12th Grade

The Little Girl

Laura Zeigler

Once there was a little girl,Who could go outside,Onto the little playground,And swing for hours. Looking at the vibrant green grass,The towering trees that seemed to never end.The wind that rustled through the leaves on the trees,A time when all that existed, was her and nature.

One Life

Laura Zeigler

All we have is one life to make a change.So be adventurous, be kind and free. If you want to learn how to dance, then dance. If you want to sing, then learn how to sing. If you want to act, then be an actor. Or perhaps you are more of an athlete. Then you should strive to become an athlete.Will you become a star football player?Will you become a basketball player?Only you know, but whatever you do, Do it with your whole heart, and strive. Strive for your goals, for what you’ve dreamt of. For anything less, even a fraction, Would be a disservice to you.


Volcano and Rainstorm

Laura Zeigler

Comparing you and I,It’s like comparing a volcano to a rainstorm. The volcano is hot, explosive, and destruction. While the rainstorm brings rebirth, green grass. It is the difference between hope and despair. Two complete opposites, What one makes, the other destroys. Allas, volcanoes, and rainstorms do not mix.

Time Time

Shane Beck

Time, time is but an uncaring thing,Trickling pass like an endless stream.Never ceasing speed to take in the sights,Never caring for life.Time, time moves ahead,Decaying the past be.Left behind without petition,All things left behind.
Live ahead the uncaring time as you can,Time, time moves ahead.Enjoy your speed aheadFor life is but a snail,Compared to times speedy flail.



Nature Painting

Kiara Rhodes

Nature is like a paintingA true and beautiful work of artYou can look outside and frame any areaIt would make a lively pictureRight before your eyesPeople pay to go to art museums and exhibits But the real art is outsideAll around the worldIn the sky, on the groundIn the ocean, in the forestsSunrises and sunsetsThe plants and the animals along with itThey all create a beautiful work of artA masterpieceA painting


Night Sky

Alyssa Pester

The night sky had fallen;And, with sounds of whistlesThe angels started calling,Stars were blinkingAnd, suddenly they were all singing. A laugh, a smile,It was almost like ;we moved a mile. Without a wait, They opened the gatesOur names were calledSam, Christian, and Blue, Without a doubt,We followed them right through.


Untitled

Marissa Edowski

The stars up above, a shimmering aglow, dancing through the celestial sky like scattered golden moondust. The night filled with a beautiful mystery like smooth lucid dreams; sounding peaceful, leaving you to wonder and run free. The water radiant like mystic aquamarine.


My Savior Loves Me!

Grace Pelkofer

In his eyes I am good;In his eyes I am free;In his eyes I am beautiful;In his eyes I am wonderful;Although I feel less than enough,Through him I am forgiven!
By myself I feel alone;By myself I feel uneasy;By myself I feel discouraged;By myself I feel hopeless;Sometimes the world is darkThrough him, I see the light!

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Keanna Socks

I was an emotional mess.I was sixteen and I was all alone.I tried to kill myself, I had no success.I got sent to a place where I had no phone,My sister and I call it the Looney Bin.I was there a week before I got out,Being in there had made me lose my grin.All I did after was eat and pout,But then I found the missing piece of my heart.He has four paws and a wagging tail,No one could ever tear us apart.I felt like I could finally inhale.He’s the best thing that has happened to me;He had finally set me free.

Ode to the Scorpion

Zachary Taylor

My scorpion, you inspire me to write.How I hate the way you eat, hide and sleep.Scorpions like most creatures aren’t up to much besides surviving.Invading my mind day and through the night,Always dreaming about the teary heap.I keep up with the scorpion daily and don’t forget him.Let me compare you to a loose ember?You are more scary, special and brainy.A piece of smoldering coal doesn’t compare to how scary he is.Smart fog hides the oceans of November,And Autumn time has the evil cheney.Fog masks November, like how scorpions use burrows to hide.How do I hate you? Let me count the ways.I hate your nocturnal smile and stinger.I don't like having to watch the stinger all the time, but I'm glad it makes me keep my guard up.Thinking of your grainy smile fills my days.My hate for you is the rainy ringer.I smile when he stings his food, its kinda funny watching it try hard.Now I must away with a veiny heart,Remember my dark words whilst we're apart.Sometimes I forget about feeding him when I’m gone,but feed him when I get back home.


