8
the Racquette
Creative Writing
Stronger now than I was before, I look at the world and laugh. I am no longer daunted by the fast pace of time. Let the world run by in a constant hurry. I will saunter through life, and make it look effortless. I have tasted the moon’s tongue, and it is as sweet as summertime rain. I listen to it in my sleeping bag, stashed in the back of my Black Honda. The pitter patter of faeries guarding my
quiet slumber in the back of a Walmart parking lot. I am living. The moon knows, it watches me sleeping. I dream in black and white, in silent whispers eroticly nibbling on my earlobe. I am in love with the world. It’s moments of slowness, savoring its heat drenching my skin like the sweat of a window not fully furled. I have been woken up by the smell of sunlight; yes it does have a smell. I have traveled through some of the most beautiful places on earth. I have cried sitting
under Redwood trees, their immensity hugging me like a long lost sister. They say, “welcome to the living.” I feel more now, I am completed now. Let time run by. I will saunter through life, and make it look effortless. But when you look at me what will you see? Will you smell sand on my skin or notice the heat of red dirt underneath my fingernails? I have tasted the moon. I wish you could use your nose, and tongue, and taste me, all the places I have been. I am alive now.
Missing Voices An Inclusive Poetry Contest Spring 2016
include now in current conversations on diversity and social justice.
amount of $30, plus publication in an issue of the SUNY Potsdam student newspaper, “the Racquette.”
Everything I was Afraid Of By: Hana Moskowitz
Students interested in writing and sharing poetry are invited to submit original poems that capture voices that otherwise would be left unheard. “Missing Voices – An Inclusive Poetry Contest” is seeking poems that render visible the experiences of those voices “long dumb and forbidden” that poet Walt Whitman refers to in his famous “Song of Myself.” The contest organizers say they aspire to collect exceptionally well-written poems that showcase vital and challenging experiences that poets deem essential to At 1:44pm in the Afternoon By: Gregory Thickett Clank! Aluminum on linoleum The shiny can bobbles and bobs, it shimmers and shines It wakes the sleeper who sleeps while it strolls Off the cranky old table it rolls and it rolls It bounces on desolate bottles of Heinz From the head-achy sleeper it draws out sad whines Slurp! Yuck! Sticky! Wipe your mouth! Slimy sleeper Wipe your mouth! And your chin (Your life is falling apart) The can clatters and clinks as it plops to the floor
Anyone interested is asked to submit two original poems, each no longer than 30 lines, in Word format to larocksg@potsdam.edu by Thursday, March 3. Participants need to include their first and last name and one sentence stating that they authorize the contest organizers to publish the poem in case it is selected as one of the two winners. They will announce the winners at the Many Tongues / World Poetry Day celebration at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22, in the Raymond Hall 8th floor Dining Room.
Feb. 12, 2016
New York Times Best Sellers: February 2016 Young Adult Fiction 1. The Siren, by Kiera Cass 2. The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire, by Dan Howell and Phil Lester
1. NYPD Red 4, by James Patterson and Marshall Karp 2. Blue, by Danielle Steel
3. Passenger, by Alexandra Bracken
3. My Name Is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
4. Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
4. All The Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
5. Six Of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
5. The Girl On The Train, by Paula Hawkins
Don’t dilly or dally, just join in the fun!
Over Time By: Rebecca Willdigg
Get up and dance, wipe the grey off your bun! Stay here silly sleeper. Stay here on the floor! Stay here silly sleeper. Outside is no fun! We’re your best friends (Everything ends)
(Part One)
in, which only comes with exposure. There’s a novel labeled under mystery, not because life is a mystery But because it’s easier to look away. I don’t know if I’m just getting older or I don’t know who I am anymore.
Jury members are Jwan Murphy-Rodríguez, Dr. Victoria Levitt, Dr. Mylene Catel and Dr. Oscar Sarmiento. The selection of winners and the awarding of prizes is at the discretion of the judges. The decisions of the judges are final. The Missing Voices Poetry Contest is supported by SUNY Potsdam Diversity and Inclusion Action Coalition and the Department of Modern Languages. — Dr. Oscar Sarmiento
The award will consist of a certificate, a check in the It meets friends when it gets there, then rolls under the stove With the dank dark dust bunnies it finds a few more! Now its journey is over, it’s come to a rest Oh sad, slimy sleeper, don’t look so depressed You’re not quite alone But don’t answer the phone! (They don’t really care) He struggles to stand, see the world spin and twirl Watch out for the bottles, and try not to hurl! The kitchen’s so cozy, such smells in the air But no one to greet him, no one here, no one there A half-eaten hamburger sits by the wall Hemming and hawing, so cute and so small
Defining ourselves is often what we see in the mirror But what comes of the moment when we no longer recognize who is staring back? Each time I see deeper lines underneath the eyes, a jaw line that sticks out just a little bit more. Look at the can as it winks The hair is different, it is and it blinks! Bet you didn’t see that, now long and unkempt. Is it because I’m too tired to did you, before? care about others opinions or But now that you’re here, see just grown too confident to notice them. the finest of drinks My lips are filling out to All dressed up so nice, waitreveal a plump smile ing here on the floor But the eyes…. Oh the Slurp! eyes…. They will haunt you Yuck! if you stare.Whether a warm Clank! honey or a cold dirt, there’s a tiredness that has settled Aluminum on linoleum
Over Time (Part Two) What do I see? Eyes so black that they are mistaken as bruises, Bruises given by the punches life has thrown at me. Hair shaved off for each friend who shaved me out of their lives, For each friend I cut out of my own…. I’m on the outside of the mirror looking inside.