Category: daily life

Isabelle Lim // A REQUIEM FOR UNREQUITED MIDDLE SCHOOL LOVE

It’s okay that the only looks you give me
are glares of contempt.

‘Cause your eyes are like
the deepest pools of melted chocolate
from which I drink
to vanquish my perpetual thirst.

And of course I don’t mind that
the only thing you’ve ever said to me
besides
Can I borrow your homework?
was that my sneakers were lame.

‘Cause
even though you’re laughing
(at me)
I’m blinded by your smile
the kind that you see in those Colgate ads.

And it’s totally fine that
you never bothered to thank me the day
that I gave you the answers
to that test
or the test after that.

‘Cause when you say my name
(it’s Miguel, by the way
not Michael)
it flickers from your lips
a song as saccharine sweet as
the final bell on a Friday.
And my heart pummels my ribcage
threatening to sprout wings
and spring from my chest.

And since
none of those things vex me
in the slightest

I was
uh
wondering
if
maybe
you wanna-

What?
Oh.

No, the quiz is tomorrow.

Irene Zhang // MY RELATIONSHIP WITH WRITING THIS RELATIONSHIP POEM

“The poem is due Friday, this week.” The teacher announced on Tuesday.
“The topic of this poem is your relationship with anything.”
I, master procrastinator, scoffed and smugly thought,
“Hey, I still have four more days!”

Well, on Thursday, my Google™ doc still stared blankly at me.
“Shit,” I thought, “What do I write about?”

Should I write about the fig bars I constantly eat in class?
‘The sweet smell of the fig
The processed sugar
The soft whole wheat cover
It brought a tear to her eye as she gleefully devoured’
I carefully scrutinized the sample poem, the imagery was not vivid enough.
I frustratedly clenched my fists. The tears and glee didn’t go together
So I scrapped the draft, disappointed but already lured by new ideas
Grades? School? A serious poem?

Should I write about the severe lack of snow days this year?
‘A young girl
Sadly stared at the her computer
The 85{8f8d4e344c8a972b8e97d55fa7ec8be4d5f796681e06b247e4219849f812f758} chance on snow day calculator
Just went down to 50{8f8d4e344c8a972b8e97d55fa7ec8be4d5f796681e06b247e4219849f812f758}’
I carefully scrutinized the sample poem, not thrilled by the wording.
So I scrapped the idea, negativity starting to drip into my mind, panic lurking in the background
That was when I struck gold
Meta gold

“I’ve made up my mind!” I declared to my friend in the whimsical green dress writing her own
poem.
“I’ll write about my relationship with the process of writing a relationship poem.”

And so I wrote,
‘“The poem is due Friday, this week.” The teacher announced on Tuesday.’

Anmianyao // CATS

I like cats
Regardless of their fur color
I listen out for the cautious footsteps
Or try to capture the unpredictable figures hiding in the dark
They peek into world in the gap of times
and draw footprints under the roof of cement
They stand by the gesture of independence
Without abandoning the ambitions of world

Cats are like me
Or I am like a cat
My heart deep inside yearns to escape the earth
But lack of courage to forgive and forget the world
Balance towards the world
People live with the absolute independence
Only see the endless sparks in the mirror
Secular people see the objects themselves only
And the others observe both
Cat and me
We enjoy the morning warm light
and cross through the charming night breeze

Nothing really matters in this world
As long as cat and me continue
Daydreaming by the groovy stove

Aditi K // ARMS

In school, I was told to write,
About a place close to my heart.
I started thinking for really long,
Going through options, not knowing where to start.

Should I write about my studio,
Where I sit and paint for hours?
Or my grandma’s garden,
Where I always stop to sniff the flowers?

It dawned upon me then,
To write about wherever I feel at home,
The place I return to when I’m lost,
Where I don’t need to wander or roam.

How can I find this place,
Is it far away through mountains or farms?
No, I don’t need to look that far,
My safe place is in your arms.

On the way to class, or in your basement,
My safe place is wherever you are,
You’re there for me without being told,
You don’t need a map or the north star.

Together in a comfortable silence,
I’m nuzzled against your chest,
I choose to revel in the happiness,
Because with you, I don’t feel second best.

