Poetry Anthology 2011-2012
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1 Urban Ocean A Siena School Poetry and Short Fiction Anthology: 2011-2012 Compiled & Created by The Siena School ©The Siena School, 2011-2012
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Poetry from The Siena School Students during the 2011-2012 school year.
Transcript of Poetry Anthology 2011-2012
1
Urban Ocean
A Siena School Poetry and Short Fiction Anthology: 2011-2012
Compiled & Created by The Siena School
©The Siena School, 2011-2012
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Cover by 8th Grade Siena Photography-B
& Special thanks to poet-in-residence Elizabeth Rees ©The Siena School, 2012
Table of Contents: Urban Ocean;
Poems about Emotions, 8th, 11th & 12th grades…………………………………Pages 4 – 15
Animal Poems, 8th grade……………………………………………………….Pages 15 – 19
Why? Because Poems, 11th grade………………………………………..………….Pages 19 - 23
Poems on Independent Reading Elementary, 6th, 7th, & 8th grades………...………..Pages 24-45
Surrealist Poems, 11th & 12th grades……………………………………….………Pages 45 – 47
Alliteration Poems, 8th&d 11th grades……………………………………………....Pages 47 – 52
Where I’m From Poems, 11th & 12th grade…………………………………………Pages 52 – 65
To William Carlos Williams Poems, 8th Grade…………………………….………. Pages 65- 68
Independent Voices, Poems from 6th & 8th grade……………………….…………..Pages 68 – 73
Onomatopoeia, Elementary School…………………………………………………Pages 74 – 76
Civil Rights Acrostics, 9th Grade…………………………………………………... Pages 76 - 78
Poems About Family, 8th Grade……………………………………………………. Pages 79- 83
Cinquains, Elementary School………………………………………………….…. Pages 83 - 86
Poems on Biology and Math: 10th & 11th Graders……………………………….. Pages 86 - 88
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Spoken Word Poems, 10th Grade…………………............................................... Pages 88 – 93
Short Fiction, 12th grade………………………………………………...…………Pages 93 – 99
4
Emotion Poems: 8th, 11th, & 12th grade
Determination
By Liz Mayio
Determination looks like
a wave
because it keeps trying
to reach land.
Determination sounds like the
ocean crashing
against the shore
because it never stops.
Determination feels like
a pounding heart
because it keeps alive
what you want.
Determination tastes like
spicy food
because you can taste it
for a long time.
Determination smells like
pure sweat
because you work hard for it.
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Determination moves like
a turtle
because it moves slowly
but it keeps going forward.
If determination could speak
it would say, “you're almost there”
because with determination
you will reach your goal.
Hatred
By Sasha Gerecht
Hatred looks like a rusted Honda Civic
because it is ugly.
Hatred sounds like a punk band
because it is loud and obnoxious.
Hatred feels like a punch to the face
because it bruises.
Hatred tastes like a bad fruit
because its rotten and disgusting
Hatred smells like bus exhaust
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because it's a cloud of stank.
Hatred moves like a bullet
because it goes fast.
If hatred could talk it would say
how much it doesn't like you.
Pride
By Helena Landron
Pride looks like a lion
with his cubs
because he stands tall
and his eyes sparkle
Pride sounds like a growling dog
because he growls to protect his owner
Pride feels like a very rough piece of sand paper
because once you've smoothed it out
you've accomplished things in life
Pride tastes like a very hot jalapeno
because pride should be added to your life.
Pride should never taste bitter.
It should always be spicy and hot.
Pride smells like burning tires
on a NASCAR track
because it will never go too fast.
If Pride could speak it would say
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“I'm not afraid."
because pride will never back down at fear.
Regret
By Max Klaverkamp
Regret looks like
a melted ice cream cone
because you didn’t eat it fast enough.
Regret sounds like
a crying baby
because you didn’t give it
what it wanted.
Regret feels like
a frost bitten hand
because you didn’t wear a glove.
Regret tastes like
burnt pizza,
because you overcooked it.
Regret smells like
a soggy book,
because you left it out in the rain.
Regret moves like
a failing student,
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because he didn’t study for the test.
If regret could speak
it would say
“why?”
because you know you made a mistake.
Determination
By Ayelet Berkowitz
Determination looks like
a car accelerating
because it will never
slow down.
Determination sounds like
a baby screaming
because it won't stop
until it gets what it wants.
Determination feels like
a hard rock
because it will never give up
and turn soft.
Determination tastes like
Hot fiery tamales
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Because they never stop
giving flavor.
Determination smells like
hot burning bread
because it is burning
and will never cool
until it is ashes.
Determination moves like
a vicious lion
because it is strong
and never backs down on its predator.
If determination could speak,
it would say
"we're almost there"
because it would never
abandon its job
and always finish
what it is doing.
Apathy
By Ryan Salomon
Apathy wears gray socks. He understands nothing about society. His face looks like it
was made form smoothly polished stone. Never changing emotions, he never does
anything. He has never been very popular. His reputation as a robot dates back to
Kindergarten. Children never understood how Apathy could not become excited when
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they get a slice of cake, or frustrated when they get a pop quiz. He seems to glide on
thick fog, silently moving through the hallways. Kids will pay no notice to Apathy, but
if he draws close to them, the children will lose interest in activities and start to become
depressed.
Apathy is a philosopher. He can see into the future and knows what it holds in store.
He has only had one job, spreading his uncaring feelings to others. Apathy stays in the
same place. The other emotions, happiness, anger, and even depression, try their best
to avoid Apathy. No matter how good or bad life gets, they do not understand how
someone can not care about anything. He knows that nothing in life matters, and that
your lives are meaningless. He knows that history repeats itself, and that people repeat
their past mistakes. So, Apathy does not care for life, and thus life takes no notice of
him, and time moves on.
Anxiety
By Dean Szollosy
Anxiety is seen constantly fidgeting with his button up worn shirt. Twitching his
eyes in frustration when asked to go out with people, Anxiety always favored Solitude
as a close companion; however, he questioned their friendship constantly. Waking up
with Bewilderment and falling asleep with Frustration is a constant occurrence in the
life of Anxiety, as well as being faced with the question of whether to go left or right.
Anxiety always ends up standing and looking at the two endless paths.
Dried out gray hair along with bloodshot eyes was the look Anxiety favored
mostly. He never really cared about his complexion, only the work that he faced ahead
of him. His room would be completely alphabetized at the beginning of every month
but in some manner it always turned into a disorganized wasteland by the end. He
never really knows what transpired. This is a man whose palms quiver at the sign of
celebrations and whose heart drops at the falling of the sun. No rest is given to
Anxiety. If there was, however, he’d probably question it anyway.
Frustration
By Ali Martin
Frustration is an 11 year old boy who is too short to reach for the cookie jaw. He wears
all gray clothes. He doesn't have a job because he kept getting fired. He was too young.
He tried to paint a mural on his bedroom wall but in the end he painted black lines
over it because he thought it was bad. At Thanksgiving, he starts throwing his food
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because it is not perfect. When his mom tries to help him clean his room, he starts
making a bigger mess because he can't get his room to be perfect.
His best friend is Anger. Anger always wears a red shirt. Whenever they are together,
they always make trouble. They love to draw on the floors and drill holes into the
walls.
Depression
By Jesse Auth
Depression won’t come out of his room again. He’s been up there for days. When
you try to give him food, he usually rejects it with a polite “thank you”. He’s lost so
much weight over the years because of this. His muscles are limp because of little
exercise. He goes to school occasionally, but he is not very motivated. He sits in the
back of the classroom, usually covered by his long dark hair. When he walks by you
can feel cold air emulating off of his gray-tinted skin. Depression had a girlfriend. He
now just prefers ot sit and load around at home. I occasionally see him walking in the
park. He will stare, hoping for Happiness, his long lost love to walk by.
Depression just doesn’t care. He laughs at Fear in the face. When he pops out fro
around a corner, Depression walks by like the wind. When Fear won’t stop creeping
around Depression’s hose at night, he just sits in his chair, oblivious to Feat’s pathetic
attempts to get a rise out of him.
Love
By Melaku Hawkins
Love walks down the street in his pink suit and tie. He has a pink cane with a
heart as the handle. His shoes are light pink, with hearts on them. He has a top hat that
is red and pink and has the words “Love Is In The Air, Enjoy The Small Things In Life”
on it. He stops and smiles at each person and animal and detail, giving them all a sense
of care and compassion. Love is a very old man who always puts others before himself.
On his weekends, he sits outside gardening and talking to each flower as he cares for
them all the same amount. He calls them his children. While he takes care of his
garden, he smiles and enjoys their company. There is never a frown on his face when
he does this. Love is always happy to have the good things in life and all the
opportunities that come along with it. One could never bring him down. He has
natural feeling for everyone. When Love gets sick, Happiness is there to help him
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because Love makes Happiness happy when it comes to people and relationships.
Happiness feels as if he is in debt to love forever.
Love enjoys all foods. The worst part is when he has to decide what to eat that
night for dinner, because he hates to show favoritism towards one thing. After he
makes his decisions, he promises to eat the next food for dinner the next night. He
talks to them as if they were people. Old Man Love enjoys watching all sports and he
doesn’t have a favorite team. He cheers every person and team equally. Love has one
regret and that is when people who are together break up. He hates it when the
feelings people have for each other disappear and no longer exist. He tries everything
to prevent this. When he doesn’t, he feels depressed and this leaves him with
determination to not let it happen again. Even though Love is a very old man, this does
not stop him from trying to take care of others. He enjoys it. Without this he would not
have a life or have anything to do. Love never plans on stopping his job.
Fear
By Lucas Waight
The only thing that Fear has to Fear is Fear himself. As a child, fear was always afraid
to slide down the slide. Fear has always admired his older brother Bravery. Fear never
sleeps with the lights off for, if he did, the monsters would return. When Fear went to
college he was roommates with Depression, and his brother Stupidity. You know why
Depression is so depressed now. Late nights, Stupidity would convince Fear and
Depression to drink and study at the same time. Fear was too afraid to go home from
college and now that he's there in his dorm room and he won't come out.
