Poetry

By Jacob James Grigware The gloomy forest stretches beyond  what the eye can see You wander drifting For a period of time the mind can not measure you wander searching For what? You fall to the soft ground Gravity seems to tug at you from an angle The entire world on an altered axis Your vision distorted and perplexing A river of colors is painted as you fall You drift Your hands claw at the soft dirt The cool but gentle carpet of growth under you Supporting you Keeping your

By Jacob James Grigware The moon is overhead Accompanied by the stars My brothers are fast asleep The day was good but hard I rock in my hammock Listening to the sounds of night My body trembles with tire That pale fire pierces my mind I slosh and I churn The moon has crossed the sky And yet here I lie, awake among my dreaming brethren Pleading to the moon, why? Those waves I can hear them crash What’s the point in lying here? I dare to ask My feet touch down on sand They sin

By Ella Kang Oksun-ah — Leaping back through fields of gleaming forsythia, Mother sprawls her arms with a glimpse of grin, Father returns with a small surprise in his calloused hands, A sickle lazing on his shoulder.  Oksun-ah —  Clutching mother’s hand, terrified to let go, Yet dragged by the soldiers into— Trail of innocence, trail of regret. Never to recover from what I was at the end. Yearning for freedom. Just a few weeks… a few months… a few years…  Hope, a wilted bloom

By Ella Kang Amongst the thicket of frost A slight glimpse of light slips in Swaying out the cold Faintly conferring its warmth Ain’t a trophy Yet, still honored Ain’t an halo Yet, it shines From the weeping greys The green yawned out From the awakening greens The red bloomed out Blizzarding glaze of pollutants Singing her out Enchantingly knocking on the blossoms  Alarming before the army of bees swing by Parade of scarlet petals It was the New Birth. By Ella Kang

By Ella Kang Like a glimpse of breeze in autumn’s breath, Tapping mine shoulder— Thine scent fading away Seems like it’s dashing into thee Yet dodging through mine soul Never so swift Nor ever so loose Yeoman not once notice the golden harvest Nay—though he held the sickle Fisherman not once heard the collapsing wave Nay—he hurled the net I not once unrested fo’ thine heart  Nay—hither o’ thither mine soul belongs to thee Peeking in mine illusions Thine dim voice waves back a

By Ella Kang Look at her eyes! Hauntingly mocking me, Slightly squinting in irritant, Scarcely opening them back. Forcing them into a round oval shape, Molding to fit a frame, pity’s standard of beauty, Stretching to reach the case, lens of a doe, never mine to hold, Yet caving back in vanity, Scattered shards of yearning aside. Is she blind? Ain’t in sooth… Does she have sight? Quite in truth… Encircled by fences of coal and chalk herds of lamb, I, a lone kid of amber suffer

By Gabby Bloyd A sunny summer’s day; No more training wheels in May. When I pushed off the pavement My support gave no hint: Off I went on my own With no clue I was alone. “She’s growing up so fast,” I heard when I glanced back. So independent, so big, so brave; It was everything I had ever craved.  More than a decade has passed in a blur; How do I tell them I’m no longer sure? I miss my old room, my fridge art display; I miss our routines like “how was your workday?” I miss

By Gabby Bloyd Oh, my love. Your beauty was spoken of across the lands. You were so desperately desired. When he saw you in your youth, he couldn’t resist. He stole you away and shredded your cloth Because, indeed, boys will be boys. In the Temple of Athena he hurt you: He raped and ravaged your Body and once-glittering soul. When the goddess heard your tale, He was not punished, but instead you Because, indeed, boys will be boys. She struck you down and claimed your body; Th

By Gabby Bloyd I am made of so much more Than sunlight and daisies. I am a beautiful maiden Harboring lethality within; A woman who envelops your earth With warmth and greenery, Only to steal it away each season To remind you of your mortality. I am the Bringer of Death –  A title bestowed upon me with six ruby red seeds. Crowned in iron and clad in flora, I depict the grace and venom required of femininity. I am a goddess, wrathful and mighty: Untamable and as unbending as a

By Gabby Bloyd Sometimes reality becomes too much. I do what I can to try to lose touch. I daydream and write, space out and read; I hold onto fantasies that I live and breathe. I look in the mirror, then close my eyes, And when I look again my old figure dies.  I see a deity surrounded by flora: An all-powerful goddess loved like no other. Looking again, there stands a knight: Her sword gently gleams in pale moonlight. Another blink reveals a bright, young witch: Within her

