By: Lilia Lopez
We don’t judge a tree by its roots,
Or how far its branches go,
We’ll judge a tree by its fruits,
And if it’s willing to grow.
The forest is flooded with birds,
Looking for places to perch;
They all will follow the herds,
Decorating the prettiest of birch.
Swayed by the bickering wind,
Or snapped by the storm’s hound,
Trees, despite being bone thinned,
Still stand their identity’s ground.
By: Analise Guerrero
By: Finley Ralston
A rose has thorns, it pricks
A tree has limbs, it breaks
A bird has wings, it pecks
A human has cords, it screams
Causing what I want to cause
More feeling than I could feel
By: Lindsey Haase
By: Sophie Rodriguez
The green flowers blossoming
Sway with the wind gently
Along the way are more flowers
Painting the ground with more colors
Tall, pink flowers litter the ground
As well as the red flowers sprinkled all around
Tiny, yellow flowers shone through the colorful mist
Making the blue flowers almost missed
Purple flowers erupt in a hurry
But not to worry
The barren land has now transformed
Into a rainbow of greenery that has formed
By: Abigail Zorola
The nighttime sky, such a beautiful thing
The stars shine brightly as if someone sprinkled glitter
across the clouds and the moon is a flashlight that shines upon
those tiny speckles of magical dust, reflecting their light
down onto the earth, bringing a smile to our faces every time
we look up to see that beautiful sight
By: Irene Sheerin
By: Angelica Vasquez
By: Emma Marroquin
The mountains move, Oh God, when I ask upon your name with my full faith in you.
The wind dances around me as I watch your colorful world spin around me.
The animals have been calmed at the sight of your glorious presence.
Where my feet may fail, words will open up Heaven to see you.
If I do your will, I will become like the star in the sky at Your Son’s birth – a sure sign of your love.
By: Shayna Tang
Warm, it feels warm. Chest and hands feel so warm. Looking around to nothing. Pure dark. There’s the alarm clock, with its glowing green light, there’s the fan, that never seems to turn on, and there’s the blanket, soft and fluffy. Laying down. Smooth bedsheets and plush pillow. In bed, asleep, was asleep. Why so warm?
Thinking back, to the endless black of the mind. Behind eyes, seeing sheep. Behind nose, smelling grass and smoke. Behind ears, hearing shouts and nothing. There’s a man. He’s mad and happy. The sheep are scared. Wooden walls all around. Shiny long metal tube. Danger.
Much danger. A boom. Or a crack. Or a snap. Metal flies through the air. Chest is hit. Hands are over chest. Right in the middle. To the right of the heart. Warm soaks through. The red warmth spreading.
Eyes open to bedroom. Hands are over chest as before. Center of palm feels warm. Feel the pressure in the middle. Chest is hot. Only in one place. Where was shot. Feels hollow. Feels empty. Feels like a pole is through the middle. Breath slows. Eyes close. The warmth stays.
By: Sophie Rodriguez
Doors are shutting all around
But what we long for is a different sound
Bring back the light and love we crave
Send it every day through an air hug or a passing wave
Laughter and joy is the hope we planted
But in this space in time our faith is enchanted
We must continue to unite to achieve common goals
As the green will grow again and renew our souls
By: Sofia Perez
By: Syriah Bernal
By: Alexandra Camarena
When you hear this word you think,
Sister, brother, mom, and dad.
But it’s so much more,
It’s the people who show up.
When you're stressed,
When you're happy,
Always.
We put labels on social expectations,
And for what?
Labels don’t matter,
The people you love matter.
People who love you.
Not just when you’re there for them,
But Always.
By: Sarah Doski
By: Sophia Flores
Joined all together at the table even when things are rough.
Even when it seems that everything is against you and times are really tough.
Even when things don't seem so green you still all join together.
And it feels like spring, when things are all green and everything feels better.
Joined all together and for that moment you finally feel enough.
By: Giavanna Garcia
By: Jai Nolen
The universe says we can
nature says we should
we only knew what we could
flowers blossoming in the field
daisies covering the boy's shield
bees chasing us around
not knowing their stumping ground is what we found
feet on the ground, soil so profound
richer than can be, the richest of them all
leaves and stems essentially 10ft tall
mother's soul and father's strength
we only touch an arm's length
we're better than the leaves and bushes that can't speak
we ask for the forest secrets and that we'll only take a peek.
but destroy the essence of nature's cry
to satisfy our greedy and ambiguous highs
thou nature we wouldn't be alive
without essence, there would be no thrive.
By: Jasmine Torres
As winter draws nearer
and the cold is now clearer,
the greens start to gather,
seeking warmth from each other.
The cool breeze kicks in,
the green hues changing lighter.
Searching for the warm sun,
unable to find her.
The plants wait for the sun
to claim her season of spring.
The weather keeps shifting until
it's finally time for the plants to sing.
By: Vannessa Rios-Cruz
By: Lindsey Haase
By: Caoilinn Flinn
Green
is the color of growth,
a color of life and progress.
The best kind of togetherness is
Green:
awake, alive, balanced.
Green is the plant that you grew from a seed,
your first paycheck at a full time job,
And decorating a Christmas tree
Green means “go”
but it teaches us the importance of starting slow.
it shows us how to grow
or beginning again.
but Green is not forever
it comes
and it goes.
but it never leaves.
By: Monabelle Elbayeh
I look into the sky of clouds
And see the white dreamy shapes that pierce that blue sphere
Watching as my dreamy clouds turned to sand
They flowed right back towards the ground
I turn away
The feet of the lion has looked to crawl at me
I say it again
Crawl at me!
I turn from it
Independent, I am now from it all
This is surely freedom
The lion like all else has its boundaries
So I will make my own
But I have left my lands covered in bugs
Bugs of casualties
It shows off defeat
But whose?
I look away
Sometimes I wonder
Is this freedom?
Surely I thought this must have been it
Independence
I look from it
Everyone has surely seen my destruction
And have seen the tears dropped on the concrete
The somber cries hallowing into the woods
The pains screeching homes
This time towards myself
I looked at ME
Selfish, is all I can see and…
Empty
In the mirror I thought I was free
But no, I lied to me
I have dropped all that is precious
In my pocket of holes
I turned...
Is this freedom?
I am now free of treasures
No jewels on me
Now it's just me
But He just had to look this way
He looked right through my facade
His eyes saw right through this core
And, and…
He didn’t look from it
Or turn from it
Or look away
Or turn away
He just…
Stayed
He picked me up
And called me by name
Found it!
This is freedom
He has freed me
This possessive I
This selfish I
And all He did
Was love me
And that is what conquered all
Love, not wit
Every part of this
Is called dependence
But I am not scared to depend on Him
Oxygen is but a small commodity compared to the air He gives
Water is but am extra when He is here
I am free!!
Free to finally breathe and dream
Dream of clouds that won’t hit the ground like a breeze
They just stay in His loving arms
I am free
So where shall I go
For He won
He won!
The War that I was fighting between me