La Chispa 2023 - Sandia Preparatory School

La Chispa
2022-2023

La Chispa 2022-2023
Ridgly Anzalone
Eliana Avitia
Sandro Bazan
Liam Bazan
Ella Brackbill
Olivia Chavez
Analisa Durán
Izzy Fernandez
Staff
Raleigh Megofna
Rowan McJimsey
Avery Ross
Julia Silva
Zara Trafton Holley
Ryder Tregembo
Dahlia Walker
Jordan Zinter
Cover Art
Parker Volkman
Sponsor
Brian Tregembo
Special Thanks
Sandia Prep Marketing Department
Sandia Prep IT Department
Sandia Prep Visual Arts Department
Sandia Prep Digital Media and Communications Department
For the first time, La Chispa includes its own curated
playlist. If you have Spotify, hit the link and listen while
you peruse the 2022-2023 issue.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3wTsAIOUR49wac3Op7FoPy
?si=7a5f5382ac8b4404
1

2
-Ashadu Ball

“What You Are”
You are a thief in the darkness
that lives in alleyways and hides in shadows
Who steals choices and freedoms
like someone taking toys from a child
or bones from a dog
You are an indigobird
flying from nest to nest
Your talons are sharp and deadly
when you take food from the hungry
and the stars from the sky
You are acid rain
that corrodes everything it touches
Who seizes shelter from the homeless
as thoughtlessly as an unkind word
or a snide comment is spoken
You are a snake
with scales as yellow as the sun
Your truths are lies
that ache and burn and bleed
like the sting of a wasp
You are a tsunami
filled with waves that break the ground
Who pilfers life and growth
when you pull a child from his mother
and the future from the world
You are a culmination of all things
evil and corrupt and cruel
How will we survive
when you strip the hope and light
from our very souls?
-Lucy Tyroler
3

“From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea” (The Cure)
4
-Anja Stefanovic

“Vienna” (Billy Joel)
5
-John Wegrzynek

“Wanderlust”
(Inspired by “Wanderlust” by Eloise)
Caught in wanderlust
In a daydream
Allowing the world to fall out of view
To keep walking
To leave all responsibilities at the door
Just for a bit
Just to live life without the anxiety
The overwhelming overthinking overtaking
The noise surrounding
The lights intruding
Caught in wanderlust
In reverie
Gazing at the horizon,
out looking for a goal
But looking for a chance to undo
A chance to retry
A chance to rewind
A chance to change
Caught in wanderlust
Stuck somewhere in between the lines
Not knowing what way is down or up
Not knowing how I got here
Not knowing what I did wrong
October 16th, 2021
Just wanting to know
Just wanting to be enlightened
Just wanting to find closure
But instead
Caught in wanderlust
Not knowing if it’s a blessing or a curse
Not knowing what it feels like
Not wanting to leave
Not needing to leave
My wanderlust
-Finn Forsyth
-Julia Silva
6

“May the World End Once More”
In the beginning there was nothing
Not you nor me
Not the world nor the sun
But now you are here
Here at the end
At the end of the world and the man
Our ancestors have given us the blessing of life
And the cure of the world
Now we must live with this curse
How blind they must have been
How blind to not see the Darkness
they created
But we can see it now
The trash to clean
We are no longer blind
They left behind the world for us to cleanse
The wars they fought and the wars they won
Just for us to survive
But now the world they fought for
is in crumbles
The people who have died in a useless cause
All because we can not get along as humans
We can not live in harmony
We must always Fight
We must always Win
But we are always destined to Lose
But now as the waves crash
along the sunken coast
And as the final dying man, dies
The world falls, water encompassing it all
-Georgia Williams
7
Now may we finally rest
Now may we leave behind
what crumbs are left
Now may we die as a race
-Augustine Miller

“Sweet Nostalgia”
- Qihan (Kevin) Wang
Everyone talks about how nostalgic certain smells or feelings are
And they mean that it’s positive
But what strikes me
Is that mine isn’t
My nostalgia is deep and black
An all-consuming thick fog
For me nostalgia is lying in bed
till the wee hours of the night
Crying
In complete silence
Swaddled in a red velvet night robe
The back of my ears are growing wetter by the second
Drenched in tears that slipped down my cheeks
I couldn’t collect them fast enough
My nose is swollen from the mucus clogging up my sinuses
And my nostrils are red and raw
I feel sick
No one speaks about this type of nostalgia
8

Because for nights on end
In hot summers
And frigid winters
When skin is sticky with sweat
They would yell
And I was just there
Watching it all unfold
A masterpiece in the making
A symphony of broken voices
And all I could do was sit there
Later when my clock struck 12
And I was still,
The day’s passings hit me like a wall
The tears would come
A silent game
A raw throat
A swollen nose
My ears were wet and I couldn’t catch
My emotions fast enough
They just washed over me
Forcing me into a cycle of numbness and unknowing depression
Until it can finally repeat again
When the yelling happens
And the ears get wet
And the nose is swollen
And the throat is raw
It will never stop till I’m far away
Never, never, never, never
-Julia Silva
9
-Anonymous

outstretched pale fingers
like sugarcane stalks, honey
I’ll swallow my fear
-Edie Brown
Eyes beautiful and
glistening with unshed tears
wishing to be free
-Dahlia Walker
Everybody tells
Lies. Truthfulness is a sin.
There is no good left.
-Mukai Dube
Until I came home
My loneliness amplified
Now it’s just normal
-Liam Andrews
to love someone, just
as they love you, is to feel
the sun from both sides.
-Kassia
Queen of the sunlight
my shining starlight girl
guide me home
-Julia Silva
Beauty in the eye
Eyes are the windows to the souls
Heart worn on the sleeve
-Ridgly Anzalone
Black night, where I live
Hold me close my fairest, for
This dark I breathe in
-Olivia Chavez
-Digital background by Josephine Beamish
10

