Issue 4 Poetry

“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    "Winter is dead.”

-A.A Milne, When We Were Very Young

Table of Contents

Teen Mental Health

Anonymous

I too am a Soldadera

Alina Hernandez

I too am a Soldadera
I am who maintains the men in battle
They tell me I am not who earns the credit.
But I am the water for the boat

Tomorrow I'll have a voice for I will fight for my right.

Nobody will belittle me.
Besides I am the strongest.
They'll see that without I, there is no victory.
And Without victory there is no reward.

I am a Soldadera.

Time

Constantine Reyes

“Wait…”

You are moving
And you cannot stop.
No matter what you do
There is motion, always.

You are traversing space and time
In a dynamic universe.
Three spatial dimensions,
One time dimension,
Bound by the laws of physics.

Try as you might,
You are moving,
And you can't really change that.

On the inside, you are moving; your body pumps and churns.
Your molecules interact and vibrate.
On the outside, you are moving; your body trembles and shifts.
You stand on a massive, spinning, breathing, celestial body
Hurtling through space on a scale barely, if at all, comprehensible.

But we don't often notice all that, do we? 
At the end of the day, we accept that everything and everyone moves, 
Must move, constantly.

Time is always running out,
Regardless of how we try, 
We “never have enough” of it.

Manage it,
Use it wisely,
Wonder how much you have,
Worry about how much is left,
Until you use it all up,
As if you are a consumer of time.
Perhaps you are the product of it.
Anyhow, in the end, it always catches up with you.

Sometimes you can see time slow.
Instantaneous awareness,
act faster than thought. 
Before they happen. Almost feeling like you can perceive the events

Sometimes it seems to stretch on forever and ever…
Other times it feels way too short. 
It flies. it really does.
It can be a blip or a blur.
Moments whiz by faster than you can process them. 
So fast. Too fast.
Before you know it, whatever you’re after is gone, again.


There’s a recurring urge to leave the present moment behind,
For the mind to wander, and scout the possible futures,
The could-happens.
And then, getting lost in “what-ifs.”
Yet the mind somehow stays tethered to the past, refusing to let go.

But what if you could let go?
What if you could be somewhere else, anywhere else?

What if I was traveling alongside a beam of light instead?
Or maybe, standing near a supermassive black hole?
Maybe then—THEN, I could finally let time pass.
And then, in those instances, I can imagine the whole universe unfolding.
No limits.

But the vastness of space allows for thoughts to sneak in.
What if we weren’t limited by our time here?
What could have happened differently?
Where do we go from here?
What if we never had to go?

Life will inevitably bring you back down to earth.
No longer above the clouds, reality sinking in…
Eventually, your time will be up
To daydream,
To work,
To play,
To wonder,
To write,
To figure it all out.

They say nothing lasts forever
And time is an illusion.
They say not to focus too much on the past or the future
And to make the most of the present.
They say this and that,
And so I take the time to think.

Honestly, I don't really understand it.
I pretend to.
I just don't know enough. You know?
Life has so many variables, so many unknowns,
And there’s so much happening at once.
How do we even begin to decide with such uncertainty and overwhelm?
How do I stop doubting my every move?
How?
How to make the right move, at the right time, in the right place.


Not all genuine questions are respected, or answered, or even asked.
Some are thought to be self-evident.
Others might make people feel small or incompetent.
Some are better left unanswered.
We may not even know the answers.
Moreover, some questions you can only answer yourself, 
Even if you don't know how.
Sometimes, even after the question is answered, you still long to know.
Perhaps the question was answered, but your feelings were not resolved,
Maybe they grew stronger.
I still feel, and so I ask:

Where is the future?


Time is strange and invisible, but it’s always kinda there.
We forget that sometimes.
We don’t know the future, it’s hidden from us.
Even with science, we are still guessing, 
But we’re hopefully getting better.
Our best guess is that, like a film, the universe will slowly fade to black.

For now, time will continue to tick.
Long ago, the clock was set, 
And long from now, it will continue to run.
We know our time is limited, but that gives it meaning.
Like the time spent to write, or the time spent to read,
Or the time it takes to remember what I was going to say.

