Dread
"Glass in my Stomach" by Amber Persad - OCTOBER WINNER
They only want you if you look impossible.
I look in the mirror, everything about me is possible.
My shoulders, my hips,
My stomach, my lips.
My thighs, my arms.
My back, my eyes,
Am I more than just my size?
If you look at me, what do you see?
You'd be wrong if you said I was happy.
Too this, too that,
Too small, too fat.
Am I more than just my body?
The mirror degrades me just by looking at it,
Why won't these jeans fit?
̈You aren't attractive ̈ the mirror tells me.
̈All they see is your body.
Your shoulders, your hips,
Your stomach, your lips.
Your thighs, your arms.
Your back, your eyes,
You are nothing but your size. ̈
This skirt is too short, these pants are too small,
I suck in as hard as I can and tears fall.
"Ceaseless… Nightmare…"
by Mitchell Childs
Rest…
At last…
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Comfort
…
Tired…
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Tired…
…
…
…
Void
…
Awake
…
Awake…
…
…
Awake?...
…
Tired…
…
Awake?
…
Tired…
…
…
Can’t…
Awake?...
…
…
Void
…
…
…
Dark
…
Darker
…
Yet darker
…
Darkest
…
…
Lost…
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…
…
Tired…
…
…
Forgotten…
…
"The Feeling Again" by Teagan Noll
The thought I can hardly bare,
My lonely eyes just sit and stare.
Thinking of what is to come,
Doesn’t put me at ease.
Everything action I do,
Leads to me having to please.
I dread every thought within my mind,
A reason to have this dread I am to find.
In the future, there’s much to see,
But I am scared to think of who I will be.
Don’t think, just let it go,
But how can I if I don’t know what there is to know?
"The Military life" by The Medjay
Do you think you are strong?
You think you won't flinch from a bomb
Maybe you can but can you deal with dead friends
About to meet your ultimate end
Lay down your life for your country
Not living a life other than this
You must be ready, strong and dedicated
Hope you will be missed
Continue the mission from day to day
Praying to god to make a way
Hoping that you could live another day
Knowing you are still fighting a war
Your mother missing you, seeing you leave her front door
Leaving your family, your brothers, sisters to grow
Sacrificing things you wouldn't know
We have lost our lives seeing the man with the sickle and shroud
Let them know what we did, loud and proud.
"Dread. " by Anonymous
The feeling of helplessness trying to get out of the hole that you have so deeply dug yourself into
You look around
Acknowledge that everyone is seemingly getting through life merely on their own.
Why cant i?
Regardless of any good opportunity, you continue to always think the worst
Why must you do that?
Why can’t you simply be like everyone else?
You look at the reflection in the mirror as you have everyday before
Picking apart every single part of your appearance until there’s nothing left
The constant feeling of unsatisfaction consumes you
Why can’t I just get my homework done?
Should I have dressed different today?
Is something in my teeth?
Are they looking at me?
You dwell on every single stupid thought that even crosses your mind
How could you not?
Dread has became such a leech upon people
Satisfaction feels distinctly doomed
The constant cloud and voice over your head
Pure permanence and nothing to do about it
Dread.
"A figment of the imagination" by Dakota Landis
Just a passing thought
Will I be remembered in the distant future?
We are alive for such a short time
Do we make an impact that will be lasting?
For such a short time in the universe
Is it worth trying?
Do the small decisions we make matter?
If I wore red today what would unfold differently?
If I wore blue today what would unfold differently?
Does everything happen for a reason?
If so why do dreadful things occur?
Why do people fight wars?
So they can gain their freedom that was wrongfully taken?
When we uphold our morals do we have a positive effect on people?
Will what we taught them stick with them?
Will what you said stick with them?
Will you be remembered in the distant future?
It’s gone
"Untitled" by aniyah
"Divorced parents" by Angie Patino
Why did it have to be me?
It shouldn’t have been me.
My parents were never there
It seemed like they didn't care
I pack my bags to go to my dads
Ughh what a drag
I should be playing a sport
But instead, I'm in court
“ Which parent are you going with?”
“I can’t decide,” I say
“Well you have to pick a side”
My perfect life just ended with six words
I wish my parents loved each other
Is love even real?
Will someone ever love me for real?
I guess I’ll have to find out
But for now, I doubt
"Be Afraid"
Life all around.
Life now alone.
One breath taken means two.
Every step followed by another just a hair longer.
When every sense is deprived of sensation,
What else is the mind to do?
It’s not real they say, a natural reaction.
A societal answer, one that means little in the face of it.
Every second in that limbo is another second it gets closer.
Every second is another second in which one wishes to deny it closure.
Because, truly, there’s only two outcomes in regards to this reality.
You find a way out, or you find yourself a subject of this unreal dread’s lethality.
In Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shards of Earth, there is a thing called “unspace” (it’s a sci-fi book). Essentially, unspace is hyperspace from Star Wars, but without all the pretty colors and in black and white with everybody onboard disappearing. In it, there’s an entity referred to as “it” or “the presence”. All the governments try to calm people’s nerves about it. They say it’s a natural human reaction to when living things are deprived of some of their senses (when they can’t hear anything or see much of anything). This entity is easily one of the most interesting parts of the book. There’s a part where the protagonist’s crew and ship is suddenly plunged into unspace, unknowingly, so the crew is all frightened and scared because they’re all now alone and don’t know when they’ll be leaving. They lock themselves into compartments as the thing approaches, and they know it approaches but they also know it’s not real but they know it is. Each crew member slowly starts to try to open a locked door because that thing’s behind it, except one knows it’s behind them and they are very nearly broken by it. They almost take their life in order to deny it to that thing. And then they reappear and are “okay” again.