“Dandelion”
Little bunch of fluff
Hundreds of flowers inside
Wind carries promise
-Love Laing Chavez
“The Dark”
As I sat alone,
Looking for life to postpone,
I miss being at home
-Qui Ton-That
Break out of the doors
Escape mediocrity
Never return again
-Cedar McCall
Cold, shallow, sharp air
Cuts its way into my throat
Winter makes me free
-Elias Hanlon
Forever undead
Though she still keeps her head up
A guilty pearl ghost
-Dys R
The snow falls slowly.
Covering charred ends of wood.
Silence sits heavy.
-Kindell Custer
rain falls from the sky
it is cold on my warm face
i breathe in deeply
-Devyn Bradbury
-Digital background by Josephine Beamish
11

“Not My Juliet”
There she sits, becoming the sun.
It concedes. She glows.
I venture forth, creeping closer
Longing for
the warmth of her gaze
the waft of her scent
the thrill of her touch
I was once loved.
Now, this lamp provides
heat,
light,
the occasional whiff of burnt dust.
She shifts; a lock of hair strays across her cheek.
Like Romeo, I find myself wishing to be a glove,
But she is not my Juliet.
Her sighs of “Ay, me” do not
Accompany memories of our time that once was.
I creep
Ȧ creep?
Oh, to creep more cautiously, more stealthily, would be only
to beckon her with my thoughts.
I turn,
sigh,
pause,
glance at her in deliberate slow motion, so as to not disturb
her atmosphere.
“Oh hey,” she mutters, feigning surprise at finding me near.
She rises from her ray of sunlight.
It dims.
She leaves.
I remain,
alone.
-Esperanza Plath
12

“Boyfriend”
Boyfriend: that’s what he is.
A sweet face that lights up
Whenever he sees me.
When I call his name he dances all the way over.
He’s so helpful even if everything he does ends in disaster
A playful and loving attitude that makes the darkest times as
light as the clouds
He’s so handsome and loyal…
Too bad he’s my dog
-Ella Thompson
13
-Raleigh Megofna

“House of Memories” (Panic! At The Disco)
14
-Zara Trafton Holley

“Finding Confidence”
-Jonas Mahboub
When your path begins to fill with fog
and darkness ensues.
When winter arrives
and the snow that blankets you
makes you want to die.
When you are wandering on a path headed North
and you feel a rain
so spirit-wrecking,
you begin to lose sight
of the mountains in the Spring.
15

If you’re on a journey to find your confidence keep going
for you are a flower even if you feel like a weed.
If the flower next to you is prettier, then so be it,
for a flower doesn’t need to be better than the flower next
to it to bloom.
If you happen to run into a cuckoo along the way,
remember that one day you will see a peacock.
It may be in the south,
where the light shines so bright,
or it may be in the East where the sun starts to rise.
If you are patient on your journey,
you will see the sun.
The fog will soon lift,
revealing the ladder
you’ve been longing for.
-Addyson Combs
“people forget about the creatures that live in shells”
16
-Miri Kuenzler

“Talk to Me” (Cavetown)
17
-Olivia Rack

-Jack Bilan
“Butterfly Net”
When we’re young we are naive.
We go through the days without cares or biases,
we grow butterfly habitats in our preschools
We raise them and grow them
through all the stages.
First the egg, fragile and in need of protection
Next the larva, slightly more mature, but still reliant on us
Next the chrysalis, breakable, trusting us to keep it safe
Then the butterfly, mature and grown, not in need of us anymore
So we set her free, into the big scary world.
Our little speck of hope, of light out into the great wide unknown.
Later, much later.
We find our friend again.
But just like her, we have matured.
We have become bigger and stronger,
brazen, more confident.
18

We have fallen victim to humanity’s imperfections
while also only striving for perfection
Our free friend, floating over hills,
unbothered, unafraid
Suddenly she is trapped,
captured in a net.
She struggles, fluttering around, distressed
Not comprehending her new bondage
She anxiously dances, scared, beautiful, alone
As the time passes, she loses her heart
Our beacon of light
Gracefully, she falls,
No desire to continue to struggle
And with her, so falls every piece of hope we ever carried.
Cold, dead, gone
Humans did this,
They killed this beautiful creature
Us humans, imprisoning our own dreams
a metamorphosis of deceit
-Le’elage Melis
19
-Tyanna Shipley

Sutherland Jaramillo’s 4th and 8th Period Spanish 3
classes translated “la independencia (de puerto rico),”
by Raquel Salas Rivera, from Spanish to English. Below
is one translation with translators indicated after each
stanza. To see the original poem, click this link: https://
poets.org/poem/independence-puerto-rico
“the independence (of puerto rico)”
we are fiercer than melted snow;
we are larger than a cemetery of boxcars;
we are more furious than wind that doesn’t move;
we are more immense than the rivers in the sea;
we are wider than depleted tyranny;
we are more tender than the roots in the earth;
we are more tender than the rain in the moss;
we are more tender than the quake in the downpour;
we are stronger than the overworked years;
(Issabella Silva, Bridget Hurley)
we are more brave than the bullying anxiety;
we are more beautiful than the universal monarchy;
we are more romantic than the dreamy good life;
we are richer than the taken ports;
we are more pirated than the federal government;
we are more righteous than the armed gods;
we are much more than the very least
and much more than the very best.
we are sufficient in the island.
(Kendra Sandoval, Liana Nawarskas)
we don’t owe anyone embarrassment.
we don’t owe anyone smallness.
we are told to live a very small life
and quintuple fold that we are
the young from the old,
we are many of the lesser
and very little of the most,
but we are more than they say,
more than they can imagine
and more than even today
we have to imagine.
(Rylan Sears, Bailey Mask)
we are the knowledge of the houses
striking the data
that miss their organs
-Background mural: Sofía Maldonado-Suárez