Sophia M. // TWO LIVES

A world of color floods leaking eyes
Glossed over by salty tears
That cut canals in his rosy cheeks
Crying due to his now flowering lungs in use for the first
time
Hands clenched together

Mother’s fostering hands tremor above the unseen halo
Tender care given to every movement
Worshipping her new found child of god

A world of war floods leaking eyes
Glossed over with dusty air
Premature due to malnourishment

Above deteriorating beams echoing an infant’s
shrieks
Family gathered in a covering
As a graduating hum of a Gloster SS.37
engine overhead gives them bumps across
their skeletal arms

Mother’s hands push it away
She does not want to know the gender
In her stolid eyes, it is not hers
Unprepared, unwanted, unloved

Family leaves, same size as when entered
Mother slumped over, exhausted, her pain is
also in the heart
Cold wind gusts, broken wings, impeding hums
Broken cries that will remain unattended
Till its death

One birth, contrasts the other
One out of love, one left behind
One baby will be loved and nurtured as it should be
The other will die within days, abandoned

Sheldon Gentling // SEASONS

Summer comes enthusiastically, with warmth. Children’s laughter fills the air.
As I wave a hello to the increasing heat,
the beaming sun rays create reminiscent sadness.

Children’s laughter fills the air.
Before a cold wind blows laughter away.
The once beaming down sun rays created a reminiscent sadness that reflects as the temperature gets lower and lower.

Before a cold wind blows laughter away,
One last joke
Deflecting the decreasing temperature, getting lower and lower. A blanket of dead leaves cover the ground.

One more joke.
Cold nights, and days, and frozen earth.
A blanket of dead leaves cover the ground
As light snow falls.

Colder nights, and days, and even more frozen earth.
The sun is still tucked behind the clouds like a wall As roaring snow falls
the animals prefer to hide away
The sun is no longer tucked behind the clouds like a wall.
The temperature begins to rise.
Maybe time the animals stop hiding away.
I begin to hear a hopeful chirp of birds.

The temperature continues to rise and
The anticipated
hopeful chirp birds
make their serene sound.

The anticipated
Wave hello to the increasing heat
Greets me back gladly.
Summer comes enthusiastically, with warmth.

Richard Chen // NEVER THE SAME

Never the same.
Years ago, on that field, the revolutionary war Sprung up
The first shots,
Fired.
Now, a subject of history,
Tourists are led by men in olden clothes, Triangular hats sitting atop their heads.
I can go to school and learn anything I want Without ever stepping outside the classroom. When I just look around me,
I see people from all around the world,
With their own, different
Cultures, stories,
Ever changing,
Never the same.

Sitting outside,
The trees rustle their leaves, letting me relax. I release all of the stress from the day. Again,
Tomorrow will be
Never the same.

I walk back to my elementary school— Standing there, on the pavement,
I watch my childhood field
Get torn up
Dug up
The rocks that dutifully served as our soccer goals Now a pile of sand,
The playground where I loved to play
Replaced by a big block of metal,
Growing and growing each day.
Soon, it will become a big school,
For those young children
To again kick their soccer balls
And slide down slippery slides.
And when I come back,
It will be
Almost the same.

Miguel Caro // THE MYSTERIOUS FLYING VASE

“Oh no”
The vase flew to the ground,
But just as fast
I ran out of the room
Without a sound.

My mom walked in
Smacked her head
The stress she felt seemed to last
But no anger seemed to fester within
Where was I? In the fortress of my bed

She eventually walked in, finding me out
Knowing that I did it, without a doubt

It was just an accident. The wind must have blown it over.
“Forgive me”
Hoping I’d get lucky like a four leaf clover.

Michele Oldrati // PANTOUM OF WATER: MANKIND’S VICE

Condensed into cloud, tamed by the world.
From heaven I glimpsed the beauty of an alluring orb. And its pain, I became fluffy at times. Oh, how much I loved myself then,
Kids now play with me, as if playing with spheres of love.

From heaven I glimpsed the beauty of an alluring orb. And its pain, I sometimes run downhill
Kids now play with me, as if playing with spheres of love.
The excitement and contentment of a sour future

I sometimes run downhill
Strolling down the steep gorges of rocky mountains,
The excitement and contentment of a sour future
when things go acutely awry

strolling down the steep gorges of rocky mountains,
past the alluring plains: trotting with my friends and family
when things go acutely awry
the debris of destruction, the pest

past the alluring plains: trotting with my friends and family
where the disaster happens. Pollution? Worse,
the debris of destruction, the pest
The shadowed shipwreck of a shivering shame

where the disaster happens. Pollution? Worse,
now back home with the minuscul and immense swimmers
the shadowed shipwreck of a shivering shame
and we all rise to meet our destiny again.

now back home with the minuscul and immense swimmers.
I became fluffy at times. Oh, how much I loved myself then,
and we all rise to meet our destiny again.
Condensed into a cloud, tamed by the world.

Jalessi Aviles // THANK YOU

Every day and night
You have been with me through the fight
You never go without a smile
And always go the extra mile

You are so strong
You have raised me
For so long

I couldn’t ask for a better mom.
You never yell. You are always calm

Your love has never fallen short
Thank you for the endless support