Ali A. // AROUND THE CORNER

Around the corner,
There’s a place
Streetlights don’t shine,
The cars won’t turn,
And the house lights stay off.

Walking around the corner alone,
You can hear nothing
But your own footsteps,
Or someone else’s.
It’s peaceful. Looking behind you
Every sound that you hear.
But you are alone.

You can see nothing
But the darkness ahead of you,
And that, over there,
Behind that tree.
The tree that curves up so strangely.

And we keep walking,
Glancing every now and then,
But there can’t possibly be anything else
Around the corner.

Noelle Germanetto // HOME

Outside my childhood home
Is my backyard
That is full of memories
filled with Imagination,
Wonder.

In my backyard we could be anything,
Go anywhere.
It could be a kickball stadium,
A jungle,
Secret spy headquarters.
Anything we dreamed of
It was.

Every evening
Before it grew dark,
We would start a new journey
Of wonder.

Until The street lights
Turned on
And our parents
Called us home.

And we slowly transitioned back
To reality
Waiting to see where
Our imagination could take us next.

Joshua Lee // THE NURSERY

I ask them what a colony is.,
Interrogating them as to why we are kept here.
All data collected calculates as “SAFE”.
We know we can go outside

They reply with “we must follow our orders,
It’s safer here.”
That’s their only answer.
“It’s protocol, you will understand one day,.”
They add in their computerized voices

We want to go outside.,
I want to meet whoever is out there.,
I want to see what’s out there!
So far we only know the pictures.
Those vivid, living pictures,
From this living thing called Earth.

We’re sick of these metal plastic walls
I’m tired of the same holograms

They can’t keep this up,
Locking us up from the real world.
Let us go outside,
Or we will go outside.

Libby Walter // MY RIVER

The river meanders endlessly and rises and falls with the moon
It was peaceful at 10am on Sunday morning but not 12
We waved at the homeless man who lived on the floating plastic house
Until we reached the furthest downstream paddling was easy
Caressing the water with the curve of my paddle only to plunge it down into the water
At the lock Peter drove us strait into to the crashing water and despite my fear I had to keep on
paddling to not crash
The upstream journey on the way back was a fight
My arms were tight and aching but I didn’t want to be at the back; I was better than that
The old Queen Thames boat chugged past which gave a short burst of speed
That old gray dock bounced with the wake of our slender racing boats
I almost hit a few bikers while carrying my long boat through the path into the hut
They hated us

Henry Xu // SEESAW

Life is like a seesaw,
Our journey is just like walking on the seesaw
From the bottom to the top side,
You begin with your first step on the seesaw.

Every step that you took,
It became more threatening,
The higher you grasp
The more intricate it is for balancing.

When you think yourself is progressing towards the top,
You realize you are falling,
Like a rollercoaster speeding down the tracks,
Towards the unknown.

Then you find out,
You cannot always reach the point that you want to reach,
Struggling back and forth numerous times,
You perceived the intricacy and started to screech.

However, you afterward become discerned,
That you realize standing at that peak,
Is the balance point of human life,
However, how would you streak?

There might be another method,
Where somebody is holding up the seesaw for you,
It might be your family or the people you love,
Or the enemies that you had successfully couped.

Will Buchta // BOREDOM

It’s an unwanted feeling
Bringing restlessness
And making one uncomfortable

Sitting on the couch
On a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon
Seemingly nothing to do

But then an idea comes
Creativity sparks and finally
You are wrapped up in something
You could not have imagined before

Peter V.R. // NUMBER ONE

The orange chair gathers dust
The long empty chambers bubble quietly
The blue machinery is quiet
emptied four years ago
Silent in mourning
Of the loss of their owner

Still has the blueprints
Of countless contraptions
To capture the blue speedster
And make his town lazy again

Banana peels and nets
The former beginning to smell
The latter unravelling
Thrown around the floor
Like worthless pieces of trash
Around the countless machinery
Slowly rusting
Not being able to do their one job

Without pay
Creating evil plans
Be it getting more of himself
Or disguising himself
He always had something
Not anymore
He was number one
He said it himself
And he always will be
Within our hearts

Anika Ruberti // SUMMER SUNDOWN

Sit on the dock

Orange and pink hues paint the sky
Melting into the mirror before you

Seagulls call from above
Gentle waves sway you
Weightless

Dip your toes in
Watch the ripples expand
A cool breeze cuts through the heat
Relief

Put the board into the water
It cuts like a knife
Effortless

The water is silent

But laughing is heard from the background
Long deep breaths
Floating

The last light dies
The last evanescent ripple deflates

Look at the reflection of yourself
Staring up at you
Smiling

Sharath Jegannathan // CANCUN

Months of working
Can have an effect of exhaustion
Thus we were motivated
And looking forward to this vacation

On a lonesome beach, with many footsteps that clear off over time.
I lay lazy on my hammock.
Listening to the gentle waves rise up onshore.
Oh! How beautiful is nature… I remain awestruck!

The white soft sand drifting while the wind blows.
A gentle breeze touches my face.
I kept thinking about my holiday
where I fulfill my birthday crave!

Look, I said to my brother
Let’s get to the Island
Pack your bags and get ready
We are definitely going to be stunned.

Cancun, a city of Mexico
Beautiful sight to see
And lots to explore
For tourists like me

What a refreshing vacation it was
We cherish the memories we made
Oh how wonderful it was to see such a place
I wish I could have stayed

Daniel Xu // STROLL THROUGH NATURE

​He looked around the forest,
Taking in the fresh summer air.
The trees peered down on him,
He walked without a care.

He adored the songs,
sung by shimmering leaves.
But what he witnessed next,
he could not believe.

A distant figure,
too large to be human.
He crept closer,
in great confusion.

A glimpse was caught,
of his worst nightmare.
What was upon him,
a great grizzly bear.

A menace of the wilderness,
was in his presence.
It’s tree trunk limbs and scuffed up paws
were oddly pleasant.

The observer backed up slowly,
making no noise.
Eager to get home,
and tell all the boys.