their skin’s history.
our latitude is tied,
snakeskin died of punishment,
measuring the globe with tape
to know the places of the world
expand opening chests.
(Dylann Dooley, Irene Bentley, Luisa Pacheco)
we are that calculation to trace today
and to hit rock bottom.
we are strength without the Spaniards,
the rib cage of the past old empire
before the house crusades.
(Lucas Roberts, Roland Gerencer, Julian Lucero)
it is said, we are unavoidable,
the dead of the trenches
and the governments that forced them to fight.
we are arrogant in the coast
and humble in the mountains.
that’s why we collect coffee and plant it
in the buildings we constructed,
the children that we look over,
the exponential requests
that we complete
(Olivia Hanosh, Nicolas Fischer)
and we are all independent,
until the whole island is colonized with porous fear;
until the whole bakery is filled with advertisements;
until the corrosive act of saying we are only an island;
until we have the incident of seeing the fact in front,
put together the blocks of cement,
stock up on arms for the victory;
until in the distance, we are together,
together we arrive at the post office
and send the tin cans and batteries.
(Andre Romero, Garrett Sandoval)
don’t be afraid of what you already know.
we carry a life we are afraid of
meanwhile the foreigners steal from us.
we can easily see.
don’t you see our
beauty?
(Olivia Hanosh, Nicolas Fischer)
-Background mural: Sofía Maldonado-Suárez

why is it that every breath i take
is for you?
you make my blood boil until
it spills over the pot
you make everything worse
when you flick your hair
over your shoulder
it makes me want to pound the
love out of my head
with a hammer
the way words flow
out of your mouth
like poetry
makes me want to skydive
without a parachute
please stop, because at this point
it’s getting on my nerves
seriously
stop
stop doing everything so perfectly
stop looking at me
just stop looking at all
that’s it
become blind for me
why couldn’t you be anyone else?
why can’t i fill my head with love
for myself
instead of for you
i hate you
so much
i hate that I love you
so much
-Anja Stefanovic
“Ribbons”
22
-Steve Ausherman

Closure is for the lucky.
The more time that goes by
the more I break from
not knowing.
You did to me something
that I will never understand;
never know the reason behind.
I will never get the luxury of
reassurance,
For closure is for the lucky.
Grieving someone who is still
alive feels silly,
Yet it is one of the most heartbreaking
things I’ve had to do.
It’s draining to be reminded
of the past with nothing to go
back to.
Closure is for the lucky
“Closure”
And maybe acceptance
is the slowest one that heals
but when I feel, I feel with every
emotion;
every motion,
every tear,
every moment,
every memory,
and I fear
that when I‘m having the happiest
of days
My mind will take me back.
Closure is for the lucky.
I know that this pit in my stomach
may stay with me for a lifetime.
I’m consumed with the how and
the why it ended that way;
without even a goodbye.
“The Bosque”
-Finn Forsyth
23
-Mary Nakigan

“right?”
everyone thinks they are right
they are the smart ones
the superior ones
the kingdom to the east
everything else obscured by the mist
of self-righteousness
everyone has an opinion
but everyone thinks that for some reason
theirs is special
more feasible
better
because it is
right?
everyone is convinced they are the ones in the castle
perched on their throne
they are the king
the queen
the ruler
they are more right
than any challenger can ever be
until the crown shatters
the mask unravels
the unrest takes over
the revolution succeeds
the illusion is destroyed
but still they are convinced
they are the deserving ones
the superior ones
the ones always correct
they have the throne after all
right?
everyone looks on
even as their throne crumples beneath them
even as all signs point the other way
even as they are standing in the middle of everything
watching it fall apart
they still find it justifiable
to execute anyone who defies them
24

to ruin anyone who dares cross them
subjects are meant to serve
satisfy
soothe
to be the reassuring ones
nursing their ruler’s pride
because their pride is deserved
right?
everyone has the power
everyone thinks they have the power
everyone thinks they deserve the power
but everyone else thinks the same thing about themselves
so the kings
the kingdoms
everyone in between
caught up in the mob
are always at war
for respect
for territory
for what is rightfully theirs
right?
-Madeline Weisler
25
-Jon Toman

-Olivia Rack
26
-Jack Bilan

27
-Josephine Beamish

I admire you from afar
Hazel Eyes, brown hair
I get butterflies
I don’t wanna feel this way,
About someone who can’t
love me
You make my head spin
You’re so pretty
“Never Yours”
It hurts to like someone like you
I hate the way I feel
I feel so subtle
Your smile
It’s perfect
I hate unrequited love
I hate that you’re straight
I hate that I’ll never be yours
-Jack Aragon
28
- Donaven Gallegos

Paparazzi lights
They can scream and chant my name
But I feel no joy
-Raleigh Megofna
29
-Ashadu Ball
Rose-colored glasses
do nothing except make it
all look like my fault
-Edie Brown

“All for you and none for me”
Valentine’s day hasn’t been Valentine’s day in a long time.
the candy grams, the chocolate boxes, the gift bags
got lost somewhere along the way.
Valentine’s day hasn’t been Valentine’s day in a long time.
the hearts that were just because
the stamps and the glitter that were why nots?
the generic cursive loves followed by scribbled names.
Valentine’s day hasn’t been Valentine’s day in a long time.
somewhere along the way
it became more about you than me.
it became all for you and none for me.
Valentine’s day hasn’t been Valentine’s day in a long time.
somewhere along the way
you became a valentine. not me.
all for you and none for me.
Valentine’s day hasn’t been Valentine’s day in a long time.
that’s probably because it was designed for valentines
designed for you. not me.
somewhere along the way
my valentines got lost,
all for you and none for me.
-Savannah Lawrence
30
-Noah Rendon

31
-Ryder Tregembo

Light sky flies and falls
Blue turns grey, orange leaves bloom
My heart turns grey, too
-Olivia Chavez
I fell asleep in
a diamond dream, the light was
crystalline beauty
-Caleb Penrose
the clouds in the sky
passing by everyone while
drifting in the wind
-Miles Moya
Now, we are strangers
But in the hours of the night
We can be soulmates
-Raleigh Megofna
the tulips sway together
they giggle and blush and sing
we are family
-Emma Diaz
Sun rises over
Morning dew, as birds signal
The day has begun.
-Ben Hanson
the wind is still cold
the air is fresh, and I am
truly alive, free
-Kassia
-Digital background by Aelyn Gatsch
The fog disappears
The fox runs from the great sun
Deceit washes off
-Sandro Bazan
32

