Sometimes by Kate Sears
Sometimes I wonder
If I would be a different person
If I were raised different
In a different place
Time
With different expectations
Rules
Regulations
Sometimes I wonder
If I were raised in place
Where children should be seen and not heard
Would I still love too
Talk
Would I be
Outspoken
Voice my opinions
If I were raised differently
If I were raised in a time
When keeping slaves
Was just another
Ordinary
Everyday thing
Would I still think that slaves weren’t expectable
That everyone was created equally
If I were raised differently
If I were raised where being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual
Was okay
That it didn’t matter which gender I liked
Would I still
Like who
I like
Or would I
Be more susceptible
Would there been a chance
That a would have had feelings
Toward another
Gender
Then the one I am
If I were raised differently
If I were raised where going to high school, college didn’t matter
Would I still want to be
What I want to be
Would I still want an education
Or would I
Slack
Not do
Homework
Not care
If I threw my life away
If I were raised differently
If I would be a different person
If I were raised different
In a different place
Time
With different expectations
Rules
Regulations
Sometimes I wonder
If I were raised in place
Where children should be seen and not heard
Would I still love too
Talk
Would I be
Outspoken
Voice my opinions
If I were raised differently
If I were raised in a time
When keeping slaves
Was just another
Ordinary
Everyday thing
Would I still think that slaves weren’t expectable
That everyone was created equally
If I were raised differently
If I were raised where being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual
Was okay
That it didn’t matter which gender I liked
Would I still
Like who
I like
Or would I
Be more susceptible
Would there been a chance
That a would have had feelings
Toward another
Gender
Then the one I am
If I were raised differently
If I were raised where going to high school, college didn’t matter
Would I still want to be
What I want to be
Would I still want an education
Or would I
Slack
Not do
Homework
Not care
If I threw my life away
If I were raised differently
The Perfect Rhyme by Remi Lewis
In all the ages
Of all the time
People have searched
For that perfect rhyme
A rhyme so sweet and oh so soft
That those who hear are sent aloft
Their soul’s work done, they droop their heads
And peacefully fly to the land of the dead
The rhymes of the children
The rhymes of the old
The rhymes quiet and untold
The shaking lines of a poem of love
Hidden away like a silent dove
An old man’s letter to his beloved wife
Filled with the ages of devoted life
Therein lies the perfect rhyme
Which mortal man cannot divine
Beauty and power expressed in words
And wonderful true worth
All those and more reside
In that wonderful beautiful perfect rhyme
Of all the time
People have searched
For that perfect rhyme
A rhyme so sweet and oh so soft
That those who hear are sent aloft
Their soul’s work done, they droop their heads
And peacefully fly to the land of the dead
The rhymes of the children
The rhymes of the old
The rhymes quiet and untold
The shaking lines of a poem of love
Hidden away like a silent dove
An old man’s letter to his beloved wife
Filled with the ages of devoted life
Therein lies the perfect rhyme
Which mortal man cannot divine
Beauty and power expressed in words
And wonderful true worth
All those and more reside
In that wonderful beautiful perfect rhyme
The Beating Stops but the Pain Lingers On by Kate Sears
Round one
You push me into a locker and call me a freak
Round two
You cheat off my paper
And steal my lunch money
Round three
You beat me up after school
Round four
You threaten me
Round five
You threaten my friends and family
Round five and half
I find out your dad beats you up at home
Round six
I hug you and say I’m sorry Friend
Round seven
You hate me
Round eight
I tell you I am sorry and that I am there
Round nine
I hear nothing for three weeks
Round ten
You’re in the hospital dead
Round eleven
I hear you left a note for me,
I’m sorry, Friend
Round twelve
I go to your grave and cry
Round thirteen
I console your younger siblings
And I will go on with my life
But
I will never forget you,
Friend
You push me into a locker and call me a freak
Round two
You cheat off my paper
And steal my lunch money
Round three
You beat me up after school
Round four
You threaten me
Round five
You threaten my friends and family
Round five and half
I find out your dad beats you up at home
Round six
I hug you and say I’m sorry Friend
Round seven
You hate me
Round eight
I tell you I am sorry and that I am there
Round nine
I hear nothing for three weeks
Round ten
You’re in the hospital dead
Round eleven
I hear you left a note for me,
I’m sorry, Friend
Round twelve
I go to your grave and cry
Round thirteen
I console your younger siblings
And I will go on with my life
But
I will never forget you,
Friend
Jail by Santiago Castillo
I wake up every day,
Wishing I was out of guantanamo bay,
Every night I pray
That I will survive to see May,
But my body is starting to turn grey.
I hope that my life is not the one to pay,
Hey, don’t go to jail, I did not come in this life to fail,
I wish that I could get a bail,
the judge said I was an angry young male.
