A Question – Unanswered – Solved
“Don’t I know what’s best
For the person who’s been through more
She said it herself
In the letter she wrote
I guess it is fate
That my high
Is my low”
Category Archives: Summer 2019
The Negative One – Part One: Subservience
“Everyone was being sent to The Next Place, except me: I was being sent to The Better Place. The Better Place accepts one person from every year, the one person who passed. I passed. I was the ONE.”
Berlin
“WALTER
Welcome to the resistance, Paul.
PAUL
The resistance?
WALTER
After you”
The Fair Princess
“Once, there was a fair princess. They say that when her feet touched the sand, vines grew. They say that she loved her kingdom with the love of a parent for their children. They say she would have died for us. She was never lonely. She had us. We had her.”
Art School
“I take a picture of my new peacemaker for reference, and that’s when I begin to create. As the tips of my colored pencils touch the paper, my extremely small happiness grows so big, my brain lights up not in a fire of fear, but in shiny rays declaring to the world, “Frances has found something to feel good about! She’s in her happy territory!”
And it’s true. I am in my happy territory.”
Gender Inequality Through Time
“With more girls who are educated, more people would know how important women are to the world. With more men helping this happen, people wouldn’t take advantage that women don’t have as much of a voice, and would begin to make a difference for all the girls and women in the world.”
LA Devotee
“Tick, tick, tick, tick. He wondered what time it was. How long had he just been a miserable mess on the floor? He didn’t know if he wanted a break from all of this by fainting, or for the sun to finally reveal itself. It was a dark and stormy night, and he hated that. He wanted more lights than that from the street and the electric sky.”
Across the Galaxy
“This is the moment I have been waiting for for days. Should I believe that it’s happening? Sometimes when you want something for so long or so badly when it actually happens you have no idea how to react. Almost seems too good to be true. Until… it was too good to be true.”
The Septic Eye
“Bye mom, I hope you rest in peace. I am going off to college, I hope I make you proud. I am at my mother’s grave, crying like a wimp. (Well of course I am, it’s my mother. Don’t judge me readers you are not Judge Judy.)”
Fatal Feelings
“You are not equivalent to my race
Stop trying to change my broken face
I can kill myself
But I’ll do it slowly
My smile is there but fading shortly
Figure out how you wanna write your story
You will never put that pen down
You look at me with raging glory”
Godzilla
“Now a lot of people would think that all that Godzilla does is kill destroy destroy destroy, but he has a much more deeper history that has become clearer as more movies come out over time.”
Eggward: The Hatchening
“How do you join a cult? Do you need a resume or something? How do you write a resume? These are all things that Greg was thinking. Greg had always had a gaping hole in his life and maybe temporarily joining a cult could help.”
The Dark World
“Everyone takes my poems super emotionally. Today, I am going to the lunch room again. One of the other prisoners, Mr. Forkle, an old wrinkly guy, gives me a piece of chocolate.”
The Mess at Home
“Violet rushed up, but Skyline felt his fur prickling at the thought of being watched. His sister, Violet, was usually excited to be announced in front of all the watching soldiers, but Skyline, on the other paw, would rather be deep in a hole than in front of everyone.”
My Silent Resistance
“I pray that even though she now knows I’m non-speaking, she will assume competence and not condescend to me or treat me as subhuman, in a way. That is a stigma that many nonverbal autistics such as I know all too well. That’s why I hate labels like high-functioning and low-functioning: low-functioning means your capabilities are ignored, your humanity brushed aside, and high-functioning means your deficiencies are ignored and you can’t get the support you need; basically either way it sucks, and you often have to go through life alone.”
Transgender Bathroom Policy
“It may take a while for all states to allow transgender people to go into the bathroom of their choice, but with enough education on the topic, people’s thoughts may change. The issue that transgender people are discriminated against for using the bathrooms of their gender identity is a worldwide crisis and is a big problem in the world.”
College debt…is it worth it?
“What’s full of new experiences, ups your education, and puts millions of kids in debt? College. What started out as a way to receive more knowledge is now leaving over 44 million Americans in debt.”
Sentenced
“They’ll be at recess now, laughing, playing, knowing that they’re not in trouble and they won’t suffer in the least. I remember when I was one of those kids. Bouncing carefreely out the door, straight As, never in trouble. Of course, that doesn’t appeal to me now. Ever since–”
The Flower of Night
“They lick the street and eat the sidewalk without a moment of consideration. Buildings are devoured in a matter of seconds. It advances. The brave knights who hold the hoses and those too desperate to try to salvage their own lives are the only ones who remain near this beast.”
I Don’t Know What To Call This – A Poem
You own me in chains. Cold, hard steel. Break me, break my bones. Shatter my spirit of writer’s block.
I don’t know what I’m saying. I don’t know what I’m trying to say. I’m bad at this. Bad at life. Cut my throat of blood and ice. Rip my spine, use it for your books.”