Thoughts are in my head.
Loud, they come and quiet they go,
just like a new day dawning.
-Issabella Silva
The winter brings cold
In my house sleepy eyes rest
We wake to new dawns
-Matilda Scobee
Green eyes stare at me
I wonder what leaves they see
When emerald rusts.
-Avery Ross
“Sunset”
A nighttime fire
The day gone in a burst of flames
And end in the sky
-Love Laing Chavez
“Stream”
The moment she sings
Cold water running so quickly
New life and old death
-Jacob Gutierrez
gentle waterfall
tumbling down forever
always friends with peace
-Ellie Wiegleb
The cool winter freeze
is why he is not outside
despite the sharp snow
-Liam Bazan
-Digital background by Aelyn Gatsch
33

“Cherry Tree”
The cherry blossoms fill the lungs of passersby
An inhale of spring and its breeze
A fleeting moment
Past the scorn of winter
The dawn of the seasons
The faint scent of rain in the distance
A gloomy gray sky beyond
Awaiting its moment to pour down despair
Then the stifling heat rolls over the monsoons
The blazing sun ready to charm the world
Weighing heavy on the fragile boughs of the cherry tree
Stooping as they bear their fruit
Too sour
Too sweet
Too red
Too pink
The product of pressure
Can never be good enough
Savor the peel
Spit out the pit
The essence of the cherry
Gone and forgotten
Blossoms melt away
Sick with humility
They flutter to the ground
Conforming to a path
Made of dainty leaves
Hues of pink open their arms
Only to impress
Only to be trampled
Folded into dirt
But then they ask,
Why couldn’t the cherry tree be stronger?
Get tough, last longer, grow thicker
Keep up with the sun
Soak it up, and bask in its greatness
34

Why does the tree settle for short-lived magnificence?
Why not adapt to the season?
Let the sunlight wilt its leaves if it pleases
Turn the branches to reach for the light
Sprouting lush cherries of perfect shape
Not too sour
Not too sweet
Not too red
Not too pink
Why not get it right?
-Rylie Elison
35
-Nalla Nakigan

“Love, Unreflected”
36
-Anonymous
There I sit, foolish I may be, staring across at inconceivable beauty
Throughout all the lectures, long may they be
I find myself lost, in the gleam in her eye
Green, her iris, chestnut her hair
When my eyes fall on her, all else lies bare
I stutter at the slightest hello, but why
Why when she even acknowledges me do I feel as I do
I ask so desperately does she feel this way, too?
But at last my mind can settle, hiding from stress
And succumb to a silence, fearful to her reply
Will she find me, as I find her? Is it worth it to try?
I won’t know, because still I sit, across from her desk
Unmoving in body, though my heart, how it flutters
The cruel space between us, acts as a buffer
Between my actions and intentions, neither fulfilled
Throughout all of class, the lesson lie worthless
Rendered vestigial by her grace, recursive
And as class draws to end, all ambitions killed
I sigh, as another day draws to a close
A chance to see her, yet she will never know
How much my fear inhibits my vision
And how sorry I am that I cannot just say
What I know that I must, my mind wondered astray
Though somehow I know, through an unconscious lens, that any
further action on my part can only cause a schism
-John Wegrzynek

-Isaiah Olguin
37
-Mary Otero

Piercing light is showering me head to toe. Its rays are trying to
penetrate every piece of my skin, aiming to pry into the depths
of my very being. Each particle of light is holding me with strong
hands; I can’t move. I can only stand there, blinded.
Cold, thin glass supports my weight, and darkness surrounds. I
feel so small, chained. I can hardly move. Uncaring eyes are staring
at me from above; studying, seeing just what I’ll do next.
Will I do it right?
Will I make the right choice?
“Dirty Feet”
I’m in a vast expanse, melding with other confused faces; being
told to be ready for whatever comes next, to start preparing for it.
I need to act.
Paths are all around me. Each is different in its own way. The one
to my left is where my mother tells me to go in order to find what
I seek. Next to it, the breeze carries my teacher’s voices into my
ears; their echoes reverberate through me, nearly convincing me
to take that trail. To my right, there are two other wide paths with
footprints in the mud; unlabeled, unkempt. No one has told me
about those.
Why can’t I turn around and roam back down the path I just
came from? I could spend my whole life walking there: back and
forth, up and down that beautiful, inviting, familiar ground.
My feet are on the threshold of the terrain of time that once
seemed a lifetime away. Where the dirt of the past becomes mixed
with freshly discovered land.
I’m dancing on the edge; not quite here nor there. The thoughts
invite fear’s icy touch to crawl up my legs, my back, my neck, and
I shiver. I’m on the edge of it all.
Before I allow my heavy legs to carry me across the beautiful soil,
everything inside begs to go back, to not choose one of the new
routes laid before me. I surrender to my fear, but when I turn,
there’s the light again, so blinding I can no longer see the way I
just came from. In the midst of the undeniable, blazing rays, I
hear voices.
I already know what they’re saying.
“You can’t go back.”
“You need to pick a path, and go.”
38

I’m floating in a fog, confined in an airtight box that’s pushing
through space; everything I have to accomplish racing through
my incredibly exhausted mind. Tethered to everything asked of
me, trying to sift through each droplet of expectation in search of
approval.
Will I do it right?
Will I make the right choice?
My soul’s distress finally makes its way into my bloodstream and
my temples begin to pound a terrible beat. My carefully crafted
walls can no longer contain the panic that has been clawing, attempting
to escape ever since I began to consider treading the
treacherous, overwhelming path.
I feel it behind my eyes. Growing from the deepest parts of my
brain, spreading outwards in a slow, menacing way. My vision
begins to blur as it stretches down my body, conquering me.
Fear.
Fear of the path I choose to take.
Fear of disappointing.
Because I don’t know anything yet.
Because my feet still have the stains of the soft, comfortable soil
on them; that familiar dirt between my toes.
-Dahlia Walker
39
-Daniela Baca