A short story written by

Alonzo Ayres

To my son who exists not nor ever will, cry not at time but at humanity as a whole.Humanity in and of itself is only a small blip on an infinite timeline.We all fear the scythe which whisks us away to a faraway place where everyone will follow in time. We all fear it from the moment we think to the moment our existence ends.There are those who do not become scared, but that is because they can not perceive their own end or do not fear anything because to them they are either eternal or feel it is an eternity away. Never fall for this foolish notion of the unafraid. It may come fast and sudden or slow and long to you.Time to us is slow compared to the universe. The ever-expanding giant which grants us life. Live fully till those final moments. But do not seek life eternal as others shall.They seek to upset balance and repeat lessons which we have already learned. Even though people may say Mother nature is eternal, even she is not. She will succumb to time, as will the universe. You will not see the end of our race but it will come, for mother nature let us live and we betrayed her. But was it her or the sun or the cosmos which let us live our short existence on this blue marble which we destroy more in the ever expansive human species. I pray you seek a peaceful end. One without regrets and unfulfilled goals.
Let me finish by saying although you may be forgotten by everyone in time as all who know you will fall to the scythe just as you and all who came before. Be scared but do not fear because any time here is a glorious time. Worry not about change as all change humanity as a whole makes will be erased in time as it is the ever-changing nature of us who are humans.
You are human. Live existence your way so that in the end you can be happy to say you lived. Even in a time where we destroy ourselves in some way. As reverberations which will be felt even after you and I expire from this life. So for that lesson, you know well all I can impart onto you. Fear yet live all your days for it all ends but in an instant.