Miriam’s Song
“We tell them who we are.
First, people. Second, Jewish.
Here to spread the love of those around us,
Not to kill.
Here to help people that don’t have as much as we do,
Not to hurt.
Here to tell people that they are not alone in this big, scary world,
Not to hate.”
Timmy’s Golf Club
“’And then he said, “I’m bloodthirsty!” Haha!’ said the vampire comedian. Timmy shook his head. He slowly walked out of the auditorium filled with fans of these alien vampire comedians who had descended from God-knows-where and had taken over the comedy industry, forcing Timmy, a pure-blood human, out of his job as a full-time stand-up comedian. Timmy knew the world was ending. He could smell it in the air.”
The Gauntlet
“It is November 3rd, and the Gauntlet is 1 week away. The Gauntlet is a competition in the Portal. All of the greatest players of the Portal are selected by an A.I. to enter the Gauntlet. The competitors are placed in a maze, and they all have to survive until the end. The Gauntlet ends when all of the players virtual avatars, except for the winner, have been killed by the maze, or killed by other players. Eliminating another player doesn’t give you any perks except for confidence, which is key in the Gauntlet.”
Guinea Pigs
“…guinea pigs are very sociable animals that love their owners and help them with their mental health. Most guinea pigs are shy at first, but once they recognize their owner, can develop a fierce loyalty for them “
A Wind Filled Island
“None of us had ever seen, wait no, imagined what was happening that frigid day in October. The sky went from a golden sunrise to a seemingly clear, cloudless blue, and then suddenly it went dark. Every time the lighting came, the sky would resemble a beaten-up face. Purpled with bruises. “
Splash
“Splashing / Playing / Sitting / Thinking / The ocean / My haven / I come here to breathe / To live”
Mrs. Reynolds Waits
“Mrs. Reynolds sat on the edge of her seat, shoes bouncing on the floor. She looked up at the brown wall clock, eager to check the time, but in a moment she remembered the old thing hadn’t worked properly since the Reverend had come in last Tuesday for tea. The wild gesticulations which always peppered his conversation resulted in the clock being drenched within a quarter of an hour.”
i remember
“i don’t remember the night before / i don’t remember the next morning, i made that up in my mind / i don’t remember my feelings / i don’t remember christmas / i don’t remember anything”
Surrealist’s Summer
“Shaking off the flower crown you made when life was new / and alien. / I’m fighting to win your time. / For now you’re so sweet but / When will you be sour?”
All the Way
“The waters break roughly,
So I look far out to sea,
Where it sits patiently,
Waiting calmly for me.”
The Cottage in the Woods
“Even the head counselor was scared of her (only because the mad scientist Dr. Oderr-Clemens-Shakespeare-Rowling-Silverstein was her mother, and she threatened that her “explosion-causing mother will hear about this!”) Both mother and daughter were known for blowing things up.”
The Tale of Lillian Becket
“They found me swinging from the old squeaky playground set, after a brutal round of taunting and teasing. Maya, with her kind blue eyes and hip length hair is the one who wraps her arms around me and tells me it is okay to cry until my eyes dry of tears and my heart is satisfied.”
Bear Mountain
“Picture this: a hot and sweaty day. When I say sweaty I don’t mean I went on a run sweaty. I mean I officially became redder than a tomato. I’m a city girl. So, you might be wondering why a city girl is going to a hiking camp. A normal answer is because I want to explore the life outdoors and disconnect from all the technology. But not me.”
Socialization: Why is it important?
“Whenever we socialize, it makes us happy; it helps us expand our general knowledge on what is going on. It is important to socialize, not only to avoid what happens when we don’t, but to make us happy. When we don’t socialize, we often miss out on some really memorable moments and can lose our connections with people.”
Pollution Problems
“People need to stop pollution now more than ever. Pollution has always been a problem before humans learned of its existence. Pollution has affected various animals species, air, water, and even health and will continue to affect all of this in time. If this keeps up humans will be heavily affected by all the pollution.”
The McDonald Murder
“As I sat in a comfy leather chair I handed the man my resume:
Name, Billie Clement Age, 26
Sex, male
Professional experience, I can heat my food up in the microwave”
The Cheese Thief
“At first, he would seem to be your average Sombrero citizen. He was a snake, the native species of the planet, ate cheese, the food of choice, and he always, always wore his sombrero.”
Grayforce
“Amina tried to keep a hold of her phone, but the pull of Cam’s telekinesis was too much for her. Her smart phone slipped clean out of her dark brown fingers, past her cornrows, and into Cam’s lap.”
The Dark Room
“I’m scared that if I make it out of the dark room, I’ll go back to that place. Filled with locked doors and judgeful stares. Lies and constant eyes. Staring. Always.”
