Words and Images

Through Rose-colored Glasses by Joanne Russell

*The location I took the photo is Cedar Breaks National Monument, Iron County, Utah.

Joanne Russell (She/Her), 12th grade

Bio: I spent a year in residential treatment with no access to the outside world, which left me with a lot of time to admire my natural surroundings. At first, everything seemed glum and lifeless, but eventually, I learned to appreciate nature and the world untouched by human hands. It's like looking at even the dullest parts of life through rose-colored glasses, which is something everyone should learn to do.

The Big City

by Reese W.

Hello, I'm Reese. I'm in the 7th grade and love art. It's been my dream to do art since I was really young.

The person in my art is one of my characters. I really want to be a game designer or just work with art. I really like anime and watching all these people making gorgeous art; it’s what inspired me to make this.

Intrusive

I know I’m not a leading man,

I’m just the one out in the wings.

Just a broken little child who’s forgotten how to speak.

My wings are torn

So forlorn

Just a shitty, shattered mess

In the center of a jerkoff circle filled with sweaty men.

Now I admit, its a bit dramatic

a systematic

dismantlement

of all of my worst thoughts shouldn’t

Sound so anticlimatic but

let’s be pragmatic if you will imagine

A kid crumpled on the floor, ignored,

someone who let themselves fall

just to get attention

who would have broken a bone for a spare glance

someone who knows how selfish it is to want when

others have it worse, they

deserted their own moral code and I don’t

deserve any of this affection and

wouldn’t it be better for everyone around here if I just took a swan dive off the roof and

Breathe.

...

…

You see?

S ‘R’ C

Author’s note on poem Intrusive:

I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, (OCD) It’s not the most understood thing. If I had a nickel for every time I heard some neuro-typical off-handedly say “Oh I’m so OCD” when what they really mean is “I prefer things to be neat,” I’d be drinking soy lattes with Jeff Bezos. Even my own family has done it. I wrote this with the hope that sharing my experience can help to educate people on how OCD isn’t just getting slightly annoyed when a pencil isn’t straight. (Although that may be how it is for some people.) OCD can be vile and disgusting images and thoughts broadcast into your brain against your will. It can be sleepless nights spent scrubbing yourself raw in the shower because you don’t your family could be in danger. It can be fearing for your own safety and sanity. OCD, like all mental disorders, should be treated seriously and not mocked. Show some compassion, do your research, and think before you speak. Be kind.

Hole in the Ground (c. 2019)

by Joanne Russell (She/Her), 12th grade

If everything bad in life

was a big black hole in the ground,

would you avoid it best you could

or stand on the edge looking down?

Or maybe you wouldn’t even notice it

and live a life full of lies,

or be completely aware but strong enough

to simply walk on by

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