Written by: Willow

Artwork by: Zoey Ellisor & Rae Stapleton

Deep in the Marsh

Green is the color under your feet,

only a small walk from every street.

Do not be scared of the search!

Hear the bird sing from its perch

under a beautiful mossy tree,

we look past the beauty only some can see.

Look for the large-petaled flower,

stay there 'till golden hour

Watch a frog sit on it's lilypad,

admire the freedom we all have had.

Written by: Aubrey Brown

Artwork by: Rae Stapleton

River

Cry until your head hurts

Cry until your voice goes

Scream into your pillow

No one needs to know

Grief’s a sacred giver

Anger’s the second sister

Cry yourself a river

Cry me a river

Dear.

One day a…

Dinosaur came to the orthodontist

Eyes turned as he walked into my office

Nevertheless, I still treated him like one of my patients

The dinosaur roared, saying his tooth hurt

I looked in his mouth, seeing a chipped tooth

So, I pulled out the chipped tooth and replaced it with a new (fake) tooth

The dinosaur thanked me for fixing his tooth

He stomped out the door, making large footprints on the orthodontist’s (wooden) porch

What a day that was!

Written by: Anonymous student

Artwork by: Emma Rhue

Oldest and Youngest

Sister tell me why

You decide

To hurt me when I’m nice

But when I cry

You tell me it’s alright

Then repeat the cycle over again

Until I’m tired

Of your childish antics

Written by: Aubrey Brown

Artwork by: Blakely Parker and Andrew Hix

Ciaran

Your words pierce like a knife

My blood clots

You can hear my heart break

This is not love

And I’ve cried so long

My throat’s raw

Feels like a chain ‘round my neck

I can’t talk

Written by: Aubrey Brown

Artwork by: Allison Parker

Hopeless

And I love more than I am loved

And you made that feeling obvious

Because I was an experience

And you were my everything till dusk

Quiet is my house

You never visit, though you're allowed

I hope one day you’ll come around

But it’s hopeless, the silence is too loud.

Written by: Adina Lentz

Artwork by: Zion Doctor

Reality?

That's the world I live

where everything is dull and gray

and everyday is the same old day

But then why make stories?

Stories that make it feel like I'm there

Stories that seem so real but aren't

With every new story

introduces a land of dreams

A land that is ten times better than the one I'm in

But like a hit to the gut each time,

books don't last forever,

and as I read the last few lines,

reality hits

It hits that the story isn't real

It hits that I'm not in the tale

with each book closed

causes more pain

because no matter how hard I try

stories stay just that,

stories written across paper,

never truly being real

Exempt, for in my mind

because in our world

Everyday is the same old day

and everything is dull and gray

Reality, the life where no one

is truly free

Reality, why me?

Written by: Anonymous student

Mask

I could show you the real me

I could let you in

I could give you the chance to hurt me

Like others have done time and time again

I could show you my hobbies

I could show you all my interests

But to do that means I have to trust you

And I only trust the mask on my face

And the lies in my hands

Written by: Zoey Ellisor

Artwork by: Kyra Green

I Wish I Could Fix Us

In every song I hear our story

In every book I see us

I rewrite what we went through

in my mind or on paper

But we're the same

You've always been the same

And I wish I could change it

I wish I could fix us

But we're the same

Written by: Zoey Ellisor

Artwork by: Kyra Green

What If You Left Tomorrow

What if you vanished tomorrow
and I was never honest
and you never knew
I'd think you wouldn't care
but maybe that's not true

What if you were gone tomorrow
and I was scared
because it's a horrible thought
and you'd never had known that I cared

What if you left tomorrow
and didn't tell me why
Maybe it's my fault
or maybe that's a lie

What if you disappeared tomorrow
and nobody knew
I would think I was missing something
but I always miss you

What if we had no tomorrow
because I'd never met you
I'm sure I'd feel empty
and I know that is true

Written by: Aubrey Brown

Artwork by: Zoey Ellisor

Waning

Beneath the veil of night, the moon ascends,
A hollow gaze that never seems to mend.
Silent, somber, it watches from afar,
Reflecting light that feels too cold, too far.

