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La Chispa 2022 - Sandia Prep's Literary Magazine

Sandia Prep's literary magazine "La Chispa" is a collection of student poems, short stories, paintings, drawings, and more.

Sandia Prep's literary magazine "La Chispa" is a collection of student poems, short stories, paintings, drawings, and more.

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<strong>La</strong> <strong>Chispa</strong> 2021-<strong>2022</strong><br />

Staff<br />

Carly Beard<br />

Analisa Duran<br />

Frieda Gabbett<br />

Jacob Gutierrez<br />

Miri Kuenzler<br />

Rowan McJimsey<br />

Raleigh Megofna<br />

Ella Park<br />

Avery Ross<br />

Julia Silva<br />

Andie Woodcock<br />

Cover Art<br />

Jaxon Tregembo<br />

Sponsor<br />

Brian Tregembo<br />

Special Thanks<br />

<strong>Sandia</strong> Prep Marketing Department<br />

<strong>Sandia</strong> Prep IT Department<br />

Maximo Baca, Madelyn Taylor, Kassia Ohlsen<br />

1


-Emily Cook<br />

-Katherine <strong>La</strong>mbert<br />

2<br />

-Liana Nawarskas


-Madelyn Taylor<br />

3<br />

-Tyanna Shipley


-Mimi Assed<br />

-Josiah Herrera<br />

I’m scared to open<br />

That if I do, I won’t stop<br />

Pouring. I’ll drown you<br />

-Kassia<br />

4<br />

The world is ending<br />

No one good here anyways<br />

Lies and corruption<br />

-Garrett Beard


The wind travels slow<br />

Your heartbeat is loud and clear<br />

My lover is here<br />

-Rhys Romero<br />

Rose thorns unbind me<br />

Hold down only to find me<br />

Why can’t I like me<br />

-Olivia Chavez<br />

5<br />

-Eve Buehler


Limitless<br />

Limitless.<br />

I am, in fact, the opposite.<br />

I am incapable.<br />

You tell me lies when you say<br />

I can do anything.<br />

I am limited.<br />

It would be wrong to say<br />

that I am free.<br />

I remember how much it hurt to not know<br />

that I cannot prove them all wrong.<br />

I had this idea...<br />

And now it blows my mind,<br />

the idea that I can defy any boundaries.<br />

What a lie that was...<br />

They told me I was average, and<br />

well, that was never in doubt.<br />

Knowing I can be extraordinary<br />

had never crossed my mind.<br />

But that thought…<br />

That I will be like everyone else.<br />

That’s what they told me.<br />

I will never break the limits.<br />

(Now read from bottom to top)<br />

-Rylie Elison<br />

-Keira Silloway<br />

6<br />

-Rhean Otero-Chaves


7<br />

-Dylan Holtrop


The Reality Of Being A Teen<br />

-The stages of autumn had just begun. The color of leaves turned<br />

yellow, and slowly tumbled to the ground. The morning was cool<br />

and crisp, full of promises and opportunity.<br />

-Atticus sat by the window sill, observing the drops of water as<br />

they hit the glass.<br />

-Atticus was always a quiet person, perceived as an outsider to<br />

most. Different. In a good way? He couldn’t tell.<br />

-His history project lay beside him, ready to be completed. But<br />

yet he had no motivation, no urge to finish what he had started.<br />

He was almost always in a pensive mood.<br />

-Life was not easy.<br />

-Everyone sought validation from society. He had to be the<br />

skinniest, the most muscular, the “prettiest”, to matter in this<br />

world. School often sent him to the edge.<br />

Staying up late. Hanging on by a thread.<br />

That was just part of his routine.<br />

-Wanting love, but never finding it.<br />

Finding hate, but never wanting it.<br />

How could Atticus seem to live with himself?<br />

-The answer was:<br />

He couldn’t.<br />

Tonight you are bright<br />

Shining with your green eyes<br />

Right here I love you<br />

-Kiran Hill<br />

The water rushes<br />

Unstoppable rivers down cheeks<br />

Dripping to the floor<br />

-Georgia Williams<br />

8


-As he stared into the mirror day by day,<br />

