2006 Youth Anthology - Austin International Poetry Festival

Austin \.
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Festival
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DIVERSE
YOUTH
2006
Editor:
Deborah A. Akers
Judges:
Dr. Anna Pedroza
(Elementary School)
Valerie Bridgeman Davis
(Middle School)
Mary-Agnes Taylor
(High School)
Production: Ralph Hausser
Cover Art:
Christine Gilbert
Cover Layout and Design:
Glynn Monroe Irby
About the Judges ...
Valerie Bridgeman Davis is a poet/prophet who tells
stories with poetry and her life. Her children by birth and
by choice call her "banta," Swahili for "great mother." She
works in Memphis and leaves her love prints in Austin.
Poet Mary-Agnes
Taylor is an Emerita Professor of
English from Texas State University - San Marcos. She is
a resident of Austin who has enjoyed the roles of wife,
mother, and grandmother.
Over her 26 year career, Dr. Anna Pedroza has taught
bilingual children, worked with special needs students,
and mentored gifted/talented learners. After receiving her
doctorate from UT-Austin, Dr. Pedroza continued to
mentor students through the journey of self-expression.
She lives in Austin with her husband and son. Currently,
she is principal of Ortega Elementary School.
About the Editor ...
Poet/writer Deborah A. Akers serves on the board of
directors for BORDERLANDS: Texas Poetry Review and
on the board of directors for the Austin International
Poetrv Festival.
This Anthology was made possible by the
generous contributions of the following:
Sponsors
Barnes and Noble Westlake
Morgan Printing
Austin American Statesman
Austin Chronicle
Austin Motel
Arts on Real
Hyde Park Theater
Mercury Hall
National Arts Council of Singapore
Magic 95.5 FM
City of Austin Cultural Arts Commission
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Cultural Arts
Division
Special Thanks To
Agnes Meadows
Frank Pool,
Former AIPF Chairman
Founder of AIPF Youth Anthology
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Elementary School
6
6
7
8
9
9
10
l0
1l
12
T2
T3
t4
I4
15
15
t6
I6
L7
17
18
l9
20
2I
22
23
24
24
25
25
26
Claire Stefani (Friends)
Lucy Williams (Norses of Life)
Alexandria Yaxley (Kids Around the World)
Haley Kehoe
(I Wonder Why People Squish Bugs)
Rachel Payne (Wild, Free Creature)
Benj amin Jones (Salmon)
Jayden Williams (Nature)
Drew Cleveland (A leaf brushes my face*)
Alia Vinson (lns Animales)
Camille L. Westfall (S/qy)
Lindsey White (Puppies)
Benjamin Corley (Hockey)
Kyle Barton (Siuling Bacon)
Alexandra Tate Soechting (Rice)
Zoelrene Graham (My Own Country)
Marietta Wise (Peace)
Alexandra Coleman (Rhythm and Rhyme)
Frannie Seiler (MaA
Paige Gillespie (The Artist)
Jaede Davis (Artist)
Alex Trudel (l Like Numbers)
Stephanie Simmons (Were I'm From)
Jessica Danielle Balderas (Home)
Katlyn Green (Night Time)
Elizabeth Geisinger (The Snake Bite)
Kathryn Michelle Hill (Seasons)
Chris von Rosenberg (Tanka)
Haley Marie Soechting
(The Dawn and The Pink Sun)
Madeleine Barj au (Autumn)
Foster McFarland (The Sun)
Daniel Wheat (Night)
Middle School
27
28
30
Abigail Johanna Sanders (N i ghtfaU ))
Sarah Rahman Sahibzada (Ever After)
Harrison Richards (EXIT Sign)
High School
31
32
33
34
35
36
38
40
4l
42
43
44
46
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
57
58
Alyssa lves (Scratch)
Sharon Silverberg (The RunawaYs)
Marissa Stewart (Stealing Me)
Samantha Goodell (Remembe ring)
Ted Dorosheff (Hunter Gatherers)
Joshua Shane Riley (June 6, 1944)
Reginald E. Richmond, Jr.
