"Birthday Haikus," haiku

 Birthday Haikus

    By Sofi Creatore-Yancer

Presents and a cake.

It is at the end of June.

Just no balloons, please.

They are plastic and

Bad for the environment.

Other décor’s fine.

The best cake flavor.

It’s a really big debate.

Chocolate? Vanilla?

My mom is the Queen

Of birthday surprises. She

Always makes it fun.

The best presents are

Things that are not in boxes.

They’re just fun moments.

Experiences

Are as good, sometimes better.

Things can be clutter.

There can be no school

On my birthday. Classes are

Against the law that day.

They don’t have to be

Super fancy to be good.

Birthdays are the best.

"Inspired by Fahrenheit 451," lyric poem

 Inspired by Fahrenheit 451

    By Anonymous 9th grader

Fahrenheit 451, we burn the pages

Authors and readers spat at and berated

Pleather covers covered in soot

Charred are the characters within the book

Who’s to say they aren’t burning too?

In a beautiful flame of red, orange, and blue

Information is crucial

Having it is criminal

I wish to be a criminal

Just like you

Education is tyranny

Corrupt and unnecessary

Yet somehow, somewhat eerily

I still want to learn

I smell of ashes

I’ve burned those pages

The ones I should’ve read

But now you’ve taught me how to think

You’ve taught me independence

Curiosity and reverence

But illegal was that sentence

That overwhelmed my senses

"My Eyes," lyric poem

My Eyes

    By Khloe Njeri Ayala, 7th grade

 

My eyes are brown

very very dark brown,

I used to hate my eyes

and wished they were blue

but now I realize,

I realize that my eyes are like dirt

and dirt is the source of life and food 

in every single continent,

but also like coffee filled with lots of caramel,

and that's so sweet,

and the warmth inside of them

matches the heart inside of me,

and now I love my eyes 

because they look like a 

a nice warm cup of tea

"This is not the painting we're looking for," acrylic paint

This is not the painting we're looking for

by Brayden Barnes, 9th grade

 

 

"Wake up to Reality," lyric poem

Wake up to Reality

    by Ayreona Latta, 11th grade

I woke up in a dream

Where they weren’t so mean, 

I walked outside, No reason to hide.

I got people on my mind and suddenly they're right by my side.

I woke up in a nightmare 

And I thought somebody might care,

But they just laughed and pulled on my hair,

 I just sat down, made sure that I didn’t make a sound

I wish someone would hear me out, I won’t scream or shout. 

Just help me get out of this hell I just found.

"Zephyr's Bloom," creative nonfiction

 Zephyr’s Bloom

    by Kari Storey, faculty

    She sits.

    Knees bent, back straight, eyes closed, chin up.

    She sits.

    She waits.  The heat of the rock seeps into her skin.  The whisper of the river’s spray is no match.  

    It will come soon.  It’s different than the coast; she has to wait here.  Waiting is not her preference.

    As the sun begins to kiss the mountain, the trees begin to quiver and the rumble begins.

    There is a giggle next to her.  “It’s coming, mama,” his whisper matches the tone of the rumble.

    She sits.  

    Knees bent, back straight, eyes closed, chin up.

    He tries to emulate her.  He sits.  Knees bent, back straight, chin up, eyes wide open.  

    He watches the trees begin to bow and the river roar down the rocks, making their mark.

    He sits.

    “Connect with the rock. Listen to the right now, not for what’s next,” she coaches both of them.

    The rumble gets louder.

    And then it is here.

    They sit. They are still except for the goosebumps that undulate over their skin, their hair that whips their back, and their chests that rise in revelation.  They breathe in the rumble as it snakes its way down the canyon.  Trespassing the foothills in its journey to nowhere.  Science could explain its parturition, a change in temperature however did not encapsulate the enchantment.

    At the coast, the wind is omnipresent.  Here, they must seek her and they must wait.  When they moved here, she missed the wind the most. The wind reminded her of influence and potential beyond her control; it reminded her to take things moment by moment.  Now it cooled her; it brought comfort in chaos; it brought euphoria mixed with melancholy.

    “We found it!” the smile can be heard in his elation. 

    No, she found us.  

    From a zephyr to gale, she bloomed and cultivated our own rooting home.

"The Mission of Escape," short story

"The Mission of Escape"

By Keagan Pickett, 8th grade

    “Shh!” Mehow said. “We have to be quiet or else they will hear us,” he whispered in a hushed voice. Kenzie was having trouble trying to stay quiet as they crawled through the air system. As they continued, murmurs of conversations could be heard in the rooms below. As they both passed over a vent, they heard someone mention that they had seen them exit the hallway through the vents. They both froze, silent in terror. Mehow’s palms started to sweat as the conversation continued down below. 

    “We must find them!” an angry male voice shouted. A pen was heard being thrown across the room. “These deceivers need to be discarded immediately!” hissed the angry voice. Footsteps were heard as members of the faculty left the room to find them. Mehow gestured with his hand to Kenzie to continue as they both were frozen in fear. They both had to exit the building with a one-of-a-kind object. This object was the key to stopping a major war that could happen in the next few months. All it was, was a  simple glassware cup with a tight cap screwed on. The foamy light green liquid could destroy half of a continent in seconds. It was one of the most radioactive war products ever created. Mehow felt it through his pocket with his hand, checking like a mother would check on their sleeping infant. 

    “Stop,” Kenzie whispered. They both froze. They both heard the dreaded loud clanging of someone else in the vents. Mehow reacted quickly. He pushed one of the air vents near him and dragged Kenzie down into the room below them. When they both landed like a sack of potatoes on the floor, they both sprang to action, running out of the room as fast as they could. 

    “Hey!” someone shouted from behind them. “Stop there this instant!” Mehow looked behind him and saw five men running at both of them full speed ahead. Almost slipping on the sleek lab floor, they both ran as if a stampede was right behind them. As they ran around the corners, bullets whizzed by, leaving holes in the wall. Kenzie was far ahead of Mehow, but skidded to a stop.

    “Give it back to them!” Kenzie yelled. “We’re at a dead end! Leave it here so we can escape safely!” she said in a rigid voice. Mehow stopped a few feet behind her panting. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked hard at it for a few seconds.

    “No,” Mehow said, putting it back in his pocket. “We can’t have the world end this way,” he sighed. “I know a way out.” He quickly swept Kenzie up and pushed through a small vent in the wall with his foot. It fell over to Mehow’s satisfaction as Mehow dove in still clutching Kenzie. More bullets whizzed by as they both slid inside. The loud sound of glass shattering was followed by several gasps. Mehow looked behind him, his blue eyes filled with terror. The foamy liquid began to fizz uncontrollably and radiate extreme amounts of heat. Mehow winced, closing his eyes against the pain. The yells of troops filled the parching air. It became hard to breathe as the air became dense and full of choking oxygen. Even the walls began to fuse under the extreme heat. Even though the pain was almost unbearable, Mehow continued to push through the vent system, looking back to make sure Kenzie was still following.  At last they were able to exit the lab and made it safely back to their special forces far from the accident. Mehow was weighted with guilt for causing such a thing to happen, but thought about it deeply enough to the point he could somewhat forgive himself. Kenzie talked to him about it more and explained that all things happen for a reason. 

    “Even though we made quite a mess, it may have a positive impact on the future,” Kenzie explained. Mehow decided to let it go and give in. Even though he had left a mess, at least he had tried.