Frustration
By Doug Grayson
Frustration wears an all black shirt that says "You annoy me even if I don't know you."
Frustration likes to hang out with Anger and play darts, laser tag, and any other games
that involve getting their anger and frustration out. Their favorite type of music is rock
and metal. They work at a demolition company. Frustration regrets nothing and likes
to eat spicy foods. He likes The Houston Rockets and the Washington Generals.
He acts really well around Anger but is always frustrated by Depression's issues. He
thinks Fear's a little scaredy-cat, Happiness won't shut up, and Love is too darn
romantic. He never put anybody before him and he has no expression on his face
except for his furry eyebrows, angled toward his nose. Whenever Happiness says hi,
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Frustration just walks by. Whenever Sadness asks, "Can you help?" Frustration says
"NO."
Bravery
By Cameron Heller
Bravery is unique. He is very rarely seen; but, when he is, he is surrounded by
his friends Curiosity, Outrage, and Excitement. Bravery is often trying a new
experience or participating in something with Fear, Courage, and Enthusiasm (while
Bravery often seems cool and collected he can quickly become scared when not with
Encouragement). He dresses for all situations and is constantly prepared for
something, he stays calm and focused. From skydiving to caving, Bravery can conquer
those dreams. While Bravery usually starts with one person, being brave can affect
everyone around and cause a trend of support.
Bravery is the person who is different from everyone else, who can stand out on
his own, and still appear to be calm, cool, and collected in any situation. Bravery is the
person who does not follow trends or believe what others say, but only cares about
how they react in a situation, Bravery is the person who is not afraid to have his
personality reflect his school work, art, and life. Bravery is the person who is always
and will always be accepting of others, not judging how they feel, act, or look. Bravery
is the person who is not scared of emotion.
Jealousy
By Austin DeFilippo
Jealousy lives with us all, but hides behind his friends and shields, whose names
are Rage and Confidence. But sometimes Confidence turns against Jealousy. Jealousy
is in a constant battle with Depression and, most of all, Vengeance. The longer Jealousy
is in a fight with his competitors, the weaker he becomes. Some days Jealousy loses
control and Vengeance and Depression takes over. The days Jealousy can rest are the
days Confidence is at his strongest. Confidence will help defend Jealousy against
Revenge and Depression. But as we all should know, this battle never ends.
Depression
By Elyssa Sagall
I get out of bed in the morning, woken by the bright sunlight through my
window. Waiting outside my door is Depression, the twin I’ve always had. We walk to
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school together, me and Depression. Through the school day, Depression stays with
me, scared of what others might do. Depression is bullied, you see, by Hatred and
Anger, a devious team. Then in comes more to bully her. It has been like this since the
beginning of school. So we walk hand in hand, trying to avoid the bullies, but in the
end, it is impossible to get away.
Envy
By Zoe Evert-Jacobs
Envy walks around looking at all the things everyone else has He wants it all. He
is not popular. In fact, most people hate him. He thinks if he gets what he wants, he
will be popular. Envy wears all green. He walks around town glaring at everyone. He
really hates Happiness. He wants to be like her. He is always hanging around Hate
and Vengeance. His sister is Jealousy.
Loneliness
By Ben Perper
Loneliness is best friends with Depression and they often meet up and spend
time with each other. When Loneliness was a few years old, he didn’t go out to play
with Love and Happiness. Instead, he preferred spending his time with Shyness.
Confidence picked on Loneliness in middle school. Hatred picked Loneliness up off
the ground. Loneliness’ parents were Shame and Misery. They didn’t really teach him
anything useful. Loneliness’ cousin is Fear. They get along at family reunions. The
toddlers’ euphoria and surprise intimidate Loneliness as they run and play.
Rage
By Charles Mendelsohn
Rage is blind and mentored by Frustration. He stampedes everywhere,
spreading fear into everyone’s soul. Rage only knows destruction and demolishes
anything he wants. His only friends are Fear and Agony. When Rage comes out of the
dark hole he lives in, he walks beside Agony and together they throw Fear at everyone
around them. When the sun sets, Rage is truly alone, for he is blind even to his friends.
Apathy
By Daniel Chan
15
Apathy wears a white robe and a pair of whit slippers. He is blind and content.
He doesn’t care what happens around him. He thinks that Worry is a fool who frets
too much. Apathy and I get along rather well, though he really couldn’t care less about
what I think about him. Apathy does not walk, he hovers over the ground. His
expression never changes. He is never very popular with Happiness but it reached a
peak when Happiness asks how Apathy is feeling and Apathy merely responds “Why
does it matter?”
Apathy is lazy. He is not particularly good at anything because he never cared to
study. Apathy is a genius but doesn’t care to show it. Apathy spends most of his time
with Depression. After all, Depression can’t see colors and Apathy doesn’t care to see
them. They rarely speak; they have nothing they wish to say.
Rage
By Grier Freedman
Rage listens to hardcore death metal. Rage is blind and his house is broken. All
the furniture is in pieces. Rage storms about at night and can never sleep. He enjoys
spending tie with Anger. Rage enjoys eating extremely spicy food. People almost
always left him with his friend Loneliness. In school, he never listens inc lass and
constantly complains about the homework, which he never does. Rage takes all the
homework and burns it in a bonfire. Rage is the one who destroyed all the san castles
on the beach, the one who would throw his food onto the floor. Rage knows no one but
Anger and even Anger is not fond of him.
Animal Poems: 8th Grade
Sloth Babble
By Addison Adams
I sleep
I nap
I lay under the canopy
I dream of sleeping
And I live
For sleeping
Sleeping is my life
What would I do
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without...
Sleep “ YAWN”
Though my wife
“ YYYAAAWWWNNN”
Always keeping me
From my glorious sleep
With a "get up!"
There are poachers
I just wish
That they
Got her
Away
From my glorious
Sleeping
“YYYYAAAAWWWWNNNN”
Chimpanzee Complaining
By Hannah Garelick
I am just resting under some trees
behind a piece of glass
in something called a zoo.
And then these little Chimpanzee-like things
come up to the glass
and start knocking on the wall.
They make weird faces
and try to make me move.
Oh,
and do I move,
as far away from them as possible.
But then there are more of them
on the other side
and they are just so annoying.
I’m in a little box
with nowhere to go.
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Don’t these animals
have anything better to do?
Why don’t they go back
to their cages?
Why aren’t they locked up
in glass and have other animals
bothering them?
Hey,
I could do that. I think I’m going to knock
on their glass.
Hopeful Animals
By Karlyn McAllister
Inside a sad
and lonely place.
Lies animals looking
for a family.
A family which
they can trust
with their heart.
There is hope
for these animal.
To find a
better home.
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Cat Song
By Mark Work-Sosnick
Finally it’s night,
Now I can sing my song.
Meow!
Meow!
Meow!
Why are you yelling?
Are you jealous of me?
Are you jealous of my song?
What are you doing?
Where'd you get that pillow?
Oooof, thud!
What did you do that for?
Lazy Panda
By Matt Hazelett
I lay there
In a forest of bamboo
Tired yes
I always am
I lay barely moving
Only slightly chewing
On my favorite thing
In the whole world
Bamboo
If I had one wish
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It would be
To live forever
So I can enjoy
The great taste of bamboo
Forever.
Why Because Poems: 11th Grade
Why The Cat Owns You
By Zoe Evert-Jacobs
Because she does what she wants, sleeping half the day, then ordering you to scratch
behind her ears.
Because she is cute and fluffy, brainwashing you to do all she wants.
Because she can
Because she thinks your purpose in life is to serve her.
Because she will never acknowledge you as her equal.
Because she needs a servant with opposable thumbs to open the door, feed her, and
scratch her back.
Because she could live by her self in the wild, but chooses to grace you with her
company.
Because she knows all, and you know nothing.
Because she thinks your lap is a nice place to take a nap.
Because if you mess up, she will not hesitate to tell you.
Because she thinks you are a living heater.
Because she can give an order with out saying any thing.
Because she knows that all she has to do to keep you entertained is do something cute.
Because she finds you convenient.
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Because when you are sick, she will take it upon herself to make you get better, so that
you can get back to serving her.
Because whatever she wants she gets.
Because everything she sees is hers.
Because she can make any old quilt look cute.
Because she can sleep almost any where.
Because her voice can enchant you to fall in love with her.
Because you are her chair.
Because she brings you gifts from hunting expeditions.
Because she warms your clean clothes.
Because you are an easy pet for her to take care of.
Because she defends the home from invaders.
Because she allows you to serve under her.
Because when she gives you a vacation, you feel guilty leaving her.
Because you are one of the few people she can tolerate.
Because she sleeps with you to keep the monsters away.
Because, while you may not be her equal, you are her best friend.
Because, whether you like it or not, your life revolves around her.
Because if she did not like you she would have left already.
Because you are her favorite underling.
Because no matter what she says you are her favorite person.
Why So Serious?
By Charles Mendelsohn
Because the clown king of crime said so,
Because the sun falls out of the sky each night,
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The evil and doom spreads every night,
Because the darkness will consume you.
Because green and purple are the perfect match,
The hysterical laughter of insanity echoes within.
Because crime washes over Gotham,
There is only anarchy and chaos.
Why I Want to Become a Ninja
By Elyssa Sagall
Because I want to sneak around at night,
while no one’s looking,
spying on my family,
and take notes on what they are doing.
Because I want to learn
the ways of a ninja, using chakra and different types of jujitsu.
Because I want to be at a high rank of being a ninja,
so no one will suspect me and I
can get away with small deeds
like learning what my parent’s password is on the computer.
Because of all the advantages you can get in a game.
Because I’d be the queen at hiding
from my parents
when they want me to do
something I don’t want to do.
Because if I was in trouble, I could easily
take down my opponent with
own strength and skill.
Because I feel inspired by what they do.
Because I want to.
22
Why Religion Exists
By Daniel Chan
Because humans are weak minded fools,
and they need icons to follow
or to hate;
Because humans don’t have
Their own moral compass, and
They need something to set one for them;
Because we feel the need to explain
the inexplicable;
Because the mystical and strange
Cannot keep their iridescent
anonymity or their radiant mysteriousness;
Because pariahs need a stained glass front
for their plans;
Because life and death
must be personified,
in all their vile greatness.
