Poetry Potpourri

14 Poems by Ms. Cordova's English 9 class

December 2020

14 Poems by Ms. Cordova's English 9 class

How I Used to Be [Feat. Weather]

Please, just stop asking

Cheerful Confinement

Forced Frustration

Quarantine Will Never End

Swallow The Racism

Nostalgia

Why…?

How 2020 was not the year

Books

How I Used to Be [Feat. Weather]

By Indy Hilmes

I used to feel like

The ever-changing weather

On a middling March day

Snow soft as wool from a graceful sheep,

I cuddle in tight as it lulls me to sleep.

Sunshine bright against the burning blue,

Memories of summer all flying askew.

Rain pelts from the sky like knives of regret,

Promising me trouble if I ever forget.

Dark skies laugh in rumbles of thunder,

Taunting my every move.

The only thing I remember is that I’m

Going, going, gone, the clouds have chased me to the edge

Because alas I had forgotten

That the weather had become rather rotten.

Ever-changing, I said.

But now I am here, all alone,

And the weather is dry and average as bone.

The Lonely Boy

By Andrew Escamilla

Everyone is lonely because of the outbreak.

A boy felt like he was an isolated cloud up in the sky.

Even the cloud cried for the lonely boy.

While in his room alone and

Thoughts spilling out, the boy cried out,

“My heart is as sad as a black stone under the blue sea.”

Unsure of this newfound feeling.

What is this that he’s feeling?

The boy said a word that nobody wants to hear,

Depression.

Nobody helped him through these times.

He is fighting it by himself every single day.

He wants to give up so badly but he knows in his heart

That if he does, something tragic will happen.

The fight continues...

THREATS

By Sharice Sarpong

We tried, we cried

But in the end we were denied.

Denied from liberty

Denied from our lives.

There’s nothing to lose from here on out,

Because in the end, we’re just “threats”.

We asked to be treated justly

But that’s too much.

The silence of friends says just as much.

Perhaps they think we’re undeserving,

Because in the end we’re just “threats”.

Some died for others’ actions

While others died watching.

You say it’s self defense

But we know it’s murder.

You don’t try to hide your hate for us,

Because in the end we’re just “threats”.

You say you don’t have privilege

But the central five say otherwise.

You say “innocent until proven guilty”

But Goerge Stinney Jr. was found innocent 70 years after his penalty.

You act clueless

Because in the end we’re just “threats”.

The Death of an Era

An Abecedarian Poem

By Lily Huard

All alone in the cold, I just want to

belong with someone who actually

cares. Because you

don’t, and I can’t stay.

Everywhere I turn, I’m

faced with a block again like I’m

growing into the ground, no

helping hand to clear away the soil above my head,

I’m stuck. And I feel like it’s

just going to get worse, like a

kick to the face, over and over. And yet I

love the pain, I love the thrill I get whenever you

make my heart shatter like a pane of glass,

no saying no because it’d break you

open again, and your blood would

paint my conscience red. People would ask

questions, and they would fall like

rain, and there would be a

storm. More than a storm, a

tornado, a mess of chaos and rain and

umbrellas flying in the wind. So there are no questions, and I stay the

villain of our story,

while you live on in harmony, playing me like a

xylophone as

your mallets wear me down and you

zip my mouth shut one final time.

Wake up call

By: Bella Lee

I am lazy and just like that

I find myself slack behind

And then I snack

I find something to distract myself

From the work, school, and scores

I find other things to do, avoiding my chores

I’ll be the first to admit

It’s not the best thing

But I find it difficult, in this pandemic sorta thing

I feel unmotivated

And I think it’s not fair

That I have to sit in all day, twirling my hair

But alas, I guess I have no other choice

But the future is waiting

And I have a voice

The voice screams “Let me live!”

“Let me be free!”

I want to get out and see the birds in the trees

My brain can’t stand it here,

In this lonely place,

I wish this could all just be erased

Erased from time,

Yeah, let’s go back in time

Let’s discover why this whole poem rhymes

Let’s talk about why I wrote this poem,

Talking all the truth, the pain and the fear,

The truth be told, that everyone is afraid to hear.

In the end, I don’t have anything to compare.

I’m not a speaker, a reporter

And at that, I’m just a kid.

But I have voice

And I’m tired of standing down

So tonight, I won’t back down.

Please, just stop asking

(Anonymous)

Not misunderstood, just feeling alone.

Not confused, just unmotivated.

I don't want to die, though this world is flavorless.

What is the point when every day is the same?

Not to sound melancholy, but life is lame.

I feel like I’m living in a simulation

Being controlled by anxiety with every move I make

Every friendship I break

I'm starting to run out of excuses

They aren’t going to last

So here's the honest truth

I don't know what's wrong

I know they're just trying to be kind

But if someone asks me “are you okay”

I'm going to lose my mind

Cheerful Confinement

By Fin Ziegler

Sitting and waiting for the letter

I was as patient as a husband with his wife.

