Where does this flower bloom? Must it rely on water, or When unattended will it face doom? Nana always said, “Don’t pick the pretty flowers.” “Leave them alone, they’ll be dead.” But, Leaves, branches, weeds: How come they were destined to be thrown? Roses, sunflowers and lilies were protected, Since the gardener wanted every flower to be a clone. He and his whole community wanted the perfect lawn, But each of them planted different seeds, And each seed grew differently from dusk till dawn. Each seed just required the sun as their shield. If everyone knocked down their white picket fences, We would end up with a vibrant field.
So where could this flower possibly bloom? Anywhere where the gardener has no power.
Anjali D. // BLOOM
Rod Tavangar // LOVE OF MY LIFE
There are so many things we can do together –
Watch TV, curled up underneath a blanket.
Read a book, my arm resting on yours.
Rest my head against you and take a nap.
Every day I come home, excited to see you.
We embrace; I’ve never been more comfortable.
When I leave, I wish you could come with me.
But I know you must stay.
When I can’t sleep at night, you’re there for me.
When I need to cry, you’re there for me.
No matter the time,
I know you’re there for me.
Thank you, my beautiful couch.
Linda Chen // GAME
I started playing this game, And it’s quite addicting really, But there’s no option to save, No checkpoints, and no restarts. I have one chance, and one chance only, So I have to make this chance work.
I am playing this game, Where I keep running and running, Only choosing the safe options But at least I’m still surviving. Until the day, my dreams still unfulfilled, And the game inevitably ending.
I finished playing this game, But I’m plagued by if only’s and what if’s. If I had chosen a different option: Slain the monster rather than flee, Accepted the quest rather than pass. Maybe then I would have won the game.
Emily Narouz // BROKEN
Faith is like a thin, crystal piece of glass
But so is love
and hope
and trust.
One little mistake,
and it shatters into a thousand pieces.
Broken forever.
It will never go back to perfect.
The shards will remain scattered in their heart,
piercing them with every heartbeat.
Jenny L // GAME OF LIFE
Remember, she said, to watch,
to watch for their every move
as if you are the predator
And you have to be brave
I keep my eyes clear,
my eyes straight
not letting a whisper blow past
And breathing with a freight
My prey looks back at me,
As I carefully switch a piece
Not slowing down Or wanting to cease
As the pieces moved back and forth
The game seemed to never end
Until the King is trapped
And no longer has a friend
Varun Sasisekharan // TOOTHBRUSH
Fear,
the only feeling
I have ever
felt.
Waiting…
for ages,
until finally,
nevermind.
Sad,
Stranded,
Forgotten,
Frightened,
my life
miserable.
Bright and early
I am woken with
a splash.
The churning faucet
tells me it is time.
Water all over,
then,
paste,
oozing through
every crevice.
Darkness…
rubbed back and forth,
every second hurts, but
It won’t stop.
Another gush
of water, then
back
to waiting
until nightfall.
My life,
an endless cycle.
I am unable
to escape.
Rachel Man // PLAYGROUND
The scalding swing groans slowly
up and down. The skritch skratch of chalk,
faded colors, walk and wash over
faded colors, layered and sunbleached.
Silver aluminum buttons in the sun-yeowch!
sizzling, consuming blackness.
Hear the slapping of feet against the blackness
a skip and a jump and an “ice cream, ice cream, cherry on top,”
coming closer and closer.
Chasing hands, reaching out to touch,
but just out of reach.
Yelling and pulling
at fistfulls of hair and screeching
with harsh laughter
(disapproving faces look away).
“You’re it!”
and footsteps, out of breath,
loud and gangly, heartbeat drums.
grubby hands knead chocolate, earthen
mulch onto dirty, laughing cheeks and earthen smiles and
“Tag, no tagbacks!”
Matthew Joseph // LONELY SMILES
People chase dreams of
white picket fences
and big backyards
and forget they
left their –
Smiles
back in kindergarten,
under the coloring table.
Lior Amitay // THE BALLAD FOR A FALLING ANGEL
My my,
haven’t you all grown up?
Your sight shatters
Breaks,
Already broken.
Then eliminates.
Me.
I have known you better–
Brighter than a flame,
Lighter than air.
Should have known
To treat you better.
The moment to realize my mistake
It’s too late,
Too late.
Your soul,
Gone.
However,
Some ugly words
Seem to slice right through you
What I don’t get is,
why are you crying?
Your toxic words are no match.
But still,
you cry.
Fake tears,
That hurt others.
You are too dark to cry;
But too pure to understand.
Running through the night,
Never looking back.
You dazzle me over,
Careless.
I want to escape.
Forever,
From the demon
That I myself created.
As far as I know,
Happiness cannot be taken.
Only devoured away.
Kristina Wong // ODE TO MY EATING DISORDER
Tonight, Christmas evening,
Was the peak of our relationship.
Allow me to explain.
Before our family dinner,
I tried to wear my favorite dress—the black satin one,
That shines softly in light.
You tenderly called me a cow, and asked
‘Why don’t you cut away your fat?’
‘Can’t you carve your stomach flat?’
I trudged back into my room,
Your loving abuse clinging to my body all the way.
I changed into your favorite clothing for me—sweatpants,
And joined our parents and brother at the table.
At the sight of the steaming turkey and creamy potatoes,
You hissed kindly to me,
‘Touch it and you’ll regret it.’
Nobody else could hear the sweet-nothings you whispered,
But don’t worry, I did.
I swallowed your advice instead of my food.
And later I emptied my stomach of everything except your words.
Now thanks to you, my ribs are finally showing.
Our love truly goes to the bone.