Kaleidoscope 2019
West Linn High School
Kaleidoscope 2019
looking through different lights
West Linn High School’s
KALEIDOSCOPE 2019
EDITORS IN CHIEF Daniella Stauffer Montana Walsh Reem Alharithi
CONTRIBUTING STAFF Philip Chan Sydney Sovde Carla Khoury Jillian Tenner Gracie Cao
TEAM SNACK MOM Jack Wall
FINANCIAL MANAGER Aivy Truong
TEACHER ADVISORS Wind Lothamer Glenn Krake ...and a big thanks to Lulu Print for publishing our book!
ABOUT Welcome to the 2018-19 edition of the Kaleidoscope Literary and Arts Magazine! We are so proud to present this collection of student work. This year, We received countless submissions across all genres, from poetry to pottery and everything in between. West Linn High School is home to a community of talented and creative artists and we are happy to be able to showcase their work to the West Linn community. 2018-19 is our breakout year, created under new editors with a new vision for the Kaleidoscope. To commemorate our new layout, we decided to theme this book around a kaleidoscope, bringing different student perspectives into light. We worked so hard to bring this book to life and are very proud of the outcome. Thank you to Mr. Krake and Mr. Lothamer, our advisors, our staff, for working so hard to make this book happen, the students, for sharing your incredible artwork with us, and you, the reader, for supporting the Kaleidoscope and helping us be able to continue showcasing student creativity. We hope you enjoy the 2018-19 Kaleidoscope!
Kaleidoscope is created with Adobe InDesign CC 2018 and Adobe Illustrator CC 2018. All copy text is Adobe Garamond Pro ranging from 10-11pt. All titles are Minion Pro 25. All subheading text is Minion Pro Italic 11. Printing is on 8.5 x 5.5 matte, 80-stock paper with a self cover. Copies are sold to the West Linn community ranging from $8.00-$10.00 depending on submission status and pre-order discounts. A pdf copy of the book will be placed online by 08/25/19 at www.westlinnkaleidoscope.wordpress.com and book copies can be requested by writing to WLHS, 5464 W A St, West Linn, OR 97068
CONTENTS
CONTENTS Struggle 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33.
Facing Time / Rhiannon Soto The Scarecrow / Gabriel Williams Solo / Ryan Roby My Hand Aches for What Yours Have - Aidan Whittemore Untitled / Ella Brodsky Untitled / Hailey Elliott Piece 09 / Adam Misa Photo Copy Face / Ashley Hayter Untitled / Kate McIntyre Mystic Creek / Avery Rich It all Started With a Storm / Sarah Martin Blue Waters / Ryan Roby Untitled / Sara Garci Smile Dad Smile / Gabriel Williams Your Stained Glass Window / Nola Carstairs Your Stained Glass Window / Nola Carstairs (cont’d) Your Stained Glass Window / Nola Carstairs (cont’d) Consciously / Shelby True Untitled / Linsey Kuhl Overthinking / Sarah Martin Untitled / Nicole Lang Love is Dead / Nola Carstairs
Hope 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44.
Sentiment / Shelby True Drop by Drop / Gabriel Williams Untitled / Vanessa Kraetschmer Untitled / Collin Smith The Sun and the Moon / Rosie Dramov Untitled / Hailey Elliott Untitled / Jessica Yu SHE / Roise Dramov Untitled / Maleah Liebo
45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55.
Untitled / Hope Scott Untitled / Kate McIntyre N / Ashley Yablonsky Sea Glass & Starfish / Sarah Horn Untitled / Kenna Pendergraft Abandoned /Ryan Roby Untitled / Gabriel Williams My Soul / Karen Partida Untitled / Philip Chan Untitled / Chloe Sorensen The Fall / Abby Holland
Rebellion 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79.