In its pale glow, the world is dim and stark,
Whispers of sorrow haunt the endless dark.
It knows the tales of shadows long untold,
Of dreams extinguished, of hearts grown cold.

The moon, a mirror of forgotten tears,
Lingers in the realm of endless fears.
Silent as the graves of those who mourn,
Each phase a reminder of the night’s scorn.

It sheds no warmth, only faint, fragile light,
Casting long shadows on the world’s plight.
Crimson skies and broken dreams align,
Under the watchful gaze of its cold shine.

In its quiet, endless, endless fall,
The moon keeps watch over it all.

Written by: Aubrey Brown

Artwork by: Emma Rhue

Crestfallen Sky

The clouds are mournful, gray and still,
Their tears fall silent, chilling and shrill.
They drift, unseen by those below,
Carrying sorrow where winds do blow.

They gather, heavy, full of woe,
Casting shadows where sunlight once did go.
A canvas of sorrow, dull and deep,
Where hopes and dreams are lost in sleep.

They roam, unseen, through endless skies,
With hollow eyes that hold no cries.
Veiled in mist, they haunt the night,
A memory of darkness, lost to light.

Their emptiness, a burdened weight,
A void of longing, bound in fate.
In every tear that meets the ground,
A silent cry, where hope is drowned.

The clouds, they weep, yet cannot rest,

Their sorrow is the sky’s only guest.

For in their silence, they carry pain,

And in their passing, hope remains.

Written by: Kyra Green

Photography by: Skye Odom

Keep Going On

I get up in the morning an'
My head's beating
A mile a minute
I try and I try
To make it stop
But nothing is working
Don't know what to do
Try waiting it out
But it keeps on coming back
Then I try to stop thinking about it
But it's just like every other thing
It fails an' my head just keeps on beating
Feels like I'm falling apart
Feels like I should just give up
But I still keep moving on
An' getting up each day
Just to keep doin' the same thing
Over and over again
And I've got no choice
I just gotta keep moving on

I Never Left You

I watch you everyday. I am always very near. I know deep in your heart you realize I am here. I watch you while you sleep in your bed at home. I hear you when you speak to me. When you are on your own. You cannot understand the reason I have gone, but I’ll never leave you. I am here to keep you strong.

Talk to me, I hear you. Though you may not see, we share an unbroken bond that will always remain. Death won’t keep us apart for our love is forever. Just remember me in your heart, and one day we will be together. Love your life and live it fully. Don’t waste a single day, and remember that I am always here with you, every step of the way.

From Now On We Are Enemies

Written by: Skye Odom

I'll spend my high school years pondering
Why I was never enough to be noticed
And why every advance in conversation
Was treated like a question with an answer
Everything feels unfair when you noticed it all
You become far too aware of every glance and breath
Of the person you can't seem to thrill
You find yourself watching the way their hands
Fiddle when they're frustrated
I like to think about telling them how much they inspire me
Hundreds of thoughts whose letters will never reach the paper
Because, in the end,
I was no more than a thought that lasted fifty-five minutes.

Written by: Gracie Lowder

Artwork by: Gracie Lowder

The Night Sky

The wind picks up and howls awaking the night

Stars shine bright boarding it's light

Fallen rays of the suns luminescent

Hide behind the moons crescent

Patches of glowing coat the street

Re-playing the image of hopes for sleep

Written by: Gracie Lowder

Photography by: Skye Odom

Dreams of Growing

Shades of green and yellow cast through the sky

It's branches tall and high

Roots connected deep with it's soul

Memories of growing soon to unroll

Written by: Kyra Green

Artwork by: Kyra Green

Snow Day

Waking up to bright snowflakes,

Lighting up the sky.

Something that only happens

But once in a year.

Having snowball fights.

Sledding down the driveway.

Building a snowman.

And making memories,

That will last a lifetime.

Drowning Lessons

Written by: Skye Odom

I sit and watch chances scatter and cascade

Out of my life like the pebbles at the top of a waterfall,

Watching the liquid fall down in slow-motion as I wonder

When even the slightest of winds will knock me under the cold,

lapping pond waves like the rest of the rocks.

A breeze flows by, but it blows in the wrong direction.

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