Sleepy cheeks curl into

small eyelashes

hiding behind midnight

in a world of dusty dreams.

posted by Iris

stretched tight into time

a spool of anticipation

winds you into the tension

of not knowing.

posted by Iris

Poet Laura Shovan was our guest speaker at our November Teen ‘Zine meeting. Ms. Shovan taught us about the poetry form called “Sestina“. She explained that, sometimes when writing poetry, concentrating on a poem’s format can warm up your brain. As a group, we wrote the following sestina. Each of us wrote a stanza, then put them together to form an entire poem. Enjoy!

Monday Night Sestina

The early breeze whispered, fresh
With enough of a chill to cause a twinge in the scar
Jack was given by the evil witch.
Many years ago, in an ancient forest far
Away Jack had met his fate in the unforgiving mist,
As sullenly, though the trees, the wind blew.

My heart is blue
Though I feel fresh
I run outside in the relief,
As the soft rain hits my face like mist
I slipped and fell, and then I thought, “this is going to leave a scar.”
I try to reach for a band aid but it is too far
When I thought nothing else could go wrong, here came and evil witch.

It was then wondered which
Of them had gotten so cold as to turn blue
And leave traces of color near and far
Until it snowed and left things fresh
Without leaving any sort of scar
On the rainbow mist.

And through the mist
I thought I saw a fairy or a bird, but I didn’t know which
Stumbling to the safety of my car
I felt a small breath that blew
air that smelled so sweet and fresh
That I wanted to follow the scent to lands afar

Rumplemyer searched far wide and far.
Over hill, under rock, no place was missed.
Seeking the magical grapefruit of love–juicy and fresh,
Or was it an orange? Which fruit was which?
Then a westerly, rushing wind blew
A twig to his face, leaving only a scar.

A magic charm embedded in her scar
Gave the girl second sight. Far
Into the gloom blue
Forms of ghosts moved, barely mist
She saw their bare feed, bewitched
Float just above the snow, unmarked by footprints, fresh.

And not one of them was missed
Still we knew not which was which
The stale blue fog no longer was fresh.

Join us for our next Teen ‘Zine meeting on Monday, November 14 at 7:00 pm.

posted by Administrator

In this world, there are

Blue birds
With
Purple chests

Bees
With
Red stripes

Foxes
With
Yellow tails

Pink feet
On a
Hawk

So then
Why is the
Grass so green
And the
Sky so blue?

posted by Black-eyed Susan

Pink and green

Small and bright

Little stingers

Waving softly

Hiding quickly

Always cares

Never lies

posted by Black-eyed Susan

Nothing ever happens

in the slow pitter-patter

of rain

in my hair growing

wetter by the moment.

The silence is nothing

but gentle drops

underneath my feet

crunching gravel.

Nothing ever happens in the rain.

posted by Iris

it’s just the push of wooden floors under dancing feet

dust moves in swirls

the smell of worn leather shoes

echoes of leaps and bounds.

posted by Iris

Congratulations to the winners of our 2009 Word Up! Poetry Contest!

You can read all the winning poems here.

Posted by Administrator

The cold fingertips that had graced my skin
Will not last forever however beautiful
The darkened eyes that laced with red tinge
Cannot hold forever, remain eternally grateful
The marks of the sins, staining your name
Glass wings shattered, delicate ring
The redemption nearing, pausing ritualistic games
Countless lives in sacrifice, unsaid number dying
The midnight kisses surpass the tresses of pain
Feathers tearing, soaring, flying
The voices raising, singing to the heavens
Masterpiece roaring, resounding nations
The hearts reach out with blood stained burdens
Forgiveness absent, puzzle pieces rationed
The innocence stolen, pride stabbed and power stripped
Dignity crushed, the defiance mocked
The silent cries went unheard, threatening to rip
Tries fall limp, the keys unlocked
The sun sets in the horizon to this corrupt land
Rivers run wild in the dark, manners unshaven
The progress intercepted, the course already ran
No longer is what can be given, only that can be taken.

Posted by Asmodeus

In the darkness of all shadows, I close my eyes,
In the blind blissful lies of the world my heart tries to hide.
When I reach out my hand, I feel nothing-it’s all empty.
Deceptions of the world has left me bruised and beat.
I open my mouth to say something-to cry out for help.
But nothing come out, my voice is lost, abandoned by myself.
Just when all hope is seemingly gone, I look and to see-
A speck of light, filtering the ebony, shining right towards me.
Before when my hands found none but air,
Now I reach out I look and I see you’re there.
I was alone, by myself, left for a lie.
I realized, at that moment that you will be at my side.
Through the good, the bad and the adventures we had-
You’ve always been there when I was happy and sad.
We strove to be things we thought we never were
But in the end we found it rotten to the core. The specks of light grows ever so brighter,
Closer and closer it came.
And just when I though it was within my grasp-
It soared and flew away.
So close yet so far, that I always knew.
But those who believed in it there were always few.
As of now, you are gone, perhaps even moved on.
But when I need guidance, support-
Your spirit lingers on.
Through the darkness, through storm
Through the raging fire
You were with me, you held my hand.
You were always there.
But now you’ve gone, torn away, closed your eyes forever.
I think about you, no longer in flesh and I begin to shiver.
You’re not there, now a shadow
Mere reflection of where you once were.
Nothing can replace you-you were my only.
And you were always there.

Posted by Asmodeus