Because man must have differences
to wage war and butcher his brothers;
Because zealots do not cower from drinking blood
or from letting their blades do the same;
Because punishment
must be meted out among the people;
Because good and evil must be distinct;
Because pain must be ignored single mindedly;
Because the fear of death must be overwhelmed.
Because humans are weak minded fools,
and they need icons to follow
or to hate;
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Because humans don’t have their own moral compass.
Oh, and because people like Fred Phelps
need an outlet for their homophobic bigotry,
discrimination, and hatred.
Why Does The Mayan Calendar Stop at 12/12/12 at 12:12
By Cameron Heller
Because they wanted to scare
and convince people that the world would end after they died.
Because they were too lazy to continue the math.
They didn’t feel like getting a new “ink”
Because, they, kind of, sort of, ran out of rock!
Because they had their fortune read,
and it said that if they didn’t stop doing math,
they wouldn’t have any friends left
Their world ended in a fiery explosion,
They just didn’t realize that day was 12/12/12
The Mayans didn’t care about the calendar,
Only the credit they would receive from it.
They forgot how to count half way through...
They were called nerds by everyone else,
So they decided to stop and try to be cool
They escaped from the prison they were stuck in,
Endlessly writing numbers
Someone finally invented the computer.
After that many years of work,
They forgot what they were doing.
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Poems About Books: Elementary, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
The Wheel of Time
By Addison Adams
Rand al'thor
The dragon reborn
Destined to fight
leaf blighter
The dark one
With crystal sword in hand
Madness is destined
To befall
Though the cleanser
Of the source.
Paren a baraRand
The golden eyes
Lord of the two rivers
Fights the shido
With ax in hand.
Mat coffin
The trickster
The gambler
With bladed spear
in hand
Fox pendant holds off
The source
Hanged to leave
Serpents and foxes
Answer all questions.
elayne trakand
25
Queen of Andor
Wife of rand
Behind the walls
She does defend
Holding off
The stronger heir
Aliana the unworthy.
Min the sear
She Sees
Catching Fire
By Ryland Staples
President Snow wanted Katniss to Marry Peeta.
Katniss protects Prim and her mom.
She catches wild game for them.
Some People think that Prim is weak.
Chasing Redbird
By Tati Klinkenbergh
Grief
Aunt Jessie goes to heaven.
Return
Jake Bosen returns to bybanks.
Crush
Jake has feelings for Zinny.
Jealousy
May is jealous of Zinny.
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Explorer.
Zinny finds a trail.
Different
Jake and Zinny have changed from kindergarten.
The Hunger Games
By Leah Hadfield
Katniss and Prim at the reaping.
Prim is ervous and scared, it’s her first time.
“Primrose Everdeen”. Katniss is terrified.
She volunteers with love.
They say goodbye,
Katniss goes off,
To fight districts.
Catching Fire
Zoe Siegal
Katniss is in the interview
Showing off her wedding dress
Going to marry Peeta.
The audience is bored
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Until they see her
The flames come out
And she turns into a mockingjay.
The Hunger Games
By Liz Mayio
While Katniss is singing
She is aching
Because she knew that Rue
Wouldn’t last with that spear
Here in her stomach
Because she got shot in this spot
With a spear
She caught the boy from District 1 eyes
You could tell
That he’d died
Kantniss decorated Rue with all her love
The Help
By Emma Cummins
Black maids in Jackson
28
Dressed up in white
Taking strict orders
Dealing with small kids
Treating kids like their own
A thousand laws in the house
Their own bathrooms
Live in their own neighborhood
They come at six o’clock
Catching Fire
John Fair
Katniss is wondering why her mother is so pale.
There is a man behind her waiting to escort her through the hall.
With an awkward song in her step she opens the door.
To see a man dressed in white.
War Horse
By Ayelet Berkowitz
My legs
Are badly hurt
I think they might
Be broken
Yet I must
29
Keep going
I have
To try to find
A way out
Of this
Barbed wire fence
Surrounding no man’s land
The Hunger Games
By Grace Fenton
Katniss is brave.
When she was young
Her Dad died in a cave.
During the reaping this year
Katniss volunteered.
Katniss is leaving for the Hunger Games
She hopes in the arena she doesn’t burst into flames.
Her family wants her to stay safe and come home
So she can once again roam.
The Things They Carried
By Hannah Garelick
30
Necessities or almost necessities
Jungle of Vietnam
Can openers,
Pocket knives
Heavy backpacks,
Booby-trapped ground
Heat tabs,
Dog tags
Camping everywhere.
Chewing gum,
Cigarettes.
No matter how far.
Lighters,
Salt tablets,
Kool-aid.
31
Everywhere,
Every war zone.
The Mysterious Benedict Society III
By Caelan Campbell
Mister Benedict has narcolepsy.
He slept by laughter
Until it was cured
By friends and anger
With mind games fixed
With tears and crying
I Am the Great Horse
By Helena Landron
Alexander and his
Horse Bucphalas
Went into attle
In Egypt. When in
Battle Cham and
Bucphalas favorite mare Aura were
Captured and served
As slaves. In the
End of the battle
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Alexander was
Pharaoh and won/got
An Illiad.
Mockingjay
By Danielle Wassertzug
Katniss takes her walk
Stumbles upon what she thought
Was a rock.
It was a skull
Of a friend from school.
As she starts to weep,
She remembers she needs to eat.
She gets in the plane
But the memory is vague.
Whirlwind
By Suki Blandwitt
Jaz tries to make Shadow
More social.
He’s still a pony
But he’s still
Very shy.
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Jaz tries to
Socialize Shadow
With other horses
In the big ring.
But Jaz has to
Stay on the farm.
She can’t take
Him anywhere else.
They got him
From an auction.
Jaz sometimes
Puts him in the
Field, while she
Plants new flowers.
Jaz has to stick
To her time schedule
But wants to spend more time with
Shadow.
She has to stay
Near the phone
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With her bracelet.
If she doesn’t
Stay near the phone
Then she’ll have to
Go to court. Sometimes
The fat cat that lives
On the farm, sits
On her lap while she waits
From 4 to 6.
The Hunger Games
By Max Klaverkamp
She opens the glass
And throws flowers on the grass
With thought of flashback.
In the cold dark cave
Where no sunlight can be seen
Bits and pieces lay.
The Hot Zone
By Robby Scalet
Charles Mandel wanted to go on a date with his girlfriend today.
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He drove in his jeep. It started to creep up the mountain.
He went into the forest while at home there was a florist.
After the date with the chick he got very sick.
On the airplane he threw up and got a stain.
In the hospital in Sydney he lost his kidney.
The doctor made him throw up in a cup.
The blood looked like mud on the ground.
While he was in intensive care the doctors were feeling very square.
He took his last breath and then came death.
The Hunger Games
By Keegan Freedman
Katniss in a tree
Peeta with the Careers
Rue telling Katniss
to cut down the tracker jackers
wth a knife.
When katniss is cutting
she gets stung
by the tracker jackers
then down comes the nest
killing one
then another.
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The Pearles of Lutra
By Brandon Butsavage -
The shiny pearls of the tribe of Lutra
were found by the polite shrews of Mossflower
the searats attacked with the hope of finding the pearls
but alas the abbot of Redwall has found the pearls
the last otter of the Lutra tribe makes a deadly path towards Redwall to find her pearls
The Hunger Games
By Satchel Johnson
Katniss
Sneaky fast, brave
Protective, quiet,
Victorious
Mockingjay
By Jacob Mintz
Attack!
There was an evacuation then a bomb.
They go to the bunker where they hunker.
There was a missile so fast that it could whistle.
Later it left a crater.
They had to hurry through the debris.
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There was hysteria in the disaster area.
The Hunger Games
By Laura Heckel
Katniss hunts for food
in the meadow and the woods.
Gale is next to her.
Mockingjay (Saving Peeta)
By Jacob Rosenzweig
They have gone to save Peeta
Gale has gone too
Katniss is worrying
She feels she must help too
Coin says
“We shall start a propo.
This will distract the capital.”
“Sounds good to me”
Says Katniss.
“When we finish we shall broadcast it.”
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Thank gosh they’re back
But Peeta is crazy.
He doesn’t remember Katniss.
She hopes he’ll get better
But it’s not very likely.
Camile McPhee Fell Under the Bus
By Lauren Taragin
Camille goes to school.
Her energy is very low.
Her Mom is kind.
Warriors
By Nate Crystal
We run off to the side He is sleeping now
I talk to blue star Wake up to sounds of noises
Ravenpaw is not dead It’s time for hearing
Young Samurai – Way of the Dragon
By Andrew Honn
Whispering to friends
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He’s caught by the garden
In trouble again
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix
By Noah Morris
Harry holding prophecy
Running away from death eaters
Almost about to die
When the Order of the Phoenix
Arrive. Blasting spells with
Their wands out,
Attacked the death eaters
When Bellatrix killed Sirius.
I Am Number Four
By Cameron Bailey
Huge
Blacky white
Scary, Fast, Drooling
Transform, teeth, paws
Protector
Into the Labyrinth
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By Meribor Matusow
Squishy, brown, black, blue
Small areas, messed up words
Rossetta accused
Thought to be a criminal
Silvie found ds in the room.
Tornado
By Grace Sierra
In the storm we found a dog.
We found him
in a doghouse in a tree.
He became ours.
We watched him. He was a good
dog. I loved
the dog I found in that tree.
James and the Giant Peach
By Zev Namrow
Aunt Striker, Aunt Sponge got caught under the peach
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Because the peach started to go, so
James and the insects celebrated by running over them each.
When the peach fell into the water and sharks came to eat
James caught seagulls and tied them to the stem of the peach.
It soon became dark so the spider used her webs
By helping James and the insects make some beds.
They saw the cloud-men making marbles
While in the peach carried by seagulls.
Stormbreaker
By John Paul Libanati
Alex is sad mad.
His uncle is very dead.