The Heart
“I keep crying as I’m walking to the nearest Seven Eleven because I hated Chinese food and right before he dumped me, Dan, brought me to a Chinese restaurant. Even after three years of dating, he still doesn’t know me.”
Sea
“The stunning Azure waves whip the rocks, engulfing them in sea.
Bubbles rise up, expiring at the foamy surface.
At sunrise, the horizon spreads fiery colors over the calm ripples.”
Bored
“The scent of all these sweet fruits and vegetables begin to make me nauseous
I wish for an AC in this horrible and hot place
I feel so weary in this place
I beg someone to get me out of this place, but alas, there is no one here”
Where the Sun Goes
“I cross the street, checking for cars. It’s hard in the darkness. Everything from Day is now black and cold, like someone comes around every Switch and paints the world black, then takes off the paint when it turns to Day.”
The Tail of Turtle Beach
“Rose wanted more than anything to be swimming among the sharks and the dolphins, to swim in the ocean with a big family by your side. When Rose was in the ocean, it was like she for once, stopped wanting everything in the world. It was like she already had it.”
Welcome to the Labyrinth
“When he asked some of his classmates about the library, their answers were often vague, as if the place itself had some sort of feeling that no one could explain. They had told Basil about the three librarians who lived in the building, each helpful and charming in their own way.”
Antimatter
“Hot water moved through the pipe, scalding my hand but I held on tight. As I looked at my wife, she stared back at me with determination. She moved closer to me, making sure she didn’t get sucked in by the black hole and reached out her hand.”
Godel’s Guide to Breaking Everything
“C: Well. You said that you had to feed a patient; doctors wouldn’t do that, they would be doing surgeries, and stuff like that. Also, when you dropped your bag (and your phone clattered out), a box of surgical masks fell out of your bag. I’m also assuming you’re going to night school?
M: Wha? How…
C: Dark circles. Concealer can’t cover everything, honey.”
Loyalty
“From the furthest corner
Of her satchel worner
Out comes a shiny gift
Your birthday
With a Hallmark holiday
Card insignia on the back”
Poem # 3
“Some details only noticed by the wise,
Beautiful worlds live in disguise,
Small moments catch uninspired eyes.”
My Past
“Crying is like being a punk about it, that’s what people on the street say. The boy didn’t believe it at first when he came in the room on a Saturday in June and his mom was crying and said, “Your father passed away.””
After Hours
“The beautiful color of the blue flowers
They must be happy when there are rain showers
They must be happy after hours
But it’s not true their sadness devours”
In a Crowded Train
“Looking at his cold blue eyes caused my hands to tremble on the wood banister. Scared. I was scared, that’s the word. Scared.”
Tonight
“Do to me this for it shall be no worse
Than what has’t been done,
Forgotten from thy lips
My name once sweetly sung”
Darkthorn
“Another twig snapped, this time seemingly closer. Eyes narrowed, I pulled the bowstring taught and aimed towards the sound. I still didn’t see anything, but a feeling of unease had begun to creep into my body.”
Timeless
“I’ve gotta do something more with my life than just wait for something exciting to happen. I should be road tripping across the United States or something. My mom says that the US isn’t worth road tripping across. She says that it’s just 7-11s and narrow-minded people.”
Sketches
“He didn’t plan this one. He let his hand and the lead create. They created first a rough sketch. Detail slowly crawled into the drawing and the outline quickly became a distinct depiction of a person.”
Adeline
“The sound of children’s laughter and shouts filled her ears as she gazed out the window. She had never before laughed as those children did almost daily.”
La Historia de Blaze y Rainstorm
“Rainstorm got himself into a meditating position, which was a sitting position with his tail over his paws. He closed his eyes and felt himself calm down. Healing rain oh healing rain, come down to sprinkle us with rain.”
Bay Area = No Kind Of Grey Area
“Drive to hills,
Drive to the bay,
Drive to the city,
Drive, drive away.”
Glitch
“The pixels start to form into a jungle. We start the game. We blow through the first 250 levels with ease. As we went through the levels, Romelo and I couldn’t walk anymore.”
The Crevice
“I think I get judged a lot, picking up rocks like that. My sister tells me to stop; I’m a fifteen-year-old girl, she says. And people give me this funny face, like they feel bad for me. That’s the worst part.The pity.”
hi, i’m jojo
“I grab onto the doorknob and we both pull. Nothing.
Soon, everyone is pulling on the doorknob as if our lives depended on it, and right now they actually might.
The door still doesn’t open.”
The Golden City
“Pictures swirled across my mind as I imagined bright billboards and flashing lights. The city would be nothing like the small Pennsylvania neighborhood onlooking the Susquehanna in my little corner of the world.”
Midnight Hour
“I think again as I watch my flowy silk red dress sail over the water, allowing the rest of my body to breathe in the night sky. Red goes well with midnight blue. I laugh as my fingers brush the edge of the water, illuminated only by the moon and the stars.”