The universe is in motion here and now, so appreciate this moment.
It won’t last forever,
Because it’s only a matter of time before someone asks:
But what after that?
What comes next?

How did we get here?
I remember.

“So, all things considered, ultimately, in the end,” I started to ask.
“Where am I going?” I finally said.

The reply I received was candid and concise,
“Forward, to the end.”

LOVE CAN BE DIFFICULT

Anonymous

Although decisions can be tough
it's even more difficult
when it's between someone you love

When they are two priorities
it's hard to decide somethings that's undecidable

Can’t I just have both either way
Do I have to make a decision that
I dont have the answer to

Do I just let it be
or
do I chase the person I love`
that I know who will break me

Someone that I know
who will tear me apart
little by little like paper

What's best for me, that
I still don't have the answer to

Fire in a broken heart

Steven Fuentes

There’s a pain in my heart and it runs deep
Deeper than any pain I’ve felt
And there’s a fire inside that burns 
And when I breathe it burns hotter and hotter,
And the hotter I feel the more pain flows through my body
And the more pain I feel 
The more pain I feel the more dissociated I become
And the more dissociated I am the more life begins to spin and blend
But with every broken heart comes one soul
One soul that makes everything fade away 
One soul that takes all the pain away
One soul that brings life to your old soul
And that one soul
Is a soul that makes the child inside of you laugh and giggle again
And that one soul
Is a soul that makes you smile as bright as the sun
And that one soul is the one person you truly love
The one that you get out of bed for
The one you keep yourself alive for
And the one that gives you to motivation to keep going in life
And that one soul
Can be whomever you want
It’s your choice
And yours alone

Change

Anonymous

I hate that my momma got struggles
My brothers death and bills 
A 2 year old and teenagers
Juggling our emotions
Trying so hard 
Never feeling like enough
Little does she know 
She's all I need
My momma
I just need her back
Changed when he died 
Never went back
Changing us in the process
Making us numb
Now we aren’t going back
Completely numbed
Now she's back but it's been too long 
She’s all I needed all along 
But I'm too far gone.

Caught Between Land and Sea

Helga Sauer

I am caught between land and sea
Do I want to achieve my dreams, or be someone who isn’t me?

On the land, I walk a straight path leading to success
The road is smoothe, no bumps in sight
I am led to an airplane to which I will take to the perfect life
I’d consider this a smooth flight. 

But during this flight, we fly over the ocean
I see all the opportunities that I could take
I see people who aren’t buckled into this airplane seat
But I force my head away, I’ve always been taught the ocean is fake

We have finally landed and there is no going back
I’m wishing I didn’t get on this airplane
Behind me, I still see all the people in the sea
And I realize living my parents dream and not mine is giving me pain.

Slice of Life

Cheyenne Cross

Weekends at my place
Going at our own pace
But my how time flies 
Seeing you walk by 

I desperately want to see you
But you haven't a slight clue
Lunch just you and me 
Brings unimaginable glee
Seeing you surface 
Gives me such purpose

Clay’s Journey

Knox Visnak

Potter’s focus as fired glaze
Such projects beauty sure to amaze
Carefully crafted with skills as sharp
As the thin wire, used to start

Crafting visages akin to life
For mask of masks of pure delight
Your gallant glory shining through
Such beauty molded, beautiful like you

With curiosity burning so bright
A true fire of great might
Though still wet and shapeless
Something forms, oh my what lovely warmth

Is this your body?

Anonymous

Is this your body?..

She was 12 when she became a “woman”.

Is this your body?..

She was 13 when a boy asked for “a pic”.

Is this your body?..

She was 14 when she was first cat-called.

Is this your body?..

She was 15 when a man wouldn't take “no” for an answer.

Is this your body?..

She was 16 when Roe v. Wade was overturned.

This is NOT your body.

She was 12 when society decided she was a “woman”.

This is NOT your body.

She was 13 when she felt used by a boy.

This is NOT your body.

She was 14 when a grown man couldn't control HIS words.

This is NOT your body.

She was 15 when a man took her innocence.

This is NOT your body.

She was 16 when her rights were taken, as they were all her life.

This is NOT your body.

Child Trafficking

Andee Flores

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