"Endless" by Kennedy Marshall
How far does space go?
Does it ever end?
Planets, Solar Systems, Galaxies, Universes
We know so little
Does it even matter?
We care so much about what others think
We care so much to be perfect
We care so much to know
But does it matter?
A floating rock
Revolving around an eternal flame
With a million little fires surrounding everything
That’s us
Right there
Blue water, green land
An orb
Floating
So simple, yet so complex
We think everything lasts
We think everything is so important
But change your perspective
We’re only here for so long
Make the most of it
Because nothing lasts forever
"The Wait" by Kalena V.
Twist, pull, unravel, repeat
Twist, pull, unravel, repeat
My bracelet is twisted
My bracelet is pulled
Unraveled over and over as the front of the line comes into sight
This is my one chance!
Don’t blow it
I got this! It’s not that bad
Then why’s that girl crying
I turn my head, she passes by
And the dread that was once hers, hers alone, became mine
My knees cave and lock, screaming at me
Don’t move! You move and you end up like her!
It spreads from my knees to my stomach
What was once there morphed into flapping, fluttering pests that shook me
Those pests spun and spun till their movements were felt everywhere
The only feeling left was one of a bottomless, negative pit
And don’t throw a match down there, it’ll just be wasted
That match, that last attempt to regain what was lost, only finds the spiral levels
Level 1: Why was she crying? Wasn’t she amazing at this?
Level 2: If she’s crying, they rejected her! What’ll happen to me?
Level 3: I’m gonna end up like her! I’m no good
Level 4: I’m gonna embarrass myself in front of all of these people- I have no future, I have no talent
And that match keeps falling and falling, passing by too much too quickly
And the dread spreads to my heart and lungs
Everything’s speeding
I’m standing but I feel like running
My lungs are screaming for air
My legs refuse to move
I can’t feel my stomach
I can’t move
So my heart runs for me
Its beats match my wanted footpace as I run downhill
But it becomes too much
Everything’s moving too fast as it spreads to my brain, my thoughts, my control
It’s a war up there: “the rational” versus “the irrational”
One side shrieks for peace, for tranquility, for what once was
The other runs round and round, only hearing, only thinking what they saw
The best of the best ran out crying
I’m not better
What’s my fate?
Twist, pull, unravel, repeat– Faster
Twist, pull, unravel, repeat– Faster!
Twist, pull, unravel, repeat– Faster!!
My bracelet is tangled
My bracelet is broken
My bracelet is tangled
My bracelet is gone
It’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to think, it’s hard to feel, help
My eyes dart from side to side, from side to side
The line– the line is gone!
They call my name– they called and I can’t move
Someone’s tapping me
I turn to see someone like me
Knees that won’t move, a stomach that doesn’t end, lungs without air, a heart that doesn’t stop
A mind in war– fighting the same dread as me
Her shaky hands twist and pull her bracelet till it broke into mine
They call again– I spin and walk in
The bracelet’s in my hands: twist, pull, unravel, repeat
My feet stagger toward the people
Everything burned– the holes they made
It’s starting again
My head spun around as it all blurred
A muffled voice questioned me
Tears brimmed my eyes
Colors changed with each stomach clench
I step, I miss, my head, my eyes go back
I hear footsteps miles away surround me
I can’t move, I can’t see
I can only hear it– a sharp sound cutting through the muffled silence
My heart has stopped, my lungs are calm
My mind is blank, dark, empty
"The Dread We Share" by Eternity
There comes a time when we wake
When we fear that death will take
With no one known, and smiles fake
Our souls will shutter, shiver, shake
As we take drugs to feel the high
The aftermath, we question “why?”
And as we drink, then drive straight home
We take the risk of becoming one with lome
Then heading off to war and mud
We paint the night deep red with blood
And when we wander home, amongst the mills
We take the chance to pass someone with kills
But as we soon fear death we seek
Around the corner, we don’t see it peek
Death will follow however for
The end will come for evermore
"The Shape" by Lilly K
You walk home alone late at night
You then see a figure in the light
You look again he’s gone; fear crawls over
Pacing back and forth wondering where he is
Then the sound of breathing behind your back
You can’t turn back
It feels like you're frozen in time
Am I going die!
I don’t want to die!
I have so much to live for!
The thoughts repeat in your head
Over and over and over again
You start running for your life
Footsteps creeping closer
At every second
You start to sweat
And dread the things you never thought would happen
Is this the end of me?
You run, run, run
But the “shape” keeps creeping closer
Closer, closer, closer
You soon run out of breath
Nowhere to run
You’re cornered
In the corner of your eye
You’re horrified by the sight
You see in front of you
It was man in a white mask with a knife in a blue jumpsuit
You try to run away
He suddenly starts choking you
Grasping for air
You feel as if your world it turning upside down
You then start kicking, swinging at him
Nothing…
You start to feel dizzy and then black out
You wake up and your on the ground
Blood dripping off you
You’re horrified
You then see a flash of red and blue lights
People try to save you but its too late
Your dying and he’s gone
Yet too late again
He got away
"Infested" by Evelyn Reid
What once was full
And now is empty
Or… at least it was
Now there’s buzzing
Thoughts in my skull
Crawling around
Won’t ever leave
Feeling nothing at all
But still I smile
Let time flow like honey
Slow, dripping, nearly still
But looking back it may’ve been sweet
Feel the empty
Hear the buzz
See the golden drips
And smile through it all
These thoughts buzz ‘round
And act as nothing’s wrong
And wait until we melt away
Into a drone that buzzes ‘long