NOVEMBER 2017
FEATURE 9
ARTIST Tommy Ryan
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I’ve been doing art ever since my dad and I doodled on napkins at restaurants when I was little. Now, I make goofy art, and it has no serious meaning, but I think it’s fun. My Spongebob piece was an assignment for class, and I used Spongebob because it’s full of color.”
POET Amina Fatima
By Maggie Markon
Junior Amina Fatima began writing poetry in third grade, motivated by her father and older sister. She draws inspiration from the challenges she faces, which range from anxiety to islamophobia in society. Fatima also excels at spoken word and has taken part in multiple competitions in the area. She is currently the Co-President of the Hayfield Poetry Club.
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“Chris Simpson, an anonymous cartoonist, is one of my biggest influences. His art is weird but funny, which makes me want to include the same ideas that are in his in mine. It took me about a week to make this self-portrait, and it’s one of my favorites.” Photos courtesy of Tommy Ryan
“Funeral Speech”
“I’ll be okay” was the biggest lie You’d ever tell me With that twinkle in your eye When you lie Because I Notice every part of you As if I were you You said “things will get better” You said it so many times I began to believe you You said it so many times I began to forget “I feel good today” Was a sentence that came out As an illusion The sentence that your noose Had been dipped in You said “I’m just tired” Every time someone asked how you were And I begged you to tell them But all that ever came out of you was “I’m just tired” And I was tired too But you kept going
So I kept going And going and going and going Until you couldn’t anymore So I couldn’t anymore You said getting up in the morning became hard But we both knew going back to sleep was harder With the lights off And the thoughts of the future Hanging above your neck Like a blade ready to drop at any moment Thoughts of the future that May never even come to be “I’ll be okay” was the biggest lie You’d ever tell me With that twinkle in your eye When you lie Because I Notice every part of you As if I were you Because I was you Photo courtesy of Amina Fatima