Stilling Inquiry by Will Adams
What am I meant for?
A question many have pondered, even fought over.
If you ask me, I’d probably tell you to calm down
Spend more time living, less time thinking about living
After all, do deer, mosquitoes, and frogs wonder and worry the same?
My Lifeline by Molly Davis
I have 4 younger siblings.
I am lucky enough to remember the birth of 3 of them
I was always ecstatic to welcome another sibling into our family
The days of their births are still fresh in my mind
Elly
You guys are going to stay with the neighbors tonight
Mommy and daddy are going to the hospital
Tara and Joel will take you to visit your new baby sister
That night we made a fort and slept over at the neighbors
My brother and I.
We ate junk food
And played with the neighbor kids.
Our best friends
The next thing I remember is the feeling of complete joy
Driving home from the hospital after holding my sister
Snug in a warm blanket of soft happiness
Counting down the minutes until Elly and my parents came home.
Eric
We walked into the hospital room.
Even 9 year old me noticed the anguished look of my parents
Mom in the hospital bed, her baby bump still prevalent
She held her hands out to us.
Max, Elly, and I ran into them.
Baby Eric’s heart has stopped beating.
He is still in my tummy and needs to come out.
He will not be able to come home with us.
He is going to be with Jesus.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of tears
Groceries delivered to our door
Candy and pity casseroles
Its okay to cry Molly
Don’t cry
Don’t cry
Don’t cry
Don’t cry
Don’t-
It is going to be alright.
Ethan
Molly, come here!
Yes Mrs. Lutz?
This is your new baby brother.
He was born around 12 today.
He and your mom are safe and healthy.
I can still feel the relief that washed over me in that moment
The pure, undiluted joy
The trepidation of waiting until school the end of the school day
To see my new brother in the hospital
The second he was placed in my small arms
I knew I was going to do anything for that kid
He was the cutest baby I had ever seen
Big, round eyes on a skinny, adorable frame.
I would do anything for my siblings
They are all a piece of me
Max’s humor, Elly’s attitude, Eric’s memory, Ethan’s personality.
They are who makes me, me.
My favorite person? (class)
My door bursts open
No knock
No warning
Yet somehow,
A smile lights up my face
Constantly moving,
Overprotective,
And always has something to say
The opening of my door is the best part of my night
He always has to grab something
Whether it be a pen
Or a remote
He can’t sit still
Even when I yell at him
To stop touching my things
He puts down the remote
A second later
His hands are grappling for the Needoh on my nightstand
Get out of my room!
I say
But he stays
He knew I didn’t actually want him to leave
I am so glad my brother was born
1 year
10 months
And 25 days younger
Even though I don’t admit it,
My brother is like my favorite person
on betrayal by Megan Hansen
I’m less mad
about the fact that you
did what you did,
but what really upsets me
is the fact that it was
you who did it.
Night Drive by Oliver Lugo
Headlights carve a path
into the black.
The road unfolds
like a sentence that refuses to end.
You continue forward
because stopping asks for courage
you don’t feel like offering tonight.
Occasionally, a car passes.
Two cones of light, two strangers,
sharing one second of recognition
before vanishing.
Then only the quiet hum of the engine,
the soft glow of the dash,
and the long, patient dark
that never quite answers back.
May 24th 2026 by Aubrie Schlueter
As much as I now dream about walking across that stage,
I am just as terrified of what waits on the other side.
The steps leading up feel like the past four years themselves.
Each one
was burdensome,
uncertain,
and somehow survived.
Then my name will echo through the quiet.
For a moment,
the whole room will hold its breath while I force myself to keep moving.
One foot in front of the other,
Even though part of me wants to stand still.
A single-second recognition,
A handshake.
A piece of paper placed in my hand that says in the simplest terms,
You’ve made it.
But the moment is fleeting.
Before I can even understand it,
I’ll reach the end of the stage
and suddenly disappear down the back steps.
There is no pause in this portion of the ceremony.
The line keeps moving,
and so must I.
I’ll sit back down in my chair,
Diploma in hand,
Realising that the moment everyone talked about all year has already passed.
A part of me will not feel as whole as I once thought that the moment would make me feel.
And what comes next isn’t something we can rehearse or control anymore.
Rain song by Zach Shackleton
Raindrops tap on the roof and ground,
assuming sound.
puddles grow,
the air feels new,
this sky let’s go
the Earth is thankful
Playing God by Nora Trotter
In 1959,
the United States and Canada opened
the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Proof of man’s influence
His power over nature.