He’s patriotic.
There is a pale male.
He has artificial skin.
He is Mister Blunt.
Suspicious Alex;
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His uncle was quite discrete.
Banker or agent?
Alex is awesome.
His uncle was very calm.
He’s very fearless.
His uncle was safe.
He would put on his seatbelt.
How could he have died?
The Red Pyramid
By Jason Harriot
A rchitecture in a small form
M ystery to be solved
U ltimate powers
L eft behind
E tched in the metal
T urning in a golden glare.
Arctic Tale
By Leora Fishman
Seela
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S imilar to her Mom B est walrus in town
E ating fish A mazing in every way
E xcited to catch fish R acing your friend
L ovely in a way K eep holding Mom’s flipper
A re you faster than Seela?
Mets
By Noah Pettiford
M oney B rave
E xercise A wesome
T eam L ittle
S port L eague
Wonderstruck
By Anna Courtney
J anet
A wesome at things
N ice to people
E xcellent at being sneaky
T all
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
By Alison Weinberger
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G reat at watching T.V.
R akes leaves at his Nana’s
E xcellent at sleeping
G ossip with his friends
Double Fudge
By Eric Quam
Fudge is cool and he’s smart in school.
He’s in mixed group which kind of rules.
I think of what’s happening in my mind.
We do that in reading all of the time.
Fudge made his own Fudge Bucks
And you might need him for good luck.
Fudge has a brother names Peter
And Peter is Fudge’s leader.
The Hunger Games
By Grace Fenton
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Katniss is brave.
When she was young her dad died in a cave.
During the reaping this year
Katniss volunteered
Katniss is leaving for the Hunger Games.
She hopes in the arena she doesn’t burst into flames.
Her family wants her to stay safe and come home
so she can once again roam.
Surrealist Poems: 11thgrade
Attack
by Anna Wickenden
There once was a girl. She loved school, her friends, and family. One day her
friend Sasha came over. They went shopping and when they got home they went
swimming. Suddenly, they were attacked by an angry mob of penguins that jumped
into the pool after them. So, they ran into the house where they were cornered by one
hundred cats. They couldn’t get away. The cats started jumping on them, then the girl
blinked and everything disappeared. After swimming, they went into the house and
drank lemonade and ate chocolate chip cookies.
Hummus
By Grier Freedman
I was sitting in my room eating hummus when suddenly there was scratching at
the door. It was clear that the dog needed to use the litter box, so I grabbed the
shoelaces and brought the dog to the orange. At that moment I had realized that
orange was actually tangerine and it started to glow and float into the air. My bird then
growled at it ferociously as it started to spin. It exploded and then we were teleported
back into the house as was tradition. I continued to eat the hummus when I noticed
that it tasted loud. I looked down at it and it turned out that I was eating crayons. The
house then suddenly disappeared and everything exploded. Then I was sitting in my
room eating hummus…..
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Kool-Aid
By Charles Mendelsohn
One day I was very thirsty and just saw a commercial for Kool Aid. I was
craving it so badly. I said out loud “I want Kool Aid!” The next thing I know a giant
pitcher of Kool Aid smashes through my wall and yells “Oh yeah.” He did not realize
the strength of the wall and cracked his glass. When he took a step forward he
shattered and yelled “Oh no!” I did not know what to do and just sat there in shock
holding back laughter while I watched the Kool Aid man spill Kool Aid everywhere.
Out of nowhere thousands of bugs showed up to drink the liquid goodness. I ran as
far as I could and never went back.
Strange Gifts
By Elyssa Sagall
I come home one day after school and I find a package on the front door. Inside
the package is a crown with jewels and I have no idea where it came from. The next
day after school I find another package at the front door. Inside is a black gown with a
big red rose on it. I try on the gown, put the crown on my head, and find it all fits
together perfectly. Suddenly I'm not home anymore. I am in front of a castle deep in
the woods. I slowly approach the castle door but am scared. The door gradually opens
before me creaking ever so slightly. I step inside and the door slams shut. Inside a
handsome prince approaches me and invites me to the ball that is going on before my
eyes. He invites me to dance with him to a beautiful waltz. After the dance, he brings
me out onto the balcony. The night has fallen but a full moon brightens up the forest
surrounding me. The prince leans down and kisses my neck but a searing pain runs
through my body. I pull myself away and see blood dripping from fangs in his mouth.
The sight of him makes me pass out...
The Bubbles
By Cameron Heller
One morning a man was washing dishes in his kitchen. He realized he needed
more soap and within seconds bubbles began rising from the floor. They were huge,
perfectly round, glossy and shiny. After a few more seconds, one began to encapsulate
him. He banged and banged on the bubble but it would not pop. The bubble rose to
the ceiling, broke through the wall and roof and he floated away up into the sky, past
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the moon and into the stars. But, unfortunately, after banging on the bubble for hours,
it burst! He fell and fell and fell, but luckily for him hit a cozy and dense cloud. After
looking around dazed and confused, he stood up and began to walk. To him it was
like walking on water, except without gravity. But surrounding him was pieces of his
kitchen, floating past him in different sized bubbles. He dodged his toaster and a few
dishes. He peered down off the cloud but did not see earth, only one massive bubble
surrounding the earth and everything and everyone in it.
Sock Puppet
by Zoe Evert-Jacobs
I tie my shoe. The laces turn into snakes and slither away beneath my bed. There
they are eaten by the strange sock puppet creature. The sock puppet thing starts
scooting along the floor towards me. He turns and starts going towards my closet
where I keep all my shoes. Chewing on an expensive pair of boots, he cackles madly in
between bites. He starts eating the other shoes.
All of the sudden he starts smoking. There is a fuse wired to him. After about a
minute he explodes. Shoes rain down everywhere. .
Alliteration Poems: 11th and 8th grades
Radical
By Grier Freedman
Roger rode a rusted red roller coaster
In Rhode island.
It raddled randomly on the track
Roger was rambling to the person next to him about
Using a rust rake and tripping on a root.
The rollercoaster continued to rattle
And roll in the rain
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Knight
By Austin DeFilippo
The nice knight was unknown
The knight would love to knit in Nigeria
He would face the noobs and finish them in the Nile River
The knight never hit a nerd with the noodle
Why did he have nappy hair?
We will never know
Some myths say the gnomes undo his hair
Then toss it into the Netherlands
Nukes then cover the world
Turns out the nerd’s neck was in a noose with the nuke
Garfield And His Goofy Adventure
By Cameron Heller
Gunther’s godmother was a gloomy gambler
She often bet with gumballs and garbanzo beans
But, when she lost would become gruesome
She would often graffiti the town with ghoulish images
But, after attending Gamblers Anonymous
She became obsessed with God and waited for her Golem
However, she did not find him
She said “What about I go Ghana”
After the gregarious fight
She gallivanted in the wildlife
But then, saw her god
The gorilla
Unlike the glue,
he was graceful and gorgeous
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But, he was goofy and gassy on the flight home
And was given only goldfish for dinner
Gunther and his godmother now had a new family member
Garfield
Ted and Ten Tin Tics
By Zoe Evert-Jacobs
Two sets of tiger twins Tom and Ted lived in Taiwan.
They trade titanium teapots.
One time, Ted got an infestation of tics
It was terrible.
Ten tin ticks told him to take his brother's teapot.
He had a tantrum
Robby Scalet
By Robby Scalet
One day Robby went to the amusement park
Rolling up in his Rolls Royce.
After getting out of the car he saw a Red Roof inn.
After watching the author of radical honesty,
Brad Blanton, yell at Mitt Romney.
When Robby saw rioters yelling random things,
a riot-control man rammed into the rioters.
50
People were playing Russian Roulette
with a long range rifle.
When I went on a roller coaster,
it started to race down.
Then a random rainfall came down
and gave me radiation poisoning.
Crazy Food
By Jacob Rosenzweig
Once upon a time
Patrick and Peter
were at Penn State.
Patrick brought some
perfect food, a pickle,
a pepper and a potato.
Patrick’s food was plump
and very precious to him.
But Patrick put his
precious food in a puddle
of perfume.
The perfume puddle poisoned
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the pickle, pepper and potato
and made them perilously pointy.
They were no longer plain.
I told Patrick to pick a piece
of the pointy pickle and eat it.
Patrick pondered this idea and
decided to bite the pointy pickle.
“P.U. that stinks,” went Peter.
The pickle made Patrick
pass gas.
Well I learned my lesson.
Do not put perfume on a pickle.
Timmy and The Tree
By Suki Blandwitt
Tiny Timmy and his twin, Tall Texas,
threw a tantrum.
They threw the tantrum
because they had a test
the next day.
While they were screaming,
their mom was making tea
in her new tin teapot.
When she tried it,
she burnt
her tongue.
After Tiny Timmy and
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Tall Texas were done crying,
Tiny Timmy rode his tricycle
down to the park.
On the way back
he ran into a tree,
and got a tick.
His bike was so beaten up,
he decided to get a tune up.
His tummy started to hurt
when he got home
because there was
a tiger in his room.
Where I’m From Poems: 11th and 12th grade
Where I’m From
By Lucas Waight
I’m from corn
And potatoes, from
Mountain Dew,
And waffles.
I am from a red
Zebra with rings
Around its neck,
And from the
Wheelchair I used
To take from Dad.
I am from Dad’s broken
Harley, to Mom’s laughing
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At him, and from running
In the street unaware of
Any danger
I am from “Lucas, don’t
Touch the stove,” and
“You’re grades suck, you’re
Grounded.”
Where I’m From
by Melaku Hawkins
I am from competitive basketball games.
I am from echoing temple drums.
I am from walking to the bus in bone-biting cold.
I am from the baby brother
Who hovers over me
Casting a shadow
I am from bickering with Bruke
And my father saying two wrongs
Don’t make a
Right
I am from, “Clean your room.”
I am from, “I’ll do it later.”
I am from “Stop being a procrastinator”
I am from the connection with people
From all nations and races,
I am from the belief in a divine power,
I am from veggie burgers, waffles.
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I am from the Saturday morning gathering
With hot buttery pancakes in syrup.
