Since I am
Since I am a girl
Since I have to wear makeup
Since I have to be a good cook
Since I don’t have anything important to say
Since I am not paid equally
Since I can’t be athletic
Since I have to love drama
I always will be treated less than
Elliott Whicker
no sleep
on a dark rainy day with no sun shining through
since I go to bed late
causing my heart to pound
trees
everyone’s scared
Olivia Harper
piano player
clouds on clouds fog on fog
my sister who is playing
sweet little keys
clouds on clouds fog on fog
she is the best player of all
clouds on clouds fog on fog
she comes to a beautiful
stop
Zoe Hinkle
The Cherry Hour
They dance and sing, but not beautifully.
The costumes are cheap.
They look like even a mud sundae would reject them.
They’re twirling and spinning, like a top out of control
cracking jokes as if forced against their will.
This trainwreck disaster. This terrible idea.
Some questioned its existence.
They fumbled and fell, the tops had crashed.
My ears bled from the noise, eyes ached in pain.
Yet I continue to watch The Cherry Hour.
Brynne Johnson
life in the country
since I love the smell of nature
since I can’t imagine waking up on a Sunday and not hearing birds singing
since I hate neighbors
since I lived half my life up in a tree
since I love the silence while fishing
since I don’t know what I would do if I looked out my window and didn’t see a deer in my backyard
since I love being able to have lots of pets
since I’ve always lived this way my entire life
I’ll always live in the country
Mary Stevens
Crow
Not a friendly sight but
was once young.
Sydney Snape
In My Cell
It’s a lose-lose situation.
I admit
or
I lie,
and they both have the same effect:
solitary life inside celery.
trapped
crowded by embarrassment
and mistakes.
absent of forgiveness.
the cellulose is constricting.
it winds around my credibility
—crushes it.
the pieces are repurposed.—
make an incredible cell—
and then the teeth come.
canines grind up my hope
and my dreams dissolve.
all of my work falls victim to acid.
Emily Werner
Untitled
I’m in a clam shell today. I wait for the bus but it never comes.
I walk an entire coral reef to school.
Riley Seay
Squished
Gum under a shoe
tries to stick to the
ground but it can’t quite reach
Anna Yanosick
My Driving
Your driving is like walking barefoot on legos.
Like an exploding disco ball
Like recalled peanut butter
Your driving is like a stampede of angry beavers.
Like an alarm on a Monday morning
Like rotten pomegranate
Your driving is like six eels in shopping carts.
Like falling up the stairs
Like getting a horrible tan line
Your driving is like 2 pigmy goats doing the tango.
Like a test you didn’t know about
Like being kicked in the shin
Your driving is as bad as mine.
Remy Provencher
My Sister Tries to Dance
She would dance
like a rhino wearing
roller skates for
the first time,
but she could
roller skate well enough
Maisy Tedder
Printer
Since I can’t draw
Since I can’t paint without paint by numbers
Since my stick figures are uneven
Since I hate the feeling of clay
Since my circles start and stop in 2 different places
Since I can’t draw a star
Since my artistic bone is broken
Since my mind goes blank
I always print off art
Madyson Weidner
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock, AR
Dates of Visit: February 5-8, 2018
Faculty Sponsor: Monica Madey
Grade Levels: 9
Appx. Number Students Served: 138
Visiting Writers: Kirsty Bleyl, Elizabeth DeMeo, Victoria Hudson, Sacha Idell