As the long nights and short days persist, we know the year is almost over and soon the world will brighten again. To hold you over, we share these snippets and poems, paintings and photography, and we hope they bring you joy.
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| Artwork by Julia N., Grade 8 |
Let Us Raise Our Flags
How
many times will we watch
as
our Purple Hearts are slaughtered?
How
many times will we watch
their
lives thrown aside amidst the ranks of cheering crowds?
Why
do we hold them in reverence?
We
fold our flags as our lines draw clearer
While
we watch from our safe distance in the crowd
We
are intoxicated by the throne
We
are consumed by our enmity
and
we are the winter
Let
us raise our flags on the graves of the innocent
by Liam R., Grade 9
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| Photograph by Mackenzie J., Grade 7 |
Planting Ideas
I don't have the green thumb others seem to possess,
Never been able to nurture an idea
For
more than a few hours.
And
I'm not sure I want to try again this time.
But
this is the right time - a perfect idea,
Ready
to flourish under your care.
I
can't seem to make this work!
I
can't bare to see another idea disappear.
I
only see my failures.
Mistakes.
Regrets.
But
you'll never know what it'll turn into,
Unless
you try.
I've
already tried.
I've
seen my flowering, budding ideas,
Planted…
Watched
them wilt…
Deprived
of the nutrients of my mind,
And
dried up by the burning judgement of others.
How
do you know this time isn't different?
Every
time…
It's
been the same.
What
will make this any different?
How
do I know?
How
do I know there's a difference?
That
this won't become another lifeless idea,
Another
beautiful flowering story,
Morphed,
altered and ultimately ruined,
By
my ever-changing thoughts?
You're
doing it right now!
Has
it become the mess you expected it to be?
Maybe
not.
Maybe…
This
little sapling will sprout
Into
the beautiful idea
I've
always wanted it to be.
by Richard W., Grade 7
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| Photograph by Sophia L., Grade 7 |
Everyone
seemed to have their thing.
You had
only one role in this hierarchy adults say doesn’t exist.
But it does
exist- grown-ups just forget how real it truly is.
Once
you had your set niche, there was no contorting it- that was you to the
rest of the student body.
Unless
someone bothered to get to know you, of course.
But
when everyone is so wrapped up in themselves it didn’t happen often.
You
were an athlete: Always leaving 7th period early to hop on a bus
going who knows where.
You
were that kid: The one everyone knows about, the one people point out at
lunch and talk about all the time even if they’ve never laid eyes on you
themselves.
You
were once the mean girl of your elementary class: That one girl that sent some
kids home crying, the one who talks about you behind your back. But middle
school is so large that tiny grasp of power slips away. Now, what’s left of
your big, bad reputation is… I’m not gonna go into it.
That
one kid who towers over the teachers.
The kid
that is made fun of for their height.
The one
who plays Snake in class.
The one
with a book under their arm.
The one
that knows everything: Drama, secrets, ready to let loose like a deadly
firecracker.
The
loud one.
Quiet
one.
Smart
one--
Or.
Or, you
could be neutral.
You
could just drift through the drama and never let it affect you.
Watch
it go down like a staged fight on a reality TV show.
You
smile with the others, watch from afar, never part of it yourself.
Yet
there’s a curse behind this neutral stance.
You’ll always want to be one of them. Known.
And all of them want to be one of you. Anonymous.
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