Category: 2018 Submissions

Born in a lab,
Watched and noted.
The start of my life.
The start of my lie.

Sixteen years later,
I write on this paper –

“Today is the day,
The day I am set free.
Blurred no more,
My vision before”

The trees sway,
Ruffling in the wind.
And I think of the vast land,
The beautiful mother – a friend.
She calls my name,
Daring me to explore.
It’s time to answer her call,
Time to remain idle no more

At 5:00 AM, like everyday I heard “PING” as my phone notified me of the “five things you need to know” subscription I have with a national news channel application. I couldn’t believe what I saw. As I was reading, I just prayed that this would be a bad dream and I would wake up to something better. In big, bold letters the top news of the day read “Sophia Rodriguez, 17, was found dead, buried in a foot of snow on the sidewalk in Chicago”. I knew her. We met in middle school and quickly became friends as both of us had just immigrated to America and were trying to adapt to the new environment. The news reporter described her death as suicide by consuming cyanide. But I knew it was a murder. I knew she died of pressure, both parental and peer. Pressure to choose a certain career, pressure to maintain good grades, pressure to look good, pressure to blend in. I just have one regret I should have responded to her text message last night where she cried her heart out.

Tearfully, I gather all my things and set everything in the right place. Who would’ve thought that this would be the end. “It failed,” they said. “Your body won’t take it anymore.” I never believed the day would come this soon. I believed I was stronger; I was wrong.
I fill the tub as high as I could, listening to the warm water pour in like a waterfall. I stand exposed to the air, crippled and withered, and I just stare at the water. Just do it now, I whisper. You’re gonna leave soon anyway. I take a step, then bow down into sobs as the weakness consumed me.
It’s hard for someone to fathom that they’re going away forever. Where will I go? What will happen after I’m gone? Will all my memories disappear? Will anyone remember me? What will I become?
I hear soft music downstairs. A quiet melody. I follow the music to see my mother in a black dress and flowers placed on the couch. She embraces me tightly.
This is my final goodbye.

Help Me!
Here I lay
In the space where I’ll wither
I cry, I plea
No one comes hither

Help me!
My bones are shattered
My cells are at war
My temperature is increasing
My organs are tattered

Help me!
There’s a cancer in me
One that can’t be removed
It’s grown worse as I’ve grown
Nothing has improved

Help me!
My blood has been poisoned
The cancer is consuming what’s left
My immune system has weakened
My cells won’t fix anything
They won’t replenish what’s been hurt

So here I lay
Slowly dying
Soon I’ll be gone
Then they’ll be crying
But until then
I suffer.

I must plead with my need and greed
Lead me to ye pizza, Breed!
Powerful wonder shall you not cross
Or I’ll become the boss.
Eleven’s my name
Remember, you must
Bring me the food that I so very lust.
If you refuse, you’re not so kind;
For I will have
A pizza your mind.

Lonely summer days were upon me
Friends were away and the house was vacant
One blistering day, a little green bird flew staggered through my window,
Landed on my computer, tweeting loudly and frantically flapping her wings

She had been hurt
Broken
Was too far from home

I soothed her tattered feathers and coated her tiny body in soft soap
I did my best to watch over her, until she was able to fly again
We conversed until there was nothing to say
Then one day she flew away
That was the last time I saw her

She fell into the poison
The predators got to her
And her existence vanished

Another bird flew through my window
A blue bird with white patches that looked almost the same as the green bird
She said very little, a low tone in her voice
Her body was healthy, but her heart was heavy
The sorrow engulfed her, nearly consuming her
Her wings were deliberately hurt
She was ready to leave

I held her, sheltered her
And to this day I have never let her go
She’s still here
And her broken wings are now flying strong

In Transylvania there is a abundance of jicama fruit around the town. The vampires always ate them as snacks, until one day, when all the jicamas vanished. The town went into a withdrawal, because they had grown an addiction to the fruit. The vampires were fiendin’ for the fruit so much that they would search for hours in hopes of finding a jicama. After many months of searching for the hidden fruit, a jicama was spotted and protected in order to revive the jicama fruit from the dead. After years of protecting and growth of the fruit, the jicama was finally back, and the town created a system to prevent the disappearance again.

You left me in confusion of how you think of me
I can’t decide if we’re friends or if it’s more than I can see
You talk as if we’ve known each other our whole lives
But then you change your ways
You start to laugh and I can’t help but wonder if you ever felt the same
I guess you were just a game
A piece of plastic on a board
As for the game, you won, it’s over
Because my turn was just ignored.

You guide me like a lighthouse
In the darkness, you’re the beam of light
I’m the boat that’s lost
But you’re still in sight
Your light keeps me soaring
Through the waves, the crashes, and rolls
Until I pull to shore
And we don’t need each other anymore