I Raised You Better / Hannah Bader Untitled / Andrea Secchi Reclaiming the Illumination of our Shadows / Collin Smith Untitled / Hazel Valentine Untitled / Chloe Willson Untitled / Andrea Secchi Seventeen Flags at Half Mast / Gigi Schweitzer Untitled / Jacob Coller Untitled / Vanessa Kraetschmer Ideas Conquer Death / Collin Smith Untitled / Camryn Shevlin Overgrown / Shelby True King of Lies / Karen Partida Untitled / Philip Chan Hope for a Purpose / Gigi Schweitzer Face of a Movement / Carissa Russell Untitled / Andrea Secchi Wishbone / Gwyenth Seward Untitled / Sofia Siegal Untitled / Abdul Ali Rebellion’s Alright / Nic Oakley Aries / Gillian McMahon My Name / Caitlin McCabe
CONTENTS Growth 82. A Nice Afternoon / Hannah Taylor 83. A Nice Afternoon / Hannah Taylor 84. Tranquility / Alexander Saez 85. Feeling of Nature / Gabriel Williams 86. River / Gillian McMahon 87. Wish You Wouldn’t / Josh Burlin 88. Untitled / Andrea Secchi 89. Untitled / Andrea Secchi 90. The Fire Within / Devri Elliot 91. Untitled / Kenna Pendergraft 92. Untitled / Kate McIntyre 93. Peaks & Pines / Olivia Roane 94. Untitled / Kenna Pendergraft 95. Home / Gabriel Williams 96. Stepping Stones / Ashley Yablonsky 97. Lucid / Shelby True 98. Untitled / Chloe Sorensen 99. Backyard Adventure / Davis Lee 100. I Swear I’ll Never / Anna Capps 101. Tyler / Akina Nakajima
struggle
The Scarecrow by Gabriel Williams
They don’t really need me When there are things far more frightening being hung in these fields Not sure if I’m here to protect the crops or the caucuses Cuz’ I can’t scare these birds past the stench of lynched flesh Wrapped in obsidian skin- now all that we know is wind I can’t sacre these flying rats I can only scare myself I can’t protect this corn If I can’t even protect myself Like tossed out trash Left to rot Like spit out gum Left to just annoy passerbys I am the scarecrow And I am left to rot
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13 by Rhiannon Soto
My Hand Aches for What Yours Have by Aidan Whittemore
Your thumbs never seem to stop drumming against your phone screen, telling tales of your love, your ego, your past, your opinions. You shape seas of your thoughts; thoughts that are unabashed in a way I can’t even comprehend. Your words, the admirable attention you apply to them, the seductive style in which you string them together, the devastatingly detailed descriptions you produce with them, they boggle my mind. You show me these oceans you create, in an almost Godly manner, and, afterward, you lecture me on my disinterest in putting my own thoughts down in the same form you do. You, unintentionally condescending, speak of writing as if it isn’t my perpetually deferred dream, as if it’s something I don’t understand, something I don’t yearn for, something I can, actually, stop thinking about. You talk about writing in the same way everyone should: personally. Yet, that annoys me, because, for the longest time, it was mine. And then it wasn’t anymore. Your brain is capable of constructing the strange tides I would give anything to create. My hands ache for what yours have: the ability to scribble down haunting narratives without… without over-thinking, without worry, without thought, frankly. These seas, these oceans, these tides, you intimidate me. by Ryan Roby
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Untitled by Ella Brodsky You mean the world to me You’ve been my favorite person since day one So why is it, That you’re also my worst nightmare? Because my heart’s too big for my body Sometimes I dread going to bed To see you in my dreams Alone What happened to everybody? Where did they go? They grew up, they moved on I wish I could go back to my youth Nothing to worry about only hugs and kisses goodnight But tonight, The only thing on my mind Is making sure that nightmare doesn’t come true.
by Hailey Elliott
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Piece 09 by Adam Misa For so long I stood there, Wasting my time, And so many times, Y’all would be, Breaking my spine, Spending my dimes, Stealing my shine, Taking what’s mine, And for what? Y’all better know, Imma take what’s mine, Get in line, Keep in mind, I’ll be taking my time, Going down that line, Teaching’ you to respect mine, With these bloodied fists, I mean look what you did, I was just a kid, But it didn’t stop you from doing what you did, I didn’t have no choice, But to run with the boys, And look where it got me,
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It just feels so amazing, Just look at what I’m saying, I used to think that I was failing, At what it was I was trying to achieve, What I’m doing is something you wouldn’t believe, I’m standing here with my heart on my sleeve, And shit if you don’t like it, Just get up and leave. Because I don’t need y’all And please, Don’t call I bled with y’all,
Broke bread with y’all, I cried with y’all, Now why are y’all, Acting so appalled, Take a look at yourself, You wouldn’t have no wealth, If it wasn’t for the king himself, You’d just be a book on the shelf, Gathering dust, Cuz your shit’s a bust, Couldn't have no trust, Cuz you actin concussed, There ain’t no justification, For that abomination You call the truth Imma need some proof Because you’re actin’ aloof Next thing you know, Everything will be going poof, Soon you won’ t even be living under a roof,
by Ashley Hayter
It took much too long for me to get free, But now I’m on my way to D.C. The capitol, because I’m on a roll, Meanwhile karma has taken its toll, On all those who tried to stand in the way of my goals, Guess that’s what happen when you ain’t have no soul In the end, all the shit I been through led me here, All those tears I cried, and now there’s nothing left to fear
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Mystic Creek by Avery Rich I remember When I was little, I thought I would live forever I thought if one person could always be there to see the world change, It would be me Because I was all I knew, And I didn’t know what they knew And I didn’t think it was real. As a kid, I smiled more often I had friends nearby Soren, Sequoia, and Sawyer White We’d hang out on Holmes Street, Right at the dead end But I never understood why it was called the dead end It was more alive than ever We’d go into the woods Maddax Woods And if we went off trail we’d be at Mystic Creek That was at least what we’d call it The adults thought it was cute, And on weekends we’d all hang out at Harlan and Kelly’s, Just wedged between my street and Buck Street.
