“Hero” vs. “Villain” by Yohan Garcia / “Untitled” by Carl Warren (Fall 21)

“hero” vs. “Villain”

yohan garcia

“Hero”

Seen as happy

Seen as successful

Thought to be immune

Never caught in the act

Life with scandalous secrets

All goes unnoticed

Their happiness kidnapped

Eating away at one’s soul

Tearing relationships apart

All to be a “Hero”

“Villain”

Always lonely

Just wants to be noticed

Sorrowful childhood

Never checked upon

A broken hero

Masses of potential unnoticed 

Desire for happiness

Attempting to find their soul

Scared of relationships

No different than our “Hero”

untitled / carl warren

Christine Curley Memorial Award 2021

Christine Curley Memorial Award 2021

The Christine Curley Memorial Award for Creative Writing has been established by Christine’s parents to be presented annually to the students who display interest and potential in creative writing.

During Christine’s high school years, she showed great promise as a poet, and the hope of her parents is that this award will encourage other students to pursue in their writing the spirit with Christine so beautifully demonstrated in her own.

A faculty committee has chosen

Eva Hymes & Veda Nandikam

to receive this year’s award.

I Believe In What Babies Laugh At

Eva Hymes

I believe in what babies laugh at 
The glance of a stranger
The peek of an eye behind a hand
The gentle passing of white dragons across the sky.

Nothing complex, nothing worthwhile,
Just the slight of a moment and the captivating air it possesses.

I believe in blowing away dandelions 
Sending wishes into the wind and taking moment to hope that something is listening
Letting fairies and dust and magic exist for mere seconds because there’s no reason not to.

I believe in early mornings and sunrises
Our center blending with the clouds,
Creating an irreplicable watercolor above our heads.
The silence of the streets and the groans of morning dew
Moments of solace, loneliness,
Like the world was created for you.

I believe in what babies smile about
The simplicity of not understanding
The touch of another
And believing that you, alone, can create the world

The Fog

VEDA NANDIKAM

poseidon’s horses gallop along the Jetstreams
         Waves breaking as their hooves hack against the hills
there is no holding back the overflowing banks like
                     rivulets of Lava meandering down to the streets

yet this new city stands stronger than pompeii
          the Fire threatens to blind but not to burn the souls
that gaze at this mysterious cadeau 
                     waiting on the cooling streets

the sky foam pirate ships sail through the murky Waters
          past towers that could block the Sun from kailash
only to be cut apart by the iron strings holding together the bridge 
                     connecting two sides of the Canyon splitting the streets

what would it take? for someone to surf those waves
          alongside the jockeys and the pirates
To fly in such an incandescent manner
                   that their jubilant cries would resonate through the streets

To Spring We Go by Sai Thimirisetty / Untitled by Sneha Malneedi (Senior Edition)

To Spring We Go

Sai Thimirisetty

The days are brighter,
The leaves finally green,
Rain in place of snow
And scurrying bugs and critters.
What I see is new
But seems hidden deep in my memories.
Coming out now I feel
A slight and wonderful
Release.
Escaping from the constraints of four walls
Relishing in the sweet, intoxicating smell of Spring,
Burning in the hot rays of the sun
I am able to break free,
Away from any screen
I can see the world through my own eyes,
Looking toward the skies, it’s clear
Winter is over, here comes
Spring.

Sneha Malneedi

Denver by Annabella Britt (Senior Edition)

DEnver

annabella britt

I dream of the dusty mountains ways away.  I wonder if they look the same after all these years. To see the burning sun and get the chance to reintroduce myself after all I’ve grown.  I want to paint myself in the colors of the sky, but I’ve grown weary waiting in the grey that surrounds me.

My memory has dulled what made it the most beautiful.

 I’m afraid I’ll forget its name, or for it to become a muted image in my mind. 

Stuck trapped on a fence between my interests and my cynicism.  Maybe in old age, I’ll visit again, but time passes so quickly here.  There is no use trying to reinforce tracks that won’t stay.  I’ve made them too strong against the ways of the world.  I was told to follow the future everyone seeks, but I am too stubborn to follow that cycle into death.  Instead, I choose to call out to no one, cracking my neck to watch the stars.  Please don’t forget me, as I once did you.  I settle for watching you in a quiet space with closed eyes.  I lay on the mountains, shining alone amongst the vacant sky.  

Wait by Alvira Tyagi / Cloned by Ammara Nazir (Senior Edition)

Cloned / Ammara Nazir

Wait.

Alvira Tyagi

wait for the days to come and go

when the rays cross

the breezy wisps across the sky

the moon murmuring in the night

wait.

life,

it’s almost a carousel

spinning, spinning, spinning

until it comes to

a grinding

halt.

wait.

wait for your youth to pass

let the innocence sting like a bee

the memories left behind

tick-tock, tick-tock

wait.

wait for the months to pass

the years to leave

        the decades to come

        the centuries to remain

time will pass

leave a Mark behind you.

Senior Year by Hailey Cook / What Do You Mean, Grow Up? by Riley Borst (Senior Edition)

What Do You Mean, Grow Up? / Riley Borst

Senior Year

Hailey Cook

Senior year. Those two words can bring back so many happy memories and fill your mind with happiness. I probably won’t be able to have those thoughts later down the road. This year is supposed to be my last of everything for highschool. My last first day of school, last football game, last homecoming weekend, last spirit week, last prom, and then graduation. I won’t be able to experience my last of everything and it leaves me feeling empty inside. I know that in this time of life there are more serious things going on, there’s a global pandemic, people are dying and we need to take these precautions to be safe. Yet, am I allowed to be angry and upset? Am I allowed to be selfish for just a few moments? I started my last first day of school sitting at my desk staring at my computer screen. This is not how I imagined it to be. I won’t be able to enjoy that feeling of sitting in the stands at the football game having the time of my life with my friends making long-lasting memories. The feeling of getting all dressed up in our dresses and tuxes and going to prom with our best friends, will I ever get to experience that.

When I Look Out My Window by Atharv Agashe / Stealth Mode by Leah Geel (Senior Edition)

Stealth Mode / Leah Geel

When I Look Out My Window

Atharv Agashe

I see the tree we planted, 10 years ago.
Back then it was just a young sap that clashed
Against the rest of the lawn decor
Against the green grass and tidy bushes,
He sat more like a thorn in the roses than the rose of our lawn

Over the years,
He’s grown bigger and taller,
Now, he stands out amongst his peers,
The other shrubs can’t compete with his buds and flowers.

I get a sense of pride
Every time
I look out my window.
I think it’s because I was there from the beginning,
I’ve seen him from the start
Back when he was barely anything
More than a little seed in the dirt.
Now, when the sun sets, I can see the way his petals glow,
Gleaming as they rain down when the wind blows.

I have to leave him behind now.
I don’t want to.
But I have to.
Now, I’m left to dream of the next time I see him,
In another 10 years,
When I look out my window.