carrion Yellow Grass by Nikolas Robledo YingYang by Jose Vega You by Juan Cespedes z8_GND_5296 by Lizeth Vaquero

121 121 122 122 123 124 125 126 130 130 131 132 133 133 134 135

Letters from Editors Hello writers and readers, I volunteered to edit because I felt that I hadn’t produced as much content as my peers had and I wanted to be part of something that would forever be part of Northbrook High School. I thought it would be a chill relaxed job, just reading people’s pieces and fixing them. I couldn't have been more wrong. Editing was the most stressful thing I have ever had to do. I spent weekends and free days editing and if you look through my phone you’ll find dozens of angry texts to Mario using all caps because people weren’t doing what they were supposed to. But now that we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I am so proud of what all of us accomplished. I hope you enjoy this anthology and if you see water stains, know that those are stress tears from all of us. Yazmin Martinez

Hello readers, Being in a role of an organization has always been one of my favorite hobbies. Being an editor is not easy, but looking at all of the products of your imagination all into a book, it makes all of the work worthwhile. With all of that being said, I would like to thank everyone who submitted to the anthology. Enjoy. Matthew Campos

Primary Editors: Yazmin Martinez, Mario Sidonio, Matthew Campos Secondary Editors: Lizeth Munoz, Diana Hernandez, Gaby Torres Special Thanks to Ms. Meghan Waggoner Cover Art: Amy Rodriguez, Lesly Reza, Matthew Campos

Acostumbrada Te odio por siempre ser el único. Pero te valoro por el hecho de siempre mantenerte a mi lado. Fue sin planearlo, sin poder reusarme de ti. Algo muy pronto y muy inesperado, fue lo máximo . Las memorias inolvidables que me diste, no se podrán reemplazar aunque quisiera. Me diste lo mas hermoso, y eran recuerdos y siempre serán sentimientos por ti. Al igual, te odio por haberme acostumbrado… a tu manera… a ti.

I hate you for always being the only one. But I cherish you for the simple fact of staying by my side. It was something not planned, refusing being without you. Something too quick, something uncalled for, it was breathtaking. The unforgettable memories you gave me, can’t be replaced even if I wanted to. You gave me the best, they were recollections and will always be feelings for you. Although, I hate you for getting so used to you… in your own way… just you. Amber Ortega

Alone

She looked to him gently “I must go” he said his face hid his eyes away from the girl and without a word she sat alone Giselle Zarazua

Alphabet Soup At age 5 my mother used to feed me alphabet soup. It was a comfort food she gave me when I was feeling sick. It was fun scooping words I never knew what meant Like abuse , I never learned what it meant until I saw my dad hit my mother. Another word like forgive , I knew my mom forgave my dad, but I never learned why. I never felt the taste of that word in my mouth. Never learned to swallow it. At age ten my mother stopped feeding me alphabet soup. She felt I was too old, Felt I knew enough words...she was wrong. The only word I knew from memory was the word damage. The damage I saw my dad inflict on my mother's body. The damage I inserted onto my body every time I saw a tear roll down my mother’s cheek. The cheek I laid my face on, because it was the only comfort I knew of. Other words would make me stutter. Simply make my lips tremble, Like love, It came out of my mouth like a child afraid to tell his mother he’s lost something way too valuable to her heart. Another word like respect. My saliva never felt the taste of that bitter recipe. My tongue was a bit too numb to savor it. At age thirteen, I learned that alphabet soup had to be cared for. You had to cook it slowly. Put as much love as it could into it. Build it like you raise your children. Put too much salt, and their tongues go numb not able to speak. Not enough sugar, and they grow heartless.

Becoming harder and harder not able to dissolve to your liking. Mother taught me to love the damage I was fed. Because that meant the next time a man tried to feed me alphabet soup, I’d know the words well enough to not accept it. Andie Martinez

Alzheimer's

The saddest part about having Alzheimer's was forgetting her love… Mario Sidonio

Angel He fell in love with an angel a creature doomed only for salvation her smile so holy, so full of all that is pure tasted just like heaven. He knew, because it was the only thing that let him forget about his designated damnation. Falling only hurt a little more than falling for her. He knew he would never be able to fly along the side of the one he loved. His feet already planted to the burning soil, so tempted he was to grab on to her maybe she would have the strength to carry him along with her, to the Heaven where she belonged, the Heaven from which he fell. He already knew the pain of broken wings, something she would not have the strength to endure. So afraid he was to hold on, afraid that he’ll drag her down to a Hell he isn’t willing to share. 10

Already he knew of the virus his demons spread. She was the only one who could relieve his symptoms, an injection of her faith would always bring him back to life. But he feared of becoming immune towards this taunting bliss she brought, afraid that he will only contaminate her beautiful soul, the soul that kept him alive, so terrified to see her suffer along his side. So he warned her to stay away, to spread those blessed wings and fly away, not to look back just to pray for him. He knew she deserved more than a pair of broken wings, she was not meant to fall from the heavens like he. Lesly A. Reza Olguin

Angel We fell in love because we both hated everybody. And now that we’re out of Love, it seems the only ones We hate are each other. Yazmin Martinez

The Ash Stays

My burning soul is being washed away by Hell’s water. The ash stays. Nikolas Robledo

As I Walk

As I walk the same dirt that consumes me I ask myself if I’ll grow up to be the pretty rose that everyone wants to take apart Alejandro Olvera

You taught me that timing was everything when you told me, “I wish you would’ve said something before,” nine months after we met. Sometimes we run out of time and that’s okay. I learned that I can survive. I can survive the pain of watching you fall in love with someone else, while I sit still, just as in love as I’ve always been. For I lost myself in your neverending eyes the day we decided to be misfits and skip class in the locker room. My final words to you would be “Thank you. Thank you for being my safe haven in a place I called hell. Thank you for being my universe, and for showing me that I am a universe of my own. That I am more than enough. I am grateful for existing in the same lifetime as you. Because I am no mathematician, but the odds of me meeting you were a little over one in seven billion. I had a far better chance to be struck by lightning or win the lottery. But my God, I am the luckiest person to be able to have fallen in love with you.” Jacqueline Rojas

Baby Blue Baby blue your heart is cruel. My tongue’s in love just by the thought of you. Nikolas Robledo

Beach head Beach head, pecking repeatedly with sharp bills. Nikolas Robledo

Beautiful and Lovely

Beautiful and lovely, didn’t deserve to be prettied up. It brought men and women to their knees with pity and rage not true to integrity. ‘Maybe she told all the truth she could tell, I always knew. I saw the moment she lost courage to protect us.’ Ashley Smith

The Beautiful Game Little bro the time has come, grab your football, let’s go. Hurry, let’s run to the park because it’s 5:20 p.m. and our mates are about to start match. The gates won’t let us in if you don’t hurry, and your new football will cry if we don’t make it. You’re not the best one, so you’ll be the last one to get picked and you know how that feels. We are going to miss the post game talk about the Champions League. And you know the early darkness of the fall makes the owner of football we always use leave, so if he leaves we can use your new football. Little bro just hurry so we can all play the beautiful game of football. Jesus Perez

Become The Audience The very first thing I wanted to do if you were my girlfriend is to write and play a song for you because using your own time to make and perfect something for someone's enjoyment is love you see; but achieving that goal has been struggling lately. There are some days that I recall the last time we spoke to each other. My feelings look back at it as a prison visit; me, wearing my jumpsuit while being chained top to bottom while you're on the other side of the glass window. You were wearing your best dress without the beautiful crescent moon that I call your smile while these dark moments were in movement. However, my mind reflects it as 25 minutes of just you and I barely talking while letting our silence speak for ourselves. When the bell rang, I waved

and said “See you later”, but I guess your body language said “bye” since you just walked away with nothing else to say. I guess the term “we can still be friends” translates to “We’re dead, but we can act like we're still alive.” The mistake that I’ve done that December, the mistake to not give you time to heal yourself from the things that I've said unintentionally has me questioning what it means to be a musician, because what's the point if you don't have an audience to please. I try to play songs that have uplifting tonalities, but it's so funny how the key of Bflat major can sound like GMinor. All the chords that I play always go out of tune. The frequencies of the chords always hit me repetitively showing the struggle of two peop I mean, two strings trying to harmonize with each other but fails. My mother has always told me to love yourself ever since I was a little boy, but now I'm starting to question that statement. I mean... How could you love an album without any songs in it? But I guess you gotta start somewhere. So tonight I'm gonna make some space in my room for jumping around like being in a Slipknot concert Grab my Telecaster Turn on my amp Place a mirror in front of me And play my ass off to my audience Let the audience love you Love yourself Matthew Campos 17

Beguiled I found comfort in your lies Reyna Morin

Betray

I wanted somebody who would be there, yet I couldn’t believe that he would choose the woman next to me Carla Ramirez

A Blackout Artist’s Life

I will never forget the smell of alcohol. The mixture of propanol, butanol, diacetone alcohol, and cresols have left behind a scent that is remembered in my soul, and embedded in all my life's work. These marks can't be erased, and besides, they tell a story of their own. These black smudges are the residue of emotions that have been branded deep within my spirit. This toxic smell defines me. My pride in thin, brittle scraps of paper that consist of nothing more than rearranged words has become my life. I remember a time when I used to say that I would never let my life be defined by a piece of paper . Yet, I find myself sitting in this room, no longer able to find the walls within my own house, behind the endless debris that I call my life's "greatest creations". But sometimes I think it's my creations that have unequivocally created me. I am an author shackled by my works. What had been given life is now the same thing that is sucking out the life left within me. Trapped behind my work, stuck in this sea of black mass with a million and one different ways to use my words in this version of scrabble that we call life. But really, what is the life of an author? Am I really nothing more than just another name to a face? My accomplishments outlive me, as I am only mortal. To find purpose in this life is what I have submerged myself entirely. 20

I was too busy finding my reason of existence that I forgot what it means to exist. Maybe that's why I allow the life to be sucked out of me, to leave the lingering aura of myself. If memories fade, pictures won't. Likewise, to capture my being in these words is the legacy that I long to leave Amy Rodriguez

Blue Deity They say change is the only constant, but the constant thought of you in my head is what lead me to believe that somethings are better off dead. Yet, I wonder why I whispered the things I should've said & screamed the ones I didn't mean instead. & I never knew what true pain was until I fractured my voice as you broke my heart, the only thing that truly beats in my chest. & no hospital bed could comfort me the way your smile did when you stood in front of me. & I swear I'd hate the fact you drowned your sorrows in shots of contempt. But you... you are the one, the one that takes me back to the fonder days where I actually slept. But I, I'd rather look towards the future, for the past truly holds things I regret. Needless to say they're times I'll never forget. Certainly things you would far from expect. I learned to trust my mind for your essence still reminds me of what I failed to protect.

& it's felt like I tried my hand at shooting stars, when supernovas were in your mindset before the big bang. You had me starstruck, but chasing you to the moon was a marathon I wasn't prepared to run... Yet,I was forced into the plunge... only to ascend light years from where I'd begun. I remember the very first time my eyes met yours. I remember because I searched for air like men search for God. & finally when I gasped for oxygen I inhaled a poisonous love that brought me into a bigger brawl between my mind & soul. It felt like a never ending cycle like the moon rises, & the sun falls. Like your ego got BIGGER as my hopes for you keeping your promises got smaller & smaller & smaller. Until it turned into a bitter molecule that wasn't even able to hold a BOND with another. Until every atom inside it finally came together with the courage to say TWO WORDS that began with I'M & ended with DONE. When we first met, I knew you’d mean something to me. Day in & day out you reminded me that you weren't like the rest. As we went further & further down the road of time, I wondered if this was all just one big test. Regardless of the circumstances, I knew I'd try my best. 22

But your baggage… your baggage itself formed a heavyweight UFC fighter. & you saw everyone one of my flaws as a chance for you to step into the octagon. By the end of round one your hate had me in a submission hold. As I was seeing stars I fought back as hard as I could. The hope for the future begged me to tap out... I had too much willpower to let that happen... Round two came quicker than expected but as I focused on dodging blow after blow, I was knocked out by the left hook of your lies. To this day, I wonder if the outcome would've been different if I'd just thrown in the towel. Tomas Rodriguez

Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto is known to be a sea cave and it is found in southern Italy and lays in the island of Capri. What attracts people’s eyes to this specific cavern is the blue reflection that enlightens the cavern. It does this due to the sunlight that touches through the underwater which shines through the seawater. Throw a little bit of knowledge of speleology so you can learn about me as a speleogenesis just an analogy. My g6, wow great kicks like my favorite cereal Captain Crunch mix with trix, gosh what a remix. If you break a brick you better know how to fix it. 23

Percolate cuz your a person that is such a gait. But my kinda cave has a small opening but once inside it’s large, yes maybe small but I have a big heart. Don’t submerge my iceberg. Let me introduce you to my water cave that has my name well engraved. Follow the dark tunnels that are hollow. Grasp my message and swallow rocks made out of limestone, but hear me well cuz I’ve succeeded so many milestones. This is my throne yes, alone but in my zone. Don’t engulf my accomplishments cuz it’s been rough dew drops trickle down from a stalactite tunnels are a labyrinth like a violin you just gotta know how to play the note. Just how you know the kind of material of fabric my limits are not elastic. But hard if you don’t know how to detect someone’s fingerprint.