Untitled by Kate McIntyre
I remember we’d find old pieces of pottery, metal, and tires, All down by Mystic Creek We’d dig up everything in the sand, Or buried in the ivy We’d save a collection of all the things we found, And it’d only get bigger every day, Until one day, It was all gone. I thought it’d always be the same I thought that I’d graduate high school in that small, two-bedroom house, With all my neighbors with me to celebrate, With Soren, Sequoia, and Sawyer to laugh with me, To have fun But the White’s moved away to Texas, And we moved to a different neighborhood We haven’t stayed in touch.
by Kate McIntyre
But if I were to go back to that house, Everything would be different; The grass by the front of the woods has overgrown, The kids all play on Buck Street now, Everyone has moved out, Houses were rebuilt bigger, Older houses destroyed, Harlan and Kelly have gotten divorced, And I no longer play in the woods at Mystic Creek.
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Itbyall Started With a Storm Sarah Martin It all started with a storm. The crazy, hectic storm that you were. Your hair never stayed in the same place, as if the wind was constantly around you. Your eyes were full of vivacious strength that made others feel weak by default. You entitled yourself so others wouldn’t have to. You wore your mistakes with pride like a shield. You never cared what other people thought. You never cared.
Did they finally break through your closed, sealed heart? Did it leak dark red blood? Did it leave a permanent stain on your hands? Did your mind shatter like a rock thrown at a glass mirror? Did the pieces ever fit back again? What happened when you finally realized life took the storm you were, and created a hurricane?
But what happened...? Did the shame finally eat at you? Did their comments finally pierce your steel skin? Or did they melt it away, scorching your skin with every doubt and judgement leaked from their lips? Did the wind finally drop you? Without the strength under your wings, did you fall? Did you fall hard? Did you fall fast? Did they rip your entitlement from your soul like an old, used band aide? Did it leave a dirty outline of the strength you used to have? by Ryan Roby
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Smile Dad Smile by Gabriel Williams
Dad‌ I saw you hold all of us up through the pain I saw you inspire us through only 2 quarters I saw make ends meet by limp home with grime on your hands I watched as you went passed each and every bill And your happiness draining with every stroke of your pen I watched as every time those bills knocked you down You stood right back up without a scratch on you I watched as you dropped can of beer And watched you taste the refreshing future I watched as you traveled job to job Like a hawk endlessly searching for food for his young
by Sara Garci
From North carolina to texas From texas to new york And new york to oregon But after all those flights I never saw you smile Smile Dad smile For one last deed for all of us Smile dad smile Like your nightmare is ending Laugh,cry,smile Smile dad smile
by Ryan Roby
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Your Stained Glass Window by Nola Carstairs I have watched this child Forever Even when my tired eyes and my weak heart Couldn’t get me out of my bed And even when I was dead And gone I watched you for the sky It hurt to watch you cry so much But I knew I couldn’t do anything for you You sit in your window Your stained glass window Watching the stars pass You mind is beginning to fog They say you’re thinking too much But you know That this feeling Isn’t right The pain of your loveless life begins to nip at your heels You see There Waiting at your bedside The gleaming eyes of death He sits and whispers and feeds ideas into your head And you You listen to those painful whispers You think that no one loves you And think they never will No one will miss you But before you let the hands of death catch you Another pair of hands catch you As the warm hands pull you up you hear sirens and whimpering cries That was about 10 years ago
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Now You sit in your window Your stained glass window
Looking for him He likes your cooking which makes you happy You have finally found someone who likes you These tiny capsules keep you happy for now But even a whole bottle of those tiny little capsules Can’t keep you happy forever But you keep in deaths whispers in the back of your head Locked away behind that little door That nothing Nothing Can get out for that door Or so you thought That night seemed long and your eyes Heavy He laughs at on what on TV You crawl form your mind space But by the time your back Out of your mind He is gone The floor falls from under you You can feel your precious little capsules failing You try to hold your little door closed Keep your string tight around the finger That keeps your brain held together As you turn to look He appears next to you And you can feel the door and the string disappear Death’s whispers beginning to crawl through your lips And your brain to begins to fall apart You can’t see his face through your clouded eyes You can’t hear his voice through your screams and cries But you can feel his warm hands and tears fall around you And once your voice was gone You could hear his sobs and whispers of sweet things You For the first time in the many painful years of your life You could not hear death’s whispers Or his cold fingers clawing at you