I am from pizza Sundays and Chipotle Mondays.
I am from movies with my sister and gym with Akil
I am from the dishwasher’s association.
I am from balling with friends.
I am from “Come in, it’s time to do your homework.”
I am from the weekend trips to Seven Eleven.
Where I’m From
By Ryan Salomon
I am from deer meats,
Cooling cups of wine,
Messy candy wrappers, and
Half-eaten cans of soup.
I am from stale bread,
And fluffy cotton candy.
I am from my blue blanket
Much like Linus in Charlie Brown,
Short, messy, and cuddly,
For it lies upon beds,
Beds as hard as cave stalagmites
In a room unkept
Like Oscar’s.
I am from the bottom of a well
Wet, dark, lonely, and depressing.
The candy shop in Glen Echo,
Full of Life,
Happy, cheerful, popular, and uplifting.
55
I am from Mother Earth,
Robin, Sarah,
Tim, Tory,
And Mrs. Brown.
I am from, “Life’s unfair,”
And “Life is full of possibilities,”
And “Don’t give up,”
And “Nothing is impossible,”
And “You decide your fate.”
Where I’m From
By Dean Szollosy
I am from where the sky turns black
I am from the city of disrespect and disloyalty.
I am from ungrateful friends,
And unwanted memories
I am from the tainted chicken and fish, whose origin is
Unknown.
OI am from the ice-cream and lollipop
Which melts to the touch and
The smallest chocolate that falls to the ground.
I am from the black truck animals and
The forest
As well as distant friends
And unwanted memories
I am from dust, logic and
Happenings. Truth
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And nothing more.
I am from “How?” and
“Why?”
I am from “Don’t ask that”
And “Who cares?”
I am from “Work hard, or you’re nothing,”
And “He’s real.”
(Which I never believed).
Where I’m From
By Ali Martin
I am from turkey tacos, barbeque chicken,
And chocolate chip pancakes.
I am from my huggie and blankie
Stuffed Barney, my Winnie-the-Pooh trashcan, and
My Barbie dolls.
I am from huge homes, a golf course, a brown
Brick House, and traffic circle.
I am from Tara, Lisa, Julia, Shuan, Lauryn,
and Kevin
I am from “Get your grades up!”
And “He’s not worth it”
I am from “You’re a baby.”
Where I Am From
By Jesse Auth
57
I am from home,
From peanut butter and jelly,
From baloney,
From Apple Juice
From home-mad ebread
My mom’s secret recipe.
She cooked it when she could.
I am from sticks and dirt
From ripped pants, and cloud of bug spray.
I am from matches and marshmallows
From melted toys and broken promises
I am from the one place that made sense
When the rest of the world seemed corrupted and distant.
I am from poverty, running along the rich scene
I am from a little neighborhood
Not far from the most powerful place in the world.
I am from the guidance of spirits,
From my Indian ancestors,
From Mom, from Grandad, Grandma,
Travis Teresa, and Thomas.
I am from, “Don’t worry, things will turn out okay” and
“I’ll always be there, no matter what.”
I am from “Never tell a lie” and
“Violence only creates war, and war only creates death.”
I am from, “You could help change the world one day.”
Where I’m From
By Doug Grayson
58
I am from French toast in the morning,
And chicken tenders at night.
I am from turkey sandwiches for lunch,
And 7 meals a day.
I am from the house with the lazy dog,
And the two annoying sisters.
I am from the dad that does nothing but work
And the mother that hates dirt.
I am from the house on the left side of the court,
And the brick house
I am from the place where storms always seem to hit
And the house where the lights always go out.
I am from “Hey! It’s my turn!”
And “That’s not fair!”
I am from “DJ! Clean up your room!”
And “Mommy! DJ broke your favorite picture!”
Where I’m From
By Ben Perper
I am from bagel and lox,
Homebrewed beer,
Freshly baked corn-bread,
And pancakes with chocolate chips
I am from my little Dragonball-Z action figure
I am from Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat
Watching Space Jam a million times
I am from very baggy jeans and over-sized shirts
And matching sports jerseys
59
I am from the unnecessarily long driveway
I am from Mountain Quail Road
I am from Kinsman Farm
I am from Dragonball-Z
Sonic the Hedgehog and Lord of the Rings
I am from Tenacious D and Roy Haynes
I am from “Eat your vegetables!”
And “If you’re not ready in 10 you’re going to be walking”
I am from “Walk the dog!” and “Do the dishes”
I am from “Did you get all your homework done?”
And “Clean up your room!”
Where I’m From
By Cameron Heller
I am from Chinese Food,
Movies, Trips, Friends,
Games, and Adventures
I am from Christmas Trees,
With dazzling lights,
Shiny ornaments,
And a gold star
I am from the yellow house
With the orange door and pink tulips.
I am from all the furry,
Soft, and old stuffed animals
I am from the dogs.
Although hungry
And mischievous
Still cuddly
Who sleep next to me,
And demand attention
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I am from my mom,
dad and sister
I am from busy schedules,
Long nights, and few
Arguments.
Where I’m From…
By Austin DeFilippo
I’m from Perogies,
Coca-Cola, Lasagna,
Apple Pie and Beer
I am from a green stuffed dog
Baseball
Bloody knees from learning how to ride a bike
And getting beat up by the brothers
I am from Holy Cross Hospital
A creek down the street
Friends and Family
I am from Pat,
Joyce, Mary, Charlie
And My Conscience
I am from “I’m going to kill you!”
And “Go outside and play”
I am from “Stop making him cry”
And “Go clean yourself up”
And “Do it yourself. I don’t care anymore.”
Where I’m From
By Grier Freedman
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I am from French Toast
Cinnamon sugar bagels
Macaroni and Cheese
And a lot of pizza
I am from cities of Legos,
Videogames, mountain biking
And the woods
I am from the middle of nowhere
From a place whose name would unknowingly
Have a massive influence on me
And from the goats in the backyard
I am from Master Chief,
Chuck Norris, Jimi Hendrix
Jimmy Page, and Eric Clapton
I am from :No running in the house” and
“Turn off the TV”
I am from “Put the controller down” and
“2:00 in the morning is too late to be practicing.”
Where I’m From
By Daniel Chan
I am from Pho,
Lobster tails in butter sauce,
Spatzele, and
Dim Sum
I am from Lego contraptions
Finger paintings, and
Homemade Halloween Costumes
I am from the top of the hill,
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The cookie-cutter house next to
All the others
And the “Capital
Of the World.”
I am from Mom,
Dad, Freya,
Nico, Eike,
And Burt.
I am from “Go to your room!” and
“Because I said so!”
I am from “Nana na nana.”
And “God sees you and cares for you”
(Which I stopped believing ages ago.)
Where I’m From
By Charles Mendelsohn
I am from Chala,
Wacky Mac,
Orange Juice, and
Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
I am from Sharky,
My burnt blue blanket,
Lion King, Legos,
Hot Wheels, Connect the dots,
Power Rangers, and
Superheroes
I am from the tree I climbed,
Georgetown, and
Going to Museums
I am from my parents
And my Grandma
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I am from “Don’t touch that,”
“What’s on TV?” and
“I need more Legos.”
Where I’m From
by Elyssa Sagall
I am from pizza, macaroni and
Cheese, chocolate coins, latkes,
Hamantaschen, ice cream cake,
And matzo brie.
I am from my blue blanky, pink
Pig, Sushi and Ginger (my dogs),
Bangs, and a big smile
I am fro the water, TV, Gameboy
Wii, and Computer. I am from
Pokemon, Mario, Dragonball,
Smurfs, and Powerpuff Girls
I am from the house with columns
Forsythia bushes, rhododendron
Bushes and the Bonifant Cemetery
I am from Shady Grove,
Washing DC, Silver Spring,
And Florida.
I am from Judy, Myron, Sheri, and
Ruth. I am from Harry, Alex, and
Barker.
I am from “Owned, Pawned, and
Sticky feeted” and “I don’t care”
And “Grow up”. I am from
“Kinderlachen” and “Elchewawa”
And “You did not just hear that.
Where I'm From
64
By Anna Wickenden
I am from zebra cakes,
Amazing pasta and salad,
That are always delicious
And a lot of chicken.
I am from my leopard print blanket,
The baby lamb and giraffe,
Socks that would never fit my tiny feet,
And playing dress up in the basement.
I am from the last house on the left,
The house with the swimming pool,
I was brought here from Russia.
I am from God,
Bubbie and Grandpa
Katie, Dan, and Sasha.
I am from "You'll understand when you're older,
"No, don't eat that!"
"Go to sleep, you have to wake up soon,
And "Everything happens for a reason"
Where I'm From
By Zoe Evert-Jacobs
I am from pumpkin pies,
Really tasty root-beer, double icing cakes
That always sink in the middle
And lots of grilled meat.
I am from my little polar bear,
My yellow duckey,
Lots and lots of penguins
And playing dress-up.
I am from the periwinkle house
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With the dead oak tree (that's not there any more)
The one with lots of flowers
And trees
I am from people I don't know
And people I do
Bob, Debbie,
Abuela and Abuel,
Misi, La Grita, Shasta,
Mango and Kiwi.
I am from "I'm tired" and
"Life's not fair"
I am from "Empty the dishwasher" and
"Cold hearted orb that rules the night"
(My dad always says that at the weirdest times).
To William Carlos Williams Poems: 8th Grade
The Cake
By Brandon Butsavage
Please forgive me
but I could not resist
the magnet-like smell
of the ice-cream cake
which lay on the balcony
telling me to eat it
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please forgive me
but the vanilla cake was so
moist.
This Is Just To Say
By Karlyn McAllister
Before you left
I took the
money back.
The money you
took from me
to hang out
with your friends.
You put it
in your bag
before you left.
And I used it
to buy some
snacks.
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I’m really sorry
that you didn’t
have a good
time.
But I’m just
a kid that
wants to have
fun.
This is just to say
By Leora Cherry
I have filled
your shoes
with shaving cream
and you
probably felt
a strange feeling
all day.
I’m sorry
but I couldn't resist
the delightful
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squish-squish
of your shoes.