Hated by many loved by few, newsflash nothing is new. Stay cool. Mix salt and copper sulfate and you get chalcanthite. My weight is light but don’t belittle my height cuz I have quite a might. 24

Carmen Lozano

Rub of da dust and get back up grab a new white Tshirt and don’t infiltrate. Just cuz I open the gate to the strait don’t be in a haste to mark up a date. Ya’ll may hate but what I’m telling you it’s clearly not an eight. Cuz I’m not looking for a mate don’t ask for a rate, as you can see I’m trying to escape. My father is my bedrock that’s no shock so you may wanna block cuz he’ll hammerlock. Mom’s groundwater such an explorer throw the current water in the cave like a mourner such a performer. He’s a monoxide she’s a peroxide I’m a trioxide, thrown into the spotlight I guess that’s why there’s such a dogfight. My erosion sparks up my volcano and creates an explosion. I’m in motion no need for an implosion as the lava spills over the rock hills. A lava tube that is not very complex to understand simply a cube so get outta here ya’ll rubes, as my blue grotto is my motto. As the sun rays reflect the beautiful thriving blue water, flourishes and nourishes. 26

A stunning and running blue that makes the cavern enlighten grasp and tighten your attention. Glamorous and sparkled that is brightened. And those who get intimidated don’t be frightened. I guess the Blue Grotto has such a might like a twilight such a delight for the beholder. Jennifer Escobar

Bombardment Bombardment in the clouds, raining Soldiers. Nikolas Robledo

By Myself I watch the planet’s horizon behind the great yellow sun’s beam descending until there is nothing left except the great sound of the pitchblack waves reverberating back into sea. Nikolas Robledo

Can’t Alone is feeling all ‘round myself Love is hell and I can’t escape. Nikolas Robledo

Changing Me

They say that every time you look into the sky you see the past, this is because it takes so many years for the light of a star to reach us that’s when we look up and see the stars light it’s presence is even more beautiful, but how can something so beautiful be kept a secret for so long? Imagine if something that beautiful takes years and years for us to see, 28

then imagine if we could see that as soon as it happened and every time I look into your eyes, I see that same beauty and unimaginable awe i see in the sky years after the light has passed. If you could only see what I see, that shine in your big beautiful brown eyes, those beautiful lips everytime you smile, and to top it off, the way you look at me when I am right by your side. And feel what I feel, that beautiful smooth skin, those beautiful sweet lips, the way my heart beats when I am around you, then you could see the place you hold in my heart. Even though light and beauty fade away, the presence you leave on me is so immense that every time you leave my side I wonder who could of ever thought I could have been so lucky to find you. If the universe was my body and the galaxy was my blood, you would be my light that keeps my heart from ever feeling or seeing the empty darkness that was meant for me. Me remembering the great times we have and the sparkle in your eyes every time you look into mine. I hope it’s true what they say about those who you hold so dear that all it takes is for that one person to say that everything will be ok and you believe that. Marrion Barrios

Circles

Circles… that round shape that keeps going It starts and it goes back to the beginning… That's my life My life goes on and goes back to my past It haunts me, it hurts me Those dark days make me be who I am But I don't want to be this person This person that fears everything This person that smiles like everything is ok… But it's not 29

My life is a circle Going back to the past I wish it was a line To walk straight and leave everything behind Sadness, stress, frustration, depression At last medication ... My life is a line Going straight leaving everything behind Happy Smiling Laughing All real and my life has begins Carmen Lozano

Closing Comments Growing up I have always been told that when I make it to the “real world,” life will be hard but answer me this, who chooses when a person starts living in the real world. Growing up seeing struggle by looking up to only criminals and drug dealers as examples and hardships like seeing my only guardian struggle day and night to take me out of all that hate I looked so dumbly up to. All around me, was this not the real world. A confused boy looking around, feeling as though I was see through (the endless tunnels surrounding me giving people two options to either pick a path to see or stop and forget. As they got closer the end of the path they just turned right around using the willpower to close the rectangular exit my heart made from the many hands going through my body molding me to their perfect square) because no one around me could hear my words or cries. Trying to reach for the sky but only grasping the disappointing faces I see all around me, my not being fit to make this life, my constant put down by those who are there to raise me and show me who I can be… I am grown or so I thought because now I see those same people telling me the same thing, “the real world is hard.” Again thinking about my past all I could think about were those two words, “real world.” Feeling as though all my hard work and grieving moments were just lost dreams of mine that I played over and over in hopes that I would learn that crushed dreams and false promises were what we were really being taught. Pass your test and you will make it in life, ace this test and schools will look at you, be different and you will cause a change. Trying my hardest to follow these words but always shut down or kept quiet because I needed to speak my mind,

needed to feel like I was free to achieve what they said I could, needing that connection to myself that was so helplessly shut off from the world because what they wanted was not different what they wanted was confirmed and I couldn’t do that because I was the change. Feeling alone and trapped only to realize that I am not alone. Now that I am standing firm and tall with the same people that feel as I feel closed concepts yet to be open the minds of those closed by those saying that the, “real world” is too much for our minds and we are not ready to be set free like birds being locked in a cage all their lives only knowing the cage and dark memories. Marrion Barrios

Coffee When I look at you I only think of a lie. Silly how you tried to convince me that we were meant to be, But by we, it was not you and me, but you and she. Only I am glad I caught myself and disowned my feelings for you, because I realized not only did I have your attention but someone else did too. You said you would never hurt me. You were right, you didn’t. You only made me come back to reality and realize that you were just not for me. Now, when you come across a cup of coffee, stare into it so that you can see the future you nearly convinced me we’d have. And just before my face begins to appear pour in the creamer, so that you can see how fast that thought fogs up because you and me were not meant to be. Jasmine Martinez 32

Cold High

Let the cold high fill my sorry smile Diana Hernandez 33

Collided The Wolf had fallen in love with the Sun but Day, who despised anything the Night sky kissed would not allow it. The Moon who had loved the Wolf long before she belonged to Earth would listen to the bitter howls of the desperate beast wishing they were hers. And as She listened, she felt something inside her wither. She felt the collision of the howls as they turned into meteors leaving craters in her heart. And so The Night who was a witness of all this heartache would shower the sky with stars reminding them that the Sun wasn’t the only light. Lizeth Vaquero

Colorblind i’m colorblind and you're the most colorful girl i've ever met you made me a numbered key with the names of all your 120 crayons. you labeled them one to onehundredtwenty with permanent black marker. i thought it was pointless, why would you try to fill my black and white eyes with your r a i n b o w o f h a p p i n e s s ? so when you saw no chance to my neverendingdarkness you gave up your red roses your blue oceans you gave up your green grasses and golden sunrises i should've known you'd gone too far when you refused to wear your favorite color. it wasn't the absence of your typical pastel pink garments that scared me. it was that as your pi nk hues left, so did your naive personality i fell in love with. you gave up your vibrant dreams in order to live in my daltonic world. and your crayons weren't the only thing labeled with a permanent black marker anymore. but baby girl, i could always see your red lips, brown hair, pale face and those bright hazel eyes that made me fall in love with an awfully loving sixteenyear old child. but you're not colorful anymore. and i was never colorblind. Yazmin Martinez

Colour Pallet Here's to the people with dark coloured eyes. Although they are beautiful they get little recognition and are rarely romanticized. Writers may go on about people's whose eyes are as deep as the ocean or bright like the sky. But you have a pallette more varied and wide. You have c hocolate , s ienna , and s epia ; c opper , b ronze , and

amber .

They're the strokes of charcoal created by an artist’s hand,

and an onyx so black they pierce even the darkest of nights. You see them in the feathers of c rows and in the fur of a f aun .

They're the rich dark earth which brings with it life all around. They are as savory as s pice and have the warmth of c ider with a bite of ginger . They have the boldness of coffee and the

sweetness of truffles . They make you melt like carmel and are soft as gingerbread ;

they’re thick as syrup and have an aftertaste of cinnamon . They are a cut of o bsidian that shimmers and shine I just don't understand how someone can look over such beautiful eyes. Now I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who can see the vast beauty in the sea of dark coloured eyes. Logan Gargotta 36

Conference Clothes that I wear to school are different than the clothes that I wear to go skateboarding, or out of school. l sit down in a plastic desk all day in the air conditioning and conveniently have water fountains at every end of the hall way. I am more comfortable wearing pants, boots and long sleeve inside of the school. If I was to go outside and lay on the grass I would probably need to change my clothes first. I would not want to be super hot in my clothes, or ruin the condition of them. Instead I would wear something that I could get dirty and isn’t thick, like a white tshirt. I wish I could live carefree and roll around in the grass for a while no matter what I am wearing, for the simple pleasure of knowing that I can. Instead there is certain clothes that I must wear first in order to feel more at ease with what activities I will be doing. When I die I would love to decompose into the ground naked. I would not want anyone to pay any kind of money because of my death (Please, I repeat, do not put me with any clothes, unless they are biodegradable, but then that would go against my wishes to not waste money because of my death) . I just want to help the earth’s precious soil, even when I am dead and decompose into the ground. If all of my life I never do anything right, at least I can hope to one day die the right way. Kevin Vergara

A conversation with my Father My father once told me that reality and fantasy are two different clashes. See, the eyes were my reflection to yours as the space is full of trust, and as the moon collides with the sun I was blind to your illness. I wasn’t aware that every pill you take was to alleviate the pain or Your hallucinations are the blade in your shadow. Father, I know what it must feel like to be isolated and cruel under a rock A family torn apart as the tree isn’t able to grow. Father, you never told a single lie to forecast A camouflage hidden in a drawer. An eagle surrounds himself with strong wings As you hide as a cave man in the dark. Father, why did you run away? It is as if the hunting men were catching their next prey. Don’t let them remove the part of what you feel. Our relationship was combined in two strings. You were the wire connected to the attached Holy Bible. As every bed time story fill my wonders Of a longing dream and you were there to protect me from danger. You said, “When you miss me, close your eyes I may be far but never gone.” For every note played on my guitar was a despair as the Full glass breaks and the loneliness is kept inside our cage. Loving you was like sprinkling pixie dust to fly in the sky. Loving you was like composing music and playing instruments within our souls. 38

The canopy disappears like the ocean waves. The laughter escapes in a faded echo chase. Despite the fact that I grew up believing you were by my side. The memory came to my mind that your last hug was the gift I kept. Your smile in a photograph is all I have now. We may be far but you'll never be alone. I was embraced by your anchor That lifted the weight off my struggles and never stabbed me through my heart and chest. You built a cast around every broken muscle. You navigate around the earth to have some space to think everything through and our memories will remain within our souls. If I had one wish, it would be to relive the moment I was hugged by my dad’s arms. Gladys Navarrete

Creators Creating something in life is hard, just as

Hard as waking up on a monday morning From an exhausting weekend of dealing with the life of being a Hispanic, hard work, and long hot days. Why do people tend to destroy what others create. Why did you even get out of bed if haters put you straight back in it. Life is hard as it is...all these other distractions are just cherries on top of the damn cake you never wanted for your birthday that was full of problems that had to do with drunk uncles, and fists. But wait… The problems don't stop there then you have to deal with all the other problems that began at the celebration that was supposed to represent the day you were born. 39

You wake up in the morning to your family members in jail or face flat in the backyard with halfdrunken beer cans in there hands. Although this might seem like a horrible life believe it or not there isn't a such thing as a perfect family. You just remember what happened that day, and hopefully that's enough to get you up and out of bed so that your next birthday party won't be as crazy as the last one. Ernesto Lopez