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You felt happy Without your tiny capsules Even though you were crying That was 6 years ago You sit in the window The stained glass window That is no longer yours And you see your child Your light And the one who held you tight and cried that night Laughing and loving the light that hits your warm hands You see their smiles and you feel warm and happy A happiness that your tiny capsules could not give you I sit and watch you be happy with that little light of yours The person who can give you more than I ever could And even when you left this place and went far off I still sat at my place in the sky and waited for you to come home I watched as the people who loved you most Created a colorful home for you to return to And you did You came back to the place you had lived your entire life And you were happy Happier than I could I ever make you So I pray for you in your stained glass window that those whispers of death don’t come back to you And that those tiny capsules Are not the only thing that make you smile like that That you will never think Your mother didn’t love you And that you can live long and healthy So that those years of pain and loneliness Are nothing more than a nightmare I pray that you can look Out of your stained glass window For many more year to come
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By Shelby True29
Overthinking By Sarah Martin
Words swirl in your mind growing bigger and bigger until you have no choice but to think. Think about how it’s your fault… When everyone tells you it’s not. When everyone tells you to stop thinking and take a second to breath. They don’t understand, you try. You try, you try, you try. Stressing over a new goal to fail. One failure leads to another until that’s all you are. A failure. Everyone tells you different, But you’re oblivious. Stress eats at you and anxiety until you look as bad as you feel. Purple under your eyes and nails adorned with bite marks. When you sleep you never truly rest. Your brain is still thinking and thinking and thinking. You could never learn to live with it, With the stress. Until stress becomes bitter and warm and flows through your veins like dead blood. Until it becomes you. Until your life has become one prolonged thought. by Linsey Kuhl
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My broken heart can no longer be fixed Its shattered pieces Have flown too far To be retrieved My tears and sorrowful words hit the ground As fast as my crippled body does Then I see you
by Nicole Lang
Love is Dead by Nola Carstairs He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week and my Sunday rest. My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song. I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. WH Auden, Stop All The Clocks, 1938 My time was stopped by him, And my love has died With him He left me for a new midnight A new song Sung by a new forever
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I lay here like an old toy Worn and sad Remembering when I was his favorite But I am no longer the favorite For my love is dead
I new type of song A song not pleasant alone For your voice has been broken by your forever Just like my dead love You took my broken heart and sewed it together You treat me not as an old toy but your most precious thing Which I am not A precious thing And you are not my North Or my south Or my noon But I will sit with you at midnight And hold your hand I will be your harmony To make your broken voice sound Like the song of the most beautiful mockingbird You will not be my talk For we shall talk together We will share our precious time And rest together On Sunday My love died once But now it lives Beating like my sewn heart And sings like our song
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hope
rue elby T h S y b
Drop by Drop By Gabriel Williams
DROP, drop, slow tears, And bathe those beauteous feet Which brought from Heaven The news and Prince of Peace: Cease not, wet eyes, His mercy to entreat; To cry for vengeance Sin doth never cease. In your deep floods Drown all my faults and fears; Nor let His eye See sin, but through my tears.
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Untitled by Vanessa Kraetchmer I plow through the rain and thunder/ Hoping that the end is bright/ The world around is dark down under/ I fly through the clouds with fright/ I am the only one who’s lonely/ Everyone has friends/ Why am I the one and only?/ Groups of friends around every bend/ I am a colorful rainbow/ Everyone else is dark and mad/ I’m the only happy one I know/ I need everyone to not be sad/ Suddenly, I find a pot of gold/ The perfect match for me/ A fine friend for me to hold/ I jump to the moon full of glee/ We walk off together/ This pot of gold, we will never be apart/ We can change the weather/ You will be forever in my heart/
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by Collin Smith
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The Sun and the Moon by Rosie Dramov The moon, the night, the blackness that engulfs, I breathe it in. The black seeps in through my pores, through my limbs. My limbs are filled with Night blackness and weight that spreads through my body and suddenly I see. I see the night no I see through the night I see the next of night. What comes next? the sun does, but not yet. the sun has not risen, and I am still night. I relish in it’s seeming cover it’s calm I love the night. The stars look at me staring; unblinking I feel their breath on my neck. They gave me life, they call me to them, I am the moon.
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The sun the warmth washes over my body my once cold, stuff body now strangely delighted. Delighted with heat an all consuming warmth that leaves no part untouched. The warmth reaches my face and turns the ends of my mouth upward into something of a smile. something of a pleasure. A sigh parts my lips as the warmth surrounds my heart. It blossoms like a living organism a warmth that pushes out all cold. The cold that reminds of things not wanted. The cold that suffocates the mind, that kills a part of the host. a cancer that cannot be stopped except by warmth the warmth of a true embrace of a smile that resonates in the eyes that sparkles throughout the irises. and the warmth does fill it fills and fills. I am no longer cold. stiff. I am warm I am joy I am the Sun
by Hailey Elliot
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SHE by Rosie Dramov Not the stars of Fate nor the moon of Selene not the brilliant light of the Sun of Heaven could stop her. She raced to the shadows unknown, and dove into the murky blackness of day. For even that brilliant Light is only defined by the edges of Night.
