I’m not what you think
I’m not a phone; you can’t play with me. I’m not a street; you can’t run all over me. I’m not an eraser: you can’t erase your past with me. I’m not a basketball; you can’t control me. I’m not a door; you can’t open me so easy. I’m not a flower; you can’t pick me. I’m not a tree; you can’t chop me down. I’m not a phone call:you can’t decline me. I’m not a baseball; you can’t get rid of me. I’m not a notebook; you can’t carry me around. I’m not a shadow; I won’t follow you around. Ariana Freytes |
Napoleon
As he crossed the Alps with bravery, Draped in garments of vibrant colors, The grunts of many men waiting for the next command, It took time and persistence but the goal was met. Yan Shabazz (Free Verse) |
The Other End
(Artistic Response to the Most Dangerous Game) He started to hunt as a young boy, A loveable sport that brings him much joy. He loved to hunt everyday and every night. Having the ability to spot any animal in the dark or light. He believed it was the best sport in the world, who would not? But everything changed once he fell off a yacht Running, hiding, and fighting for his life From a hunter whose eyesight was sharp as a knife All these years and he never realized What hunting was like through the animal’s eyes A sport he loved since he was ten, But the gun looks very different from the other end. Yadeja Britton |
Self Portrait of Aftermath
A Rose you allotted me -knife edged thorns kissed my skin, tongued my deep oak roots Lapped like a thirsty dog at a silent spring, drenched in the blushing aftermath of our sword fight ember light Glowing, making ghostly our faces, highlighting the hollow, Unhollowing the sacredness of the moment barking flesh ablaze, unquenchable fire behind your eyes, and in my head, a spark, a thought, a farewell note to loneliness: “I never knew you were this warm hearted.” my body stemming forth, my back arching, my lips aching, no match for the pain of the Inferno, sparking as you muse. Luminosity Scalds my flesh Your honey hair glistening under the sun spotlight, dancing momentarily in a Kidnapper’s darkened dance, blinding envisionings. day bloomed to night, budding into the eternal twilight between here and now, there and then, and branching arms enshroud me in this timeless forever Lips uniting, beneath this mistletoe infesting oak I became Famined at the feast, I paused at the parasite you left, You left me uprooted hollowed drained my vivacity Suffocated my prosperity. How breathtaking! I am trapped in this winter, filled with you and barren, infected with your colour, forlorned in your blackened white... Your ocean eyes whirlpools, my passion crash against the rocks A riptide pulled me away from shore, your tidal force takes me to new horizons, drags me under, bloats me, and at once I am the colour of your eyes...i am your pupil too well learnt in your ways, like harmless hickies lapping against the stiffness of my neck... 3am skylines, hour hand chasing minute hand, minute hand too fast for her own good, hour hand too persistent, both shackled in the same dull face of round and round racing thoughts shackled around my inner peace, like waiting for the alarm to ring, unwilling to breath until that moment never comes Sometimes I wonder if you remember giving Me this rose I salvaged from our red remembrance, I look at it each mourning, wilting spine, head unable to lift up, lifeless drooping face, petal lips frayed, too brittle too un- Touch- able, once perky leaves now facing down--but not completely, almost as if to ask “why?” and I stare into the blank... Jaida Donnerstag (ed. EDM) (Rainbow poem)* Like You
I just wish I could be like you, perfect I envy you, your hair, eyes, body wishing I want one complement its like im Fishing Compared to everyone I’m a Reject You may say that I’m wrong, but I’m Correct Wish I didn’t feel like Diminishing I just wish I could be like you Feelings Ambushing Wishing I had that disease to protect I’m done and now I want to Disconnect What I have should be worth Cherishing I wish I could be like you Alora Dozier (Rondline) Pleading Catatonia
icannotmove the tears beat against my eyelids but refuse to come out i cannot move the thoughts come flooding in and drown the only life left within me i cannot move my heart rages and punches against my chest pleading for escape i cannot move the words try to lash out but my mouth remains shut so since i am silent and still i ask you i beg you i plead with you to move me Jordan Purkiss (ft. EDM) |
Roses Plucked from the Garden
townhouses sit divided, banging fists on plaster (CUT OUT THAT RACKET) hit back, hole in the wall, who’s laughing now? daddy started a property dispute over how far the lawn gets mowed who trims in ancient ivy climbing up the wall plucking roses out of the garden, put them in a vase, set them clean and pretty until youngest daughter grabs the stem and gashes her hand bleeding unyielding onto shag carpet boy next door watches, waiting, tiger by the walking path eyes glinting salivary glands working double shift traitors press hands together to the grave the children wont play in the street if the guns stay trafficked; they will grow old but never age ancient bones growing that same ivy mending the broken wall, bandage a bleeding hand, hidden in the earth forever spend 120 minutes, approximately, learning the finer intricacies of mending broken hearts and basic building repair Ava Sailey PRINCE ESCALUS'S Declaraion