Daddy’s Rose y ou say you care, and you say you're here yet I look around and I'm standing here,

with an empty hand and an empty feel. Hate maybe ,honestly it's more like regret because even after you leave and forget, I still expect some guidance and care. I set aside all the pride and I forgive and I forget all the ignorance you show towards us. so I call A call, that rings at such a high pitch, as if it were shouting for me to hang up. yet I call A call so pointless, that at the end of the line I see nothing, but endless emotions that leaves behind this deadly affection. And when I move past all that hate and regret. You end up calling us again, feeding us lies as if you cared, but at the end of your sentences are words of interest and rage. I can't anymore, you don't call, and I don't mind. I have grown to understand that a man is used to pollinate a rose, but as it blooms nature takes place, 40

and that beautiful rose begins to take shape, And maybe, at the end of the line I could polin a beautiful rose myself. And I will nurture and let it grow, and maybe you will come to mind someday and I will reminisce all those memories I have with faith, and maybe it turned out for the very best. Jannin Rodriguez

Dark Times The scariest nights are when I'm alone and I start to hear your voice… Mario Sidonio

Daydream

You used to not fall asleep without me… now you don’t even daydream about me Wade Borrer and Alicein Killingsworth

Nyquil

You were stronger than the NyQuil I overdosed with, but some addictions still aren’t enough Alicein Killingsworth and Wade Borrer

Dealers I no longer search for the dope dealers, I search for the hope dealers. (Dedicated to Dad) Alicein Killingsworth

Defining The Unknown It’s indescribable. Always has been, Always will be. The feeling that your words get stuck in your throat, filled with sudden nervousness, anxiety overcoming you, beads of sweat dripping down your temple because deep down, you know that your vocal chords will fail you, you know that you could never perfectly reiterate the way that you feel. Yet somehow, you’re at peace. You don’t realize how accustomed you can get to someone’s company until you’re separated. But once you return, nothing else matters. Breathing becomes easier, your worries soon seem irrelevant. Everything feels like it falls right into place, the world stops withering, the atmosphere like that of the spring time. There is no cold winter, no harsh winds or icy storms. All else melts away 45

and the birds chirp flowers begin to bloom the sun never sets. No, there are no words to describe this feeling, but images of things just as spectacular come close. Things you experience, memories you cherish. Of course, these are no materialistic things It isn’t something you can dispose of whenever you’re “bored” because in reality, you could never be bored. How could you? The warmth of another’s presence is priceless, and beautiful. When you’re on your own, you’re okay. Walking, talking, and moving along just fine. time flows along, the sun rises and the sun sets. but that’s about it, you’re just... fine. Nothing particularly special about that. What changes is the presence of someone that you cherish so much, you could give up the world for them. Heck, they become your world. A mutual affection that quickly consumes your being.

You smile, yet you want to cry, Laugh, yet have tears in your eyes. Overwhelmed with so much emotion you don’t know what to do with it, and even though it’s impossible to describe it, you know you never want to stop feeling this way. Amy Rodriguez 46

Dismissed A portal created for the lonely which generates the illusion of the human’s emotions The heavy scented smell of Newport Cigarettes aroused his amusement he’d lost count after drag, after drag, after drag… His heart ached for that numbness while his thoughts seemed to drift from his natural habitat he in fact was infatuated with the ideal beauty of freedom Living a very isolated existence no one ever bothered to question the dark bruises stained upon his facial features, throughout the whole body He was human… His father couldn’t seem to comprehend he was his own flesh and blood until the Angel of Darkness dismissed his case allowing the white light appear finding certain calmness in God’s hands. Jasmine Gutierrez

Don’t worry about it I was walking my friend home from school and she told me she did not have the environment at home to be able to do her homework. she said she has lots of siblings that would bother her and keep her distracted. Jacki like me, shares rooms with her family. It made me happy when she told me she likes school because she gets time to sit down at a desk and write about all her thoughts. Earlier today I had the same thoughts as I was sitting with a pen in my hand and paper out in front of me. I was in my U.S. Government class not doing my assignment. Instead I was noticing how uncomfortable the metal bar that was connecting the desk to the plastic seat had been when I used it as an armrest. It was in this position that I felt the most capable to write. I was not comfortable physically but at least i would be sitting up right. all of the times that I spend writing takes place sitting down in a desk, sadly generally in school. 47

There was a humming, buzzing, dry heaving sound about class rooms ever since I entered school. I can never tell if the sounds come from the air conditioning, computer monitors or projector on the activboards since they are all powered on at the same time. I took the time to look around the classroom and there was a shelf next to me full of folders and portfolios filled with papers. I started playing eye spy by myself and found paper in text books, dictionaries, the teacher's desk, referrals, the students desks, handouts and in news articles. It would be dreadful if every single paper had been laid out, mixed together, like if it was all unimportant, there would be no order. But instead, like a deck of cards, they hold their place to make up a complete set, this is my classroom. The shelves hold papers where they belong, the table of contents inside the text book tells the reader where different concepts belong, the attendance paper assures students presence. A lizard was found in this class period crawling on the carpet by a girl who had been startled by it. Another classmate wanted to take it home to her brother, although the decision was one that could have been figured out quickly, the teacher took the time to call the office to get a principal's ruling on what should be done with the lizard. The principal’s solution was to put it outside of the building. Another classmate said “no! don't put the lizard outside” and the response the principal had to the student was “Yes I am going to put it outside, it belongs there, that is where it lives.” We have so many options… on how to solve situations and manage our time, yet even teachers have to go through certain processes that prolong the paths to solutions, in order to display structure, ideals and ethics. Kevin Vergara 48

Drained. I have to love me now. Reyna Morin

Dream Demolition To believe in a happy ending, is to condemn yourself to an illusion; well, that’s what he made himself believe till it was no longer a belief, just a manifestation of an idea to the physical plane, where it became his personality. He always expected the worst. You see, he believed that if you expect the worst, and only the worst then you’ll never be disappointed because you wouldn’t understand anything else. He was no fool, though. He was just an insane genius creating his reality where there was space, in his dreams. Jose Arriaga

Fender You pluck guitar strings, and just like my fragile heart, they break under stress. Alicein Killingsworth

Flower Child At times, I feel like a small speck in this world. A small miserable speck. Why? Because the galaxies of our universe swallow me up to the point I am digested by the judgemental society that says I have to be the delicate, pink scented rose that my mother has raised me to be. But mother, I have yet to bloom into the real world, where they start to pick off your petals one at a time no matter how much you try to soak up the radiating sunshine. There will be rainy days headed my way, and there will not be anyone there to shelter my fragile structure. And this world will not slow down to help me back up, mother. I will become wilted and unable to recover. My color will dim, and my kind scent will diminish. And I have begun to realize that every flower child needs her mother nature. But mother, you are not living up to your nature to nurture my stem and thorns. And the day I happen to prick someone, and they puncture my stem… where will you be? Where will my ray of sunshine be? The darkness will engulf the life out of my roots. Happy days will not exist. Mother, I gave you my love but you tossed it away. The paradise I once existed in has turned into a nightmare,

and unending cloud of grey. An empty, dark, black hole has left me with broken limbs and shattered dreams. Mother, I know loving can hurt, but sometimes, it is the only thing we really know how to do. I want you to make my heart beat like the rain. Because in order to survive, I have to feel the rhythm of your energy rushing through my veins. Yet the most appropriate way to do that is to appreciate our own petals, our own thorns, our own scent, and our own secrets. Once you have begun to know your own design, then you can be a part of mine. And even on our weakest days, we will become a little bit stronger. We will not have to wait any longer for clear skies and rainbows. But the moment you take a step out onto the water, and you think you are going to drift on the glassy surface, you end up sinking, crumbling into the fearful, icy sea bottom. You become trapped in a crystal bottle, unable to float back to the shoreline. You learn that in the end, mother nature needs her flower child, just as much as the flower child needs her mother nature. Alicein Killingsworth 51

Future

A perfect place in the long bittersweet future Lorena Munoz

Generation Life’s funny, isn’t it? We have so much weight on our shoulders. Late night shifts at work… and when you finally get home, you realize you had homework that determines whether or not you’re ready for the world. The never ending bother of college work, which we have to do because we were taught that if we don’t do it on time, things will never come to place. Essays you turn in but are unhappy with because you got stuck. You got stuck when the blank lines kept telling you to write more, but your mind was already drained out. The loneliness of good friends we lost. And not even in a death way, but maybe we just lost connection. The heartbreak of seeing your exlover, whom you gave your all to, with someone else. And don’t get me started on the bullies who disguise themselves as people in power and Lord knows what else. Life’s funny isn’t it? It is a beautiful thing though. We are young and have so much to give. It’s because we are still alive through everything, that we are called THE GENERATION OF HOPE. Life’s funny isn’t it? Nydia Mejia 53

The Ghost Tripper I come to earth as a ghost and I disappear as the sun starts to rise. Being a ghost is a unique gift, the best part is that I can trip someone and they won't notice who it was. I tried to trip you, but instead something bloody popped in the center of my chest it had a weird beat that I had always heard from everybody that I had tripped. I fought your demon and found your sad soul that is trying to keep you up after you lost your uncle that was like a father to you, basketball is the only thing that keeps you up, I want to be the reason you smile nonstop. Only if you could see me I would give a hand to your lonely soul to make you smile once again I would never let that smile go missing ever again. The fact that I have been a ghost all my life. I have been helping people, by tripping them and making relationships last a long time, but now I can't do it for you and me. How can you fall in love with a ghost that disappears during the day? I regret ever falling for you. We will never be able to hold hands while we go rent movies from the Redbox Or go somewhere fancy so I can show off my new Calvin Klein dress that I bought just to impress you. But I'm just a ghost that is trying to find out how to undo the moment I tripped with you. before I am able to tell you that, I have fallen in love with you! Jennifer E. Mejia 54

Gray Matter I’ve learned how to cope with myself. I’ve learned so many things how it’s okay to have laundry piled up, bundled in a corner, because I haven’t had the time to get to the laundry even though it’s the upteenth day that I’ve said “I’ll get to it in just a minute”. Caring for someone else’s happiness becomes more important. It’s okay to be a little messy sometimes. It’s okay to feel emotions and express them. It’s okay to feel pain. Before, I never really knew what unconditional love felt like. But now, The air isn’t thick and stagnant. The sun seems to shine a little brighter. Skies appear a little clearer. I can breath again. I can live again. I can feel. Not feel as in stubbing your toe and crying out with pain, Not feel as in feel stray hairs tickling your face, Feel, As in fear over the possibility of losing someone, Feel, As in the euphoria that comes with your first love, Feel, As in sobbing over your first heartbreak. And a part of me wonders, Why wasn’t it always this way? Due to circumstances far beyond my control, Some people are just born to be sad. Born in a gray place between happy and sad that just leaves someone feeling so… Empty. Empty as in eating food but not being able to distinguish the flavor.

Empty as in not having a favorite color, favorite holiday, or a favorite anything. Empty as in being unable to feel, Going through the motions on autopilot, In a feeble attempt to force yourself to feel "alive” Losing yourself in the cosmos, One among an endless mass of other lost souls. Yet, After what feels like centuries, An instance befalls you that has you feeling bemused, a look of wonder on your face. Wonder because for the first time, You feel . Confusion, yes, But it stirs an inkling of something inside you that you thought you were missing. Curious, you seek out this emotion, Slowly turning the gears and losing the dust and cobwebs that surround that foreign emotion. Losing the grayness. For the first time, life starts to have color. Something as simple as a laugh from a kind soul has somehow saved you From being dead inside. For the longest time it felt like you were a dead person walking, But now, You’re alive. Alive and imperfect, With your laundry piles and your messy hair and annoying sneeze, With your oversleeping and procrastinating and little white lies here and there. Yet you are happy, And so am I. Because this person is all of us. People live within gray matter for parts of their lives, Just living on autopilot, until some person or some event changes that. Happiness comes and goes, and coping with that is what gives life a little color. But I do not fear the gray, Because the gray is what has made me appreciate just how significant every moment is in life.