By Jessica Yu
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Untitled by Maleah Liebo The lights flicker On off The breeze whips her hair around her face Tears fall from her face Because often strong wind She breathes in Smells the salty Ocean water This where she belongs Ith the water To surf To feel free To be happy A break is what she needed She dips her foot into The Freezing cold Salt water Her happy place is here Now And forever by Hope Scott
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N
by Ashley Yablonsky You turned into my clock Waking my lingering light skin In the early shakes of morning Consuming all my time And freely I gave it You’re rhythm in sync with my wild heart Never making me settle down Never ceasing to count our moments apart You became my constant A keeper of the night Who signaled the strawberry sun to gravitate low through the willows Who paused late hours To chime in on stories And walkthrough forgotten times , of blackberry bushes and creek water. Effortlessly you secured my tomorrow And sent me to sleep The comfort of your breathing Familiar to my senses, to my dreams And everyday that you started, Was the 1st day of my life.
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by Kate McIntyre
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Sea Glass & Starfish by Sarah Horn I’ve lost my home It’s traveled out to sea Like a boat It’s gone out to deep It can’t float It’s long gone now No one can know I’ve lost my name It’s been crumpled up And taken on a plane Its long gone now Don’t know my fate All she says is I’ll be okay It’s long gone now No one can know Oysters found pearls Out of tiny grains of sand Saw them as worthless They should be on the lands Now I’ll try to find purpose Out of everything I can
by Kenna Pendergraft
Sea glass and star fish Have been scattered all around Sea glass and star fish If only I’d looked around
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Roby by Ryan
Untitled by Gabriel Williams Beats against my window pane Leaving me looking out at the distorted images on the other side Its beautiful Whether it be cold Or warm Im waiting For the day I can Run Twirl Laugh Cry Smiles Because the rain knows the same pain Drowning the world in its tears Covering the lands in a wet embrace Driving things from their homes Drawing others out I’m waiting to be able to Dance between the raindrops Covering every part of me In its watery embrace
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My Soul
by Karen Partida
So I held it in my hands As I knelt down on one knee. I stretched my arms oh so high above my head And I shut my eyes so tight Because that was all I had That thing in my hands. It was my deepest parts and nooks The rotten books I’d written as I stared into nothing The sickly sweet lies I’d told The way I felt when I looked at you. And so my lip quivered and my will shivered My legs shook and my heart skipped and my mind froze As I pushed, higher still, that thing in my hands Because maybe once in the sky someone Anyone Would take it.
by Philip Chan
And so here I stand Hoping you take this This thing that is me That I guard so much That I’m giving away To you.
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The Fall by Abby Holland She fell tumultuously, Evoking a loud crashing sound That echoed through the vacant city She once ruled over. Peering eyes turned their heads in shame. They walked away. Alone she layed. Trapped in her brokenness and sorrow. No one understood her. The liers spoke words about her That pierced her soul and Locked her lips. Her voice was stripped away And locked in a vault guarded by Narcissistic, hypocrites with lion manes And sharp teeth. Their claws sunk deep into her wounds Their evil lies crept into her mind But she didn’t let them drown her out. She swam against the forceful current and crashing waves. by Chloe Sorensen
She struggled to the surface As she grasped for air. She clinged to the single hand That reached down to help her. The strong wide hand lifted her out of the cold And built up a fire to keep her warm.
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rebellion
I Raised You Better by Hannah Bader I ate junk food, Failed my classes, Rotted my teeth. I got found out. “I raised you better.” I rolled my eyes, At my father’s words. Stalked out During a heated lecture. Plugged my ears, Still heard the muffled yelling. “I raised you better.” I talked back, Played with fire. No more trust. “I raised you better.” I played the good girl. Anger flared up inside. I had enough. I packed my bags, Stole some cash. Ran away. Without a note, Or a trace. No one raises me anymore.
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by Andrea Secchi
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Reclaiming the Illumination of our Shadows by Collin Smith The restrained candle conveys a story of independence and confinement; Enslaved to the wick, it was created to provide light to its master. The converted candle can express its opinion with making a refinement, To distribute its brightness and fiery upon the house’s plastor. One spark from the candle can spread its determined melee, To break free from the confinement as an independent display. The distressed candle conveys a story of healing and pain; Punishing tender bodies as they are attracted to its illuminecence. The converted candle can mentally and emotionally soothe the brain, To ease tension that is caused from the world’s disturbance. One spark from the candle can banish misery’s decay, Until all pain is gone, presenting a healing pathway.
by Hazel Valentine
The neglected candle conveys a story of love and loneliness; Detached from society and abandoned from its family. The converted candle can appreciate companionship’s harmony and holiness, As affection toward others brings trueness to humanity. One spark from the candle can sheperd two lonely individuals to say, “ I love you, I love you, I love you, until fate leaves us astray.” The resented candle conveys a story of hope and hatred; Vengeful for the harm others have demonstrated upon it. The converted candle can provide aspiration it created, To diminish the animosity and to present the world is not a pit. One spark from the candle can eliminate the Devil’s play, In order to reveal the hopeful passageway. A candle can tell a story, But how it is interpreted regulates its glory. “Let there be light,” God said on the first day, Before limitation, injury, alienation, and sin, Makes the light vanish away.