A short story written by

Ellie Miliken

It was a regular Wednesday morning on May 30th, 2018. I woke up late in the day around 1:10 getting ready for my afternoon class at 1:15. As I was seconds away from logging into my computer for a class, my dad comes into my room and tells me my mom isn’t waking up. A lot of terrible ideas raced through my head when I heard those words. I thought he was joking. My mother couldn’t be dead it’s impossible. I got up and walked out of my room down the hall, I could feel my heart race as I reached for the cold doorknob on my parent's bedroom door. I turn the doorknob slow and start to open the door, and then, I see my mother laying on her side I call out her name.
“Mom?” “Are you ok?” “Mom answer me!”
I walk over to her bed my heart beating out of my chest not being able to feel my legs in the horror I’m afraid to see. I reach the side of her bed and I look at her she is turning blue and cold I can feel my heart in my stomach and my tears slowly dripping down my face. I try and shake her to wake up but I receive no response. I begin to hysterically cry I reach for her hand and find it’s freezing cold. I look for her phone on the dresser and immediately call 911 in a panic. The operator answers and I tell them my mother isn’t waking up. They ask for my address, name, and age. I gave them all the information they needed, and they asked if we could get her on the floor to perform CPR. We tried to do this but couldn’t. I cried out to them to please hurry, and the operator said they were on their way I took off running downstairs. I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I took each step. After what felt like an hour, I went to my kitchen and looked out the window for the ambulance. I paced back and forth and began to mumble “ what do I do?” I repeated this and paced for about 5 minutes, but the heard the ambulance coming up the street.I went to answer the door and to tell them that she was upstairs. I stood in the kitchen shaking like I was in the freezing cold; I was hoping they could revive her. I grabbed my phone and called my best friend Julia. About after 3 rings she answers, sounding very happy, and I tell her what’s happened.
“My m-my mom just died. Please come over.”
She dropped everything and rushed over to my house. I couldn’t stop moving I was so anxious and scared of what the results would be, knowing they wouldn’t be good. I heard one of the paramedics come down the steps I go towards the sound of the footprints. He approaches me and says;
“ I’m sorry we did everything we could, she’s in a better place now and died peacefully.”
Once he said that I felt like my heart was cut out of my body, the wind knocked out of me. I sat down and broke down crying. I didn’t know what to do or who to call. I looked out of my window and saw the police approaching my house. I walked downstairs to open the door for them. They asked me what happened and I explained the story once again like a reoccurring nightmare.I went back upstairs to the kitchen while the police went to my mother's room. I called my Aunt Mary to let her know the news, but I received no answer. I told her to call me as soon as she received my message. I called Aunt Mary’s daughter, Tara. Like with her mother, I received no answer from her. A few moments later I see my Aunt Mary calling me. I pick up the phone in fear knowing what I'm about to say will break her heart. She answers the phone in a worried tone asking me what was wrong. I sobbed and told her how mom had passed away in her sleep. I didn’t hear an answer for a few seconds, and I quietly cried watching the tears drip from my cheek. She told me she would be right over and we hung up. I looked outside and saw my neighbor Joanie coming up to my house, wondering what was going on. I walked outside to see her, and she approached me with worried written all over her face. I repeated the tragedy to her. Her mouth dropped in shock and she grabbed me, pulling me into a tight hug as I cried on her shoulder. Moments later, Aunt Mary pulled into her driveway and came running over. Her eyes filled with tears and her face as red as a fire truck. She came over to me and cried on my shoulder as I cried on hers. She kept repeating in my ear “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” As we hugged, a car sped up the street, it was Julia. Julia ran out of her car and hugged me.I explained what happened to Mary and Julia. We stood outside and talked and cried for a while. I ran inside to make more phone calls to my family. About 20 calls later friends and family started to pile onto my street and in my driveway. The last call I made was to my sister, Pam. We rued on the phone together and told me she was buying a ticket tonight to come down to Pittsburgh from California. After that final phone call, I spent about an hour or two outside with everyone talking about my amazing mom. My dad opens the door and tells me to come inside, and I walk inside. I was told my older niece had called Beinhauer Funeral home and they were coming to pick up my mother. I nodded my head in silence and was told before they come if I wanted to go upstairs and say goodbye, I should go now. I didn’t want to go alone, so I brought my dad. I walked up to each stair ever so slowly until I reached the door. I opened it and walked over to her, and I sat beside her bed and held her hand. I told her I love her and miss her so much. She was, and always, will be my best friend. I kissed her hand and took my last look at her. All of the memories came rushing back and I started to cry so heavy my eyes became blurry. My dad and I walked back downstairs and looked outside at everyone. Driving up came the funeral directors to take my mom to the funeral home. They spoke with my dad as I sat it the kitchen staring outside my window thinking to myself why, how, when. So many questions with so few answers. I grabbed my phone and called my manager at work to explain what happened and that I wouldn’t be into work for a while. She told me to take as long as I needed. I said thank you and hung up the phone. Later on in the day Julia ran out and got me food and my boyfriend came down to see me. They stayed by my side all day and night long till they had to go home. I went up to my bedroom and never fell asleep I stayed up all night crying, thinking, talking to her, watching tv and so much more. I couldn’t get the image of her body, so cold and lifeless, out of my head. It was almost like it was burned into my brain. The next few days following her death the funeral was planned. We had her mass at St. Anne’s my old grade school and our parish. She was buried with her parent's at Calvary Cemetery following the mass. We had a luncheon following the funeral at her favorite restaurant, Calabria. A few days after her funeral, the family became more distant and everyone flew back home. Months have now gone on since her passing and I'm affected every day by it. Somedays I’m happy and I try so hard to make her proud, but others I want to just stay in bed and not do anything or go anywhere. I went and visited her twice since she died. I went on her birthday on June 7th, she would’ve been 76 years old. Then again on my 17th birthday, September 5th.Thanksgiving has now passed and it wasn't the same without her. I missed her voice and her smell. My dad and I had Thanksgiving by ourselves this year, and it was too quiet for comfort. We both sat down and talked about how we miss her so much, and how we just want to be with her. She was the love of my dad’s life and she was my role model. I was the only child she had because she wasn’t able to have kids, so she and my dad adopted me. It was a blessing to be raised by them. I’m so thankful for the time I had with her, she always used to call me her angel and now I call her mine.