Category: 11th

Your mind is an abyss
Sinking, cherishing
every bliss
You can get

Devoid of color
Constantly switching
From one shade to another

Once dark, once light
There’s no in between
I wish you could see
How much the lies
Won’t leave you be

You lock yourself in
The ones who’ve stayed
Always willing to listen to your sins
And be the ones you won’t let get away

Waves rise around your fragile feet
We hear the silent scream
Yet you do nothing but let it take you
To a world with no dreams

You’ve said it before
A black and white door
Waiting to be opened
Your decision poor

You’ve been caught in a trap
Imagination closed with a cap
Been made to believe
Safety is impossible to receive

---

Bowie

11

Static before the hurricane hits

Wrist shaking

Movement rushes through the container

The buzz of the aluminum,

a soft vibrato builds into a violent tremor

Rattling,

Shards of light refract off the metal

Ricocheting in every direction

With each rapid flick

pressure builds

Forcing it’s release

Expanding,

carbonating,

dominating

With frantic urgency

It must escape

Pushing against the aluminum

Everything feels too tight for air

The inability to breathe

Uncontrollable,

uncontainable

Resistance

Metal on metal

A crisp crack when, against it’s instinct,
it gives

Erupting

Exhaling

The tension in my lungs remains

Reaching out

A grasp for air it can’t contain

Everything stuck in slow motion

No concept of time

A free fall with no clearing in sight

Until it all fizzles out

After what feels like an eternity

---

Bowie

11

to be woman
and white
is to have the middle of your sentence become the beginning of his

to be woman
and brown
is to have your skin only be considered after
his
after hers
it is to have a poem about you begin with a story that isn’t even yours

your body

subject of my sentences
let my feminism shine brighter
intersectional
representational

your name in my mouth
chew on it long enough to stain my teeth
brush it off when I decide it is no longer useful

and what could be whiter than that

---

Anderson

11

I want to be alone but heard
I want to be loved but hated
I am never good with words
I can’t keep a relationship
I’m not enough for people but sometimes I’m too much

As of now I love myself
I love my smile
As of today I hate myself
I hate my ache
As of now I am a dictionary
I am impeccable
And as of today my strongest relationship is with myself

I’m not perfect but I’m not imperfect
I am in between
I am the fog, the center of the ground and sky
I am pollen above all flowers but never the trees
I am me, in between

---

Anderson High School

11

Autumn auspice daunting from the ash
Remained cradling teacup so quakes couldn’t take it
Two of them now, tearing through the trees
‘Is it a bad omen?’ I asked
When morning was eclipsed by the flock
But the bird in confinement had been pensive
His warm sable feathers seemed inviting
Slipping my fingers through the slits of the cage,
He kissed them and sighed
‘When the time comes, you have nothing to fear
In the eye of the storm or the beholder
Focus fixed on you is a blessing, not a curse’

---

Austin High

11

I have a love/hate relationship with the shower
Get in
Strip off my slowly thickening layers of skin
One for regular people
One for friends
One for best friends
One for family
Only skeleton bones remain
I examine each layer and ask myself
“Do you like it? Do you like you?”
I respond no and ponder over why
Too shy
Too fake
Trying too hard
Too mean
Until I get to me
Me myself and I
Only i am allowed to see this part of me
This is the part of me that counts, the part of me that really matters. I can change all my layers using this part
Do I like me
Once I strip down, peel away all the layers of who I’d like to be
Do I like myself
Weighing the pros and cons of my soul, seeing which bones I can break & which one can be broken in the right place & which ones cannot be broken, the ones that can never be touched
Truly look at who you are
Do I like it?
Do I like myself?

No

{look in the mirror and ask your soul if you’re alright}

---

Gonzalo Garza High School

11th Grade

the lightest galaxy known to man
rippled waves of blue green and grey
dark along the end
true and trusting blue, a reef on the ocean floor
knowing where to swim avoiding sharpened edges
the care of the green penciled in swirls
seaweed of the souls, watching over the creatures
beautiful and compassionate grey, fading the colours in a light pastel of the water
tinting the view of the picture with beauty and grace
the dark black of the deep sea curls
embodies love, telling the stories of the past
past their time, full of knowledge
the center of all

---

Gonzalo Garza High School

11th Grade

the lightest galaxy known to man
rippled waves of blue green and grey
dark along the end
true and trusting blue, a reef on the ocean floor
knowing where to swim avoiding sharpened edges
the care of the green penciled in swirls
seaweed of the souls, watching over the creatures
beautiful and compassionate grey, fading the colours in a light pastel of the water
tinting the view of the picture with beauty and grace
the dark black of the deep sea curls
embodies love, telling the stories of the past
past their time, full of knowledge
the center of all

---

Gonzalo Garza High School

11

(inspired by poet Terrance Hayes)

Hey, I am learning what it means to ride condemned.
Tossed amongst the eager waves dodging,

sharks teeth and glaring glass eyes.
A stain on your neighbor’s apron.

Under heavy covers waiting, for the sun to rise and stomp
dreams out to the curb with Monday’s trash.

Somewhere a child sits criss-cross, Awaiting answers only
Your instruction could provide.

But you ignore, and ignorance prevails,
The cavities triumphing, shining in silver.

Plato’s cave is home. With sunflowers in the yard
And bars over the windows.

The books punctuating the walls are all diaries
Locked, like the empty seats reserved for ghosts.

Hey, I am still learning what I’ve known my entire life.
That you take steps on the moon and I walk on broken glass.

---

James Bowie High school

11th grade

Your mind is an abyss
Sinking, cherishing
every bliss
You can get
Devoid of color
Constantly switching
From one shade to another

Once dark, once light
There’s no in between
I wish you could see
How much the lies
Won’t leave you be

You lock yourself in
The ones who’ve stayed Always willing to listen to your sings
And be the ones you won’t let get away

Waves rise around your fragile feet
We hear the silent scream
Yet you do nothing but let it take you
To a world with no dreams

You’ve said it before
A black and white door
Waiting to be opened
Your decision poor

You’ve been caught in a trap
Imagination closed with a cap
Been made to believe
Safety is impossible to receivec

---

Bowie

11