he saw a stranger.<br />

Tears filled his eyes, and his smile melted into a frown, as he<br />

remembered the good days. The days when he could say anything<br />

and not regret it. The days when everyone wanted to be his friend.<br />

The days when he was free.<br />

-The only escape that Atticus had,<br />

was his imagination.<br />

The one place where he could get away,<br />

and just be himself.<br />

-That’s all he wanted.<br />

To be himself.<br />

-To not have to mask his emotions, with smiles and laughs when<br />

he wanted to end it all.<br />

-The world was on fire, burning away, day by day.<br />

-Atticus heard the soft sounds of rain hitting the pavement. He<br />

picked up his textbook, opened it up, and went on to finish his<br />

project.<br />

-He would get a good grade, and life would go on.<br />

-Izzy Fernandez<br />

Had to overcome<br />

Waves pouring over the big bow<br />

Finding a new home<br />

-Nathanial Parks<br />

As I fall asleep<br />

I dream about my life<br />

And wake up with hope<br />

-Madelyn Z.<br />

9


-Tatiana Dalton-Spilca<br />

10<br />

-Izzy Sauerman


11<br />

-Sebby Clemens


-Kiana Bogart<br />

Ocean<br />

Raging waters tear<br />

Waves crashing treacherously<br />

Calm Kingdom below<br />

-Love <strong>La</strong>ing Chavez<br />

Butterflies<br />

Soaring in the sky<br />

Bright as neon lights on night<br />

Wings like summer skies<br />

-Vivian R.<br />

Warm oranges, reds<br />

And yellows fall from branches<br />

As the cool wind blows<br />

-Ella Thompson<br />

12


13<br />

-Jack Brackenhoff


-Esperanza Plath<br />

-Mia Chiavetta<br />

14<br />

-Alex Mason


-Katherine <strong>La</strong>mbert<br />

-Cyrus Walker<br />

15<br />

-Kassia Ohlsen


Internal Conflict<br />

the scream in my<br />

throat<br />

tears like a thousand<br />

eyes<br />

rips my insides apart<br />

a gentle nudge and to<br />

the dark side i fall<br />

plummeting into the<br />

personified abyss<br />

-Julia Silva<br />

how is nothing real?<br />

i mean really nothing is<br />

real<br />

everything is made up<br />

even down to a mother’s<br />

love<br />

it’s a choice to believe<br />

but<br />

maybe i don’t want to?<br />

maybe i’m changing?<br />

is it for the best?<br />

god i wish i could just<br />

go back to being<br />

myself again<br />

but truthfully i don’t<br />

really know what<br />

that is<br />

and i don’t think i ever<br />

have.<br />

16<br />

-Tatiana Dalton-Spilca


Excuses<br />

Excuses<br />

Open the dark abyss of failed aspirations<br />

The deeper you get<br />

The more the light dwindles<br />

Falling deeper<br />

You want to get back into the light<br />

The roots hanging from the sides of the abyss are in arm’s length<br />

But the weeds stick out above them<br />

Your efforts at grasping the roots persist<br />

With no luck<br />

The deeper you get<br />

The farther away the roots are<br />

Slipping down the abyss<br />

The roots are now nonexistent<br />

Only way to go is down<br />

The only thing visible now is the light slowly fading above you<br />

How did I get to this point?<br />

All hope is given up<br />

Falling ever deeper<br />

Down this bottomless abyss<br />

The light has completely faded<br />

You can no longer regain your aspiration<br />

As now it is stuck endlessly falling<br />

With no way out<br />

All due to you<br />

-Lincoln Caldes<br />

Stripped Away<br />

sitting here alone, I miss it all<br />

once it has all been ripped away<br />

stripped away<br />

leaving me unable to laugh<br />

to cry<br />

maybe something is still there<br />

an emotion<br />

or core value<br />

but you’ve stripped the rest away<br />

and me with it<br />

17<br />

-Edie Brown


Lost<br />

Life can be challenging. Only sometimes does it work out the way<br />

you want it to, and when it does, there’s some unexpected turn.<br />