I am the one that got in this mess,
I reminisce the stress.
Mama said to stop,
It was too late when I ran from that cop,
After I hit up that shop.
I write letters to my friends,
Saying how I hope it ends,
I wrote a whole stack,
They never write back,
I am in here for ten more years,
No one shed any tears,
No one cares about a convict, or a drug addict,
Every night I predict, how to stop my life from being a conflict,
But I did the crime,
I have to do the time,
that’s why I am making this rhyme,
I only did, what I did
So I could feed my son.
it is hard raising a son when you are poor,
But I wish my life was undone.
the only thing on my mind was that gun,
I am not the one who won,
now I have to wait ten years until I see the sun,
I wanna say sorry to everyone I love,
I just killed a dove,
I hope that I am the one that you think of,
I hope you like the story of me, because everyone just ignores me,
My family don’t want me,
My friends don’t want me,
I wish that you could see,
That if I had a second chance, it should be,
Wishing I was out of guantanamo bay,
Every night I pray
That I will survive to see May,
But my body is starting to turn grey.
I hope that my life is not the one to pay,
Hey, don’t go to jail, I did not come in this life to fail,
I wish that I could get a bail,
the judge said I was an angry young male.
I am the one that got in this mess,
I reminisce the stress.
Mama said to stop,
It was too late when I ran from that cop,
After I hit up that shop.
I write letters to my friends,
Saying how I hope it ends,
I wrote a whole stack,
They never write back,
I am in here for ten more years,
No one shed any tears,
No one cares about a convict, or a drug addict,
Every night I predict, how to stop my life from being a conflict,
But I did the crime,
I have to do the time,
that’s why I am making this rhyme,
I only did, what I did
So I could feed my son.
it is hard raising a son when you are poor,
But I wish my life was undone.
the only thing on my mind was that gun,
I am not the one who won,
now I have to wait ten years until I see the sun,
I wanna say sorry to everyone I love,
I just killed a dove,
I hope that I am the one that you think of,
I hope you like the story of me, because everyone just ignores me,
My family don’t want me,
My friends don’t want me,
I wish that you could see,
That if I had a second chance, it should be,
Beat by Kate Sears
Do you hear it
That beat
The constant rate of change
It pounds in your chest
You drive by that guy
The bass in his car is up
And you can feel
No longer do you use your senses
But you truly are
You are
And I am
The beat
Back and forth
Heavy
Like waves crashing on the sand
It gets lost sometimes
Like life alone
Stops
Frantic
You’re lost
But always the beat comes back
The steady rate of change
That beat
The constant rate of change
It pounds in your chest
You drive by that guy
The bass in his car is up
And you can feel
No longer do you use your senses
But you truly are
You are
And I am
The beat
Back and forth
Heavy
Like waves crashing on the sand
It gets lost sometimes
Like life alone
Stops
Frantic
You’re lost
But always the beat comes back
The steady rate of change
Hi I Am Santiago by Santiago Castillo
Hi I am Santiago,
Hi I am Santiago,
I make the girls go crazy in Chicago,
I drive my boat in the lago,
My math teacher wanted to flunk me in Jr high,
Thanks a lot next semester ill be 35,
I make Obama shy,
I make my coach cry,
Hey what is my name,
My name is
This is my game,
Without me it's lame,
That’s what they say in Maine,
We can go pop shame pane on a plane,
I am like the anaconda from snakes on a plane,
I am all about the fame,
I hope you know my name, if you didn’t it would a shame,
Hi I am Santiago,
I make the girls go crazy in Chicago,
I drive my boat in the lago,
My math teacher wanted to flunk me in Jr high,
Thanks a lot next semester ill be 35,
I make Obama shy,
I make my coach cry,
Hey what is my name,
My name is
This is my game,
Without me it's lame,
That’s what they say in Maine,
We can go pop shame pane on a plane,
I am like the anaconda from snakes on a plane,
I am all about the fame,
I hope you know my name, if you didn’t it would a shame,
My Education by Santiago Castillo
I dedicate this poem to all the teachers out there.
My education.
I go to school in the morning,
People always say it’s boring,
In class they’re always snoring,
I think it’s okay,
I do it every day,
I wanna go to college and get a good education,
That’s the problem in this nation,
People on the streets dealing with starvation,
One day I wanna own a corporation,
So I can afford a vacation,
In a sunny location,
So I wanna throw a celebration, because I have a education,
My education.
I go to school in the morning,
People always say it’s boring,
In class they’re always snoring,
I think it’s okay,
I do it every day,
I wanna go to college and get a good education,
That’s the problem in this nation,
People on the streets dealing with starvation,
One day I wanna own a corporation,
So I can afford a vacation,
In a sunny location,
So I wanna throw a celebration, because I have a education,
Editor
Ann Huang - Class of 2012