Amy Rodriguez 56

Growing up as a “Hispanic” Everyday I look at the mirror to see who I really am; Raised by Hispanic parents but taught the language of America I sometimes confuse myself in being a white man. Mother told me the reason why I don’t know much Spanish is because the doctors told her it would be a life changing choice if she taught me to become bilingual. If she taught me both languages, I would be talking “Spanglish” right now. “Mrs. Norma, please, pick your poison: teach your child the language of your family tree and make him feel confused everyday as he lives in America, or teach him the language of the land and make him a stranger to his ancestry.” Y’all probably know what she picked… Hell, my first word was “Mommy” At age 7, I loved magic tricks. Mother bought me a book full of magic tricks that I could do. I thought I was so good, I made one up by myself. I could never talk to my grandma that well, so the magic trick would make every word I say become understandable to her. You want to know how it’s done? Every word I would say to her ended with the letter “o”: “Lita, puedo mako mi taco, por favor?” My grandmother gave me this disappointing look and said “Si, Mijo”. Mother told me to never talk to Lita like that ever again. She thought it was offensive of me to do that. I guess my magic trick didn’t work out after all. I stopped trying to be a magician that year. At age 10, a custodian stopped me for a moment and asked me for a favor but her speaking Spanish to me is like me trying to understand topics far outside of rocket science. She tried to dumb it out for me but still nothing; she was just making me feel stupid the more she did it. My counselor came by and translated for me since I was having a minipanic attack, but right after she finished, I just ran off to the protection of my mother working in her office; I didn't even say “thank you” to my counselor… At age 12, I was the whitest boy you’ll ever meet in a Hispanic cultured middle school. I never liked any spicy foods, I never understood Spanish songs that they would play at the dances (which I still don't), and my skin would be as white as the hate letters that I would receive at school. I would burn those 57

letters to put all the ash on my skin so I would look dark, just like my friends. Age 12, I see my mother on a gurney outside my house while I hear the medics speak Spanish to my father. I cry. I cry for not just seeing my mother in that condition, even though there was no blood present on her body, but the fact that I can’t decipher what the doctors are saying to my father. I cried from confusion. Age 15, my grandma gives me a blessing with her egg while she speaks Spanish. I don’t have a clue what she’s saying, so I just wait till she says Amen so I can say it too. Age 16, my baby cousin already can talk to my grandmother in her language better than I can. Age 16, my sister is having her quince and the Priest is talking in Spanish. Age 16, I'm at a birthday party and everyone is singing the birthday song in Spanish. Age 17… I’m with my grandfather. We sit on the porch trying our best to understand our algorithms. It’s like trying to fit two puzzle pieces that aren’t meant to be together. I fear the day of never being able to have a conversation with him and my grandmother without mother translating for me. As for now, he’ll call me the only thing that I can truly understand from him. He’ll call me what he used to call me when I was a baby boy. He’ll call me, and still calls me … his chiquito pajarito azul. Matthew Campos

Happening Now I sense what’s happening now. I need to get a better handle here. Only I need her. Look, my strengths, not myself. She’s reluctant. I was enthroned within walls lined with portraits of her. Jasmine Martinez

Her Body Her body, lays beside me in quietness on the blood red satin. she whispers a few words that kiss my ear slowly, silently, like they're dragging their feet through an endless, transparent corridor of remorse. With 10foot ebony doors and gilded knobs that seared my palm when I tried them all and when I finally managed to enter there was nothing inside. Nikolas Robledo

Her Voice Her voice painted a wistful tune in my ears that sang to me Goodnight. Nikolas Robledo

Hidden Melodies Hidden Melodies She Loved To Sing. Nikolas Robledo

Honest love When she speaks my heart beats faster then any hummingbird’s wings . And when she looks at me all I imagine is Medusa's lovely stare and how I can go and never move because of her beauty. And I'd be lying if I said her scent wasn't of what made cherry blossoms wince in awe. But truth be told, No one can ever embody the true and pure pain you'll go through chasing the satisfaction of the kindred Soul you're trying to tame because it's a war, And no one survives war without seeing blood. But why are we supposed to fight for love? This question has always eluded me because love and war, kisses 62

and punches and making peace and making money have been opposites at face value but the deeper they run the more intertwined they have been become and the relationship has been hidden thought diamonds and broken hearts and some dollar that bought drugs, gun, wedding rings and roses. But the answer resides with God/s Many love the idea of a god or any prophet that can heal and cleanse them of their mortal sins because eternal damnnation from tormentors of our own creation doesn't sound pleasant, not in the slightest. I'd rather have a cold than that But Gods, at least on this planet, were once humans like us all. And we all know something about humans, they bleed and feel the same as us. That's why we never see our significant others as the Devil’s others can see. And that's how the question is more than a question and now a living epidemic of dead bodies with good intentions and broken hearts that didn't have all the pieces But how'd you get a grip with all these broken fingers? No matter how much bitterness or vivid hallucinations of relaxations ruined by the realities tight grip on your throat because you’re unable to truly say what you want because the others mind is too fragile or too tough to change its ways we feel pleasure Pleasure in the chase of approval Pleasure in the face of losing her but not Pleasure knowing every time you have sex it'll one day be called love and soon a offspring made from you both will be made, but if the child isn't conceived through pure love then the child life's dawns the end of yours But like the battle we all lose to love I digress. 63

Because in the end there shouldn't ever be any resistance towards love. No matter how gut wrenching or pleasurable. We should all go through the ocean of love and hope to whatever you must believe in that you won't just be torn apart for the satisfaction of statistics and destruction of your simple mind. So never live in your shadow but never live on the edge because you can't be unbalanced, but if you find yourself on any end of the spectrum to far to swim back to shore....jump. Jump hoping to make it through unscathed and if you don't then learn from all the agony and torment and begin again at the center because there is no way love can ever keep you centered. You will make choices and the choices will make you but you must remember that no matter what happens you must hold strong and keeps true to the idea that started this all. The idea that keeps you going even though the tears and bottles of sorrow. The idea that kept the gun away from your temple and the idea that kept your mouth salivating for the taste of perfection. Some storms can be out run, but you can never outrun yourself. Stay pure to your truths and stay clean from that which will destroy your passions. David Barziza

How ya feel It’s naturally easy to get wrapped up in your Grades, your life at home and over all your OWN LIFE . But when you come to school and enter the classroom’s of Northbrook High School, they are not filled with 1 student per teacher. Instead there are classmate’s there to learn with you, that have to worry about their own emotions, school work, and everyday struggles. Shirts sweaters merchandise from NHS organizations including just a few; band, sports, theater, orchestra, choir, debate, mathletes etc, are worn throughout the school to constantly 64

remind us the community Raider nation starts with each and every single one of us, it isn’t just the teachers, or just the students. This is our environment, and our opinions and behaviors matter and affect each and every single person around you. Treating and valuing everyone's input could mean the difference from a “generation that gets along, makes compromises and communicates” opposed to a “generation that hates being around each other, because everyone thinks they are better than everyone else since their grades reflect it” Taking time away from “work”, to spend time making the schoolworld a better place could mean joining organizations that help others besides yourself, and just plain old treating others with respect and being considerate enough to realize that everyone around you is feeling the pressure of school, the rush of deadlines, and lackadaisical. The smiles, “excuse me’s”, “thank you’s”, or even opening the door for a teacher that has her hands busy, could be the factor that changed a(n) educator's mood. An educator's mood affects their teaching, and therefore affects your learning and the kind of grades you get. Essentially it all ties back to how “you feel” that affects our environment as a whole. Creating an environment, where people do not get shamed for worshiping different aspects of life is one that we should aim for everyday. So i ask the class of “2016” “How ya feel” Kevin Vergara

Human Nature its HUMAN nature TO WANT MORE, TOO BAD i'm no different TOO BAD YOU WANT SOMETHING NEW EVEN AFTER I GAVE YOU THE GIFT OF FLIGHT YOU STILL URGE TO SOAR NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES i begged For another chance, WHEN YOU SAID YES, I MISS UNDERSTOOD THE ANSWER WRITTEN ON THE SPEAR DRIVEN THROUGH MY HEART THAT READ: “I WANT TO BE WITH HIM” YOU TOLD ME HE WAS TALLER I STILL HAVE BLISTERS FROM WEARING STILTS, just TO WATCH YOU WALK AWAY YOU TOLD me HE WAS FUNNIER SO I STARTED LEARNING CHEESY PUNCHLINES TO WIN YOU OVER TO BAD THE ONLY JOKE YOU LAUGHED AT WAS THE THOUGHT OF ME STILL HAVING A CHANCE. BUT I, NO LONGER WISH TO BE HUMAN FOR I no LONGER WANT TO FEEL THE pain, FROM THE SCARS YOU MADE WHILE trying youR HARDEST TO CLAW YOUR WAY OUT OF MY LIFE. BUT i still held on. to THE SPEAR YOU DROVE THROUGH MY HEART. THOSE words YOU SAY TO HIM ARE LIKE WOLFBAIT that DRAGS ME TO MY KNEES THE PICTURES YOU POST SEND AN ELECTRIC charge THROUGH MY HIPPOCAMPUS 66

SLOWLY ERASING my memory OF YOU which IS STARTING TO TAKE AWAY THE PAIN you left… I ETCHED TATTOOS OF OLIVE BRANCHES AND ANCHORS TO REPLACE THE SCARS OF PAIN WITH SYMBOLS Of peace and hope AS i NOW heal MY EYES WILL NO LONGER GLOW GOLD AS I WILL NO LONGER BE THE BETA OF YOUR PACK BUT AS I AM BECOMING THE ALPHA OF MY OWN PACK, MY EYES WILL GLOW BLUE EVEN AT THE RISK OF my OWN INNOCENT heart I AM THE ONE IN CHARGE OF MY LIFE OF MY DREAMS MY DREAMS TO BE HUMAN AS i wish to feel THE BEAUTY OF THIS WORLD AND BE REMINDED OF HOW WONDERFUL THE PAST CAN BE, TO FEEL THE HEART BEAT OF (HER) ANOTHER TOO BAD IT'S human NATURE TO WANT MORE. Wade Borrer

Hush Mommy Chris Hope, 10years old. At that age, he realized that daddy lied. Dad wasn’t play fighting with mommy. No, he was beating her. Took him long enough, but that was because along with a severe case of stuttering, he had another sickness. He was a bit slow. Chris, 17 now. Not only is his mom still being beaten, but his dad started throwing blows towards him as well. This did not happen out of nowhere. THIS happened because Chris tried to stick up for his mother and just like the devil, his dad did not want Chris to gain, or even try to gain more power than himself. Believe it or not, when Chris went to school, no one said anything. By that I mean no authority who were supposed to care for Chris, did anything. Chris could not understand why his mother never did anything. Maybe because he was their money. Maybe because this man sometimes showed affection towards her and she, deep down in her heart, felt that he was going to change. Chris may never know. Chris, 18 now. It is 10 days after his birthday. This would be the day Chris found a living hell, yet a glory like heaven. Although he lost his beloved mother who, I should add, had a beautiful soul like art that even bruises couldn’t touch, he also lost his father. On this day, his father came home angry. 68

He had lost his job and of course, he had to take it out on someone. He beats Chris’s mother and on the last act, he punched her head in a rough move and with that, she stopped. She just stopped. As he is about to throw another blow, that is when this man realized she was dead and so scared, this man cried, which was the first time Chris ever saw him cry. This man fled without saying a word. Chris could never in his whole life understand why his father tortured his mother. Let alone his own son. He spent days, years in fact, trying to find the passcode to his father's heart, so that somehow he can see where his father was hurt and fix it. When he did find the passcode, there was nothing there but visuals of other women he had hurt. It is all over now. Yes, Chris is sick and all alone now, but there’s a better place for him now than where he’s been spending 18 years of his life. And yes, he lost his mother, but she doesn’t have to deal with the pain anymore. It’s all over now. Nydia Mejia

Illusion In love with the illusion that what once was, would forever and always remain intact. Jannin Rodriguez 69

In May

Lend me your glass eyes, Touch me with your sand blown skin that turns pale in May. Shake slumbers blur from your head as the morning sun creeps past the cracks from your curtains and let the stars that i brought you dance through your umber hair in May. The day you read in front of everybody and you took a nervous glance at me I saw the eyes of mama z and the memories of her days spent in eden her eyes took the shape Of Doronicum orientales that bloom only in May. Jovani Streety

In Memory of You In memory of you … “I love you to the moon and back,” Is what you left behind for all to remember. Each one of us have our memories with you, I’d say mine are the best. A great father, grandfather you were. Always so caring, so loving. 70

No harm done whatsoever, Yet everyone else dared to hurt you. One day you were yourself, The next I couldn’t bare think it was someone else. In memory of you, I hate those who changed you. In memory of you, I wish you’d still be here. In memory of you… I… love you to the moon and back. I didn’t have the chance to say goodbye, Know I regret not taking your calls, I regret getting annoyed by those words, Which now they mean the world to me. Late, I know. I also know you’re above me, Looking down upon me, and I know it’s you who stands next to me. Who follows, guides, and looks out for not only me, but my family. In my memory of you, I will always have you in my heart and always worn on my chest. Amber Ortega