Becoming lost is something that can happen when life is taking so<br />

many turns you no longer know where to go, or what to do next.<br />

‘Lost’ is like having your feet in two different boats on a raging<br />

river, not knowing which to choose. And when the river forks, you<br />

fall, under the foamy surface, deeper and deeper until all<br />

of a sudden, there’s no boat at all, and suddenly you find yourself<br />

out of options entirely.<br />

‘Lost’ is a feeling of giving up inside, when you suffer so much all<br />

the hope leaves, and mentally, you just give up on finding your<br />

way out of the mess you’re in.<br />

‘Lost’ is a feeling of the unknown, the feeling of not knowing.<br />

Everyone has some confusion in their life, but when you are lost,<br />

suddenly that firm path you were on disappears, and all of sudden,<br />

there’s a million different paths, each one looking identical to the<br />

next, yet all leading to different disasters. And so you travel each<br />

one, narrowing the million down to a thousand, and the thousand<br />

to a hundred, but when you finally find the right one, there is the<br />

possibility that you forget why you came there in the first place,<br />

and then you’re lost all over again.<br />

‘Lost’ is like walking home when a blizzard hits, and the clear<br />

road you were walking on suddenly is swirling white, for miles<br />

and miles, and when it finally clears, you’re on the other side of<br />

the city, and when you finally get back, you see your home being<br />

torn apart, and everything and everyone you loved packed up<br />

and moving away, and suddenly, you see yourself standing there,<br />

alone, lonely, and forgotten, everyone moving on without you.<br />

But see, the most important part about being lost is that no matter<br />

how far you go, there is always a way home. It’s just up to you if<br />

it’s worth fighting for, and it’s up to you if you want to be found.<br />

Being found is like going home. Like putting your day behind you,<br />

and lying down to rest. And when you wake up, everything is new.<br />

18<br />

-Love <strong>La</strong>ing Chavez


19<br />

-Carly Beard


-Andie Woodcock<br />

20<br />

-Raleigh Megofna


Though the night I walk,<br />

As the wind blows through my hair<br />

I pause and listen.<br />

-Kassia Ohlsen<br />

-Madelyn<br />

While moving onwards<br />

Things are found and discovered<br />

Change creates meaning<br />

There plays a small girl<br />

The innocence of childhood<br />

Beckoning so sweet<br />

-Maya Karuho<br />

-Anonymous<br />

21


Art by Halloween Contest Winner<br />

Caden Hallenbeck<br />

22


Art by Halloween Contest Winner<br />

Caden Hallenbeck<br />

23


Este Montaña<br />

Nosotros hace estamos aquí por eons<br />

En la línea<br />

Este es nuestro momento<br />

Sabemos lo que tenemos que hacer<br />

Sabemos qué estamos aquí para hacer<br />

En tu marca, preparar<br />

Estamos ausentes y también no tenemos miedo<br />

No hay más tiempo para asustado<br />

No hay más tiempo para adivinar<br />

Esta vez o nunca mas<br />

El dolor es dulce<br />

Todo lo que escucho es el tictac del reloj en mi cabeza<br />

Estamos lejos de la publico ahora<br />

El aire está en silencio excepto por nuestros pasos y nuestra respiración<br />

Solo el bosques conocen nuestra prueba<br />

Solo el bosques conocen nuestra libertad<br />

-Jacob Perez<br />

24<br />

-Joseph Imhoff


Violet<br />

25<br />

-Dahlia Walker


What Dissatisfies Me<br />

I’m so tired of getting cat called every time I leave my small world<br />

I’m so tired of those men that pull up in the yellow car and yell out to me<br />

I am sick and tired of trying to figure out if the cashier<br />

is really nice or just another bad weed<br />

I just wish that when I go to a restaurant the waiter would stop calling me<br />

