DRIFTING FROM THE STARS
Lets say the stars smell.
Maybe the stars smell of a firework exploding
on the fourth of July.
Or quite possibly of the trail of smoke drifting
from the lone cigarette between her lips.
The stars smell of the last gallon of gas
burning from the tank.
Lets say the stars smell of the strike
Of a match on its way to light a candle.
Kathryn Kane
Florida Sunsets
Florida sunsets let steam off by the pool.
They laugh with their friends.
They peacefully float in the lazy river.
They get their nails done while sitting in the massage chair,
drinking their cold lemonade
Natalie Harris
My Mother Is Working
She feels the fresh paper, still warm from the printer
She smells the black ink stained on her fingers
She hears the loud swift pages turning and keys hurrying to type
She tastes the fading coconut in her hair
She sees beautiful words being dulled on the screen and tempting numbers
on pages of regrets
She is like a bee hurrying to her dull work to please her Queen,
but she is thinking of the cool blue water just yards away
Jules Gaddy
Floor 1
It’s coming, run.
It’s coming, hide.
It’s coming to get me.
It always does, this laughter.
It’s a good feeling, but it can happen
at bad times. I’m in Mass, and
I need to laugh. It’s about to
bubble out of me like champagne
from a bottle.
Bubble Bubble.
It’s coming, run.
It’s coming, hide.
It’s here, oh no. I feel it
rising up like an elevator going up.
Ding, floor 1.
Ding, floor 2.
Ding, floor 3.
It’s pouring out of me. I can’t stop. Now
it’s quiet and everyone is watching
me. I sit as if I just watched
someone die. Quiet and scared.
It’s gone.
It’s leaving.
Farewell and goodbye.
Amalie Schollmier
Anxiety Poem
A monstrous tree crashes down in a huge forest and a
vulture flies out with a knife and white mask
clamped in its claws. As it gets
closer, it drops a pen and paper:
name, date, class period.
Sam Kagy
Wanted Driver
If you see this taxi driver
He has a prominent scar on his left hand
He always seems to have the sun in his eyes
He can be seen every Friday night at the
local cinema
He is wanted for stealing the light from
his friend’s watery eyes
He may also be seen with an empty
unlatched leash
Meredith Taylor
I Am 8
I am 8 and
I got a guinea pig
small and soft
I fed her lettuce
and she pooped on my hand
I am 8 and
I cried beneath cover of the trees
with the scent of
rain on the way.
Nothing turns out right
I would scream at
the sky
I am 8 and
I’m interested in love
Why hold hands
Why kiss
What is love
I am 8
and my best friend’s
singing as we
wish to be older
We jump on the
hot black trampoline
in October
I am 8
I fell
I felt my heart
almost explode
as the sound of
blades scraping, hitting,
leaving the ice
I am 8
hold me I’m
sleepy
Jules Gaddy
COFFEE!
I never hear the word coffee
Without my hands shaking
A sudden crave and
A burst of energy!
I never hear of caffeine
By baristas blending the ice,
But I sit patiently at my seat
Only to hear another name called.
Savannah Endsley
That Halloween
That night I went out,
underneath the purple, moonlit sky.
I met Embarrassing.
He skipped on over
in his yellow camel outfit
as fuzzy and awkward as could be.
He asked me, “Where’s your costume?”
I said, “Excuse me?”
“You forgot, didn’t you?” he said,
as polite as physically possible.
Right then I remembered
that he is not Embarrassing,
Embarrassing is me.
Sterling Shape
Fable
A mother bird was trying to teach her baby.
Jumping and falling. Jumping and falling.
Trying to catch air and soar.
I watched fascinated with the little guy
While the ball flew into the net,
Winning the game.
Anya Ranarasa
I Am 8
Raking dry, autumn-colored leaves with my family
then diving in them.
I am 8.
Petting the white face of my dog
for the last time.
I am 8.
Riding in the cold leather front
seat for the first time.
I am 8.
Learning how to braid
My doll’s wig-like hair.
I am 8.
Emme Ellzey
Untitled
I met a dude named Indubitable when he fell from the sky of my bedroom. “What are you, sleepy?” he asked, to which I replied, “No,” rolled over and slept longer.
Maggie Williams
I Remember
By the 1st of October, my pink bracelet
glides over my fingers and lays on my wrist
We used to lay in the hospital bed and watch old movies
We would envelop ourselves in blanket
I would cry at the though of your life ending like
a piece of sand falling from my hands
All though October my only thought was you.
12 years later, you and I blow out the candles
for our birthday.
Camille Smith
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock, AR
Date of Visit: September 29 – October 2, 2015
Faculty Sponsor: Monica Mylonas
Grade Level: 9
Appx. Number Students Served: 139
Visiting Writers: Kirsty Bleyl, David Kinzer, Michelle Myers, Molly Rector