Fear & Destruction


Smoke Screen


The crow weeps tears

black like bitter onyx,

occupying the emptiness

of a world long gone;

slaughtered into oblivion.


Smoke dresses the robotic

branches of a forest;

idle life plunged into dark.

It lingers in the

hospital; untouched.


An element of hope,

ceaseless like the plague,

makes the throats of

wise men raw with

shallow screams.


Time halts forever.


-Yuliya Pasechko

Esmeralda Rosas-Sanchez

Brianna Wang

Justine Massabny

First Surgery


What I remember about that day

Is the recurrent beeping of the machines

My jittering legs shaking from the anxiety

The chilly yet friendly operating room full of doctors and nurses

And constant bombardment of small talk

And the rubber, colossal anesthesia mask around my mouth

Until finally my uneasy conscious started to fade


Nothing about my family waiting in the waiting room all night

Nothing about the extensive details of the surgery


-Ronnie Abudaqa

Veronika Warchol

Plastic Prison


Stuck behind these foggy plastic cages

Day by day, watching the time pass by

They can’t hear me, and I can’t see their faces

So I’ll lock the cage and slowly close my eyes


Wandering these broken, empty hallways

Ignoring all that’s happening outside

They say these cages are for our safety

And I’d believe them if their eyes were open wide


Still we’ll all just play along as if it’s a game

What a fun time we’re all having

And we’ll all just pretend as if we are okay

But the truth is no one is laughing


The window is open, but the screams are terribly loud

So I’ll close it shut and cover my ears

They say that it’s fine, all dandelions and gilded clouds

It cannot be a lie if no one hears


The seats grow emptier the longer I stay

And to them, ignorance is not a sin

I can’t see the chalkboard, or hear the pain

But this perfect world is not mine to live in


I’m tired of playing along as if it’s a game

What’s so fun about being heir to a broken crown?

Though I can’t see nor hear, I still can think all the same

Plastic cages can’t be that hard to break down


-Yasmina Abufasha


Taniya Giles

Brianna Wang

Nightmare


The night before last was a ‘mare in my eyes

Dreaming about a game that determined my life

Win the round, and you play once more

Lose the round, you become a corpse

Anxiety choked me, it overbore

I lost the round rather sore

Not wanting to die, I create an elaborate plan

To escape my fate, I went to use the can

I could not delay my fate for long enough

My time was running out and so was my bluff

Pure impulse, took over my mind

As I made a mad dash, leaving behind

death and worries not wanting to die

Sprinting out the door was all I could try

Looking at the night sky

I felt I was being chased

The dark got darker

So I forced my body to wake


-Janae Roberts

A world of paranoia,

Is a world many people live in,

The fear of broken hearts,

Running away from our problems,

Skeptical choices like a buffet of poisonous apples to choose from,

The news of scams run through our computers like music to our ears,

Living through the life of the hunt,

Followed by the songs of fear,

-Jared Brown

Elyssa Quispe

Jeillanie Reyes

Drink


Yes, it is fire, and yes, it is rage.

And yes, I detest it. But it comes alive and

Makes me drink from its cup. It hates me, drives

Me to ruin. It puts me in my place and forces me

To my knees, like a sinner in a cathedral. His

Lies are apparent, sitting on his shoulders, stained

Red for all to see. And still he prays, as if

He knows he’ll need the absolution very soon.


-Angelina Pacosa

(Burnout)


I walk for miles on a bumpy ground.

Walked for a while, but no light was found.

Found me some Fire and its crackling sounds.

Don’t let it die or I’ll be blamed.


Fire’s stomach signals silent growls.

Feed Fire prior till the time runs out.

No fuel for Fire but my pockets hold,

Three crinkly dollars to my name.


Unwanted worry runs throughout,

My system, pulled a loose bill out.

Fed fire a third of my worth’s amount.

Two crinkly dollars to my name.


I met a florist with an apparent frown.

She sold me flowers, plastic fumes flared out.

I bought those flowers at her new discount.

One less dollar to my name.


My Fire is dying down.

More Fire needed till the sun is out.

Been feeding Fire for a while now.

Cling onto the last dollar to my name.


No sticks, no fuel around.

Just me and Fire’s dying crackling sound.

Fire stares my last dollar down.

Now it’s up in flames.


Anonymous

Olivia Gomez

imperceivable


— — — — — — —


as i paint myself with the eyes of the world awaiting my value, i wonder,


will i ever be able to look at my flaws and listen to my voice without the catalyst of another?


will i ever be able to truly fathom the contents of my existence through my own gaze?


i am not limited to the figure who reflects me in the streaks of my mirror.


my perpetuity, forever changing under the guise of my world;

i am infinite.


-jadelyn villa


my own boat


i cry more than i should

but i form my own oceans

to float on

since no one will build me a boat


-Lillyann Martins


Anabelle Carreras

Succubus


Vehemently slay

Your voice like a siren

Lures him in your cave

Burn his flesh with desire

His love turns to liquid

Drink it off his tongue

Fill his sin with your touch

Consume his every breath

Eat his heart with ruby lips

Savor his rotten soul

Then devour him all


Burn his flesh with desire

Drink the love off his tongue

Vehemently slay


-Marlene Muhammad



Omar Leal

Collin De Forge

My Lover Is Going Into War


My lover is going off to war,

O how I wish this didn't happen like before.

I long wished for this to end,

So we could have a beginning before the end.


  • By Aryanna Adler


A War Poem


Destruction and death are everywhere

Guns are heard in the distance

Missiles hit structures and people

Fires burn bright from buildings

Tanks move forward while firing

Soldiers shoot at whatever they see

Children lie face down as if sleeping

Half bodies cover the streets

Bombed houses stand next to them

The horrors of war are ubiquitous

-Eleni Malindretos


Collin De Forge

Alexzander Taliaferro

Death


I saw a crow flying by

Is it time to say bye

Who will go with the crow

And follow him through narrows

Through tunnels and through the trees


-Aryanna Adler