“Early Bird Beats the Worm”
Early bird beats the worm
A dark and stormy day
A worm wiggles down soon to be dead and filled with dismay
A shadow forms a fatal beast awoken from its nap
The worm was not expecting this it looks up and forms a yap
Up early is the bird, it chomps down on its feast
The worm is very chewy and slightly tastes like yeast
The bird flies away
It settles to its nest
Now finally after a long day the bird can rest
It dreams about feasting, another day as a beast
The bird shrugs and sighs for now it must sleep
The next morning the bird is startled frightened from its sleep
It looks around and decides to continue its reap
It flies around and decides on its usual worming spot
Lying on the ground was a rotting apricot
While munching on the fruit a noise came from behind
And was the end, but a great meal for the feline
“Aspen Shadows”
-Eve Buehler
40
-Ernest Polansky

“Existential Avenue”
Driving down the avenue
Seems I’ve lost my way back home
I look to my right and there’s nothing in sight
I look to my left there’s a house of stone
Castles fit for royalty
With a barren desert for a view
Worlds collide on just one street
It’s an Existential Avenue
You could have everything in your power
And lose it all in just a day
I was falling from my tower
But you had nothing left to save
I took my car and kept on driving
To get as far away as I could
But this road, it keeps on winding
And I circled back to you
So once again I’m standing in the sand outside your house
In the road that I can’t cross
Elena left me in the dust
Abandoned me to rot and rust
And with her she took the only key
To our porcelain house on Empty Street
For a thousand years I’ve only wandered
With one single question to ponder
Should I unbury what once was mine
Or run to the desert on the other side?
You could have everything in your power
And lose it all in just a day
I was once a blooming flower
Now I’ve withered all away
I feel the wind that’s blowing north
To take me to my waiting grave
I don’t belong here anymore
But I’m afraid to leave this place
And the world of order I have always known
On the south side of the road
Nothing remains of what I’ve lost
For across this road gold turns to dust
I keep driving down this avenue
Don’t know which side’s hiding my truth
41
-AUREX M

-Lucy Tyroler
42
-Avery Moya

“The Way I Love You”
I want to make carvings of the curves of your face
And the way it feels against my fingertips
I want to write symphonies with your breath
And poems with the lines at the corners of your eyes
I want to weave your scent into all the flowers of the meadows
And capture your tears
To paint the skies and their shadows
I want to flip through the pages of your memories
And explore the planets tucked beneath your eyelashes
I want to drink in the sunrise of your happiness
And bury myself in the clouds of your hair
I want to spend every living breathing moment climbing the
ridges of your fingertips and surfing the waves of the blood in
your veins
I want to get to know the dragon that flaps its wings beneath
your ribcage
I want to show you how to appreciate its burning flame
I want to wrap myself in your soul
And venture into your mind
I want you to promise me your forever
In exchange for a thousand of mine.
-Anonymous
Every day I sit and wait here,
hoping that something will change.
I miss those days that happened,
and I miss when our lips happened.
Your shape reminds me,
of how I’ll never be you.
I wish that I could meet her,
and I wish that I could be her.
Her beauty seeks me,
what an envious sight.
I know his words oppose her,
but I know his words adore her.
-Ryder Tregembo
43

44
-Nora Clark-Slakey

“Bug Collector”
As I sit in my car
I am dependent on my steering wheel to hold my head up while I’m
Staring mindlessly into my phone
Looking at hundreds of videos of grown people as little kids
Living their best lives
The vintage camcorder style of video
The tiny shirts, jackets, and pants
Slapping feet pattering on the hard ground
And the sound of Bug Collector in the background
Strumming the undertone to gleeful laughter and excited screams
I feel a sudden surge of emotion welling up in my chest
Slowly creeping its way up my esophagus
Sewing it up as it climbs
The tears swell in my eyes
Nearly blinding me
The more I watch
The harder I cry
Tears rolling down my cheeks into my mouth like thunder
My lips are blotchy and red and my eyes are swollen
After sobbing for hours
I finally realized why this was invoking such a response from me:
My most deadly and secret fear is no longer falling
It is growing up
I can’t bare the feeling of innocence evaporating from my pores
The little girl I once was, is fleeting
I’m trying to do my best to remember her
With every passing minute
I seem to forget what her favorite song was
Or her favorite food
Or her favorite game
And even if she tries to leave with all her might,
I will be right here, holding her down
A stake in the ground
Begging her to live in me for the rest of time
45
-Julia Silva

I see you in the morning sun,
I see you in the bluest skies,
I see you wherever I go and I can’t seem to let you go.
I know that you don’t feel this way,
I know that you don’t love me the same,
I know that you would watch me go,
Yet still I happen to feel this way.
Whenever I see you I wish to be near you,
Whenever I’m near you I wish to be with you
but whenever I’m with you, I can never keep you
safely locked away.
There’s a riot in my heart that I’m struggling to tame,
There’s a want in my mind that is struggling to wait,
There’s a flutter in my stomach that is taking off free
when it comes to the idea of you and me.
For you there’s no riot, or want in your mind.
For you there is no struggle to keep what isn’t thine.
For you, your life is simple and free,
Without the tangle of you and me.
I see you in the morning sun,
I see you in the bluest skies,
and when night falls
I’m looking at the moon
I’m looking at the moon but I’ll be seeing you.
-Hannah Leng
“End of a World”
Too many times, I’ve regretted losing you
I’ve never been able to admit that
Even though it’s the only thing my heart knows is true
She’s your sun, your whole world
But you’ll always be mine.
And I’ll never be her.
46