I, Prince Escalus of Fair Verona, Declare Friar Lawrence a criminal, Who has unfortunately given a Reason why to charge him with his offense. He shall spend the rest of his days in jail, For the death of the two star-crossed lovers. Lawrence must serve his sentence with no bail, Without any objection from others. Along with his sentence, he must perform A rendition of Mariah Carey. He must perform from sunset until morn, Wearing the costume of a small fairy. Now some may think this is ridiculous, But I rule this place, so deal with it, sis. Lena Monsanto The Crossing
By Ashley Burns Neon lights and blaring horns Eat here, buy this, look look look Too much to see, too much too do...too much Hotels cramped like matchsticks tower over the street Billboards, cars and traffic lights Concrete everywhere Shift to the right Turn on your headlights. We head up the sweeping incline Flashing signs and seagulls greet us Clickety clickety clickety click The gate opens. The sea ahead, flat and blue green Frosted grey and pewter sky A black gull crouches by lamp light Waves spit on pilings as I pass Rail rail rail light, Rail rail rail light Merge. We descend below the waves swallowed whole - Leviathan Fluorescent lights diffuse in its eerie gullet Exhaust smoke filling its lungs I am blinded by a watercolor sky Dark foliage speckles the shoreline Birds float in trails of seafoam Fishing boats at anchor, wait A pale blue ferris wheel passes above me Strong muscular rigging squeezing beams together Seagulls preen, feathers shed saltwater tears Dolphins breech, shiny backs a metallic copper as I pass Rail rail rail light, Rail rail rail light Merge. The wind rakes up the scent of the sea and cordgrass Pipers run along the shore Egrets wade in the marsh searching for a snack Clams lay asleep in their beds Osprey rearrange their nests clickety clickety click Winding down past fields of russet tassels of milo We feel the chaos slip away. Deer bending down grazing on new shoots A watchful hawk staring down squirrels Leaned in deep, a fox darts across the road Overlapping sheets of the POST spread over sawhorses and deck boards Steamed crabs dusted in Old Bay Oysters open, breathing steam out on the grill I sit on the porch shucking oysters Melted butter and salt sting the cuts in my hands Family and friends gather This is Home. |
THS-LITX
March 2020 Issue Featuring Work By: Anissa Bell Yadeja Britton EDM Jaida Donnerstag Alora Dozier Ariana Freytes Sarah Greene Margaret Haggerty Lena Monsanto Jordan Purkiss Ava Sailey Yan Shabazz Danny Sorano Isha Tubera Featured Artist: Adrienne San Jose About the Artist
Adrienne San Jose is an all around graphic artist, using multimedia approach in much of her art. This collection puts a little spring in the air with her photography. Adrienne also enjoys video-graphy and comic book design. Among her many talents are writing and editing this very magazine. *The Rainbow poem was invented as a creative writing activity at THS. It consist of 7 parts (often reduced to 7 lines) in which images are heavily used to connect to the emotions associated with the colors of the rainbow. The first section (or first line) is attached to red, the second to orange, the third to yellow, the fourth the green, the fifth to blue, the sixth to indigo, and the seventh to violet. The color may not be mentioned in the poem. A variation of the rainbow is the reverse rainbow in which the images move from violet to red. The images from each section ultimately are to create a cohesive whole and/or singular message.
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New Lens
She went through life In black and white. Day after day, All the same. Blending together Like shades of grey. But then he stepped Into the frame And she saw life In a new Colorful Lens. Danny Sorano |
Self-Love
I struggled with how my body looked Sometimes I wished I could keep my head in a book Two years ago, I looked at myself in the mirror But this time, the lesson of learning to love yourself became clearer Appreciating my flaws became the result of one look I sat down in front of that mirror, Wiped it so I could see my reflection clearer I pointed out my flaws and my insecurities Those insecurities turned into my purities I started to learn to love myself by accepting myself in front of that mirror Isha Tubera |
Hydrangeas
Low pH baby blue Snowballs, beautiful white blooms Panicle holds the sky Sarah Greene (Haiku) The Spaceman
A young major floats in a large tin can above the world with the stars. Bradley Martin |
Found Poem from Things Lying Around During the Quarantine
March 25, 2020: 4:30 p.m.* The New Yorker Born to Run 18,433 deaths*. All’s Lost! Nature’s Great Events: a Sea of Monsters’ New Message. Outlook Not Without Peril. A Lost Symbol, a Cameo from the Dreams From My Father The Big Bang Cosmos, The Body Spiral, Wide Ruled, The Exact Nature of Our Wrongs. Your Response Is Required By Law, Filing Deadline: April 15th. A Titan’s Curse, a recycling bag 501 French Verbs For Whom the Bell Tolls Spring Is Here! EDM |
References by Line Number
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