LHS CLASS OF 2021

Ben Kamis // THE GAME OF LIFE

I intend to learn
The wonders of science and math, Literature and history,
All subjects, narrow and vast.

I would dabble in languages,
Exploring cultures and equations,
Of past, present, and future,
For knowledge’s sake alone.

I yearn for understanding,
For comprehension,
For a feeling of importance,
For the ability to survive in the world

On my own.

But alas I am forced
To compete with friends
For an arbitrary grade,
A grade that determines futures.

They make me lose determination,
Lose hope,
Lose sleep,
Just to play in The Game.

Matthew Berhe // OVER AND OVER

Research and research.
Over and over:
This is not ordinary
fun. Nor the way
one typically spends
their summer

Store after store the Buildings
of Ann Arbor were like no other.
Long, skinny, and gray they all were
the same to me.
Morning, afternoon, evening
over and over:
lab after lab, the journey
repeats….. for another four weeks

Ding ding, evening lab
is OVER
I’ve gotten all my groceries
but all of a sudden………
ROOOOOOM CHECK!…. The message circulates
and the race to the dorm starts
I sprint, but appear to have arrived in the same location
over and over:
I’m going in circles!
Eventually I spot the
mess of my dorm.
I check may watch yet again
its passed 10:00
the instructors examine me
in a skeptical manner, as I am late
AGAIN
expecting an every day scolding from my lab leader

Over and over:
morning, afternoon, evening
lab after lab……………. the journey repeats
for another four weeks!

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

Mimansa B // THE BULLY

Every day go to school
Recess
Your least favorite time of the day
Go outside
No one around to play with

Look there’s that little boy
He seems cool
Go talk to him
Make friends
It’s not as hard as it seems
At least that’s what they say

But the truth is
Your heart tries to stop you
From making new friends
Because every time you let someone in
You find out what they’re all about

Yet you risk it
Slowly approaching him
Head down
One foot in front of another
Slowly

He smiles
You’re still afraid to lift your head
He offers his friendship
You take it
Then he takes you
To use

Said it was a game
But what game demands
Only your nose to bleed
Only your heart to pump
Only your chest to scream

Said you were ready for a fight
But the moment he comes in
Your hands play hide and seek
Disappearing behind you
Nowhere to be found
Let the fist meet your face
Do it because you endure the pain
Every time he curses your name
He wants the satisfaction
And you want him to suffer

There is no excuse for what he did
But he has felt inferior since he was a kid
Mother?
He does not know what that means Father?
He’s been drowning in bottles
Whose best friend is pain

And him?
You might think his best friend
Is the popular kid on the basketball
team Who wears shades
And shades everyone behind their
back
Right?

Wrong.
His best friend has been his tears
That put him to sleep every night
Instead of lullabies
His fear is not losing a game
But the belt that is held in his father’s hand
He still has proof in the form of scars
Which he gives you to vent out his frustration
To make you feel his insignificance
In this large world.

Jonathan Z. // A SINCERE CONFESSION

I’m sorry.

I’m truly sorry.

I know I break your heart

By cheating on you in the dark.

I didn’t mean to pat her head

Instead of yours.

Stop staring at me

And bark.

Afterall

You are my puppy,

And I love you so much.

Galen Roy // HER FACE

She wakes every morning,
puts on her face;
and her armor.
Refuses her breakfast
for it’s too early to eat,
and she isn’t hungry

It’s cold outside; too cold for comfort.
But she’s never comfortable,
something is always not quite right.
One piece in her puzzle never fits.

Hunched over her bright world
she gazes blankly.
Watches it as god watches us
scrolling and scrolling
through life after life.

She’s a beauty queen,
mistreated and hurt.
With no one to blame
she turns inward
to herself.

She fears there is nothing in this world
that will ever make her world
whole, again.

She walks through this hall,
with a hidden frown.
There is too much bad and not enough good yet the good
still hides the bad.