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by Chloe Willson
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Seventeen Flags at Half Mast by Gigi Schweitzer Flags at half mast, Lowered heads and silences held For those lost Shots fired through windows, The again through heads Seventeen gone, Dead. Eighteen year old bearing arms, No one breaths Sitting silently in the corner As their teacher bleeds The flags raised, Only half While others go hoping to make a difference At only seventeen, With no voice to vote, They speak Protests planned, speeches spoken, But still seventeen lives sit till, And broken by Andrea Secchi
We march out, take a stand Those shots fired deserve more Then just a steady hand We’ve been told it’s because they’re sick, They cant help it But then they go and make guns More accessible, As instruments of war of hate and violence
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These live deserve more than just a flag lowered And a moment of silence.
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Untitled by Jacob Coller Poetry isn’t fun to write It’s not a good reason to stay up at night I used to like writing But now it’s just fighting Against sanity with all of my might
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by Vanessa Kraetschmer
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Ideas Conquer Death by Collin Smith
Death is a symbol that can be used to represent the conclusion of a person’s life or event, and to show a transformation in a person. Physical death is a part of our society. Some cultures mourn for the people they have lost, while others celebrate this transition. In any context, death is important because without it, life would be meaningless. People are afraid of death, though. To many, death is the endpoint of life. So why do people live a happy life if they know one day they are going to die? Well, there is much more to it. People who think that their deathbed is their final destination in life are correct in that their physical presence on Earth has vanished. However, the ideas they express and characteristics they have shown will last for centuries. People are happy in order for their legacy to be remembered. It is very hard to kill an idea. Ideas can last forever, no matter how good or bad they are. As long as the idea is passed along from generation to generation, it stays alive. Ideas can change over time, but death does not determine if an idea is remembered or forgotten. Ideas can outlive death.
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Photo by Vanessa by Kraeschmer Camryn Shevlin
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King of Lies by Karen Partida
by Shelby True
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Bow down to the King of Lies As he watches over you with shifty eyes Quake in his presence As he whispers sweet words in your ear While digging his pointy nails into your flesh. Yes, bow down to the King of Lies Master of Deception Killer of Trust He will promise comfort And he will swear to all that is good But beware Because as you bow down to the King of Lies With reverence so deep your brow touches the floor He might just push you inside his crocodile mouth And never let you out.
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But he said You have a path You have a direction You have A purpose And you have to push for justice for others Because you can
by Philip Chan
Hope for a Purpose by Gigi Schweitzer
We can stand and worship but at this magnitude We can’t stay silent While an 11 year old finds their gender All they desire is a rainbow flag Draped over the cross Hearing the tears of a rape victim As she came out to her church And the quivering voice of a man Who struggled with self harm As his pastor told him he would Go to Hell How do we hear that we’re supposed to have hope when we wake up to hear that people have Been beaten for fighting for others im-
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migration rights And a friend’s father A black man Shot dead by a police officer Three kids waiting for their dad to come home But little do they know He will never return
To build a more diverse community To accept not just anyone but everyone Of all backgrounds and write it on A flag and raise it high So they know that they’re welcome A pastor who witnessed the first plane hit the twin towers Had to worship for all the sundays after And talk with all those Who came to him looking for guidance But he was just as lost Him The one you feel should be The head of the masses Had no clue what to do
How are we supposed to feel loved or at peace when we question our purpose
We fly to a city in need Though other countries are left with no aid
I listened to a man talk about 9 year olds Being tried as someone double their age Sentenced to 40 years or more The way he spoke about their begs to leave Left a grip wrapped around my heart
Bringing fifteen thousand books to kids who still don’t have a home because of the flood Ragen grabbed to me as he won in checkers Begging me to stay Just as the boy in juvy
All these kids now in possession of More books then they have owned since the flood And just our few hours with them Making connections that run deeper than ever before One kid Cameron We still have a hand shake The gleim in his eyes as he raised his books high You could spend so much time and still not hear all That these children have to say
We show our work through physical impact But to bump fists with a kid Whose parents work so much Just to get their family back on its feet He can’t remember the last time they played with him It grips your heart in more ways than one So we hold on to hope because we want A path, a direction A purpose Because we believe that that is something Everyone deserves
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Face of a Movement by Carissa Russell I don’t want to be the face Of a movement I just want basic Human Rights. Get paid like a man, Stand up and be able to say With pride Who I am. I don’t want my tear stained face printed on walls I just want To love who I want. Be able to walk to my car Without holding my keys Like a weapon The way that my mom taught me. I don’t want to be he face Of a movement I just want to live my life.