Inside the Alley
By Leora Cherry
the trash cans
stand
and darkness fills
every space.
In the middle
of it all
cats eyes gleam.
Their meows
filling the empty
space around
them.
Independent Voices: 6th and 8th Grade
Sisters
By Grace Sierra
sisters
scary, playful
clowning, fighting, laughing
but we are family
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siblings
family
happy, cool
caring, laughing, loving
we care
Sierra
Untitled
By Cameron Bailey
Everything has meaning
even a fly on a web,
it feeds the spider
Seasons
By Keegan Freedman
A snowflake falls
In a pile of snow outside
Below the trees
Flowers blossoming
Beside the sidewalk Where it’s hot
In the grass below us
Having fun
Mosquitoes biting us
All day long
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Trees are bare
When it’s getting colder
Leaves are falling
Seasons
By Laura Heckel
white snow falling day by day
catching snowflakes on your tongue
hot chocolate so so good
blowing breezes
flowers blooming and trees blooming
getting warmer
swimming pools
no homework for all kids
ice cream
leaves falling
going back to school to learn new things
weather cooling
Winter and Spring
By Nathaniel Crystal
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Winter and Spring
A white coat outside
flakes of snow are falling now
we don’t have school - YEAH!
On my walk to school
I see Cherry Blossoms - PINK!
it’s Spring, take it in.
Untitled
By Noah Morris
Clock
Loud, shocking
Small, longhand, shorthand
Makes a lot of noise
Timer
Haiku
By Satchel Jacobson
Winter, snow silently pours down,
kids wildly sledding down the snowy hills,
when snow falls, peace hits
Yay Spring, things are blooming,
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families and friends are peacefully enjoying outside,
things are quickly changing
Summer, hot and dry weather,
thunderstorms are corrupting, rain is pouring everywhere,
down hits the water onto the ground
Fall fall, things are falling,
animals are migrating and retiring for winter,
and climate is alternating
Untitled
By Meribor Matusow
hair
long, silky
brushing, cleaning, braiding
I love my hair.
Brunette
Untitled
By Andrew Honn
a sad snake slithers endlessly starving
for the dead of winter extinguishes all food and those that hunt them
he will search endlessly as if on a treadmill of life
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Untitled
By Mark Worth-Sosnick
I had lost my pen
next day I found a pencil
That made me feel glad
The day after that
my brother broke his ankle walking
He felt very depressed.
Im sad, my cat died
My mom got us some kittens
We were ecstatic
Writer’s Block
By Leora Cherry
Homework stinks somewhat
My poem wouldn’t come then
Constance can rhyme island?
The door to my mind is barred.
My mind is charred.
There are cinders underfoot.
Why this you ask?
Well this is the result of
Writer’s block.
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Onomatopoeia: Elementary School
Rock Climber
By: Alison Weinberger
Clink Clink
Goes the harness
Bang Bang
Goes the rope
Swish Swish
Down we come
Pop Pop
Goes the soda can
Stealthy
By: Jason Harriot
Creak! Click!
Goes the door
Quick! Hide!
Clink! Click!
Goes the lock
Knows the code?
Snatch! Zip!
Goes the thief
Has the diamond!
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Screee!
Go the sirens
Catch the thief!
Schools Out
by John Paul Libanati
Tick Tock
Goes the clock
Ring! Ring!
Goes the bell
Hooray!
Goes the class
Clink! Slam!
Goes the door
Woohoo!
Goes the teacher
SCHOOLS OUT!
Buzz Buzz Goes The Bee
By Jacob Mintz
Buzz Buzz
Goes the bee
Woosh Woosh
Goes the cow’s tail
Bam Bam
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Cow is stung
Wack Wack
Bee is dead
Flying Burger
Eric Quam
Swoop! Swoop!
Goes the flying burger
Zoom! Zoom!
Flies so fast
Bash! Bash!
Into a guys hands
Crunch! Crunch!
Eats the burger
Yikes! Yikes!
Swallows the wings
Civil Rights Acrostics: 9th Grade
Bravery
by Ari Cottman
Bright future
Revolution
Activits
Volunteers
Experts
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Righteous
You will never forget what they've done.
Freedom
By Saria Walia
Fight
Rosa Parks for
Education,
Equality.
Dream of
Opportunity
Martin Luther King
Protest
By Chase Miles
Progress
Rights
Open-minded
Tense
Equality
Strong
Turbulence
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Freedom
By Jessie Gillman
Fabulous Rosa Parks
Refused to get up from her seat.
Even though a white man asked her to move.
Each day for a year, all African Americans boycotted.
Day after day no African American rode the bus.
Overall, there were no busses on the street which caused the company to fall.
Most days of walking got the law changed.
Fight
By Rael Griffin
Fire versus
Ice
Guns
Hate
Time
Freedom
By Jacob O'Hara
Free speech
Respect
Equality
Equal Rights
Domination
Oppressed
Music
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Poems About Family: 8th Grade
Family Poem
By Danielle Wassertzug
My Madre is the star in my burst.
She watches every hockey game I play in
She always says to me,
“Don’t worry, you did fine.”
She holds my family together,
like glue.
My Padre is like a kid inside a man's body
and not only is he my padre
but my coach too.
He loves to scream, “Not in my kitchen,”
while I’m playing hockey.
My dad loves eating apricots.
My dad’s a giant Caps fan.
My brother is the comedian
and he loves to place a bet
especially when it comes to cars.
You hear him say
“Called it.”
He loves his hat collection.
My twin sister Elle is the most amazing friend I have
and she teaches me things from candy tasting to talking closely.
Ellaphante is the sister I love.
She always says
“You suck, I love you.”
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Elle loves pickles, makeup, and her clothes.
As for me I’m the athletic one
and I bring joy to any party.
I’m a redhead member too
I love Ice hockey, pickles, and art.
I am found saying
“That's my jam” or
“Ohhh feisty.”
Family
By Lauren Taragin
My mom is a nice person that never stops.
She always smiles when she sees me
and has been teaching me new things since I was a baby.
She loves me, carvel ice cream, reading,
exercising, eating healthy and helping people.
She always says,
“I LOVE YOU”.
My mom will always be my mom and friend.
My dad is smart as a fox.
He likes to run and read
and he loves his family.
He always says “Read, Lauren."
My dad is just like his dad.
My dad brings information to discuss at the sabbath table.
We know he loves it, but it's always so boring.
My brother is nice to me, sometimes.
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He sometimes annoys me.
He loves BASEBALL.
He always says “ please get out of my room”.
My brother is like the Annoying Orange.
My grandparents are sweet.
They always laugh and make jokes.
They love to read and spend time with their grandchildren
They always say “I LOVE YOU”
My grandmother makes amazing sweet and sour meatballs.
My grandparents are my sunshine.
I am sweet (that’s what my mom says).
I smile most of the time.
I love basketball, playing, and having fun.
I always say,
“ I LOVE YOU, MOM.”
I am a Tweety Bird.
My Buzurk Life
By Emma Cummins
My mom is like a speeding car
that never wants to stop.
She pushes herself way too much
when she is working out.
She loves to knit,
listen to alternative rock,
and play the violin.
She always says,
“you don’t need that Emma”
My mother is a big teddy bear
because she is so comfy and cuddly.
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My Step Dad is like an old ripped teddy bear
that you still love.
He wears cowboy boots to work
and his hair is spiky.
He loves to go to music festivals,
listen to music,
and make cocktails.
He always says
“Go to bed Emma!”
My Step Dad is an old book
that you will never stop reading.
My Brother is a tech geek
that never stops calling you.
He loves Bill Gates
and hates to clean his room.
He loves to play video games,
collect computers,
and play with his friends.
He always says
“Emma you don’t know anything”.
My brother is like a song
that you can never get out of your head.
I am a bright lamp
that never burns out.
I like to run with my dad
and go to the mall with my mom.
I like to sing,
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dance,
and act.
I always say
“Ugh”
when I can’t do something.
I am like a dog
that never stops barking
because I sing all day.
Cinquains: Elementary School
Sport
Zev Namrow
Sport
Fun, awesome
Exciting, adrenalin pumping, jumping
Only on snow
Skiing!
Underground
By: John Paul Libanati
Underground
Musty, Scary
Exploring, caving, deadly
Deep down in the ground
Mines!
Sword
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Jacob Mintz
Sword
Fast, Scary
Winning, buzzing, timing
Fun weekend training
Epee!
Gadget
Jason Harriot
Gadget
Sneaky, Compact
Flipping, whipping, exciting
Everything you need
Multi-tool!
School
Evan Hall
School
Long, sleepy
Boring, changing, tiring
People learning
Language Arts Class
Swim
By Leora Fishman
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Swim
Float, dive
Jumping, swimming, splashing
Nice and cool
Water
Running
By Noah Pettiford
Running
Fast, hot
Breathing, sweating, drinking
Running miles and miles
5K
Horses
By Anna Courtney
Horses
Big, cute
Riding, running, jumping
Pony
Doughnuts
By Eric Quam
Doughnuts
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Yummy, tasty
Eating, drooling, licking
A messy face
Boston Cream
Bunny
By Alison Weinberger
Bunny
White, small
Eating, playing, hopping
My favorite animal
Rabbit
Poems on Biology and Math: 10th and 11th Graders
Chemistry
By Ben Perper
Chemistry is hard
I enjoyed Biology
No offense Ms. V.
Jellyfish
By Zoe Evert-Jacobs
Watch out or they'll sting
The ocean swim if painful
Get out now or else
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Lions
By Elyssa Sagall
Just for your knowledge
Leo the lion says grrr
In a funny way
Binary
By Daniel Chan 01000010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00001101 00001010 01001111 01101110 01100101 01110011 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01111010 01100101 01110010 01101111 01110011 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101100 01101001 01101110 01100101 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100011 01101111 01100100 01100101 00111011 00001101 00001010 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100001 01100100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01101100 01100101 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01110110 01100101 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01101110 01110100 01100101 01110010 01101110 01100101 01110100 00101100 00001101 00001010 01100110 01100001 01110011 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01101110 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100110 01101001 01100111 01101000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101010 01100101 01110100 00101110 00001101 00001010 01010011 01101111 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01110010 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100111 01100001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101100 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01101100 01101111 01100001 01100100 00101110
Translation:
Ones and zeros in lines of code;
show you the road.
let's travel the internet,
faster than a fighter jet.