Some people hold an undeniable presence,
their spirits are solid rock.
Others, like her, I think
my hand could pass right through
as if tracing air.

The day ends,
she can’t call her friends,
what if they don’t want her around.
So she walks home,
alone. Per usual.

After removing her face,
and throwing it out,
She reveals herself, scars,
bruises, burns, and breaks.
It’s not long before she falls asleep.

For tomorrow she will create a brand new one,
to mask the same old pain.

Sterne // TRIGONOMETRY

What used to be a
Time table stuck to my desk
Stained with glitter from
The last art project

Is now replaced with
With complicated relationships
Between the opposite and
The adjacent

The progression, to me,
Seemed so significant

My mind
Now able to grasp complex
Ideas that once resembled
abstract art

But,
when you tell me
That degrees are considered
Amataur and inferior
To the more esteemed
radian notation

And I will seldom
Use it beyond
The perfectly curated curriculum
That is my high school
Math class

The worksheets,
That once validated
My change over time
Suddenly are what
Make me small

But, your words
Left your lips without
A second thought

As any one
With a PhD from MIT
Knows that

There is always someone
Smarter,
more efficient
More willing, and
More accomplished

And no one has
Any sympathy
For your shortcomings
As they belong
Only to your failure.

Daniel Ong // THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CELLULAR BIOLOGY

So long ago, well, cells were still happy
And lived in a body, t’was strong and not shabby
But somewhere in there
Did not so well fare
Were some cells who had their lives hard and quite scrappy

And so many proteins, all throughout the cells
Wanted to just break out, right out of their shells
They wanted more space,
A roomier place,
They turned to neighboring lands looking to dwell

Now there was one cell they called Austro-Hungary,
And there were some parts in him he found quite scary
A lysosome came,
Of Serbian name,
Who took out some organelles deemed necessary

The Austro-Hungarian cell gets quite upset
And then they give the Serbian lysosome threats
They had someone’s trust
Germanovirus
And declare war when all their demands ain’t met

But France and the Russians are friends with the lys
And they think the Serbs are really quite nice
And through membrane proteins
Entered the two pro teams
And brought with them a new cell fighting device

Now this cellular war was a war of great mass
And soon the parties brought H2​ ​O​2​ gas
They killed off each cell,
Made everything hell,
While endocytosis just crushed cells like glass

New weapons and immune systems kept on raging
While stalemates ‘tween viruses and cells kept waging
But then at long last
The fight came to pass
When Germanovirus had a forced disengaging

But trouble for Germanovirus came soon
As lack of glucose and ATP ensued
With no jobs around
No energy found
The Germans had nothing to eat; had no food

Germanovirus, he hated this fate
He rallied the proteins to restore the state
His support soon milled
His opponents killed
As he told all proteins that he’d make them great.

He riled the cell up with anger in store
Coaxed them into fighting, keep fighting some more
And… well you can guess
Just what happened next
As soon came the fight for ​the Second Cell War

Ben Epstein // BOLD

When I was young,
I was told
I should always
Appear bold

They told me to
Show my stance
And to always
Take the chance

Then I followed
Their guidelines
It put me on
The sidelines

So I have learned
A lesson
That silence is
A blessin’
Once I learned to
The improvement
Was profound

Benjamin Tibbetts // REMEMBER

Remember.
Remember the verdant needles
Of the proud pines, standing tall
Remember the warm air
Whispering through their full branches
Remember the cloudless azure sky
The sun illuminating the glittering water
That trickles merrily over smooth pebbles
To disappear beyond a tall, mossy rock
Remember.

Now the chill wind shivers through the
Bare bonelike branches
That point like accusing fingers towards a
Sullen sky gray with clouds
The stream is frozen,
a crude and stagnant
Mimicry of its former life
I shuffle through dead, decaying leaves
Blissfully ignorant of the bitter, biting wind
Remembering.