Maybe someday, after you’ve grown and I have too
We’ll be the galaxy
I’ll be your world and you, mine
Up until that night,
I was too craven to let you know what I meant
When I said I thought you were sweet
Love is a black hole, and I’m afraid I’ve gone in too soon
I’ve left you behind
Drowned myself in my own misery.
My blood feels too cold now
My heart aches and it thunders
My mind feels fumbled and weak, nothing but my heart speaks
But I know for sure, that I can wait
I can wait here in my black hole until you’re ready too
To be pulled in, and I’ll never let go
I promise you, this isn’t my flaw
Although maybe it’s yours,
Even if that’s true, I’m never giving up, I refuse
Even when the sun explodes I will still love you
-Olivia Chavez
-Konner Helmick
47

“blinded”
she had been so blinded,
the carnations he left on the doorstep,
the sweet honey words from his lips,
the slight sheen of stars in his eyes.
-Aelyn Gatsch
she had failed to discern,
carnations wilt, dry, and mold.
once beautiful and young,
now elder and rotten.
48

that honey, once velvet and silk,
now thick and bitter,
it drips from his teeth.
that stars explode,
shimmer and sheen disappear,
eyes go dull.
dark.
she had been so blinded
she forgot,
he’s not made of honey, petals,
and stars.
heaven is not embedded into his bones.
his eyes are not overflowing with oceans and clouds.
they’re simply blue.
she unknowingly turned his somber expression, pale skin, and
untamed hair,
into poetry.
but when she takes it all away,
he’s just a boy.
-Emma Diaz
49
-Paige Sandoval

“Tu Sangre en Mi Cuerpo”
(Angela Aguilar feat. Pepe Aguilar)
-Sandro Bazan
A baptism through stars,
brings me closer to divinity.
“Baptisim”
Flying through an endless heaven;
a melting pot of his creation.
An opportunity to repaint my eyes
with the palette of the sky.
50
Fruit could never taste so sweet
in the land of cities.
Above the moon lies sounds of
meaningless choirs singing
lost songs.
-Ryder Tregembo

Toward midnight the rain ceased
And the clouds drifted away
So that the sky scattered
once more with the incredible lamp of stars
Seeing everything so bright like headlights everywhere
Every deer stopped staring into the field of stars
No need for streetlights or any lights
People looking at the sky
like they are possessed
A slight breeze becomes a stronger breeze
Until it becomes wind
Blows the clouds over the ocean of stars
Darkness erupts like a volcano
No light makes it bright
Until the clouds move
It will stay dark through the night
-Avery Sims
51
-Luisa Pacheco

The clouds continue faster now
It is warmer here
How calm, peaceful, quiet it is
I’m learning to continue as the clouds do
As the spider crawling across my shoe
As the ice floats along the water
As the trees sway along with the wind
Mother Nature doesn’t need to stop in her tracks
When something is taken from her
But I am restless
I am stopped in my tracks
Maybe she can teach me her ways
To help me continue the journey she laid out
Become as unstoppable as Mother Nature
52
-Donaven Gallegos
-Finn Forsyth

“The Hospital Room”
My mother lays in the hospital bed, uncomfortable, shifting
around searching for a spot where her physical pain will drift
away. She sits up, slowly. I adjust her pillows behind her head
and back. She complains about the pain; I understand. She glances
at me with the knowing awareness that, in fact, I do not understand
HER pain. It’s rough, prickly, and without end. We talk,
once she settles, about anything but the pain. Georgia football,
the new Offensive Coordinator, her friends, her plans to walk the
biggest hill in our neighborhood. She talks about everything that
focuses on some future event or passion. She tries to find a way
past the pain of her back, her legs, her abdomen, newly opened
through a surgical procedure.
I can do little more than sit, offer thoughts, and wander verbally
with her as she goes from topic to topic as a way to distract her
mind. It works. For a while, it works. Then it doesn’t.
I help her stand and make her way to the bathroom. I disconnect
the power cord from the wall as she takes her IV unit into
the bathroom. She moans, unknowingly, at the pain of rising and
sitting. She grabs her stomach as she coughs up phlegm. Her
coughs are productive and sometimes violent reactions to the
mucus that has filled her lungs. I hold back tears as she tries and
fails to pull down her pajamas. She’s deeply embarrassed by her
son helping her. She feels vulnerable and not the least bit comfortable
in my presence. She wants privacy. She wants to be able
to do things herself. She struggles with the clothing, the IVs poking
out of her upper arm because of the thin skin on her hands.
I help her out of the bathroom and then say, “It’s time for a
walk.” Her doctors have ordered walking and getting her to move
is no easy feat. As her eldest child, I feel responsible. I try to keep
my tone light. “Let’s just walk down the hall and back.”
After a few moments we walk through the door and into the
hallway of the surgical recovery ward. The hall is filled with staff
in red scrubs at computer systems hooked to all kinds of equipment.
Adorned on some of these devices are pictures of flowers
and names like “Brandi’s Station” with flower stickers scattered
around the name written in green Sharpie and cursive lettering.
As we plod past the computers, my Mom’s mood shifts; she’s in
public now and greets each of the nurses and aides. She talks
about everything: the busy ward, the other patients. She asks
about their wellbeing and how things are going for them.
53