Independent Raised by one, carried by many But never you Many falls and bruises That you never healed Lots of tears had fallen But you never saw them Got hurt many times You just never knew Every step of my life There was never a sign of you I looked back To only find My own footprints Yours were never visible But that was okay I managed to become Invincible Cathy Oropeza 72

I Understand

“I understand what you’re saying tell me what I need to hear” I said. He said I’m not sure maybe we are scared to death someone else is going to find us Alicien Killingsworth

Justifying a Loss It's always at two in the morning on a cold lonely night when I start to remember what we had, what we lived, who we were, and what we've become. The reality is that one cannot remain who they are forever. One must grow, change, evolve, and become who they are. I realize now that the expense of me growing, changing, evolving and becoming who I am was giving you up. What have we become? Mario Sidonio

Knack You’ve always had a special knack For bringing out the best in me Only to leave the worse behind Once you decided you were tired of we. Lesly Reza Olguin

The Knife How handsome you look, dangerous and mysterious, with a small peak. You are threatening to me. The world can’t see that! As I eat I question why people are blinded by who you are not, they see the cover of a kind guy when we know you are responsible for who I have become. I am now coming to realization and finding out that I know who you truly are, a knife, Whose cover is full of graffiti and is admired by those Who have created them. However, you are a strong knife And in the inside your blade is that blade that kills slowly but when it cuts, you feel Every nerve go through pain, a knife that can cut through anything. You are a sharp knife that is dangerous. That was capable of sliding my heart open 75

And filling it in with love and affection. I can't deny I am your pouch, a pouch that can cover who you are in reality because your biggest crime was to cut through my steel heart and turn it red and warm with love And that's why my love, you are dangerous While others see you as an unimpeachable person I know the reality, you are the one who with one scrape, lost me in enchantment. Lorena Munoz

A Letter to my Best Friend

Dear Carol, I’ve known you for so long that a tree was old enough to hold the rings inside the depravity ground. As if the ocean waves will sputter every broken bone. You left marks in my skin that turn into a scar that will vanish somehow but they are in the memories we made. It is hard to let go of the pain. As an ecstasy grew and the apple is cut away by the knives that stab me through every artery vein. If i could hook up my heart and let my tears be your morphine drip. Maybe you will hear the sound of my heart beating thousands of times that it was hard to let go of our history together before our memories remained in the trees. It isn’t easy. It’s like holding on the rope so tight that you would be blind with your naked eyes. As the blood running from my eyes. Looking down at a glass wall. Where my hand isn’t able to pass through the lens 76

but i’m looking at the ground. While I couldn't look you in the eye. I was hurt inside and blinded by your lies and how your egotism got bigger While I defended you against my will. You were deaf to my voice. You knew every part of me and crumbled me down through as gravity pulls me so close to the grass. As I was having a battle of wars. I was reserved to not recall things to you. Our trust faded like the stardust. The term “best” friend was nostalgic flights that vanish into the smoke. We both knew we were inseparable as glue sticks with paper beneath the shield. Our traits were different. You were the wild wind. While I was the silhouette under the stars that shone like the snow. You were an amazing friend. I looked up to you like the blue skies that shiver through the cold breeze. I believed everything that came out of your mouth. You were a role model that I admired, but my eyes were dazzled by the sunset. You were a grenade that exploded inside my blood vessels. Your love was like a river that flows gently through the weeds and became rough in the edges. Our friendship became acid. I hope that one day you will understand how much you meant to me, how I always believed in you. I tried to lift the weight off your shoulders. But for you, trying wasn’t enough because I was already proud of you. I was happy like the galaxies that would sparkle through my eyes. 77

You are the extroverted moth and I'm your introverted forest. We are like paint in a chorus. And you didn’t understand the broken branch inside of me was carved through my heart and chest, you knew my family struggles and never kept my confidential roots. I was tormented by lightning thunder, while we broke into seasons. Our friendship became raw like vegan, but I've always cared. As the long drought of sand opened my eyes to see that my only true friend was my mother and not a false friend. I wasn’t aware that you were envious of me and that you became my enemy that was close to my life. Remember when you were in 8th grade and how you made a beautiful black vase out of clay. The center was the velvet heart. Your special gift was a souvenir that inhibited colors. Remember when we both decided to smash the vase? That's how our forever came out of the fragments to rebuild ourselves. As your smile fell from your face, I became the toxic liquid that fell with it. I learned that loving you was attached to the center core of my loyalty for you. Loving you was admiring every eye lash you kept in your goofball island. I could no longer see the friend i used to know because no matter how long it takes maybe in the long waves We will meet again. But it won’t be the same bond like it was before. The nightmare has changed but it’s now time to say goodbye my dear childhood friend. Sometimes I still can’t decide if it should be an apology or not. Though I've always cared. Though you still have a place somewhere between the lines of our friendship. Don’t forget that.

p.s. I've never hated you. I've always loved you. Gladys Navarrete

Leprechaun Wanna be a snitch and throw a fit you damn witch tired of this crap but listen cuz it’s legit. You might get inspired and don’t worry it won’t expire I’m no liar, didn’t know you got hired to stalk me like a hawk. wanna walk and talk behind my back. What is it my fault that your son had some fun? and now everyone knows What is this a rerun? I’m not even 21 for all this drama mama. What does my trend offend? Sorry that you can bend your wallet while I can spend. Hey I’m the case of a defend. Your a meal with too much salt wanna assault. Cuz you can’t afford my expense I won’t keep my mouth shut and crawl into a rock if that’s what you want. Is my dressing stressing? Cuz it looks like your obsessing. That’s depressing. I’m used to this, before you call me a spick let me introduce myself. What, didn’t think I captured it quick? Let it click in your head chick and get sick. Look leprechaun you need to get that attitude pawn cuz your the definition of an electron. Being so negative so tentative to my skirt. Why you so sensitive? What’s worse that your about to burst or that I’m about to spit another verse. Cuz I have dirt in your bin double chin with the abdomen of a rim. You act as if I’m a sin. What, you mad cuz my skin is slim? 79

Just got to the gym. I don’t care if I have your approval. So yes, take that as a refusal. I see your pupil examine me up and down so brutal. That’s why I’m being crucial and adding to the fuel. I can see that you sweat since day one that we met. Why you upset? But yet I’ma threat. Is it cuz I’m so beautiful and juvenile? But you act as if I’m cutting the inner of your cuticle, so suitable. Look sicko mirate misma I’m no hero armadillo. Get some vino hating cuz I’m size zero. You're so bitter I think you need a filter to start with da base, say it to my face. I just think it’s funny how your chubby buddy hubby doesn’t see me from the standpoint you see me. Your son got expelled that’s embarrassing, he needed your protection They say your offspring is your reflection. I can see your swelled you withheld your rod you fraud. Cuz your too busy concerned with my trend but I’m custom to this like the villain in gotham. I grew up this city and I’m doing fine, this is silly I have pity for you cuz I can clearly see that your applying what you learn. So flip a penny and hope you get skinny. I’m not going to do a 360 for you but I’ll stop putting you on blast and at last you got tipsy from my comeback. Jennifer Escobar

Let It Go Clear your mind and relax. Stop hurting yourself thinking about the past. What's done, is done. Now what is left to do is move on. You've been hurting long enough. Over thinking and crying at night? Your eyes are too precious to be put through that. You might think you're alone, but you're really not. Look all around you, people that love you surround you. So take a deep breath and let it all out. It's okay to hurt every once in a while, but don't let sadness engulf you. You're strong enough to get past it, even if it's just for a while. Giselle Zarazúa

Look Into Eyes

I look into eyes saying hello to my long distance lover, and whisper I love you two times and listen to each breath. Alicien Killingsworth

Luminance I once thought I was a sculpture made of ice Perfectly crafted and poised That everything about me was elegant and precise Unaffected and frozen in time My lover had ice in the veins Passed through my venomous kiss It could hardly be considered a crime They were held by unbreakable chains It created a moment of bliss But I am not an ice sculpture My love was never frostbite I am not elegant nor am I precise I am the flames engulfing a heart I am the heat warming a soul Free to crackle and run across surfaces Twirling and dancing, creating my own inferno art Untouchable, Unyielding, Unruly And I raise my head high As I illuminate your darkness with my endless embers Creating my own glowing beauty. Esmeralda Interial

Carmen Lozano

L.R.L. I remember when we slow danced on the second floor of the Methodist Church because we couldn’t be more connected anyplace else in such a public space. I remember on the same floor we had our first kiss and it seemed to be so long in the moment but as I look back now I realize it was barely two seconds because I’m super shy when it comes to physical, sensual contact. We were alone, but it felt as though the whole church stood watching like we were about to be wedded into something we didn’t see coming. But as the days passed all we could see through our brown eyes that I referred to as worlds, were distant planets that live far, far away from ours. And your worlds are so beautiful that I can’t help but stare. You then told me they’re so beautiful because I reflected in them. You never stopped staring after that day, and neither did I. Alicein Killingsworth

Males Males defending their territory too late. Nikolas Robledo

Masked Chapter One The coffee shop on Elmer street was the only coffee shop in Winchester Bay, a small town with a population of three hundred and eightytwo people. The shop is as big as my living room, with mocha walls, couches and outside chairs. Like most coffee shops, it was often a quiet place for studies and small talk, a place where people can go for peace, caffeine, and internet. For me, however, it was a reminder of something that still haunts me. I could feel it from where I stood, across the street. “Sydney?” Violet placed a hand on my shoulder. She and Sienna stood with me as I watched the cafe. People streamed in and out, smiling and laughing while holding cups of coffee in their hands. Who could act normal around that place? I returned my attention to my friends with an easy smile. “Sorry, it is just that the place still gives me the creeps.” I wasn’t alone in my feeling of unease. Violet and Sienna were there that night too, seeing the same things I did. Violet looked at the bench we stood in front of, her eyes the flittering up to the tree that loomed over us. “Let’s just keep going,” she muttered. She wouldn’t portray her feelings to us, she was always that way. Loud and happy, but hidden. We only knew her so well from experience and time. “We'll be late for school and if I get caught again, I’ll have detention for a week.” She swung her bag over her shoulder and started walking from under the shaded tree. Sienna followed and after a swift glance back at the other side of the street, so did I. The three of us have been best friends since we were born. Our parents all lived close to one another, a few streets away or so, allowing them bonding time over 86

their closely related pregnancies. We have been put together since the minute we were able to crawl. In high school, we were a popular crowd. Being nice to everyone, making jokes with the real populars and keeping teachers on their toes. My parents believed that by putting us together, they taught us the importance of bonding and having someone other than them to run to, incase things had went South. It is all about having someone by your side. It came in handy for awhile, being a lonely girl in school is no one's idea of fun. We always had someone by our side. After all, high school is the toughest part of growing up. Being stuck in a place where the same thing occurs everyday, people become blurred faces and eventually the need to leave and live is stronger than the need to stay and listen. The three of us walked on, the high school building appearing a block or so away. “You know, for formals I was thinking that I was just going to stay home,” Sienna said. She ran her fingers through her light blonde hair, something she only did when she was nervous. Violet laughed, “What are you talking about? You’ve been talking about formals since Summer?” There was a moment of silence from all of us. “Well,” I tried, “with Nathan anyway. So what happened?” “Nathan and I are not on speaking terms right now,” Sienna sighed, staring straight ahead. Closer to the school, we could see Nathan around a group of friends. He was laughing and tossing a football into the air. When he saw the three of us walk up, his laughter died. “Sienna.” He said quietly. There was a serious note in his voice and after a minute, he went back to his friends. I grabbed her arm and we hauled our butts up the stairs. “What was that?” I asked. “Yeah,” Violet said. She looked back at Nathan, a mean sneer on her face. We walked in the school, reaching the hall that held all of our lockers. Our 87

school was so small that the administration let us pick our own lockers. Ours were all side by side. “He ditched me the other night,” Sienna mumbled, kicking her shoe against her locker before opening it. “I got mad and told him that he didn’t care about me or was embarrassed of me. He hung up and hasn’t text me or anything since. That was the first time he talked to me in three days.” “If he is trying to make a point, he is doing a crappy job.” I replied. Sienna was a sensitive girl. She used to get made fun of in middle school for being a little on the chunky side. Sienna always felt that people had things to say about her. She looked at the floor and started walking down the hallway where our lockers were. I opened my locker and took out my first period English book. “Find some alone time and talk to him then,” I suggested. I felt sorry for her, but today I was feeling my own world on my shoulders and I didn’t want to talk much. Shutting my locker, I headed to my class. The bell rang and kids came rushing in from all sides. I got to class, slid in my seat and finally took a breath. No one besides me had entered the class yet, so I dug around my bag and pulled out a piece of paper that was sitting on the dashboard of my car when I woke up this morning. She is alive. That was all it said, written in black letters with marker. When I found it, I thought it was a joke and crumbled the paper up and tossed it in my bag. Then I realized that my car had been locked when I last left it and it was locked as I went to go for school. I even remembered seeing my keys on my nightstand before falling asleep that night. There is a possibility that it could be a joke, there was a possibility that it isn’t. So, instead of driving, I met up with the girls at Sienna’s house and 88