“hun” or “sweet heart”<br />

Or “babe”<br />

Because I am not their “babe”<br />

And I know that these things seem small<br />

But they add up<br />

When I was thirteen it happened 6 times<br />

For every 6 hours<br />

Each lasting 6 seconds<br />

That’s 36 seconds that I was uncomfortable for<br />

Each day<br />

And when people try to talk about something that they don’t understand<br />

I feel that red flash in my brain<br />

when someone says that she ruined his life<br />

When she reported him<br />

Because he ruined her life<br />

When 2-10% of allegations are false<br />

And I am not saying that all men are bad<br />

Or that all women are good<br />

That one wears red<br />

And the other white<br />

Or that one is a fox<br />

And the other a lamb<br />

But that we are a product of something much bigger than<br />

one man wearing a cloak<br />

And until we all choose to light that candle<br />

No one can fully see<br />

26<br />

-Anonymous


Tidal Wave<br />

When this started<br />

It was the beginning of spring<br />

Beautiful flowers were blooming<br />

And school was slowing down<br />

Now it’s the second fall<br />

From the turning of the tidal wave<br />

We should have seen coming<br />

From a mile away<br />

We’d all just stood at the edge of the ocean<br />

Turned away from the horizon<br />

By a force given life<br />

Almost six falls ago<br />

And now it’s been nearing two winters ago<br />

That the wave started<br />

7233 miles away<br />

That wanted to see the world, and have some fun<br />

Go wash over France and Brazil<br />

And how fun the US is<br />

And travel every place on Earth<br />

Until the continents were hard to see<br />

But as the first four seasons came<br />

And we neared spring again<br />

Its seemed like we’d walk out of the waves<br />

And carry the ones who couldn’t<br />

Still some refuse to walk<br />

Their backs towards the horizon<br />

As the waves whip around them<br />

Washing people away<br />

Every single day<br />

As the second fall comes to an end<br />

And a new winter begins.<br />

-Matilda Diggelman<br />

27


28<br />

-both by Jane English


-Jane English<br />

(Dark Red)<br />

Rain can’t wash away,<br />

what’s on my hands: stained regret.<br />

Looking in the depths.<br />

-Ryder Tregembo<br />

(The Backrooms)<br />

Anything can come.<br />

Infinite space and time, just<br />

for you to fill up<br />

-Ryder Tregembo<br />

29


The School System<br />

If I had one hour to live I would spend it in Mr. X’s Math class<br />

because this would feel like an eternity. The current education<br />

system doesn’t teach us what’s really important in life. Teachers<br />

put papers on our desks that rise to our chins for us to memorize<br />

and later get tested on. When we are daffodils and take our<br />

first steps, we are hit with the alphabet, then the Periodic Table<br />

of Elements, and Long Division. Students are stressed and only<br />

attain facts for the time they’re needed, for the test. When we<br />

work so hard and see an F we think failure. With this grade, I’m<br />

a failure to myself, the world, and most importantly my family.<br />

Our parents want us to attend school for our dream jobs; family<br />

and friends pitch in for us to attend top-class schools. School<br />

is supposed to prepare us for upcoming tunnels. In the end, we<br />

learn that school isn’t about learning, but passing.<br />

School taught us that homework is more important than family<br />

and good dinners. School taught us that what we do is never<br />

good enough, test after test.<br />

School taught us how to stand in a straight line.<br />

School taught us about apples falling out a window and their<br />

velocity.<br />

School engraved the Pythagorean Theorem in our heads and<br />

when do we use it? Day after day, my parents urged me to recall<br />

what I learned in school that day but nothing comes to mind.<br />

School isn’t about learning, but memorizing things and passing.<br />

What happened to learning the things we will need in the future?<br />

Most jobs will be automated, the only way to succeed in<br />

this environment is to be creative and adapt. What happened to<br />

learning to deal with self-care and our emotions to prevent the<br />

thought of tying a noose, pulling the trigger, taking the last jump<br />

or breath?<br />

What happened to learning about taxes, investments, and managing<br />

our money? What happened to learning how to get a job,<br />

gardening, and cooking.<br />

What happened to learning how to change the batteries of a<br />

smoke alarm in the middle of the night?<br />

30


We are hand-fed information that’s on the test, taught to memorize,<br />