I’m amazed by her demeanor; bright, upbeat, curious. As we wander
down the hall, she says, “Let’s go a little further.” We walk to
the Nurse’s station and then to the right, down the hallway where
patients in dire straits are housed. A woman cries out repeatedly,
“Oh god, I cannot breathe! I’m dying, I’m dying.” Police officers sit
in a chair at one room as a man, bound to the bed, writhes to be
freed from his velcro straps. He is incoherent, shouting nonsense.
As we pass, I ask the officer, a young Black woman, what happened.
She says, “I cannot talk about the patient, sir.”
We reach the end of the hallway and turn around at a blank wall.
We walk back past the bound man, the shouting woman and the
nurse’s station. As we walk down the hallway, my Mom’s pace increases
slightly. She whispers, “I cannot listen to that woman yell.”
We move to her temporary housing, walk into the space, and she
grimaces. The bland, light green color casts a pall on the room and
the industrial quality of the walls. It feels dank, dark, institutional.
The lights flicker overhead. The wall behind her bed is filled with
outlets of some sort. Red plugs, hose extensions, chrome, plastic,
tragic.
I reconnect her various devices to the power and her NG tube to
the large container on the wall. It’s half filled with bile, a green,
semi-clear liquid. I’ve been asked to check for signs of blood in the
sludge. I help Mom sit, carefully, on the side of the bed. She cringes
in pain, grabbing instinctually her abdominal area. Once she is
settled, I sit in the folding chair in the room. It’s small. I’m a tall
man. I shift, squirm, and move to find some comfort. Of course,
there is no comfort to be had.
We chat a bit more about everything and nothing. Not much to say
in these moments.
My Mom suddenly states, matter of factly, “I want to go home.”
She’s tired of being in the hospital and misses her friends. She
talks about walking with Frances, and again brings up the big hill,
“It’s on McWhorter” she says and I say, “You will be able to climb
that hill sooner than you know it!” She smiles, slightly.
As she lays in the uncomfortable bed, her eyes start to close. She
breathes more deeply. She wears the pain all over her face. It’s on
her body and in her mind. I can FEEL this pain sitting about two
feet from her bed. Her struggle. Her fear. My fear. The lack of solace
or resolution palpable in these quiet moments.
54

As she falls asleep, I watch my mother try to rest in a kind of liminal
state; not fully asleep and not really awake. That in-between
state that brings no rest.
Tears fall from the corners of my eyes as I watch. There’s nothing
at all that I can do. Nothing, I can do to relieve her suffering, her
struggle with her body. I watch. I know that in a very short while,
I too will face these moments. My children will wonder at what
to do. We will both be without a path to follow, a hope to grasp
onto. Maybe I will learn this lesson, but right now, I cry. I cry
for my mother, I cry for the suffering we all will face, and I wish,
hope, and pray that no one faces what we face today.
-Thomas Gentry-Funk
55
-Miri Kuenzler

56
-Avery Ross

“Speak From the Heart“
The stars, the flowers, all the beautiful things in the world
Only exist to be compared to you
You are my homecoming
You are the one who taught me what it was like
To feel my heart cry
You’re the one whose broken pieces fit mine
You’re my polar star; I’ll go wherever you guide me
Whenever I lose hope that the world can change, I remember you
You changed me
We fell into each other so completely
I cannot think of you without thinking of myself
You are me and I am you
You are my skin and my conscience and my spirit
No one has ever known me like you
I have never known anyone the way I know you
I can’t ever say goodbye to you
I’ll still be drifting with your echoes
-Ridgly Anzalone
57
-Ben Hanson

Sutherland Jaramillo’s 4th and 8th Period Spanish 3
classes translated “la independencia (de puerto rico),”
by Raquel Salas Rivera, from Spanish to English. Below
is one translation with translators indicated after each
stanza. To see the original poem, click this link: https://
poets.org/poem/independence-puerto-rico
“the independence (of puerto rico)”
we are more fierce than the snow melting;
we are bigger than the cemeteries of wagons;
we are more furious than the blocked wind;
we are more immense than the rivers in the sea;
we are more wide than the worn out tyranny;
we are more tender than the roads with the land;
we are more tender than the rain in the moss;
we are more tender than the trembling down-pour;
we are stronger than the years of pain;
(Avery Anderson, Bryana Lujan)
we are braver than the bullies;
we are better than the word standards;
we are the sun of the soil of the dream life;
we are more glorious than the stolen land;
we are rebels against the federal government;
we are justice-seeking people against the world;
we are more more than the least
and more more than the best.
we are isolated but sufficient.
(Donaven Gallegos, Taylor Calkins)
we don’t deserve to be put down.
we tell our stories and pass them down
from generation to generations.
we are few but we are powerful.
and we are greater than
they think we are
because we have our imaginations
to empower us.
(Kate Henderson, Andie Woodcock)
we are the knowledge of the land
together joined in a strike of knowledge
their presence was gone
from human history.
-Background mural: Sofía Maldonado-Suárez

we are leveled and tied down,
the ones that change their outer rules
for knowledge of the world
expand your mind.
(Tommy Chalamidas, Lincoln Caldes)
we are that island that has an appearance today
and touches the heart.
we’re a fortress without the Spanish,
the chest that killed the old empire
where before they stored our justice.
(Xander Martinez, Bryce Buckner)
it was said, to be terrible,
death in the trenches
and the government that induces.
we are arrogant in the coast
and humble in the mountain.
that’s why, we harvest coffee and plant
in the building that we built,
for the kids we protect,
the exponential jobs
that we completed
(Skyler Engroff-Rice, Emma Cordero)
we are independent
until our colonized hole has porous fear;
until our bakeries are overwhelmed
by newspapers and advertisements;
until the act that says we’re alone on this island corrodes;
until we are done looking each other in the face,
joining blocks with cement,
stocking guns nearby;
until we have been distanced,
we arrive to mail,
and send cans and batteries.
(Abby Kronberg, Miles Manzanares)
don’t fear what you already know.
we carry the fear of life
while strangers steal from us.
look at us good.
don’t you see that we are
beautiful?
(Preston Gage, Chris Gist)
-Background mural: Sofía Maldonado-Suárez

Tired of worrying
about school,
am I just stuck in a trap of things that I shouldn’t worry about?
will I get my stuff done in time?
I don’t know.
Tired of worrying
about family.
am I just a snowman gazing back into autumn, looming sadly
and awaiting demise?
is everyone okay?
I don’t know.
Tired of worrying
about friendships
am I the new, vibrant green life in a dead field or am I the ugly
purple bruise on someone’s skin?
am I a good friend?
I don’t know.
Tired of worrying
about people’s perceptions
am I the bright sun in people’s day or the overgrown, battered
weeds on an abandoned lot?
do I sound annoying?
I don’t know.
Tired of worrying
about my future
am I just overreacting or am I simply batting a blind eye to my
ladder to success?
will I succeed?
I don’t know.
One thing I do know
though
is that I’m tired,
just tired
of worrying.
60
-Skyla Johnson

