Red, Juicy Fruit
Stickiness from my hands to my elbows
The crunch that dissolves in my mouth
Liquids spewing everywhere
Spitting black seeds off the patio into the
garden
The smoothness of the rind sliding on the
table
The remains glide through our fingertips
into the dead grass of the pasture
Audrey Kizzieur
Food, Pear
The green poking through a tree
but not the jaggedy lines of a leaf
No this is more round, bitter even
the touch of its skin smooth and matte
The crunch of the first bite
and the sweet juice of a pear
dripping off my chin
leaving my face sticky with residue
Jessica Sallee
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: The Ground Blind
Drop of a wind-ripping bullet
silence after the collapse.
Leaves crunching around me
but all I can hear is the
racing rhythm of a 7mm-08.
And those squirrels, crying
out like a little toddler for
a lollipop. Oh how I wish
the thum-thump-thump on
the trigger guard would stop.
I lay it down no questions
asked,
the trophy rack so glorious
like the feast on Thanksgiving
day. The nervousness goes away
because
The Rut has begun.
Anneleice Cain
Gabby
Backyard
Picnic table creaks
crickets across the ground
Aunt Claudia on the phone
Sounds like only four left
and like I Miss You
Sounds like “She’s in a better place”
Haylee Luker
Myself
I’m a robot
with ADHD
when you talk
I think about hitting my sleep button
and thinking in my head
I’m never quiet
but never loud
I have senses
from what’s right and wrong
They must’ve programmed me wrong
maybe I have a virus
maybe I need an update
maybe my wires need to be taken out
maybe I don’t belong
but when that’s going through my computer
brain,
I think to myself about hitting
the button.
Joey Shankles
What’s Blue
The boy sitting by himself
“Boy dropping his free taco”
The puppy sitting in the corner, scared
When you’re “still a piece of garbage”
leaving your loved ones
The death of your favorite character
When you drop your phone in water
Tripping up the stairs
When your coupon expires for 2 free tacos
Kady Pleasants
Bismarck High School
Bismarck, AR
Dates of Visit: November 7-8, 2019
Faculty Sponsor: Louise Keithley
Grade Levels: 10
Appx. Number Students Served: 86
Visiting Writers: Claire Pincumbe, Vasantha Sambamurti