and how to approach a multiple-choice question. School is a<br />

coin toss that some won’t toss and have a graveyard under their<br />

beds. Students escape for three minutes to the restroom to clear<br />

the fog and realize they missed an hour’s worth of notes. Let’s<br />

take a step forward and think about the future. We should encourage<br />

creativity among students because that’s the future.<br />

The Blue Apple<br />

The orange sun shines<br />

As it rises on the apple tree<br />

Which has produced a big blue apple<br />

A curious ant from the ground sees it<br />

It decides to climb the tree<br />

Once it finds the apple, the ant bites into it<br />

It tastes beautiful<br />

Like life<br />

Like comfort<br />

Like home<br />

Soon the ant tells the rest of the colony<br />

Before noon, the whole colony has moved onto the apple<br />

Each ant had tasted the apple’s green juices<br />

Juices of pleasure<br />

But the apple is no longer blue<br />

It is black, covered in ants<br />

The ants ravage the apple<br />

Devouring every last bite<br />

While the juices turn dark green<br />

Greed<br />

Greed for more<br />

-Ashadu Ball<br />

Until<br />

They realize<br />

There was no apple left<br />

While the sun sets<br />

And the sky darkens<br />

The ants know<br />

The apple tree will always grow another apple<br />

31<br />

-William Butcher


32<br />

-Brianna Addison


“I solemnly swear,”<br />

says the water. “ i promise,”<br />

She spoke so softly<br />

-Kassia<br />

Standing in the street<br />

Cold, hard rain falls down on me<br />

feels like nothing else<br />

--<strong>La</strong>uren Staples<br />

The wind howls as I run.<br />

Trees whip around as I work.<br />

Lightning strikes while I try to escape the beast.<br />

The beast that is my self-doubt.<br />

I feel the beast of fear breaking through the cell of courage.<br />

The cliff comes near and soon I’m trapped.<br />

Beast that is my doubt coming closer with teeth bared.<br />

Fear slinks around the corner of my mind.<br />

The fear inside me comes to life, prowling from the jungle of my mind.<br />

Beasts of fear and doubt give each other strength while sapping mine. I<br />

watch the beasts that are my fear and doubt come closer.<br />

The fear gives my doubt belief.<br />

The doubt gives my fear life.<br />

So long as one is around they are always growing stronger. Beasts<br />

grow to twice their size claws as long as daggers. When all seems lost I<br />

hear the voice of Courage.<br />

“They are only strong so long as you believe they are.”<br />

With that, I realized that the beasts couldn’t harm me.<br />

The beasts jump out at me but I strike them down.<br />

The beasts with fear in their eyes run to escape.<br />

But courage then comes forth and traps the beasts once more. Let the<br />

lesson be learned that fear, doubt, and all the rest are just illusions.<br />

33<br />

-Brazill Dornburg


-Sasha Hanson<br />

34<br />

-Ashadu Ball


-Miri Kuenzler<br />

35 -Lily Keenan


Life is sometimes hard<br />

some people will<br />

bring you down<br />

but you can prevail.<br />

-Evan Saavedra<br />

a silent old lake<br />

as the first stream<br />

of white light<br />

shined over the water<br />

-Ben Hanson<br />

-Javin Felipe<br />

36<br />

Poetry-fresh air,<br />

Resuscitating my soul-<br />

Bringing me new life.<br />

-Esperanza Plath


I am dissatisfied<br />

With humans<br />

We could venture so far<br />

Yet we stay on this rock<br />

And we scrap and scuffle<br />

Over what little we have<br />

We could go beyond the<br />

stars<br />

And find so much more<br />

We are like a lazy Einstein<br />

We could do so much<br />

And yet we just sit there<br />

Wasting our potential<br />

The sun should just be<br />

rising<br />

On our civilization<br />

And yet it feels as though<br />

It is setting<br />

We are like a teenager<br />

So apathetic and self<br />

centered<br />

We can’t see beyond the<br />

next year<br />

We could do so much more<br />

But we just can’t see beyond<br />

the horizon<br />

We were meant for greater<br />

So much greater<br />

We could go so far<br />

But we are limited only<br />

By ourselves<br />

We could step out of the<br />

winter<br />

We find ourselves in<br />

And enter an eternal<br />

summer<br />

We could be<br />

Boundless<br />

-Andre Romero<br />

37<br />

-Sidney Harenberg


To the sadness she<br />

surrenders; yet no sadness<br />

will ever end her.<br />

-Rylie Elison<br />

Torment and tempest<br />

Great waves crash against the rocks<br />

Though I am still safe<br />

-John Wegrzynek<br />

38


Across all the fields<br />

catch your eyes, sweet smile. Sugar,<br />

