Best Friends

Pretending we were color blind,
And trying to color, saying that orange was purple,
And yellow was green.
We laughed.

Tossing icy water balloons
At each other,
On a day that was hotter than the sun.
We laughed

Belting out the lyrics of our favorite songs,
Over the buzzing of my friends go-cart,
While riding around her yard.
We laughed.

Receiving our schedules in the summer
Before school every year and realizing
That we never are in the same class.
We laughed.

Putting on all of our clothes thinking that we
Were going snowmobiling
But then getting told we weren’t going anywhere.
We laughed.

Making up dances to songs,
Then performing them
To my family.
We laughed.

Sisters

Standing at my side
Next to her bookcase,
We picked out what book was going to be my first reading lesson.
Sisters

We sat on the piano bench,
Like student and teacher; sister and sister
I waited as she found the easiest song in the book for me to play
Sisters

We both got older,
Five years apart.
She went to parties; I stayed home.

But when we were home alone,
That’s when I got all the inside information.
Her love life, the inside jokes, her feelings,
Secrets no one but me knew.
Sisters

I sat in my room alone
Drowning out the curse words
With my hip hop music.

While our parents fought,
She would comfort me
Sisters

Sisterhood, a time of togetherness, laughs, and good times,
Only to be changed by parting and growing up.

After all her effort to try to teach me piano,
Playing just wasn’t right for my stubby, nine-year-old fingers.
She got up and walked away with steam coming out of her ears.
Sisters

Someone new came into our lives,
Her boyfriend.
From then on she left me
Sisters

Packing up the bulging brown boxes
Loading them into the car
I knew this day would come
But not so soon.

She waved goodbye from her car window,
Ready to start her new life in college.
I walked into her old, empty room,
And as the floor squeaked,
And the wind whistled,
I realized I was all alone
Sisters

She died and it was my fault.

She died and it was my fault.
Goldie my sweet, small, gentle golden retriever, my comforter,
Would let me soak her fur in tears,
When my friends and I fought.She died and it was my fault.
Goldie would always lick my face until I smiled,
When my parents or teachers criticized me.
Once again comforting meShe died and it was my fault
When I felt like a failure, engulfed with despair
She was there.
Guiding me back to the light and making me laugh.

Why? It Gets More Serious Every Time

Why lie?
It gets more serious every time.
When I tell my teacher that a cow flew
In my window and ate my homework.
But she knew it was impossible
Because I left it in her homeroom.
Why lie?

Why lie?
It gets more serious every time.
When my mom couldn’t find her
Birthday cake and I told her that
My brother had eaten it.
My mom still found out because
The next day I had a stomachache
And I gained a little weight.
Why lie?

Why lie?
It gets more serious every time.
For ditching my parents at a party and
Going to another. I had a lot of fun,
But I still got in trouble.
Why lie?

Why lie?
It gets more serious ever time.
When I chucked that sharp, pointy,
Mischievous pencil in my brother’s eye.
I was still going to get caught.
It doesn’t matter; it was still my fault.
Why lie?

Why lie?
It gets more serious every time.
Everyone has his own way of lying,
But adults always know when you’re
Not spitting out the truth.
Life will be simpler if I just didn’t lie.
My mom won’t ask me to stare in her eye.
One more thing, don’t try to cry, it won’t work,
Just don’t ask me why.
So when you talk to your mom, don’t lie and
She might bake you an apple pie.
So in the first place.
Why lie?
It gets more serious every time

The Pain

The Pain
As I jumped in the rusty old red Dodge pick-up truck with Wyatt ready for a hard day at the old barn.

The Pain
As I climbed up the cylo ladder, Wyatt ahead of me.
My boots “cling, cling, clinging all the way to the top.

The Pain
When I grabbed the pitchfork,
Ready to pitch the hay out to the black and white hefer cows.

The Pain
When I pitched the second fork load,
As I turned around and met Wyatt’s pitchfork face to face.

The Pain
As I dropped to my knees knowing that I got struck in the face
And was gushing blood out of my check.

The Pain
As i was running to my grandmas with blood everywhere,
With a hole in my cheek.

The Pain
As my doctor grandma came to the rescue
And fixed me up.

The Pain
Looking in the mirror and seeing my scar
Remembering what had happened that day in the barn

The Pain
Still workin there till this day
Not knowing when something else will happen.