-Jane English
61
-Liana Nawarskas

62
-Olivia Hanosh

“Flying Inside Your Own Body”
Your lungs fill & spread themselves,
wings of pink blood, and your bones
empty themselves and become hollow.
When you breathe in you’ll lift like a balloon
and your heart is light too & huge,
beating with pure joy, pure helium.
The sun’s white winds blow through you,
there’s nothing above you,
you see the earth now as an oval jewel,
radiant & seablue with love.
It’s only in dreams you can do this.
Waking, your heart is a shaken fist,
a fine dust clogs the air you breathe in;
the sun’s a hot copper weight pressing straight
down on the think pink rind of your skull.
It’s always the moment just before gunshot.
You try & try to rise but you cannot.
Margaret Atwood (1939 - )
Canadian Author and Poet
Winner of the Booker Prize in 2000 and 2019
Best known for The Handmaid’s Tale
63

Index
Avery Anderson..................................................................................................58
Liam Andrews.....................................................................................................10
Ridgly Anzalone............................................................................................10, 57
Jack Aragon..........................................................................................................28
Margaret Atwood................................................................................................63
Steve Ausherman................................................................................................22
Daniela Baca........................................................................................................39
Ashadu Ball......................................................................................................2, 29
Liam Bazan..........................................................................................................33
Sandro Bazan.................................................................................................32, 50
Josephine Beamish ..................................................................................10, 11, 27
Irene Bentley...................................................................................................20, 21
Jack Bilan........................................................................................................18, 26
Devyn Bradbury..................................................................................................11
Edie Brown....................................................................................................10, 29
Bryce Buckner......................................................................................................59
Eve Buehler..........................................................................................................40
Taylor Calkins.....................................................................................................58
Tommy Chalamidas.....................................................................................58, 59
Love Laing Chavez.........................................................................................11, 33
Olivia Chavez....................................................................................10, 32, 46, 47
Lincoln Caldes..............................................................................................58, 59
Nora Clark-Slakey...............................................................................................44
Addyson Combs............................................................................................15, 16
Emma Cordero....................................................................................................59
Kindell Custer......................................................................................................11
Emma Diaz...............................................................................................32, 48, 49
Dylann Dooley...............................................................................................20, 21
Mukai Dube.........................................................................................................10
Rylie Elison....................................................................................................34, 35
Jane English..........................................................................................................61
Skyler Engroff-Rice.............................................................................................59
Nicolas Fischer.....................................................................................................21
Finn Forsyth...............................................................................................6, 23, 52
Preston Gage........................................................................................................59
64

Index
Donaven Gallegos...................................................................................28, 52, 58
Aelyn Gatsch ...........................................................................................32, 33, 48
Thomas Gentry-Funk.............................................................................53, 54, 55
Roland Gerencer.................................................................................................21
Chris Gist.............................................................................................................59
Jacob Gutierrez...................................................................................................33
Elias Hanlon.........................................................................................................11
Olivia Hanosh ...............................................................................................21, 62
Ben Hanson...................................................................................................32, 57
Konner Helmick..................................................................................................47
Kate Henderson...................................................................................................58
Zara Trafton Holley.............................................................................................14
Bridget Hurley.....................................................................................................20
Skyla Johnson......................................................................................................60
Kassia..............................................................................................................10, 32
Abby Kronberg....................................................................................................59
Miri Kuenzler.................................................................................................16, 55
Savannah Lawrence.............................................................................................30
Hannah Leng.......................................................................................................46
Julian Lucero........................................................................................................21
Bryanna Lujan.....................................................................................................58
AUREX M............................................................................................................41
Jonas Mahboub...................................................................................................15
Sofía Maldonado-Suárez...................................................................20, 21, 58, 59
Miles Manzanares...............................................................................................59
Xander Martinez.................................................................................................59
Bailey Mask..........................................................................................................20
Cedar McCall.......................................................................................................11
Raleigh Megofna.....................................................................................13, 29, 32
Le’elage Melis..................................................................................................18, 19
Augustine Miller....................................................................................................7
Avery Moya..........................................................................................................42
Miles Moya..........................................................................................................32
Mary Nakigan......................................................................................................23
Nalla Nakigan......................................................................................................35
65

Index
Liana Nawarskas............................................................................................20, 61
Isaiah Olguin.......................................................................................................37
Mary Otero..........................................................................................................37
Luisa Pacheco...........................................................................................20, 21, 51
Caleb Penrose......................................................................................................32
Esperanza Plath...................................................................................................12
Ernest Polansky....................................................................................................40
Dys R. ...................................................................................................................11
Olivia Rack.....................................................................................................17, 26
Noah Rendon.......................................................................................................30
Lucas Roberts......................................................................................................21
Andre Romero.....................................................................................................21
Avery Ross......................................................................................................33, 56
Garrett Sandoval..................................................................................................21
Kendra Sandoval.................................................................................................20
Paige Sandoval.....................................................................................................49
Matilda Scobee....................................................................................................33
Rylan Sears...........................................................................................................20
Tyanna Shipley.....................................................................................................19
Issabella Silva..................................................................................................20, 33
Julia Silva.............................................................................................6, 8, 9, 10, 45
Avery Sims...........................................................................................................51
Anja Stefanovic................................................................................................4, 22
Ella Thompson....................................................................................................13
Jon Toman............................................................................................................25
Qui Ton-That.......................................................................................................11
Ryder Tregembo........................................................................................31, 43, 50
Lucy Tyroler.....................................................................................................3, 42
Dahlia Walker...........................................................................................10, 38, 39
Qihan (Kevin) Wang.............................................................................................8
John Wegrzynek...............................................................................................5, 36
Madeline Weisler...........................................................................................24, 25
Ellie Wiegleb........................................................................................................33
Georgia Williams...................................................................................................7
Andie Woodcock.................................................................................................58
Anonymous................................................................................................9, 36, 43
66

67

La Chispa
2022-2023