So start the game and let it load.
Math Poem
By Meklit Solomon
Oh, Hi!
Why I didn’t see you there?
The Sky, oh it’s so beautiful,
As beautiful as that apple pie.
My, it will be hard to find the area of that pie!
No, that is just a foolish lie.
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By the way, you find the area of a circle using:
A=r2 times
Triangles
By Anna Wickenden
They have 3 sides
A number you can roll on dice
3 angles at each corner
All of them are in order
To form a border
This is a triangle
Geometric Shapes
By Sonia Gerstenfield
Circles are round
Lines are straight
Circles have no sides
Octagons have eight
Squares are made up of equal sides
90 degree angles
and parallel lines
Unlike circles
Squares have angles
Just like pentagons
and Triangles
But when it comes to lines
Curves will never be found
For lines are straight
And circles are round
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Spoken Word Poems: 10th Grade
Unexpected Attack
By Meklit Solomon
You know when a person used to mean the world to you
But then
The coin flipped over.
It was just like those people in the plane
That were in a plane ride and it has been 3 hours.
They count down with 2 hours left.
Then the unexpected happens.
The plane, the plane it starts shaking a little
Then the plane starts to fall
DOWN with ALL the SPEED and WEIGHT it has
Just like that 6 Flags Superman ride I went on during Spring Break
Oh, let me tell you
Your stomach DROPS all the way to your toes
And you're screaming
Louder, and LOUDER, and LOUDER, and LOUDER You just don't know what ot do
But scream and cry your eyes out
You want it to end
But expect the unexpected
It was just like that moment when
The person you like, likes you back
BUT
Ends up crushing you SO SO hard
Just like those 8 legged spiders I make my dad crush
When they're crawling closer and closer to me
My first thought was why did I fall into this mess
Minutes and Minutes later
The plane just explodes
BOOM
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Flames surround the plane
And my last thought was
Life might give lemons
But honey you have to
Expect the unexpected
Pumpkin
By Maria Nwanze
The family crowded around the table. Little ones eyeing greedily the desert. The
pumpkin pie aroma filling the already intoxicating air. The smell bum rushed my
nostrils, widening my senses. My eyes darted to my one and only, the love of my life,
my pumpkin pie. You see, pumpkin has always been there for me, whether it be a
heartbreak and I needed something to fill and comfort me, or whether it was to
surprise e on my birthday, pumpkin has always been there for me. I remember when I
met him. It was a bright Thanksgiving evening. You see, pumpkin caught my eye one
day. His bright gold brown creamy color sitting among the other pumpkins. His
majestic metal frame shone as bright as the heavens. Pumpkin was calling my name!
Who am I to be worthy enough to be called by such a food product. I ran to my
pumpkin, dashing through obstacles, flying over shoppers. I ran like a mother to her
injured son, and a princess to her prince! I gathered my pumpkin into my arms, kissed
its plastic protector. I brought him home, laid him unto the table slowly, and, with
great love and respect, ate him.
The Piano
By Sonia Gerstenfield
When I play the piano, I feel alive. The feeling of making music in such a self-
expressing way relieves me of my troubles. When I play, memories of my youth pay a
visit. I see things. I see the sunny landscapes. I see the bright blue ocean and the feeling
of relaxing summer at the beach. I see the flowing eaves pass and smack the shore only
to once again retreat. I see the memorable view out the window of our old minivan,
passing by the endless number of green trees. I revisit the strong feeling of invincibility
that children tend to have. I forget about the bad and remember the good. I feel the
feelings of trust and love towards my family. I feel at peace and that anything is
possible. When I finish, I remember things. I remember that pain and suffering is part
of life. I remember that every obstacle that stops us in our paths is meant to teach us
something, and no matter how many times we run away or try to escape, that obstacle
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will never vanish until we face it and learn from it. I remember that nothing lasts
forever, and all good things must come to an end eventually only so that new good
things can form. There will always be bad times that may even last years, but they too
will not last forever. I stumble off that piano bench seeing things clearly, feeling as
though all my problems, or at least most of them, are resolved. Because when I play
the piano, I feel alive.
My Emotions
By Katherine Raiche
These emotions always seem to get to me
I always tell myself to never over-think things
Combining school, friends, and family
It's too much for me
One emotion takes over another
There's always that one point where I feel like I am going to blow up
It's like a balloon that's about to burst into tiny pieces, because it has too
Much tension
My mom always told me to live life to the fullest
But sometimes the "fullest" seems like a lot of work
I feel that I can't concentrate on anything if I have stress in my hands
So when I know I need to do something really important,
I need to put all that stress in a little box and close it
Then open that box up when the time is right
My dad said don't let stress overtake your personality
Because he said stress can turn me into a real dip wad
My dad told me not to let anyone turn me into something I'm not.
I feel when I'm angry and upset, it's like a demon has taken over my body
Because overall I'm a really happy person
I don't like it at all
But I overtake that demon and try to think positive over the negative
As easy as it is to be negative
Always think positive, because that gets you through life a lot easier than
You think
Imagine a brick falling down a 100 foot building and hitting the ground,
Smashing into tiny pieces, all that stress built up and got to you
Now imagine a light feather just floating through the air softly, try to
Think positively, that feather is all your emotions not build up and
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Keeping calm.
What To Expect
By Shayan Afsharzanjani
When I was young, my mom told me that she was point B or something similar.
She told me that I could always find her in times of need
"Keep going," the words would go through my mind.
Change is the only constant in life and if it gets you down
These bring back images of my mother every time
There is hurt that can't be fixed by a band-aid or poetry.
Although my family loves me, it isn't easy to communicate
Life with them is being in High School
They only know gossip like it was imprinted on their DNA
Only lacking the effect of change
My voice is small but I must keep singing until it is heard
I may be timid now. Just don't abuse it because a force of a lion backs me.
And then we will see who is timid.
It is I who believed in me, not you who spurned me
And it is I who will shine through the clouds
Then make something of myself
The tools given to me at birth will coincide with my life
Giving e a future full of wealth and prosperity
But only to find myself in the same position of my parent
Telling what my mother told me to my children.
What Life Is
By Tommy McGinnis
Life. It's Hard
It's not always easy
It can sometimes be too hard for some people
But if You think about it the bad times get more attention than the good
Life is like a roller coaster and we all have ticks and we all gonna get a ride
You are going up and up
Then you get to the top and you feel great
Then you start to fall
And fall
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And fall
Then You hit bottom
And you take some turns
Some loops
And you go up, but not as high as before
Then you go down
Then up
Then you come around the going up part
You feel great
You feel amazing once again
Then you peak
Then you fall
Life is just like this if you think about it.
Short Fiction: 12th Grade
The Monk
By Jesse Auth
He sat there alone under a large oak tree, eyes violently fixed on the atmosphere
ahead. He didn’t move. He sat cross legged with both hands gently placed on his
knees. His elbows bent upward to form a sot of “L” shape leading to his broad
shoulders. The setting sun that glimmered in front of him gave his face a pinkish
orange look. Only the black bandanna blew freely in the wind on his bald head. His
face was rough with bony jagged edged cheeks. The prickled of his poorly shaved
beard was like sand paper. And he has there like a statue, only focused on the setting
sun. Suddenly the ground started to shake. Rocks, pebbles, and twigs scatter
energetically along the high up edge of a grassy plain. It was as if the cliff was a giant
cell phone set on vibrate, and someone was calling. But it didn't phase him at all. He
sat, eyes fixed on the sun. Branches of the tree started to break and leaves angrily
rushed about quickly scraping the sides of his face. He didn’t even seem to notice and
as quick as it happened, he was gone, vanished into the sun rays and a never ending
abyss.
Impression
By Melaku Hawkins
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He sat there in the corner wearing the red jersey with the number 3 and black
shorts on with lettering going down the side vertically. A purple cloud covered his
feet. On the left side of his shirt there was a small yogurt stain; it was shaped like the
state of Texas. In the small beige room with dim yellow light, he was looking around.
First at the white book shelves, then the white and black window, lastly the black and
thin television. He had a bright diamond earring in his left ear and his complexion was
light chocolate brown. He had small skinny fingers that looked like tooth picks. His
face seemed small with big brown eyes, staring off into the lighted room and the
darkness that awaited him outside the windows as if he was a hunter waiting for his
prey. He had bags under his eyes, making it look seem like he hadn’t slept in days.
His eye brows were thin as if some of the hairs had jumped off his face. His cheeks
were skinny and thin like a leaf that had just fallen from a tree and landed on the
ground, and had been dried up by the sun. His eye lashes were thin and came to a curl
just like a females’. Below his eyes, he had three scars on both sides of his face, one
being vertical and the others being horizontal. His face felt rough like a rock due to all
the hair on it. Under his chin he had peach fuzz that was forming into a beard. It was
kind of thick it was noticeable but at the same time, though thin and small. It looked
like a little black cloud that was taking over his chin. Underneath the peach fuzz was a
light line as if he had been in an accident and had gotten stitches. His body was bony
like a thin tree. His arms were skinny and surprising long for his height, looking like
skinny tree branches with multiple scars and burns on them. Whenever he would
move his arms it would make a cracking sound due to him being so thin. His feet
looked like they belonged to little midgets. His nose was small and flared with every
breath he took. He had broad shoulders as if he carried the world on them at one point.
When he would laugh he would squint his eyes. It would look like he would stop
breathing he would use all his energy gasping for air; it was an unique laugh. The ears
he had were gaunt and pointed as if he were one of Santa’s little helpers. His legs were
long and thin with hair and a lot of scars on them. They looked like a chicken's legs.