By Gabby Bloyd Your handwriting and mine don’t match; You say “but” when there doesn’t need to be a catch. Sure, yours may be harder to understand, But remember, you and I have a different hand. Although we’ve just met, We use the same alphabet: Twenty-six letters strategically combined To create connections that allow our lives to become intertwined.  Why should I hate you because of the fact That my e’s swoop and yours lie flat? Why should it make a difference when Your i’s

By Gabby Bloyd As a child, She was often ridiculed for being “too wild.” She zipped and leapt and whooped and waved, And fought very hard for the city she saved. She stayed up almost every night To study Marvel heroes with her little flashlight.  Sworn to protect the citizens of her home, She longed to wear a cape of her own. Time flies by and ten years have passed, And being a hero is no longer a blast. Her toolbelt is nothing like when she was young; Now from her belt a rap

By Gabby Bloyd Thread the needle, string through eye; Pull it taut and hide your pride. The goddess hears you, young, fair weaver. Challenge her and meet her cleaver. Your skill is matched by only Athena, But you tell the truth of godly demeanor. Enraged, she tears your tapestry to bits And shames you for your ruthless wits. You feel the weight of ruination, So hang yourself in desperation. Athena experiences rare remorse And reaches for your heatless corpse. She curses you t

By Malik Hampton hold up, my soul’s callin, hello? Name a loss I took that she know  Then I’ll name a hundred she don’t, matter of fact let’s chat like this and let’s see how it goes Calls off screen are the quarrels turned into wins, shino I know how things get when they talk about how things look and I know how things look when they talk about how things get Half a decade in I been pennin, the same amount of time I been in nature listenin’ Since then the masks I’ve worn bee

By Malik Hampton Third night out the week, inebriated but trained past stumbling Too seasoned to be tipping for extra seasonin, slurring, still in need of some relieve Tossing and fumbling through my baby mamas things Looking for a pen and pad to flood with ink, as these thoughts are flooding me Bathtime with my only seed my thoughts suffocating as her are eyes looking up at me Am I the father she needs? If there were grades for parenting, am i passing or failing?  I wonder c

By Malik Hampton They say the type of trauma you’ve suffered is the one you perpetuate, great With change I make sense of all the emotional and mind games I recreated off of playdoh  Auditing my relationships, golden thread ensnares the significance of how often I played those As I’m regaining penmanship im authoring my ascension out of ignorance, plato’s  My first session, after the stand up, my therapist challenging the foundation of my legos I waver, deflect, then rue the

By Malik Hampton Where the light shines I will own what Attracts my eyes I envy the freedom where under a bird's wings lie To be able to move and glide Put all worries aside, and change in an instant Where you decide to reside But with that comes the flock Are they really free or burdened with an innate clock? Is there such a difference between them and me?  I plan to be free but do you think a bird ever planned to be me? The courage to say no and fly solo doesn’t come free T

By Malik Hampton Another night, sipping away the sorrow Spiritual stitching to constrict the leakage, hopefully long enough for the pain to ease i lay up, back along the wall, dilated pupils overwhelmed by color changes Will a tearful expression be enough to regain what i’ve traded? My inner child comes to me with rhetoric “I’ve waited to be heard for so long, I couldn’t even count the seasons that’ve passed” “Now we sit ,alone, and still you silence yourself.. what a shame t

By Malik Hampton To those I’ve known and who shared their light with me May it be I was unkind Or blatantly out of line As the hands chase each other circular, seemingly bound to the relationship that plays with their proximity to one another This lesson I’ve learned well I’ve poorly managed my emotions in relationships I’ve grown envious of those who are capable of a healthy departure Under the guise of my facade i burnt bridges and left connections destitute At the time it

By Malik Hampton how has my desire to reject acceptance led me this far astray? where my shame riddled actions overflow and escape through the crevices of my interlaced fingers has my remorse scared me enough to level the scales of the countless emotions i’’ve defaced? adjacent from remorse’s root the anxiety from watching the scales tip and sway while my heart’s intent is accounted finally, i’m coming to see, my true reflection and if my heart and actions will balance By Mal