coat my heart today<br />

-Ryder Tregembo<br />

i’m not sure i could<br />

reach you, be worthy of you<br />

you shine so brightly<br />

-Kassia<br />

Love is a power<br />

It heals and reveals our scars<br />

We are one through love<br />

-Andie Woodcock<br />

The morning is bright<br />

The bird on the window chirps<br />

It’s time to wake up<br />

-Sebastian Miller-Aragon<br />

River of prisms<br />

Glittery kingdom of glass<br />

<strong>La</strong>nd of reflections<br />

-Love <strong>La</strong>ing Chavez<br />

My chest is heavy,<br />

Like the dew on small leaves.<br />

Water weighs them down.<br />

-Avery Ross<br />

39


40<br />

-Luisa Pacheco


-Ruth Chavez<br />

41 -Kalyssa Fishman


Our world<br />

-Cree Kennedy<br />

Our world is falling apart<br />

Wildfires are tearing up forests<br />

Trash is killing our oceans and animals<br />

Many people are trying to solve this<br />

Yet they are outnumbered<br />

Hurricanes are spreading far and wide<br />

People are losing their homes and lives<br />

Even animals struggle in their habitat<br />

We need to change<br />

People are out on the streets and won’t have food tonight<br />

We are ruining our own world with trash and pollution<br />

Please world, let’s change now.<br />

-Ethan Volzer<br />

42


Organs<br />

I looked around the nearly empty room<br />

Lights flickering and machines clicking<br />

All that’s left was robots<br />

With wires for hearts<br />

And wires for brains<br />

It was a nightmare<br />

Technology had advanced throughout the years<br />

We were machines<br />

My breath quickened<br />

The room becoming smaller with each breath<br />

Wanting to be able to hold my mother’s hand<br />

Instead of a cold machine<br />

As I took my final breath<br />

As the walls crushed my soul and organs<br />

I felt nothing<br />

I too was a machine<br />

I too fell victim to technology<br />

I too was a cold and helpless thing<br />

The organs<br />

The fleshy organs I wished to be crushed<br />

Were mere wires snapping and tearing beneath my metal skin<br />

I didn’t want to be enveloped by society’s views<br />

To become like my friends<br />

My family<br />

I don’t want to be numb<br />

-Morgan Smith<br />

43<br />

-Rhean Otero-Chaves


-Cyrus Walker<br />

Their praise is meaningless<br />

Just sweet nothings<br />

If they only knew what goes on in my head<br />

If only they could see me as I see myself<br />

As a fraud.<br />

Intrusive thoughts that I’m always wrong<br />

Wishing that I was pretty like others<br />

Knowing that I’ll never be<br />

44


Which is worse?<br />

Presenting a front where I look okay<br />

Or the fact I’m really not?<br />

I pull my hair ‘til my scalp stings<br />

I pick my fingers ‘til they bleed<br />

I can see myself deteriorating right in front of me<br />

And yet I can’t seem to do anything to fix it.<br />

The tears in my eyes<br />

Make my nerves pulsate<br />

They’re screaming to be let out<br />

But I can’t<br />

I have to be stronger<br />

I have to be.<br />

I have to be okay.<br />

-Julia Silva<br />

45<br />

-Nora Clark-Slakey


My Sweet heathen<br />

Dance with the glorious moon<br />

Dazzle in the light<br />

-Julia Silva<br />

When the days are cold<br />

The snow covers everything<br />

peaceful, quiet, still<br />

-Violet Hamilton<br />

As I read calmly<br />

I drift into a new world<br />

A place with new life<br />

-Anonymous<br />

Why do we smile? Why do we laugh?<br />

Why do we smile? Why are our smiles sometimes forced, and why<br />

can they creep up onto our faces without even realizing it? Why<br />

are our smiles contagious and why does our laughter travel from<br />

one smile to the next, infecting each other with its warm, bubbly<br />

nature? Why is it that one person can make you burst out laughing<br />

with just one look?<br />

Maybe you’ve found something funny or sweet. Maybe the people<br />

or world around us is just plain ridiculous and it would be ridiculous<br />

not to stop and laugh every once in a while. Maybe all of that<br />

hilarity and joy builds up over time until the only thing left to do is<br />

laugh. <strong>La</strong>ugh until you’re doubled over, gasping for air, and wiping<br />

a tear from your cheek. <strong>La</strong>ugh until you fill the air with its happy<br />

golden song. Until everyone around you is laughing, doubled over,<br />

too. <strong>La</strong>ugh until the world around you sparkles with laughter and<br />

joy and all of the horrible and inescapable monsters of the world<br />

don’t feel so terrible -- or at least not as bad as they seemed in<br />

your head. <strong>La</strong>ugh and smile simply because even when your world<br />