didn’t mention the note. I suppose standing in the same spot where I watched her disappear didn’t help. Last summer, a girl from our school, Casey Wood disappeared. In a town like this, you can imagine that it set off the public. Searches for her were conducted every night in the forest, the dunes and even scouted the ocean. There was no sign of her body or even evidence about her disappearance. The only lead they had was three witnesses who happened to be walking home from a diner that night and saw someone grab her before dragging her into a car. We told the police everything we could. The color of the car was black, the model seemed newer but we weren't sure, the man who took her was fit and no way older than forty. Sienna, Violet, and I were coming home from the diner two blocks over from the coffee shop were we saw Casey banging on the doors of the cafe door. She was a nervous wreck, crying so loud that we could hear her from across the street. I had stopped walking, pondering whether or not to go talk to her. She seemed a little over upset. A car came screeching up, seconds later and shoved a screaming Casey in the car before I had a full chance to register what happened. We ran to the police as soon as we could, crying that someone abducted her. We didn’t know her very well or personally, she was just a fellow student. However, that didn’t stop her screams from echoing in my head every time my eyes closed. So many questions weren’t answered. Why was she at the coffee shop an hour after closing? Who would want to kidnap a seventeenyear old girl? Most of all, are they still in Winchester Bay? A door slammed and I snapped out of my daze. The class was full now, impatient kids sitting and ruffling around in their chairs. Our teacher, Mrs. Morgan was at the board, writing down today's work. I shoved the note into the back of my notebook as she turned around and began instructing the class. 89

However, I was stuck in summer. I kept thinking about Casey and my car. The note had to be about her. It could have been someone trying to make me uncomfortable, but that begs the question, who would go through such lengths just to pull some joke? Questions circled my mind until lunch when the feeling of hunger started talking the spotlight. I hunted down a burger and salad before finding Sienna and Violet at a table, leaning over in discussion. Across from them sat Nathan and his goons. “What’s up?” I asked, sliding next to my friends. Sienna looked at me with big, hurt blue eyes and Violet gave me the prepare for tears look. “He refused to talk to me. I tried talking and he just looked at me.” She sniffled and wiped her hand across her nose. “It feels like I'm being broken down bit by bit.” I took a bite of food before answering, knowing that if I didn’t eat soon I was going to snap on someone. “Time, honey,” I said. “He is obviously working hard to ignore you. He keeps looking over at you. Just wait for him to get tired of his own game.” Sienna took my advice into deep thought, falling into silence as she ate. I opened my mouth to tell them about the note, but the words weren’t coming out. I sighed and fell into the table wide silence. I ate the burger and salad, feeling full and greasy in ten minutes. Violet had a sandwich on her lap and Sienna poked at macncheese and chicken tenders. “You know,” Violet said, suddenly. “I feel like something is going on.” I froze. “What are you talking about?” “I don’t know,” she shrugged. “It’s just that this whole day has been kind of off to me.” The bell shrilled suddenly and she got up. “I’ll see you after school?” “Yeah,” Sienna and I replied. Sienna and Violet then took off and I ran ahead, catching Nathan right as he walked through the double doors. “Are you done?” I asked him, falling in step. 90

Nathan glanced at me, giving me a smile. The first one of the day, I assumed. “What do you mean?” I nudged him with my shoulder as we walked down the class, both entering our anatomy class together. “You know what I mean. Torturing Sienna with silence is not going to fix your relationship.” Nathan said nothing and dug around his bag. I waited for him to say something else until it became obvious that he wouldn’t. “Come on!” I said. “You miss her and she's misses you. You are both miserable for no reason. You know how Sienna gets. She gets scared you wont love her anymore then you go and ignore her? That’s only proving her right!” “I’ve dated her since our freshman year. It’s been three years and she can’t get over what a couple bullies said.” He didn't meet my eyes as he spoke. “How does she not know that I love her?” “This isn’t helping.” I said, softly because what he just said was sweet and making my heart ache. I know that Sienna isn’t an easy person to be around. Her negative view of herself impacted everyone around her, especially someone who loved as deeply as Nathan does. He sighed and stared at the board. Our geeky teacher walked in and he fell silent. I was pretty sure that he wasn’t going to say anything else until he whispered, “I will talk to her.” Smiling, I started copying the notes from the board. I may not have figured out what that note means if it means anything at all but at least I can fix a relationship. Halle Spitler

Modern love story He lied to me when he said that no one will ever see the picture… Mario Sidonio

Mother Nature A blooming orchid leans toward the giving sunlight, feeding off of its beam. Further down the stem, we find its roots slowly, softly drinking water off of the earth’s rich soil. It is surrounded by a palette of hues; great deal of vegetation that travels for miles beyond belief. The gentle print of a wild cat's paw creates a pattern along the flora as it sways gracefully, strategically searching for nourishment that feeds its natural craving for meat or the mark of a hoof from a majestic horse galloping endlessly for a rush of sweet wind to caress its fur and separate strands of its mane. The fresh air is full of countless breaths, the trees inexhaustible amount of oxygen. Birds hum the name of their loves, calling out for their affectionate attention. Together, the beauty of mother nature offers a fresh start and therefore a reason to be alive. They meet. The vicious tiger pouncing its prey. The horse shrieks from the pain of claws tearing into its abdomen. Hind kicks jerk the tiger off of its back, with this chance the horse flees. The tiger, now starving, chases it haphazardly. Each of them, fighting for their lives, but why? As we take a pause in this moment of time we can assume that these creatures whom mother nature has created are, naturally, programmed to hunt for food, breed, and ultimately satisfy the food chain so that their species may live long and flourish. That is an animal's purpose. A cluttered street is filled with people who chatter about complicated politics. They are caught up in traffic which causes a riot of honking and volume levels rise. The gas from the engine rises up into the air making smoke. People are late for 92

their morning blends of assorted lattes and become angry at the services of others. Trash men are disgusted by people’s lack of cleanliness, because the debris spreads as if a virus infected the host due to its betrayal of the resources earth has given to them. Plastic roams the sea, innocent animals choked by the foreign objects that were not meant to be in their habitat. A person notices this mistreatment and confronts an organization but they deny him help. They’re selfish in their actions, all they can think about is how they could make a profit out of anything and everything. Together, the hostility of our unorthodox society refuses a fresh start and therefore have no clear objective to continue this path. They meet. A disagreement riled up into a fight. The boss attacks the man by grabbing his neck in a choke hold. The man, now turning red from the absence of air, elbows the other man’s abdomen causing him to be thrown back and unconscious, or so he thought. The man stands back up, reaches his back pocket, and pulls out a weapon. He flips it open and what lies inside is a sharp knife, rusty as if it hadn’t been opened for quite some time but dirty as if it’s been used before. Each of them, fighting for their lives, but why? As we take a moment of silence to condemn their ruthless actions, we blame them for their natural reaction of a flight or fight instinct. Humans are, naturally, unforgiving creatures who hold bitter grudges at others who make our lives harder. But in this day and age, across the world, although our technology has improved and messages of righteousness have entered the mind of many people, we still kill. Not for food, not for our species. People murder people for a satisfaction and a feeling of superior being. That is a human’s purpose. The animal meets the human; nature meets man and when they do, they collide. Instead of helping each other, the instincts of both of them fail to trust one another for we try to live upon them; so high up we’re unable to go down to earth and look at nature as an equal. Ultimately, for the sake of ignorance, Mother Nature meets death for she is slowly dying, suffering during this tedious, ongoing cycle of the fight for power. ― Alyssa Luna 93

MVP B e fearless A nd

S tep aside into the Un K nowing in order to E xpress

T rue talent

B eyond your comfort zone A nd compete

L ong enough to L ive.

P ersevere,

L osing is not

` A cceptable without

Knowing Y ou went b E yond. Jasmine Martinez

My Attempt At Describing You As An Author Would In A Book:

This poem won 2nd place in the annual Dayna K. Barber Awards sponsored by Abydos Learning. Maybe she did burn everything she touched. Maybe she spat venom into the air that tried to carry her away, But that’s what made her special. Her soul is desperately reaching for something every day but ‘twas all in vain. If anyone were to feel how she felt for one second, they would crumble to their knees begging for mercy. That is why she is the way she is. A constant storm waiting to sweep up anyone in her way. She’s the reason storms are named after people. Because just like a storm she left her mark. She left the wrecked, broken parts of her debris behind her. Leaving you shattered, on your knees, unable to stand on your own two feet, In the need to grasp for something in a place that is now empty. All burned to the ground from her touch. Jacqueline Rojas

My love. you're more than I've ever deserved. Reyna Morin

Needed Someone

“I needed someone to feel safe with. But you walked off. I faced my hard life there isn’t much I haven’t done. And I have never judged you for anything you’ve done. I’ve only worried I will worry about you for the rest of my life.” Carla Ramirez

A Nomad’s Follower

I’m not afraid of trying but I’m not afraid of crying and I’m wishing someday I’ll talk more, walk less. Earth isn't Heaven and it certainly isn’t Hell either, wasted footsteps on torn up shoes but it's really nothing new, something's got me going and it's not the hands of a lover isn't the prayers of my mother and to me it's no wonder that my only friend comes to me whenever its light. He doesn't talk much, but he's stuck to my heels. Maybe clueless or well informed that's not what runs the world. Money talks, but it also strangles the Innocent, the Needy, and the Entrepreneurs Of a dystopia we call Home. If they lock you in a room of judgement break the windows of your morals and find what’s the law, or what is right. Maybe the world knows, but doesn't care or maybe I should talk less and walk some more. Jose Vega

Normally I wouldn't say The Scientific information in the poem was culled from these two sources: http://www.ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/lebo114.pdf http://www.bio.miami.edu/ecosummer/lectures/lec_ecology.pdf

When describing a food pyramid, the first trophic level would be “primary producers” and the next trophic level would be “herbivores”. Keep in mind that each trophic level is supposed to contain less organisms than the one before it to maintain what is known as a “balanced food pyramid”. An extreme increase in which primary consumers like rodents, locusts, ants, rabbits and worms become greater than primary producers would be detrimental to the amount of “primary producers left”. Leaving scarce amounts of primary producers to survive off of, and therefore decreasing the amount of primary consumers. Starvation of old and new offspring would occur leading to the death of many animals and affect the next trophic levels containing “secondary consumers”. The Apex predator would be one that solely consumes meat, and is not eaten by other animals. Naturally it would be reasonable to assume that since nothing eats us human, that we would be at the top of the pyramid. Humans are omnivores and therefore are not considered to be at the top of the food pyramid. Being omnivorous, it helps that humans have developed easier ways to access foods like plants, artificials, and meat through food distributing companies,and money. Unlike other omnivorous animals, humans actually have options on what kind of foods we can buy at stores. Numerous amounts of food brands packaged in various, eye catching, plastic air tight promising wrappers become a standard way of eating. To even begin to think of gathering food from off of the ground, and in dumpsters to eat even distinguishes a person to the point to where they are labeled negative terms such as “bums, poor, uncivilized, animal”. Kevin Vergara 100

No time for a passion I haven’t had time to write, time to create or time to escape… I can feel my passion creeping out of my body, out of my soul and out of my veins, but as hard as I try to grasp it, as hard as I try to reach it and as hard as I try to keep it, it’s slowly escaping and there’s nothing I can do but breathe in the memory and breathe in the smell of the passion I once had and hold them in my lungs for as long as I can to feel my passion in me once again. Nicky Vargas

Regret? When I saw my mom crying and screaming through the window to let him live… I realized that it was to late for him to feel regret, all those times my mom told him, please stop whatever it is that you're doing because it's going to get you somewhere you don't want to be. But as usual he never listened. Till this day my mom compares the both of us. I stay quiet all the time because I know that if I talk back she's going to be more hurt than what she already is. She is always saying how come you're not like him, and how come you never listen, the day finally came that I got tired and annoyed of my mom always telling me to be like “him”, so I responded back I'm not like him because I don't want to end up tied down to a chair just like him. After a while I did regret it. Ivan Ramirez

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Remember I wanted to remember all the times we shared...now I can’t forget. Alicein Killingsworth

Repressed Feeling As the wind plays with my hair and the trees whisper to one another, stretching their arms to feel the other, stroking each other's leaves, while all together dancing to the wind happiness tugs at my cheeks ever so gentle. The sun’s rays touch of warmth tickles my face sending goosebumps down my spine and wash over my soul filling my heart with happiness. Something I’ve forgotten being with you. Diana Hernandez

Restraint

As I caught a glimpse of the darkness in front of me, not only my eyes but my being diminished controlled by the presence of who I am and the future me to be. Stopping, over thinking the choices I have made and the decisions that are soon to make me. Every step I take only brings me closer to that full darkness I see slightly everyday. “Forgive me”, I say to myself. Chains appear to hold me down like being detained for trying to be me.