He can carve the very
Earth with His hands,
running rivers
where there was nothing,
improving what was before,
playing God.
A testament to how
far He will go,
how much He will
destroy for the sake of
His people.
They say God loves all,
every creature under His sun,
every creation.
Does He love some more than others?
They say He made man in His image,
carved into clay,
made better
than what was before.
We are playing God.
We see what is
and decide it must be better,
like the Erie
when man decided the Great
wasn’t good enough.
Aspects of Life by Max Branch
The sun in the sky is very yellow.
The rays from the sun are very vivid.
As the rays from the sun affect your eyes, there are dots that are strange.
The sun’s rays feel like a different thing to some people, like an annoying noise.
The rays that hit you in the face make it wooden.
This makes people feel weird, look for shade, and get low.
The fish in the stream swim low.
There are many types of fish in the stream, but the best are the fish are yellow.
The stream has many sticks flowing through it, but many fish have a wooden
home. Many people travel to the stream to have a very vivid
experience. Also, as people fish in the stream, they are careful not to make a noise.
As the day goes by, the fish start to wonder why there are fish disappearing. How strange.
At night, the moon is in full bloom, and the night grows strange.
As the night goes on, the animals that were usually low
come out from their slumber again. Since the night is so dark, they communicate with noise
to find their friends. As the animals crawl through the night, some show their yellow
eyes. Many people try to find these animals, but it takes time for their eyes to adjust to the vivid
night. People try to maneuver throughout the night, but sometimes they trip and hit their face on something wooden.
The snow falls from all directions. All the trees have snow covering their branches, but their bases remain wooden.
As the snow begins to fall, many people can’t see it. But if those who look closely enough, they see patterns that are strange.
The snow began to make the environment look very vivid.
As the temperature began to get low.
Many brought out their lights to help get into the festive cheer with a bright yellow
star sitting atop their trees. The people began to cheer at the noise
of snow falling outside their window.
The sun rose above the horizon only for the rooster to make its traditional noise.
The fences are shone upon by the morning sun. Their wooden
posts glisten in the morning light. As people look over their land in the morning, they see yellow
across their field. The people try to adjust to the strange
morning light, while others remain in their beds low
to avoid light in their eyes. But for the people who remain awake, all they can think about is. How vivid.
The caves were always so secluded from people. So when people explore them, they see why they are so vivid.
As people explore caves, they hear everything much more clearly. Many of these things they hear are so tiny that many people wouldn’t hear the noise
if they weren’t in a cave. Many paths in the caves require many to get low
in order to proceed further. Work is also done with caves. These places of operation are supported by wooden
beams. One thing that is strange
is how many different types of animals live within caves. Many of these animals have eyes that glow a bright yellow
in the dark.
The environment is very vivid. It makes people’s faces become wooden with astonishment.
It makes noise that alerts people to its presence. It can be pretty on point but also strange.
It will always stand out like the color yellow. It is treated very low, but maybe is shoudl be treated higher.
The Diploma by Joyce Chang
It’s just a piece of paper,
they say.
Heavy cardstock,
Ink that says I showed up,
I turned things in,
I survived cafeteria food.
Holding a key
A house I haven’t moved into yet.
My name looks formal in that fancy font,
It belonged to an adult,
I haven’t met.
Farewells ¨Willted Flowers¨ by Emmi Crowley
Goodbye, see you soon! Adiós,
Arrivederci! Do they really mean anything?
How do I accept that farewell
Is an empty meaning when I
can never see you again. Farewell is the flowers
at your funeral, Farewell is a life sentence.
Untitled by Paula Flores
One Sided Love by Aislinn Moua
I see the way you smile,
it makes my heart flutter.
I see how you smile at her,
It pains me.
You always catch my attention.
You´re always looking at her.
I see how your eyes shine,
It’s beautiful.
I see your eyes shine when you look at her,
It hurts.
You´re always walking with her.
I wish it was me.
Why can’t it be me?
Why is it her?
I wish you knew
But you’ll never know.
Insecurities by Caylee Schaefer
Insecurities
Are weaknesses
And feeble
Yet I am not that,
Strength
And power
Is not what I fear
the lack of.
One Last Summer by Dylan Watkins
Ring Ring school is finally out, and summer is here.