RAIN

Rain bearing down on the summer night.
No people, cars, animals, just the incessant
sound of rain, and the whistle of wind passing
through trees.
The rain kept falling…

During the rain, the noisy static of everyday
Life is quieted. Allowing people to hear more
than their everyday thoughts.
The rain kept falling…

The grey abyss in the sky lit by the moon seemed
to have no end. The rain, never thinking of stopping,
just constantly kept flowing.
The rain kept falling…

The wind, rushing and twirling as it danced
with the rain. Swirls of debris fluttered upwards,
only to have the rain push it back down.
The rain kept falling…

The rain bearing down on the summer night.
When the rain ceases, life will be born again,
and sooner or later, it will fall on us once more.
The rain stopped…

Dakota S.

Take My Hand

The fighting was endless.
The tears were endless.
Our family was broken like a shattered mirror.

It soon became quiet like an abandoned home when she left.
Once a week I would see her,
But it was never enough.
I missed her, and it tore me apart.

They tried to reconcile,
But every time it would fail.
My life felt incomplete
Without the love they shared.

It crushed my heart
That their love would only be to their children,
But never to each other.

And every Tuesday, when I would see her,
Her soft and gentle hands would hold me close,
Almost as if whispering,
Take My Hand, and Everything Will Be All Right.
She welcomed me to a new idea of life,
Showing me that her being far away will be different,
And I would learn to accept it.

Although we never had enough time to make new memories,
I would never forget the old memories we’ve shared as
Mother and Daughter.

Like the times I would reach up and grab her hand
As we crossed the street together.
And I would never forget how safe I felt by her side.

Or those times we’d stay up late
Watching our favorite shows such as The Biggest Loser and Law&Order.
Those times when I would watch her busy at work
Because I was sick and had to tag along.
I idolized her and knew I could never ask for a better mom.

I remember not seeing her often
Because of her late hours,
But when she came home,
My mouth would never stop about how my day was.
I treasured the scarce time
We would spend together.

And as I sit home with a mom,
I realize that maybe one day
Things could be better.
And I could accept
The separation,
The divorce,
And the days without her.

And maybe, just maybe,
A soft and gentle hand to squeeze
Would make everything all right.

Jordan D

A school is not cool!

School, School, School,
A school is not cool
We’re here 5 days a week
Seven hours a day.
School, School, School,
A school is not so cool.

People laugh when we fall
We just have to make a call.
School, School, School
A school is not cool.

We have to work hard to get good grades
I’m not going to do it any more
I do it every day.
We can’t go on the grass
We can’t bother another class
We can’t save spots at lunch
We have to go as a bunch.
We have three minutes in the hall
I’m always late; what a ball.
We have to pay attention
If not we get detention.
School, School, School,
A school is not cool.

They have too many rules
They play us as fools
If we get A’s,
The parents jump Hip Hop Hooray.
If we get F’s
We tell them we need to take a rest.
We always have homework
We never have class work
They have too many rules
The teachers need to take it “cool.”
School, School, School,
A school is so cool!

By KD

I Remember Him

Each time I walked into Great-Grandfather’s house,
He had a new bird carving,
Or if I were lucky, a new sculpture.
I looked forward to seeing his warm hearted smile,
His easy-going personality.
In my eyes he was the splitting image of Leonardo da Vinci.
I remember him.

Each time I held one of his bird carvings,
I could see the grooves that mimicked the feathers.
His woodworking and iron-working skills were exceptional.
Each time I saw one of his bird carvings,
I was expecting it to come to life and fly away.
One his most memorable sculptures,
Was a phenomenal sculpture made of carved iron,
That looked like an angel fish.
I remember him.

Once I witnessed the making of one of his ingenious,
Bird carvings.
His hands moved in unison like a professional orchestra
That was conducted by Beethoven.
The piece of wood died, and was re-born as a life-like finch.
The paint made it look like it would jump to life, and fly away
I remember him

Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.
His knowledgeable, inventive, and enthusiastic legacy will
Never be forgotten in my family.
I remember him.

By: Tyler G

Pushed Down but Never Brought Down

Pushed and shoved then brought to the ground.
Adrenaline rushing through my veins.
Thinking of how to win this fight.
Three to one.
Trying to get up than brutally thrown back down.
I wouldn’t lose.
But soon there was no one to fight.
Pushed down but never brought down.

Running through the once peaceful field.
Now running through my worst nightmare.
A root grabs my foot as if it wanted to put me to the ground.
Feeling the cold wooded floor.
Then the thumb pushing down upon my throat.
The air leaving my lungs and never returning.
Pushed down but never brought down.

Anyone can push me down, but never bring me down……

~C.F.B.J