Hiraeth
“you go to bed before me
so i can tuck you in
search my soul for doubts and find
so many”
The Tournament
“But still, every time, nobody was able to claim the Grand Prize and take over the role of the Magistrate. Why, you ask?
Nobody made it out alive from the final task.”
Violet the Explorer
“In this meadow, there was a small cow named Violet. All the cows were very sad because there was not enough grass in their meadow, and no way past the mountain range.”
The Tales of Frog Royalty
“FROG KING: S.E.W.F. has just sent another lightning-tornado towards our small village, and if we take another hit…
FROG PRINCE: What will happen?
FROG KING: We will be forced to relocate.”
Anxious on the Subway
“I feel like someone’s carving a pit in my stomach because my mom is sick. There’s a person staring at me. And when I get off, he is following me.”
Identity
“isn’t it
euphoric
when
you open your
mouth
and you
hear harmony?
a string of sounds.
that make
perfect
sense?”
The Forest
“The remark was nonchalant but mentioning such a place made Dawson instinctively shudder and look over his shoulder. There was nothing there of course, only the plodding horse. The horse felt it too. It took several minutes of the bright sunshine to remove the grim shadow of those words.”
NYC Subway Reliability Essay
“The New York City subway can improve its reliability by making alternative routes clearer for riders, hiring more platform controllers, and better managing the time allocated for construction and modernizing signals.”
Twig
“Stomp. Twig turned his head. He knew that sound. It was the sound of violence, the sound of gunshots, the sound of fear and misunderstanding. It was the sound of humans.”
Pulling Me Back Under
“The sound echoed throughout the empty house, shaking its walls. Everything stopped, everything stayed still as if it were afraid to breathe. As if it were afraid to scream.”
Between Four Walls
“Because perfection is like fog, easy to get lost in and never to be reached, and the search for beauty has always been in the wrong place, never to be found. Is it possible the greatest battles were always herself?”
Messages in the Wind
“She looked at me with a why-are-you-staring-at-my-phone look. I returned the look with a confused stare, grabbed my bag, then walked upstairs and into my dad’s office. Who could Johnny be?”
Normar at Dawn
“I, like all the other people of Normar, know the sound by heart. I can tell you when it signals an arrival, a departure, or simply the time of day. Some things you learn by living.”
The Last Robbery
“He bit his lip when he set eyes on the article. His face dropped as he started the plan. Lurking in the shadows, a greater evil held the newspaper with a gleam in his eyes.”
Someone Like You
“Sneaking out last night was one of the worst mistakes I’ve ever made. I’ve snuck out before, but last night, last night was different.”
DIY Shopping
“My armpits were getting really sweaty, like that time I met Justin Bieber and he hugged me and then he made a gross face because I was really sweaty. Don’t worry. I’m still a Belieber.”
Staggering Impacts of Single-Use Plastic on Human and Environmental Health
“From the production of plastic in a factory, where the gases released from the creation of the material are toxic, to the consumption of foods that are packaged using bisphenol A (BPA), the entire process of both the creation and consumption of plastic is damaging.”
A New and Improved 2nd Amendment
“The second amendment needs to be revised into a law that applies to our modern world and still protects those who need it. It grants too much freedom and interpretation for firearm owners and others that wish to buy a gun.”
Scared of Heights?
“Have you ever felt your legs trembling or wanted to crawl on the floor while high up? Do you close your eyes while riding across a bridge with nice scenery? Then you might have acrophobia.”
Has Basketball Improved Since Its Invention?
“He created basketball because the principal of that school wanted him to design a game that the students could play inside on cold days. Basketball was first played with peach buckets and a ball similar to a soccer ball.”
The Girl Who Could Not Play
“Above the hustle and bustle in the streets, the sky had been lit up with a purple glow. Swirls of fuschia and ivory exploding like small candies were pinned to the sky. Someone must have painted the sky by hand.”
Decaf
“I took another sip of my coffee. The taste swam around in my mouth making me feel the heat of a Costa Rican sun or feel the drum of a lost island. The smell was enough to make you happy, but the taste was amazing.”
Ink
“Free me from the portal.
The pen is the mightiest weapon you have.
It creates anything you need to use.
Use it well.”
The Shattered Syringe
“Crossing his fingers, Michael watches as an icon walks out of the pack and does that little animated celebration everyone was waiting for. Maradona. Michael watches his stream go crazy, numbers rising from thirteen to twenty to thirty six viewers.”
My Mom
“It feels great to hear her voice. It has been a long time since I heard her voice. It makes me feel sad and happy at the same time. Her voice is kind of soft like the harmony of angels.”
Goldfish
“I’m a goldfish, and this boy decided to name me Bananas. What kind of name is that? Especially for a fish.”