72
by Andrea Secchi
73
Wishbone by Gwyenth Seward
74
Completely normal. Very clean. Detergent. Strong caffeine. Slacks. Light blue polo shirt. Big, bright, blue eyes. Introvert. Charming smile. High voice, style. Hair parted down the middle. I twiddle, twiddle, twiddle. Brain a riddle. Near a small town with a school and greenery. where I’m the principal, a piece of machinery. Oatmeal for breakfast. No sugar. Pull the trigger. Alarm clock. Without that, there’s no reason to live. My dead relative, friend, mother, speaks to me and forgives. Drowned, struck down by sickness, Spirits hang around. They talk to me, and I tell them my problems, beastly. Pleasure. Feeling. Pleasure. The first time I killed, it was my goldfish, swimming, swimming, swimming. It annoyed me, never sinning. So I smashed it. You could say you can’t change what I’ve knit. But I swear, it’s not me. Killing gives me feeling: something I lack. Empathy? Sympathy? I belong in prison, or jail. I’m just fidgety. One more rape, a couple more drugs, one more murder, maybe will get me through to the next harbour. Ticking, ticking away. Will the ticking cease? Should I squish it? Goldfish! Cease and desist. Will they finally leave me alone? Did you know? Fish have a wishbone.
by Sofia Siegel
75
Rebellion’s Alright by Nic Oakley
We were taught to sit still and raise our hands, To listen first and then respond, To not be bystanders, but to help. So we did. We sat quietly and listened to the world around us To all the wars and all the poverty and hate, We saw people violate our most sacred rule and did what we were taught. We fought. We fought back with our hands raised, and words ready, But we were never called on, We weren’t allowed to speak. They thought all was finished; They being those who want the world to stand still and never change. But They failed. We stopped raising our hands and began to scream our truths as loud as our bodies could handle, some screamed so loud their lungs collapsed and with it their life. We stopped sitting still and we ran with our ideas as far as we could; to the city, to the state, to the country, and the world. And still They tried to silence us With hate with guilt with anger and fear formed into weapons being aimed at our heads. by Abdul Ali
76
They will never succeed while our kind still exist, us who know our defiance defines, Us who know rebellion’s a right.
77
My Name By Caitlin McCabe
My name is fire Scorching trails around me Some fall to cinders Others spark to flames Spreading without my control Burning And hurting Those caught in the wake My name is smiling After a long day of hard work And sweating in the sun The touch of a soft pillow On your head And the feeling Resting deep inside Of a job well done My name is the sun Setting out long, spindly rays Of warmth To everyone around me Giving without receiving Giving without taking And gaining joy From their own
78
My name is comforting Holding onto a friend Whether in the hardest of times When skies are cold and Blank Or the times When laughs are like pennies Tinkling around us Too numerous and beautiful To count
My name is starlight Filtering down through clouds Through wind Through rain Although bashed and beaten It shines Shimmering above the Earth A guardian In the night My name is crying When my dream That I’ve held so long And watered And weeded Dries up But also When my friends have lost More than they gained Or gave My name is many things It is my joys and failures My memories that I’ve kept And those which I’ve forgotten It is those I love Or one day will meet Every smile I’ve borrowed Those I’ve loaned It is used But not ruined Old But still shining And it is beautiful It is perfect And it is mine
79 By Gillian McMahon
growth
A Nice Afternoon by Hannah Taylor
82
83
Feeling of Nature by Gabriel Williams
All nature has a feeling: woods, fields, brooks Are life eternal: and in silence they Speak happiness beyond the reach of books; There's nothing mortal in them; their decay Is the green life of change; to pass away And come again in blooms revivified. Its birth was heaven, eternal it its stay, And with the sun and moon shall still abide Beneath their day and night and heaven wide.