is falling into chaos, there is so much beauty in it. Smile because<br />

nothing lasts forever, including all the bad days and heartbreaks.<br />

Smile because you get to embark on this wonderful journey called<br />

life.<br />

So why do we smile? Why do we laugh? We do these things because,<br />

in this world of darkness and discord, it is imperative that<br />

we find the good in it. We laugh and smile because if we don’t, if<br />

we can’t, we will fall further into the darkness.<br />

46<br />

-Olivia Hanosh


-Madelyn Taylor<br />

47<br />

-Mary Montoya


Would my mom still love me?<br />

One time my mom said she would love me, whatever I am. So<br />

would she love me if I were a cockroach? A little insect that<br />

crunches like a crisp? A bug that would make her hair stand on<br />

end? The thing scientists say can survive an atomic bomb? I don’t<br />

think she would still love me. But I’m not her so don’t trust me.<br />

So I asked her, and ya wanna know what she said? “Yes, I would<br />

still love you.” I think she was lying.<br />

-Nick Barker<br />

Thoughts from 9th grade English<br />

If happiness is a chemical and no one is special<br />

Why are we still trying to survive<br />

If happiness is just Dopamine getting turned on like a faucet<br />

If writing a poem is average<br />

Why is it important to try<br />

I want to think that happiness is more<br />

The pinch of sugar in my morning coffee<br />

A word that fills a sentence and gives it life<br />

I want to think I’m special<br />

That my poems are actually different.<br />

That I’m suffocating my heart for something important<br />

But maybe all life is-<br />

Is some brains trying to understand themselves<br />

In a society that’s forgotten how to have conversations<br />

With people that can’t spend a second alone<br />

People who kill for pleasure<br />

A world where the color of your skin is important<br />

A world with if’s and what if’s but no do’s<br />

With people who rape and hurt because it gives them power<br />

A world that is burning to dust in our hands<br />

A virus that’s killed and destroyed<br />

Maybe all we are is a mistake<br />

A blip in the universe<br />

I’m starting to believe that might be true<br />

-Olivia Chavez<br />

48


-CJ Khalsa<br />

49<br />

-Tatiana Dalton-Spilca


Mirror Mirror<br />

Mirror mirror on the wall<br />

Why can’t you just let me fall<br />

There’s nothing more I want<br />

Then to simply fall<br />

Through the glass into some<br />

unknown<br />

Feel the shards slice through my<br />

bone<br />

Give me something to feel<br />

To touch or love<br />

50<br />

-Josephine Bemish<br />

I’m begging you mirror<br />

Let me end the whole thing<br />

Just let me fall through I<br />

promise I’ll never ask to go<br />

I just want an escape<br />

That will make me feel more<br />

Mirror mirror on the wall<br />

Just get me away from here<br />

or get off my wall<br />

-Olivia Chavez


-Qui Ton-That<br />

Wondering<br />

I keep wondering if life will<br />

ever feel right<br />

When will everything fall in<br />

order?<br />

I can feel the breeze<br />

I can see the stars<br />

I can hear the birds<br />

It’s all so nice.<br />

It’s all so boring.<br />

I’ve loved<br />

I’ve cried<br />

I’ve waited<br />

If nothing means anything<br />

Then there are no answers.<br />

What a sad, free world.<br />

51<br />

I’d contain it if I could.<br />

If nothing means anything<br />

Why contain me?<br />

Do I contain myself?<br />

On purpose?<br />

Without meaning to?<br />

If nothing means anything<br />

Why do I even ask?<br />

It’s so tiring,<br />

Wondering.<br />

Asking.<br />

But it’s too wonderful to<br />

stop.<br />

-Edie Brown


52<br />

-Bricen Freiwald


RESOLUTE<br />

This rush of peace runs<br />

So deep it roots us to the spot.<br />

It is true that poetry<br />

Can lamp an era scraped hollow,<br />

A year we barely swallowed.<br />

There is a justice in joy,<br />

Starlit against all that<br />

We have ended, endured &<br />

Entered.<br />

We will not stir stones.<br />

We shall make mountains.<br />

-Amanda Gorman<br />

America’s First<br />

National Youth Poet <strong>La</strong>ureate<br />

53


Index<br />

Brianna Addison................................................................................32<br />