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Walking and walking in an endless path that seems to curve and cut as I go through it. Slowly, but surely, I could see myself rising up as I heard the magic words. “Wake up, Wake up!” and so I awoke no longer feeling the darkness that clouded me, but the light that has appeared in my life. Jordi Cabrera

Shattered Glass Every time I think of your aesthetic brown eyes, my heart rings as if the telephone is not picked up. Every time I think about you, it’s as if I jumped over the pool. It's like I get a punch in the chest. As if sparks climb over every stair. My eyes are damp from the words you left, ringing in my head when you broke my chest. My bones get shattered by a hammer. Chains are traveling inside of a tunnel. Being heartbroken is not okay, It’s about remembering that I was okay before. I was colorblind by the lies you engraved through the forest. When he asked me if I was okay I pretend that the world had divided us in two. Because, why regret this love I have for him? When I couldn't see the other side of the moonlight. Why do i have to apologize thousands of times? When he never had the courage to say “I’m sorry.” My mind fluttered with pain and despair as the storm thunders into stones and cracks the inside of my organs. It's so hard to forget him. Losing him was like vines all around my body and the trees turning into monsters. My whole body felt wrapped in vines that try to swallow me under the wet dirt. 103

My heart beats fast whenever I hear his voice. I could hear his heart but he couldn't see through mine. He was blinded by the sun and I was completely fooled by his promises. We held hands as everything broke into pieces. I remember the first time he held my hand like the force that holds the sun and moon together. Our love was exploding fireworks as the lights flashed like a photo booth. We were far apart like the planets are away from each other but no matter what, the gravity pulls them through. We were in space between earth and blue bonnets. I let the ashes fall as the sun rose. My tears rolled in the starlight and became stars. To stare at love is never forgetting your face as though darkness is bleeding and the diamonds lose their spark. The scraping under sharp knifes are marks that are under hidden cover sheets. I found it inevitable how our parts divided us into a stone. I could say that my love needs no mending since I escape these vines all around me. I no longer have to trap myself again. It got me speaking tongues without you. I could no longer see you as the forest disappears into the abyss. My love is like a fire that burns coal. I could hold on to the memories but everything that's shred can be taken by the breeze. You are an unforgettable memory. Shades of purple remind me of your favorite color and the silver moons. WE, like birds continued to use weapons as if the wind blew him away. Never did I think I could be sore without you. It's easy for you to slip away and that falling in love was just thrown in plastic bags. Falling in love, it’s like being deluged in the rain, 104

When you held the umbrella to cover us from the drops of water and open the gate to my warm skin like the gentleman I thought you were. See, the Snake whispers into your ear to tell lies and being unaware that you blighted more when you spoke in a Parseltongue. There are things I never got to say to you and I don't have to swallow them. I built myself up by drawing strength from playing music until my fingers no longer feel the heat. You blighted the gravity as if it was responsible for many constellation as the stars glow dimmer. I took all the broken pieces and built a bridge to recover from my depression. I kept writing as my voice healed the ridges and opened the key inside of these cages. My gift was to make you happy but lighting candles wasn't enough for you. You were the brown eyed boy that confused my mind as brittle bones torch my thoughts. I realized that I only brought company under covers. Filling space in your arms. I told you that I will always remember you and wait. But I have to tried to let go of this unleashed toxication. You told me to not doubt your love, but you were the one that broke the trust. First Love, is remembering the one you felt inside the tenderness arrow that hits hard in your chest and it's the first deepest cut. Young lovers are like silhouettes and sirens. My lungs will scream and then fill with fire, exhale water. These thoughts are on trial. I believe in your foolish lies and when we said, “Je T’aim.e” I was just a faded echo. I hide my affection for you, pretending that it doesn't kill me inside like a shattered glass in my streaming blood. You gave me poison ivy as if you left a permanent scar in my limbs. 105

Knowing someday that you will leave the marking words in my deepest bones. Mirrors disappearing in the background wall. If this love was your illusion it meant nothing at all to you. You say you miss me, but did you ever see the smoke smearing through the window and find me? The smoke clears us up as our visions shoot fireproofs at the sky. The smell of cigarettes are the ashes that fell against the road. Giving my youth to you was like giving half of my soul. All this delusion in my head brought us to our knees. The heat of the sun warms my skin as our veins pulse in different sounds. Not seeing each other was a blurry collection of pictures that were extinct in the environment. A paradise of beautiful trees with branches converted to death flowers. The way he inhaled the air was like making excuses as firing bullets as the gasoline leaks through his ears. You disappear and drifted me away. There are so many reasons why I should let you go, but my heart bursts into a volcano. Lava comes out as I fall in the abyss of your brown eyes. You will forever be in my youth reminiscence. I no longer have to swallow you inside of my head, my love for you has slowly died. I’m just an explosive star. Gladys Navarrete 106

She

She feared to feel love again Ashley Marquez

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Sin.

you'll regret me in the morning. Reyna Morin

Sky Screamer As we were star gazing on our very first date I asked you if you believed happiness could ever take a physical form. You looked me dead in the eyes and as I stared completely mesmerized by the galaxies in yours, I thought that maybe for a second you'd say “I’m looking right at it.” Instead,you winked at me and as the stardust came flying out of your eyelashes, you reached your hand inside your purse, pulled out your vodka flask & said “after a couple gulps of this, something physical better make me happy.” You proceeded to make me happy for what felt like a light year, I soon learned alcohol was your rocket fuel, what kept you going. You had a password on my body, a simple combination code that unlocked, my deepest secrets, & your most selfish desires. You managed to crack my code & made it your own. The simple swipe of your fingertips caressed my skin and made me reimagine the idea of a lover’s sin. & I can go on and on about the countless ways your actions shaped mine, but I wouldn't know where to begin. Perhaps I could start with the way you forgot me. You gave me up the way we give up our phones when we've survived our six months & our company tells us it's time to upgrade to the next gen.

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& I’d figure that you’d opt out of another twoyear contract because we both know how scared of commitment you are. & you'd rather lose me than to lose a signal. & you tossed me out faster than the speeds of 4g LTE... & you tossed me out like you tossed out your plans for dieting. & maybe if you were as dedicated to me as you were to your figure, you'd figure out that I was the best thing that could ever possibly happen to you. & I never judged you for mistakes, but I damn well praised you for your flaws. & you lost interest in me as I gained interest in you until the scale of justice had no choice but to do a backflip and tipover. I was the pilot chosen to venture out to the vast regions of space, they say eyes, eyes are the gateway to the soul. But your eyes, your eyes were my gateway to the stars, & every time I was with you a new galaxy was waiting to be discovered. I learned the in’s and out's of the stars we call our solar system yet still managed to get lost in the cosmos. I learned the ins and outs of the maze called your mind yet still managed to get lost in your smile. I knew it was over the second the awkward silence in our phone calls wasn't so awkward anymore. It was complete torture, & the only thing you could hear were the tsunamis my tears made. & my palms were the life rafts to the the feelings that survived the catastrophe. I knew the end was near way before the armageddon. I begged for an earthquake to come and shake my heart out of my mind’s way when making decisions that involved my happiness. But it didn't listen... & the mourning hour hit harder than the Mother Earth. 109

It got so quiet, you could hear my rib cage cave in, & form a cage around my heart, that closed so deeply that it wasn’t even like a jail cell,it was more like a vault in a bank and not even the biggest heist men in the world could break it free or crack it's code,not even you anymore. You made my mind dizzy from all the laps it took consulting my heart about chasing you down in this carousel we called our love life. & with each lap I felt like I was loosing my vision as I fell more and more for you. But no doctor could prescribe me the right lens to make our problems any clearer than they already were. Even so I got high off your love, but I was too scared to show others how the fire in your eyes caused, the burning, & redness in mine. So I threw on eyedrops, but it only felt like I was throwing ice cubes, & tossing glaciers into your rocket fuel. I remember when you left, that night I got on the roof of my family's pickup truck, & I tried to see the stars the way I saw you, for their beauty & not for their danger, for stars are glorious but have the ability to kill, for supernovas are gorgeous but only from a distance. That night I shouted your name at the sky hoping GOD would shoot me a star, that he would give me a sign that would make me glad. But all the emptiness of the atmosphere did was make me mad. I cracked open a can of what if’s & proceeded to take a jab at that fact I couldn't even breath, 110

let alone react, to the thought of us not being intact. I was a spaceman letting gravity guide me for engine fuel was a privilege for those who knew their path to follow. As I drifted through the unknown, I played hide and seek with wormholes. Hiding from the truth. & seeking comfortable lies. Flashbacks hit me like lava to the face. I remembered the first time I slept by your side, as we laid back to back & sunk in silence you raised the question if I ever wondered what zero gravity felt like. I responded faster than the speed of light because I knew exactly what zero gravity felt like, for every time I am with you nothing ties me down to this world. We shared that comfort feeling of total bliss. As we slowly lost ourselves by counting sheep, I realized that I’d become a sheep herder if it meant waking up by your side every day for the rest of my life. Little did I know that our lives were about to change. That night I tiptoed my way into your dreams,soon after landing I tripped over your nightmares. I fell head first and plummeted into your selfconscious of sorrows. I felt like I discovered a new world for this wasn't ours. Ours was filled with, joy, laughter, & love. This paradox was filled with, anger, solitude & hate. 111

I made it home alright, but you, the real you was stranded in the abyss. I have no idea where you're at or if you're even okay. But if I was to ever see you again I’d have two words to say, THANK YOU. Thank you for the learning experience. I didn't know how to handle heartbreak. I didn't know how to handle losing you. I was scared, I put our relationship on autopilot because I figured it would be much smoother sailing if I wasn't in control. I didn't know how to love. That became a learning process, but now I’ve learned that you don't have to be dead to feel empty inside. And I'm sure rocket fuel would serve a purpose now. I was puzzled by the way perception killed me. But it was nowhere near to the puzzles of never ending Rubix Cubes our love life created. You were always good at cracking codes but this was the one you never once thought about solving. Our love life was like a never ending game of tictactoe,I gave you the X’S & you gave me the O’S, I soon learned even infinity has an end, even for the stars. Even men of the stars can fall victim to the sicknesses of men of the world. I suffered from post traumatic stress disorder. For my mission only brought us pain. & you, you lost your way. Rocket fuel couldnt save you. You aren't the same. You're so broken you pour your milk in before the cereal. You're so broken you tie both shoes with one hand because you could never bear the fact of depending on another. 112

Let alone me, your right hand. You're so broken you used that same hand to slam all the doors we'd open for our future shut. You're so broken you’re used to disappointment. As I came back down to our realm I kissed the clouds. The moisture put my mind in a rinse cycle, & gave a different meaning to brainwashing. That splash of water to the face finally made me understand the truth. Our love wasn't for the best. I'll tell you what the best is. I want that WE love not just that ME love I want that I'm gonna raise our child & teach him to be the very best he can BE love I want that I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with you until I'm 6 ft under & I can no longer SEE love I want, I want, I want… But I need… I need... to be FREE, Love. & you were right all along, I told myself I needed you, your rocket fuel,you were my rocket fuel. But that's where I was wrong. As the clock struck 12, and my rocket ship launched once more My heart syncopated the G minor scale in hopes that the right rhythms, would lead me to you & I could once again explore the galaxies in your eyes. For you were the nebula where I felt I belonged. Reality struck, gravity finally kicked in. I realized that you were just a black hole that couldn't help but keep inviting me in. You once told me my words won you over… 113

When I lost you,my first instinct was to grab a notepad, in hopes my pen strokes would give me the coordinates to the finish line in the cosmos & I could be a champion once more. But I lost my breath around the same time I felt I was losing you. On our last date I realized just how precious oxygen was. You were the inhaler to my asthma. & as I inhaled the last breath of you, I finally understood why our last breath on Earth is so special. Tomas Rodriguez