The butterflies in my stomach

About to explode.

As I hear other girls talking about their results

I wait…ready for my response.

Then I get it

The email, ready as I’ll ever be,

I open it, Shocked but in aw

I did it.

All the hard work paid off with a single sentence

¨Congratulations Finley, You made the team¨.

So excited for the year to come,

I realize…. Coronavirus.

I was the most disappointed I’ve ever been

Making the team only to see the words after,

¨Due to covid...¨

Crushed, I don't even get to see my team.

We had to send videos to practice,

Zoom calls,

But even through the hardships

We all still work… To be a better team,

Become more efficient,

And to Get to know each other.

I was cheering through my confinement.

Forced Frustration

By Sarah Russell

The frustration is killing me, I am frustrated living today.

Soccer, I cannot play.

I wear a mask, my glasses fog.

I wait in lines, I feel waterlogged!

I cannot try on clothes at the store.

Shopping, once fun, is now a chore!

Pandemic, Coronavirus, Legislation,

All of these, breed frustration.

The redness rises to my face.

I shouldn't let it get me, I feel disgrace.

I can't stand it! It's been months! It's ongoing!

I hear about the numbers growing.

I watch the news, nothing good.

After nine months now, you'd think we should!

All I hear is the virus, of course!

The frustration runs through me with exceptional force!

I want to yell, but I know not to.

I hold it in, it's nothing new.

Coronavirus, I hate that name!

Frustration is what I have to tame.

Quarantine Will Never End

By Bracken Shea

Just another day of school.

On a screen, guess what’s new?

I’m not being malcontent,

but quarantine just will not end.

There’s crimes. There’s deaths.

There’s crazy news.

It’s hard to know

what’s really true.

Is this year

a metaphor of life?

So chaotic,

and full of strife?

Sure hope not,

but how’ll I know?

After all, pain

is all I’ve been shown

Many things

have been exaggerated.

But it seems with grief,

we’re infatuated.

I’m so depressed,

and agitated.

I feel all hope’s

evaporated.

Wasting time.

Hoping things pan out soon.

But we all know,

it’s a climb to the moon.

Seeing people

helps my hurt.

But when they’re gone

it’s even worse.

I should talk it out,

but who to tell?

After all, this virus

did more than kill.

Relationships broke,

shattered to pieces.

This year’s got more

than just diseases.

The hurts and pain,

we hope a cure will mend.

But in our hearts,

this quarantine will never end.

Yes, I know.

That’s a hard pill to swallow.

But will ending corona,

end our sorrow?

Swallow The Racism

By Paige Owens

I reluctantly listen to the racial injustice that fills the room.

They laugh over their racist jokes as they consume,

Consume, the food that is set on the table.

I hold my fork tight but I am unable,

Unable to touch the food out of anger

These people I know so well become more like strangers.

I yell so loud to tell them to stop.

To stop their mockery,

They all stare distraught.

Yet they continue their foul words.

Dark-skinned monkeys that move in herds,

Herds of people with nappy hair.

Dark and deep eyes I see as they stare,

Stare in the mirror at who they are.

Straight blonde hair and light ivory skin,

The privilege they packed deep within.

It's like fighting the king when you're only a peasant.

A peasant that holds a power that they will never see.

But in the end I have to accept that they are family.

Nostalgia

By: Macie Ladd

Do you remember a long time ago?

When everything seemed brighter

Some things were quieter

And nothing really mattered.

But now clouds cry harder, and

winds scream louder.

The things I never noticed

when I was younger.

Memories are now golden treasure.

We have almost nothing left of it.

The brightest euphoria buried deep inside us.

What is left of that anyway?

We used to be so happy because

nothing really mattered then.

Words used to be words,

but now they make us demons.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back.

Retrace, rewrite, and relive my past.

But I tell myself the good times are over

We must look forward, we must look forward.

Why…?

By Maria Acosta

You said that you loved me, am I a game?

I was obsessed with him, like chewing gum.

He should be ashamed, don't reverse the blame.

All that I went through, I guess I'll be numb.

My room is repeating what he has done

I’ve begged for you to stay, I was foolish.

Is this what you wanted, if so, you won

Why did you do that, I now am ghoulish.

I remember the way you made me feel.

Confusion, depression, it’ll all break through.

He was my paradise, when will I heal?

Wariness, mental illness, thanks to you.

No apology, six words said, you left

I was just eleven, now I’m bereft.

How 2020 was not the year

By: Cade Terrill

I’m frustrated like a wasp ready to sting.

I’m sad like a man who spent all night out in the rain.

I’m tired like a sloth just ready to lay.