This is what we have all wanted for so long
Then a sudden reminder that big changes are near
Everything we once knew and loved will soon be gone
My friends are all busy with adventures and jobs
I work so hard all day, it does not even feel like a break
Summer now feels like a period of time that robs
But most days when free are spent at the lake
Ah, at last this freedom is coming to a quick end
Tears are shed, and hugs are given to those we love
We know that some will never talk, but some will stay friends
Goodbye, farewell we say as we are all off like free doves
College is where new opportunities begin
I reflect on how amazing my life has truly been
The Girl on the Train by Braeden Young
She treats me in ways that feel so kind
Maybe one day, she’ll be my bride
She keeps me smiling through the night
She makes my restless spirit free
Her voice, a whisper, just so soft
She carries my mind away, just like a train
I saw her once, headed to a far, far away train
I saw her gestures, just so extraordinarily kind
I saw her step with effortless grace, each footfall soft
I saw her face, so beautiful like a bride
I saw her frolicking, no care for the world, just free
I saw her so perfect that night
She walks at night
She moves onto a train
She goes somewhere free
She spreads words so kind
She acts so strong, like a bride
She talks with such kindness and soft
I remembered how foggy the world felt, so soft
As if she only mattered to me that night
I remembered I wanted her as my bride
As if I never cared for that train
I remembered how kind
As if I were free
I love how she makes me feel free
Free of worry, my world is so soft
Soft words, she fills my life with joy, so kind
Kind actions, she makes me dread the night
Night to never come, so she can get away from the train
Train that takes what I want away, a bride
Then dusk approached, and she was no bride
Then I felt nothing free
Then she stepped on that same train
Then her voice still lingered, so soft
Then she vanished, faded with the night
Then I remembered how her heart was kind
So now I wait for her kind words to finally say that she is my bride
For that night to go away, I want her hand to be free
I still wish to hold her soft hand, to make my life once again so soft
Time for the Moonlight by
The sun fades away
leaving the world
in a soft quiet gray.
Then comes the silver light,
pouring over the trees
like a cool, white tide.
The busy noise of the day
starts to drift off,
and the sharp edges of the world
grow smooth and blurred.
The world gets still
and the tree stands tall
A quiet peace
falls over it all.
The Great Divide by Caitlin Dunbar
End of August
August I pack up and move away
Headed north
North to college away from all I have known
The great divide
Divide from my family and childhood friends
We go way back
Back I will always remember the memories
Dan
Dan The person I look up to the most, Goodbye.
First Lines Poem – Mustang Messenger
1801 – I have just returned from a visit to my landlord – the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.
There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.
While I’m washing the blood off my hands in the kitchen sink, the doorbell rings.
Brrriiiiiiiiiiinngg!
Wyatt Graham is staring at me.
“Leave me alone!”
The tension in the room is thick and cloying, so much that I suck it in with each breath that fills my lungs.
My mother always told me I was different…
Books:
Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
Do Not Disturb, Freida McFadden
Native Son, Richard Wright
Love Song, Elle Kennedy
My Fault, Mercedes Ron
Dante, Sadie Kincaid
Phantom, H.D Carlton
Summertime by Logan Froh
Sweet Summertime
You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise
I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Been dreamin’ of gettin’ away since I don’t know
Work a little less, play a little more thats what this day is for
Pressure by Blessing Her
The hallways feel like a countdown,
every tick echoing against the lockers.
Everyone keeps asking “where do you want to go”
like I should know.
My brain is like my chromebook,
messy, unorganized tabs, not knowing if I need them or not.
I’m terrified if I choose the wrong path.
It feels like a roller coaster,
looking down at a track that I didn’t even build.
It feels like my parents expectations are a backpack filled with rocks
and I’m just trying to survive my inner thoughts.
I’m trying to walk across that stage
without tripping over my own future.
Maybe I’m a draft waiting to be posted but isn’t ready,
a story that needs a few more chapters of thinking.
We’re all just holding our breaths until May 24th,
praying that the “real world” isn’t as scary as everyone makes it out to be
Sunset by Dylen Lee
Orange bleeds to blue,
Daylight fades behind the hills,
Stars begin to wake.
Memories by Ryan Rood
Look in
Remember everyone
now tell me
What is a person
If not memories in someone else
If we exist only as the memories of others,
make them good ones
Song Poem by Kallie Stewart
Thought It Was Love,
It wasn’t
Am I Okay?
I will be
I’m The Problem,
You’re the problem
Need You Now,
I don’t need you
Indifferent,
Maybe I do
Think I’m In Love With You,
I’m not
I Got Better.
Prayers in the Dark by Skyler Szalai
Last night I realized im in love,
But your still somewhere I can’t reach.
I am yours you are mine
I keep repeating it like a prayer,
Hoping the words will pull you through the dark
Before you disappear.