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Some Glide

Some glide, others have to fly. He sees shallow waters as deep. Sonny Perez 115

Sometimes Water

Sometimes water is not the only thing that drowns you Alejandro Olvera

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Strong Bond I wish you could just trust me. I won’t do you wrong anymore. You don’t deserve that, so I made sure to quit it. I regret most of everything I put you through but it’s not fair. Not fair to have to deal with your bipolarity and act like everything is so perfect. Behind closed doors, behind that smile, I’m sorry to say that I don’t believe anything that comes out of that mouth. The “I love you’s, you’re the best thing that ever happened to me, I trust you, I know you.” They mean nothing to me and sadly I feel nothing in return as when I used to when you were, meant the world to me. I blame you for changing me,I blame you for expecting me to be your swing, to be able to move around all your different kinds of moods throughout the day. I can’t keep up most of the time but I try and you just don’t see it. I love you so much that we can no longer stay too close, too long under the same roof. If I avoid a fight, it’s to protect our relationship, mother. Know I love you but I don’t want to hurt you nor do I want you to hurt me physically as you have emotionally. Amber Ortega

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Suckerpunched I am broken. I learned to see past your flaws, because to me, you were perfect. I thought everything was finally falling into place, but little did I know, it was only a phase. I was too busy fixing myself to your liking, when in reality, I was breaking valuable pieces off of me. Where did I go wrong? Did I not make you happy? You were all I ever wanted. I would spend my nights feeling sorry for all the bad things I have caused you, feeling like I was the enemy. But I just figured out that it should be you the one that feels sorry, because despite all the bad I have caused, you surpass it by many. At the end of the day I always knew what I wanted. And that was to spend the rest of my life by your side. I guess we just had different visions. I'm the one that fell in love. I'm the one who had to pay the ultimate price. Your charm blinded me. I thought you had finally changed. I thought we would finally be happy. And now I realize that… You. Broke. Me. Giselle Zarazúa

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Tattoo Just like the scars that adorn your skin, I wish I could plaster myself onto your pores. Become a part of you forever.

Temple If suffering is renewal, I have no body left to house it in .

Time Oh the aches we hold The stories that are untold. The truth will unfold.

Tragedy Is it that you lack depth? or that it was drained by lovers past?

True This great love of ours, full of forgiveness and grace transforms me fully.

Tumor Your love is a cancer and I, the terminally ill fool. Gabriela Torres 119

Tell Me

Tell me what I can do of this thing. What’s happening now and what might happen later, I intend to speak to him I were not myself but an object scared to death. He’s certainly not going to open up to me. The point of this is defeated Ramon Villalobos 120

tired. I can't forgive you this time. Reyna Morin

To the boy I thought I loved I’ve always had high expectations for myself Always dreamed big I was in another world Totally different from yours I knew what I wanted And where I wanted to go I was preparing myself for the future While you were stuck on today It took me long enough, to understand Why you couldn’t stay You were nowhere close To where I wanted to be Cathy Oropeza

Toxins Toxins are deadly, but I would drink poison if it tasted like you. Alicein Killingsworth

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Trainee His heavy breathing was the only sound at 2:00AM. The quietness calmed him down, but inside his mind he was a mess. Was he even good enough to be on stage? Gripping onto his throat, singing was his dream. It's what he loved the most. Playing on the piano, and singing is the stage he wants to be on. Though he's here right now because he can only sing, not dance. Staying here from the early morning till the late night. He shouldn't be this desperate to debut, but he didn't want to be here anymore. There were other people who were like him, but have been here for two to three years. What scared him the most is what if he wasn't good enough? Releasing his grip he let out a shaky breath. The thoughts he hated the most wouldn't leave him alone at night. Until he was told he was good enough, the thoughts will leave, probably. Till then, he will just continue doing these dances he hates the most. One day he will reach that stage, and do what he loved the most. Adriana Gonzalez

Trying to Forget I cannot help but to taste your lips when I am drunk and kissing hers… Mario Sidonio

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Untitled Document Then the time comes. A time where you can no longer beguile yourself by scrolling through countless pictures of other people's lives on Instagram because you're afraid to live yours. A time where snapchat stories can no longer distract you from what your reality is. A time when all you can do is sit and think about how much Of a mess you've become. A time when the only company you have is the inevitable presence of mumbling thoughts boiling in your head. It is silent but you can hear them screaming and nothing is touching you but you can feel them scratching, it is dark but you can still see the monsters. Those times always come. Mario Sidonio

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Untitled I bought you diamonds and crystals I cried them for you you held and admired them I guess you just didn't know what to make of them. Sparkling screams brought you rubies and rings. I guess you just loved to see the river drown me. Noemy Carrion

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Wanted Somebody

I wanted somebody who would be there, yet I couldn’t believe that he would choose the woman next to me Carla Ramirez 125

WHY? Why does it matter? We can continue to love and runaway together to escape this filthy world. Why do I care? We never had a serious oneonone relationship though deep in my heart my hands start to tremble and want to touch your soft shaped face. My heart sings to the nearest amplitude, vibrating the edges of my soul trying to linger out of me because of the words that come out of your alluring lips, bursting into a pocket full of sunshine. The feeling of loneliness becomes a wicked shadow while becoming a whole fills in the everything that once was empty. But what’s with the grey face? The face that varies the fear and lost, reflecting not only the details of my personality but creating a whole new human being who’s petrified with words. For others, it’s easier to break a glass, though, I somehow still struggle to come out of the wooden atmosphere, possessed with the negative vitality that the knots are tighter than a simple shoelace. What’s with the sparkled tears? The drips of hopeless that could never be explained with this sadness, over thinking ways of trying to escape the readings of commandments and stories that can’t accept the one true self of becoming happy. What’s with the scars? The veins running out of ancestry to become a perfect outline, the preferable concept that every family tree expects and desires for future reignings. 126

The millions of times I tried to wake up with a smile but knowing hundreds of hunters will watch me as a prey being swallowed from disastrous words as a big target of death. The millions of times I tried to wear a disguise to hide myself that could disappoint many people that I once called friend. The millions of times I tried to like a girl who could maybe relinquish my thoughts and getting rid of my inner confusion, but shame clinging onto me could never forgive my fraud emotions. The millions of times I tried to become equal just like everyone else, hoping some day they accept someone I am not, but remain as my memories forever and ever. Though The millions of times I tried to ignore you, the millions of times I tried to hurt you, the millions of times I tried to hate you, can never become an accident of feeling the fondness under my soul. The rare atmosphere that's around you and me brings us together into another dimension, somewhere far from the world called “broken” where society can never understand transition and humanity. Could it be my fault that I am not like a perfect sunrise or a perfect masterpiece? Could it be my fault that I come to be different in situations where I’m caged for hundreds of years, acting for a stage to show hundreds of people a beautiful showcase seeing my acts but never my truths? Could it be my fault to love a person who creates these ecstatic touches and erasing my hallucinating world to make a perfect picture of what life should be about? 127

It is not a choice nor an option of my present actions, it was never something I come to decide the person I am today. I have become Adam who created a big mistake on eating an apple that is very fragile to huge situations, though I never found an Eve, I was lost, instead, in a dark world, however someone threw a spark, as if they were trying to light up my universe. That someone was not the opposite of my gender, but someone with a beautiful heart. Why does it matter? We can continue to love and runaway together to escape this filthy world. But it’s like a wall that could never collapse when we are trying to open freely and run towards each other. To love. To hope. To be together. Why? Diana Simon

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Winning You can never really win in school by getting written up, pulled out of class, or getting suspended. These are the kinds of responses that are given to students who do not have interest in subjects, have difficulty learning, talk to much, laugh too much, break silly rules like wearing hoodies outside In freezing temperatures, having headphones on In school, pulling out phones in class, attempting to explain themselves during class. Situations like this occur on a daily basis. There are certain things that we must respond to in a positive manner, for example if we live in a world where people “create” or build up to a status or “milestone”, then we should be aware of that. There are things like euphemisms, and conjectures that are simply great for accusing and calling things for how they ARE NOT. We can not let small injustices heat us up until we explode out of control. Choosing battles, and knowing how to fight a battle is the key to living a successful life. Battles can be fought through writing, talking, meetings, and more often than not are never settled with actual fist fighting and harm. Battles are won when a compromise is made, and 2 or more people all comprehend a certain standard. Kevin Vergara

Wish Nothing is right, if I had one wish it would be to relive that night. Alicein Killingsworth 130

La Mujer

La mujer sabe repeticion estereotipos manifiestan a traves de prejuicios actitudes que genera distinciones raza o genero en pocas palabras una creencia no es la realidada! A woman learns through repetition, stereotypes that manifest prejudice attitudes that generate distinctions of race and gender. In other words, a belief that is not reality. Lorena Munoz 131

WORLD WAR III Could not figure out if your words burned me more than my 2 hour non stop tears Felt it in my guts that this Was going to be World war 3 I knew this separation would hurt more than a bullet to head . A bullet to my head would kill me with no pain Sadly I had to live with a divorce for the rest of my life Honestly, I would have taken the bullet . I would have taken a grenade And made my father and mother throw it at me . It was better than what they were doing to me . An affair with another woman . I had heard . Who's side would you take ? Would you take the side of the woman who has beat you to learn idiotic lessons ? But has loved you unconditionally. Or would you take the side of a man who never laid a hand on you & worked himself and his family up in the American Dream ? But has caused this whole dilemma ? World war 3 Because we're killing each other . I'm drowning in tears and pain , My mother is fighting to get rid of " the love of her life " My father is fighting to start a new life With a woman that used to be a close friend . World war 3. Noemy Carrion

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Yellow Grass Yellow Grass, Parched Patch, Summer Day. Nikolas Robledo

YinYang There's always been evil, And every evil has its good... It really just depends On what ground you stood first. There's tons of people that wake up and breathe They might be lucky, You can't really do much if you're dead. So if ever someone asks you to define life You should say nothing. Most people care less about definitions, So step out of line Make a mark on the people you love, Make a mark on the world And if by chance an opposing faction tries To stain your authenticity Be a bully Hold your brush like you hold your life. It may hurt a little to see All the bad things in our society, Would it hurt more to see A stain of righteousness in chaos? There's always good in bad, and bad in good. The world is always black and white. Jose Vega

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YOU Well… I don’t know how to start whatever this is that I am writing. I don’t even know what I am thinking right now… Oh…wait…I’m thinking about you. But why?! Why am I?! After all the heartbreaks you’ve caused me. After everything you’ve put me through. After basically everything you’ve caused me… I am still here… waiting for you… I might love you, when I really shouldn’t. The love I have for you… It’s locked away in a vault. Locked away… Never to be opened ever again. I’m done with you, that’s what I always say to myself. I believe I am done with you but… life is crazy. And I hope I don’t have to put it to the test. I know I probably won’t be able to last a minute without having these flashbacks about the “happy” times with you, your kisses, your touch, your voice, and just you in general. But for now I want to stay away from you…Isolated from you. Isolated from those memories that in the most unexpected times will hit me. But maybe… just maybe, you’ll disappear and those same memories will do the same. Because now you’re just a memory…a lost memory, which I wish to forget… And soon they will disappear. Juan Cespedes 134

z8_GND_5296 He still calls her. For six Months he waited until the clock struck 12, when the songs of crickets and the whisper of trees enveloped the house drowned with memories of a lost star. He still calls her. With his heart aflame yearning to hear that soothing voice. The voice which would send gravitational waves billions of light years away and would manage to spread vibrations to his heart. With wild abandonment He waits for the ring which always ends with her voice. A series of mental flagellations that numbed the heart and ends with her voice. He’s crazy. They thought. A folly prejudice,they were inexperienced in grief and desolation. The tragedy of a madman in love. He would’ve stolen stars for her if she hadn’t laid through nebulae that comforted her as she deciphered the very secrets of every corner of the universe she had conquered. He still calls her. A hope that this reality was an illusion and that all of this was a what if. He urged to believe that he was in comatose, that the lack of feel in his body was a reaction of this disease. He still calls her. A desperate need to feel the vibrations of her voice infest his mind. While he lived in limbo, she was carried by the Charon. River by river, detaching from her galactic lover. He embraced the phantom which wore a familiar face. He inhabited the black hole. She like a Supernova, became the very stardust that touched the tip of her fingers when she laid on that couch, traveling through galaxies letter by letter. Lizeth Vaquero

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