Mimi Assed..........................................................................................4<br />

Ashadu Ball.............................................................................30, 31, 34<br />

Nick Barker.......................................................................................48<br />

Carly Beard........................................................................................19<br />

Garrett Beard.......................................................................................4<br />

Josephine Bemish.............................................................................50<br />

Kiana Bogart......................................................................................12<br />

Jack Brackenhoff...............................................................................13<br />

Edie Brown...................................................................................17, 51<br />

Eve Buehler.........................................................................................5<br />

William Butcher.................................................................................31<br />

Lincoln Caldes....................................................................................17<br />

Olivia Chavez...........................................................................5, 48, 50<br />

Ruth Chavez.......................................................................................41<br />

Mia Chiavetta....................................................................................14<br />

Nora Clark-Slakey.............................................................................45<br />

Sebby Clemens...................................................................................11<br />

Emily Cook..........................................................................................2<br />

Tatiana Dalton-Spilca.............................................................10, 16, 49<br />

Matilda Diggelman............................................................................27<br />

Brazill Dornburg................................................................................33<br />

Rylie Elison....................................................................................6, 38<br />

Jane English................................................................................28, 29<br />

Javin Felipe.......................................................................................36<br />

Izzy Fernandez.................................................................................8, 9<br />

Kalyssa Fishman................................................................................41<br />

Bricen Freiwald.................................................................................52<br />

Amanda Gorman...............................................................................53<br />

Caden Hallenbeck........................................................................22, 23<br />

Violet Hamilton ................................................................................46<br />

Olivia Hanosh...................................................................................46<br />

Ben Hanson.......................................................................................36<br />

Sasha Hanson....................................................................................34<br />

Sidney Harenberg..............................................................................37<br />

54


Index<br />

Josiah Herrera.....................................................................................4<br />

Kiran Hill.............................................................................................8<br />

Dylan Holtrop......................................................................................7<br />

Joseph Imhoff....................................................................................24<br />

Maya Karuho.....................................................................................21<br />

Kassia.......................................................................................4, 33, 39<br />

Lily Keenan........................................................................................35<br />

Cree Kennedy....................................................................................42<br />

CJ Khalsa...........................................................................................49<br />

Miri Kuenzler.....................................................................................35<br />

Love <strong>La</strong>ing Chavez..................................................................12, 18, 39<br />

Katherine <strong>La</strong>mbert.........................................................................2, 15<br />

Madelyn........................................................................................21<br />

Alex Mason........................................................................................14<br />

Raleigh Megofna...............................................................................20<br />

Sebastian Miller-Aragon...................................................................39<br />

Mary Montoya...................................................................................47<br />

Liana Nawarskas.................................................................................2<br />

Kassia Ohlsen...............................................................................15, 21<br />

Rhean Otero-Chaves .....................................................................6, 43<br />

Luisa Pacheco....................................................................................40<br />

Nathaniel Parks...................................................................................9<br />

Jacob Perez........................................................................................24<br />

Esperanza Plath...........................................................................14, 36<br />

Vivian R..............................................................................................12<br />

Andre Romero...................................................................................37<br />

Rhys Romero.......................................................................................5<br />

Avery Ross.........................................................................................39<br />

Evan Saavedra...................................................................................36<br />

Izzy Sauerman...................................................................................10<br />

Tyanna Shipley....................................................................................3<br />

Keira Silloway......................................................................................6<br />

Julia Silva.........................................................................16, 44, 45, 46<br />

Morgan Smith...................................................................................43<br />

<strong>La</strong>uren Staples...................................................................................33<br />

55


Index<br />

Madelyn Taylor..............................................................................3, 47<br />

Ella Thompson..............................................................................11, 12<br />

Qui Ton-That.....................................................................................51<br />

Ryder Tregembo..........................................................................29, 39<br />

Cyrus Walker................................................................................15, 44<br />

Dahlia Walker....................................................................................25<br />

John Wegrzynek...............................................................................38<br />

Georgia Williams.................................................................................8<br />

Andie Woodcock..........................................................................20, 39<br />

Ethan Volzer......................................................................................42<br />

Madelyn Z...........................................................................................9<br />

Anonymous............................................................................21, 26, 46<br />

56


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