84
85 by Alexander Saez
Wish You Wouldn’t by Joshua Burlin
Wish you wouldn’t Say things that you don’t mean Always said you couldn’t Thought we were a team I was here for us You were here for you Say you got a cause Well I got one too Your hands in your pockets My head down You’re looking at the time I’m looking for emotion Your phone keeps ringing It’s because i’m still dialing You know it’s me But you won’t pick up I ask you why You say you’re scared It makes sense I can scare myself
by Gillian McMahon
86
But sorry doesn’t cut it I won’t let words replace me Yet you keep on repeating it Wish you wouldn’t
87
88
by Andrea Secchi
89
The Fire Within by Devri Ellett
Everyone has a flame that burns within Some are hot some are cold Some are blue some are orange with hungry mouths Some hide them deep in the craters of their hearts Others let it out to see what might become Of those who dare try and destroy it Not all are bad some are warm and fuzzy but never quite fluffy Rotten ones are mean with the stench of death and the feeling of defeat not only that they thirst for hurt and scorch you inside One can try to drive it away but it will always be there to stay I have seen a fire so hot and evil within a person so Innocent not deadly I have a fire mine started out small like a candlelight And it went out from time to time Now my flame is a raging bonfire soft but possibly deadly To hot to be put out because I have evolved into a stronger person Without a flame within you your are the same as everyone else around you We all have different flames just as we all have different true colors But sometimes you must dig into your depths to find them Your flame reflects your true colors Some are nice some are mean Some are death Some are life Some can break you Others make you So let me ask you this what type of flame do you want to obtain? And just how far will you go to obtain it? For that is the fire within It will start out small and turn into something much more by Kenna Pendergraft
90
91
Peaks & Pines by Olivia Roane Ridges and bridges They guide me through The pines, they call my name As I gaze into the starry Blue With my feet in the lake I thank our mother nature For the beauty and majesty That is both familiar and a stranger From the tip of the mountain To the depths of the sea I know as I breathe The peaks and pines were made for me
92
by Kate McIntyre
93
Home by Gabriel Williams My friends would always say “Lets just go to my house, Yours smells like dog” But that’s what you get with three black labs And after three years Nothing has changed My house is now so empty You can throw a coin in it And make wish What was once known as the town of trees Is now known As that one place who tore down a hundred trees To build 60 cramped houses But to me our town has always been the opposite Our town has been the land of opportunity The land of rain The land of a second chance My father From texas to coralina From carolina to new york From new york to oregon I saw you put that beer back in the fridge And instead Pull out the refreshing taste of a new future A future where we all can call each other family
94
by Kenna Pendergraft
95
Stepping Stones by Ashley Yablonsky
A Nest of turquoise spins round these brittle ruins Lumped sedimentary set in sand set in bone. They tell many stories hold many homes. Carvings of vanity in there facial lines. Eggshells and sandals have touched their course shoulders, they’ve bared bruises and salt. Lovingly clung too by un-calloused hands. geometric walls balancing
by Shelby True
96
97
Backyard Adventure by Davis Lee I go down to my neighborhood forest. My backyard left untouched for years. Although it has not been managed, Nature flourishes when left alone. The new growth of plants is exciting to see. The golden ginkgo tree radiates with warmth and comfort, The rain of pollen seasons the sky with a dance of innocence, The young maple tree stands proudly next to the mature,
by Chloe Sorensen
98
with its fresh green leaves and branches. All life growing in unison to the constant, everlasting beat of mother nature, even in the face of conformity, nature will find a way to grow out. A stubborn child, rebelling against the people who seek to take it’s freedom, But never out of maliciousness. Even without water and attention, My backyard still flourishes.
99
I bySwear I’ll Never Anna Capps I swear I’ll never compare Which sibling is smarter Or prettier Or more athletic. I won’t get so mad Over a forgotten text or a missed call. I swear I’ll never blame the oldest for everything Or refuse to give the younger sibling something first As the youngest, I understand. I promise that I’ll never refuse to talk About issues in your own home Our flaws, insecurities, Regrets. And I promise that I won’t make assumptions about disputes Before I hear both sides of the story. I will be honest with you About things in your own home Or about things halfway across the world Because you deserve to know what’s going on. I promise to give you the freedom you need With, of course, some additional conditions. But most of all I promise Whether you want it or not I will always be supportive. by Akina Nakajima
100
101
INDEX
A big thank you to our sponsers! Abdul Ali Hannah Bader Ella Brodsky Joshua Burlin Anna Capps Nola Carstairs Philip Chan Jacob Coller Rosie Dramov Devri Ellett Hailey Elliott Sara Garci Ashley Hayter Abby Holland Sarah Horn Vanessa Kraetschmer Linsey Kuhl Nicole Lang Davis Lee Maleah Liebo Sarah Martin Caitlin McCabe Kate McIntyre Gillian McMahon Adam Misa Akina Nakajima Nic Oakley Karen Partida Kenna Pendergraft Avery Rich Olivia Roane Ryan Roby Carissa Russell Alexander Saez Gigi Schweitzer Hope Scott Andrea Secchi
76 58 16 87 100 25, 27, 28, 33 53, 71 64 40, 43 90 17 24 19 55 48 38, 65 30 32 99 44 22, 31 78 20, 46, 92 79, 86 18 101 77 52, 69 49, 91, 94 21 93 50 72 84 63, 70 45 59, 62, 73, 87, 89
INDEX Gwyenth Seward Sofia Siegal Collin Smith Camryn Shevlin Chloe Sorensen Rhiannon Soto Hannah Taylor Shelby True Hazel Valentine Aiden Whittemore Gabriel Williams Ashley Yablonsky Jessica Yu
74 75 39, 60, 66 67 54, 98 12 82, 83 29, 97, 36, 68 61 15 13, 27, 37, 51, 85, 95 47, 96 42