The Aging Soldier
By Ryan Salomon
He sat there, in the early afternoon of a hot summer day on the terrace of the
retirement home. He was partially bald, with gray hair covering all but the middle of
his head. His skin was tan and wrinkly, and veins were bulging out in places. His
hands were bony, and they looked as though they had been in constant use. He was
wearing khaki shorts and a blue button down oxford shirt. Here sat a man who had
been a belly gunner during World War II, now a veteran. Sometimes he could still
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hear the sounds of the plane engines as they flew over the hump of India. There were
small black stains on the right side of his chest, on the front of his shirt. Chocolate?
No, they were cigarette burns. He was holding a cigarette at this moment in his right
hand. In his other hand, he was holding a hose. It was on, and he was using it to
water the garden he so cared about. To his left was a cup of coffee that he would
regularly drink from, (when he wasn’t smoking cigarettes).
To his right was an oxygen canister that he needed because he had mild
emphysema from his years of smoking. He had to turn the oxygen canister off
whenever he was smoking. Resting on his right knee was a cane he used to help him
walk. He was unsteady on his feet and sometimes he would scratch his legs until they
bled. Even though he couldn’t walk on the uneven grounds of his garden, he still did
his best to care for the plants. He knew that he was no longer a tough soldier, but he
could still sit on a chair and water the plants with his coffee, cigarettes, and oxygen.
He was having a good time.
Father
By Doug Grayson
As he slowly rose from the snug and commodious bed you could hear a small
“errr..” from his bed. He walked with a gate of an old man as his feet never left the
ground and his face covered with the five o’clock shadow, and hair messy as a bird’s
nest. He maneuvered his lazily way around the house to finally reach the all stone and
granite kitchen, where his wife all dressed up as if she was headed out with her friends
had a warm and mouth-watering plate of eggs, bacon, sausage, and bagels ready for
her famished husband to dig in. He slowly moved his ashy and flaky hand towards the
glistening fork that was located inconveniently across the table. Once he got a grasp of
the clean and shiny fork he got a smirk of joy on his face. He inserted the fork into the
yellow scrambled eggs, smoke rose from the eggs revealing a scent of pleasure and
satisfaction. As he took his first bit into the succulent eggs his mouth watered like a
joyous river over - flowing with joy. Once he finished his plate was cleaned and his he
said, “I feel like my belly is going to explode!” he sluggishly maneuvered his way back
up stairs, back slouched and feet still dragging, to go get ready for the tiring on -
coming day that awaited him. He got back upstairs and heard his lovely kids, ages 17,
15, and 8,sluggishly moving around the house. And as he looked at his offspring with
joy, he got a smile of much joy on his face. He then went to his 17 year old that looked
exactly like him, the spitting image, and let out a joyful, “Good Morning, D.J!” As his
son looked up at him, one eye open the other eye closed, his mouth gaped open and he
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let out a horrible snarl, saying “hphtitoihsiuhfuhe...” As the dad was confused as to
what just happened with his eyebrow raised he ask, “What? You know what? Forget it.
I will see you downstairs.” Once all his children reached the bottom of the steps, they
saw their father frantically running throughout the house since he was in a rush. After
the frantic sprinting throughout the house, he ran out the white door into the ice cold,
cruel, and brutal air for another tiring day of work.
The Word of God
By Lucas Waight
She closed the book, set in on the table and finally decided to walk through the
door. Mary had realized that this was now her calling; her whole life she had been
raised Catholic. So, now she had decided that it would be best if she were to become a
nun. Mary's mother, Charlotte was a devout Catholic, and her father, Phil was a fallen
Priest. Her mother and father would drag her to church on Sundays, and when she
was a child she hated to go. But somewhere along the line she started to understand
what The Bible was really all about. Mary was 23 now and she did not know what she
wanted to do with her life.
Mary knew nothing about becoming a nun. She decided that she would visit a
monastery where she could find out what it really took. When she arrived at the
monastery Mary took a long look at the structure. The building was very tall, three or
four stories tall. It was made of stones that looked a bit worn out, the walls on the back
had faded graffiti on them. But every brick was perfectly in place. There was a bell
tower right in the middle with a cross on top of it, and as Mary looked up at the tower,
she saw what looked to be a tiny little penguin at the top getting ready to ring the bell.
The monastery was obviously old, but it was assembled in such a way that it would
last for many more years.
Mary went to open the doors of the monastery; the doors were made of thick
solid oak. It took much effort to open the door for she was not a tall or strong woman.
She was met by an older woman she looked to be in her late sixties. Her face was
sagging and wrinkled she had grey eyes that looked sunken. The nun had no
expression on her face as Mary greeted her.
“Hello, my name is Mary and I would like to inquire about becoming a Nun,”
said Mary.
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“I am Sister Josephine, And why do you want to become a part of the
sisterhood?” asked sister Josephine. When she spoke she used no emotion and still
showed no expression on her face.
“Well I was raised Catholic, I did not have much interest in it growing up but
now I would like to study the word of God,”
“Do you even know what it takes to become a Nun?” sister Josephine voice
started to rise.
“Not at all, but could you tell me what it does takes?”
“As a Nun you can never have children, drink or do drugs, you must remain
chaste, and you must give up all pleasures to keep yourself working for God.”
As Sister Josephine turned around took look at Mary, she was gone just as fast as
she had come. Sister Josephine walked to the door and looked out, watching Mary get
into her car and drive off as fast as she could. Sister Josephine put her hands together,
leaned up against the wall and smiled.
Closing The Book
By Ali Martin
She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through
the door. Sophie was in her friend Tara’s room waiting for her to come back from
making them snacks for their sleepover. While waiting, Sophie had decided to take a
look around. And her eyes fell on Tara’s pink journal with the words “KEEP OUT”
scrawled on the cover. Sophie’s hand moved toward the journal, then she pulled it
away as if the book were hot. At last, her hand had moved toward the book and
knocked it off the dresser. Bending down, she started to read the pages. What she
found there was horrible, hurtful, and mean.
She had sat there, on the floor, thinking about what to do. Her eyes were
watering and she felt the slick tears roll down her cheeks. She then heard Tara’s phone
get a text. Sophie then got up and briefly looked down at the phone’s screen to see
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what the text said. She couldn’t believe what she just read. She decided to confront
Tara about the journal and the text message.
Sophie opened the door and went downstairs to confront Tara. When Sophie got
downstairs, Tara was cooking up a storm. She wasn’t sure how to get the courage to
ask Tara about the journal and the text message but she knew she had to. So Sophie
went up to Tara and just asked her:
“Hey so I saw your journal and I saw what you wrote about me in it. Do you
want to explain?”
“What journal? Oh the journal. I didn’t write anything about you or say
anything about you.”
“Don’t lie because I saw what you wrote so just admit it!”
“I didn’t write anything about you in the journal I promise!”
“You’re lying! What you said about me really hurt and I don’t think I can ever
forgive you.”
“Well you didn’t have any right to look in my journal. That is personal. Did you
even see the keep out written on it?”
“I did but when I got up my hand accidentally hit it off the dresser and it fell
open to where you wrote about me.”
Sophie began to leave but then remembered that her and Tara had charm
bracelets to mark their friendship. Sophie took the charm bracelet off and left it on the
kitchen table. She went back up to Tara’s room to get her backpack. While she was
getting her stuff, she saw the journal on the dresser just sitting there. Sophie felt like it
was haunting her, so she took it. Sophie knew that Tara would find out about her
journal when she went back into her room. She knew it was the right thing to do. She
left Tara’s house without saying goodbye and went home to throw the journal away in
the dumpster behind her house.
The Woman in The Wife
By Dean Szollosy
She closed the book, placed it on the table and finally decided to walk through
the door. As she did she remembered…
Lisa, a short woman with jet black hair, massaged her calloused hands as she
mulled over the day. A pile of food stained dishes still lined the sink. Dust clusters by
the side of the mop still hovered over the ground. No matter how much cleaning was
done the house seemed to work against Lisa. The one object that stayed spotless
throughout the day was a golden laced bible in the middle of a table. It lay openly in
the living room, well displayed and pampered by the husband. Lisa knew that it is
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forbidden for her to read what lay inside; however, she ever desperately wanted to
know what secrets it held. Lisa’s husband would inspect the house every day after
work, coming through the house with a latex glove. Every day was the same mind-
numbing task. Sweep the floor, dust the house, clean the leftover dishes and then
prepare dinner for the coming evening. Periodically, Lisa would look out the window
to see her neighbor, inside as well, roaming around the house sweeping the dust off
the mantelpiece. The woman would sometimes lock eyes with Lisa for a moment, but
those moments were always broken swiftly. She then resumed her usual rounds
around the house, purposely turning her back to the window. Never knowing what
the woman's name was, this was Lisa only real contact with another woman.
She longed for interaction and connection, but she knew the rules and the
punishments that followed.
Outside the window lay a world conformed and regulated. The houses aligned
in even distances. Even the grass had been trimmed to all the same lengths displaying
pure perfection. Lisa would turn the T.V on once a day, and watch the news briefly.
Images of smiling families consisting of a white couple, each having a boy and a girl
as children, would be plastered on today's topic of living a happier life. Lisa desired
more than anything to see and feel what a true happy life was like. Not what society
said life should be; but what it really consisted of. Tired and sick of pretending, Lisa
knew her time was coming.
Looking upon her husband's perfectly ironed shirts, organized by day, with
matching ties laced over the hooks, Lisa wondered, “Who was the one to make the
shirt? Do they know that it would be owned by this man? Do they know what life is
outside that of closed barriers? Do they know what other possibilities lay outside the
tie wearing man's fist? They do not, for I do not.” Walking back downstairs, Lisa
pushed over the broomstick and pushed the dishes aside. Reaching forward to grab
the golden laced book, she started to read what little she could comprehend.
Lisa looked upon page after page, heart pounding faster and faster with every
phrase she read. Her eyes now were wide and blue as the sky. A sharp metallic click
echoed as the door swung open. She closed the book, placed it on the table and finally
decided to walk through the door. In front of Lisa stood her husband, a tall stout man
with a blank expression. He looked upon the wrecked house then back at Lisa. His
hand then turned to a fist. As it did, Lisa quickly grasped his wrist and pushed him
aside, looking at the vast world that lay in front of her.
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