(I Hear War's Screaming)
Hannah Titony (See Ya, Texas)
Kristine Keyser (Two Halves)
Melissa Gibson
(Rode o Sw e ethe art' s Moment)
Malia Bradshaw (What Kind of Love)
Rachel Foster (Forgetting the Sunshine)
Glen Powell, Jr. (The Most Dangerous Game)
Adam Schaack (M ountainous Longing)
Ariana Lawrence (The Way That It Works)
Jacqueline Mercer (Film Noir)
Amanda Gonzales (I am deftned*)
Rene Huynh (Such a wann glow*)
Molly McCracken (SeIf Porosity Rejection)
Rachel Stuckey (If Neo-con Grad Students ...)
Olga Rukovets (NIC Winter)
Chris Harris (Thinking Hurts)
Elizabeth Saldana (I dream to be ...*)
Sophie Rusu (Delicate Rejection)
Vanessa Hicks (The Curve of a Woman's Back)
* Untitled
-
first line of the poem
Friends
You can be friends with anyone
no matter who you are.
Friends
You can be friends
no matter
what size or color vou are.
Friends
Friends are special
Keep them close
to your heart
Friends
Claire Stefani
Austin Intentational School (2"d)
Austin
Noises of Life
I hear a dog yelp,
a little girl cry.
a car drives by and honks.
A cat meows,
the pecan tree whispers,
its leaves tell a story of life.
The grass says a tale of travel,
abugblzzes and lands on a branch.
The squirrel chirps,
the little bird sings.
Everyone sings the song of life.
Lucy Williams
Travis Heights Elementary (5th)
Austin
Kids Around the World
How we are different,
how we are the satne,
Kids around the world
All kids love to play
All kids love to dance, all day
All kids like stories
We are all the same.
We all like to play a game.
Kids around the world
kids have dark skin.
Some kids are fair.
It doesn't matter,
Who cares?
Kids around the world
Some
Some have curly hair.
Some have straight.
Some are naughty,
and some obey.
Kids around the world,
we are mostly the same
Alexandria Yaxley
Austin Intentational School
Austin
(2no)
I Wonder Why People Squish Bugs
I wonder why
People want bugs to die.
They seem so shy.
Why do they not say "Cutie Pie!"
Why do people
Hurt bugs
Instead of giving them
Little hugs?
Why does everyone
Squish bugs with their shoe?
It makes the crickets
Say "Boo-hoo!"
I wonder why
People don't apologize
When stepping on
One of those poor guys.
I wonder why kids kill
Bugs on trees
On the ground
And on their knees.
I wonder why.
Haley Kehoe
Cypress Elementary ( 3'd )
Cedar Park
8
Wild, Free Creature
Riding smoothly
I feel like a free bird gliding with the wind
The one creature I love so much A horse.
Free and powerful, for you to choose what to do
No one can tell you.
You are my guardian angel.
My wild creature,
A ride with you
Is so
So
Smooth.
Rachel Payne
Gullett Elementary
Austin
(4th
)
Salmon
The salmon splish and splash
Always swimming
Always swishing
They need to go somewhere
So you shouldn't try and catch them
For they have to be somewhere
Before the season's out
They have to be there
Benjamin Jones
Gullett Elementary (4th)
Austin
Nature
Nature is a soothing thing.
A heart warming thing.
A beautiful thing.
Cold, relaxing water.
Cold, relaxing rivers.
Humming birds chirping.
Insects crawling.
Leaves falling from trees.
Wind blowing soft as a blanket.
Water falls falling from as high as they can get.
Love filling nature. Nature developing love.
Nature is rising.
Jayden Williams
Brentwood Elementary
Austin
(4th
)
A leaf brushes my face,
A tree in the distance sways
The wind rushes across my face
And I say "It's May."
Drew Cleveland
Oak
Hitl Elementary
Austin
10
(4th)
Los Animales
lQue comen los animales?
El conejo come zanahoria,
fram, ffam, fram!
El changuito come pl6tano,
am, am, am!
El elefante come cacahuate,
ate, ate, ate!
El gato tome leche,
miau, miau, miau!
El cochino come elote,
ja, ja, ja!
El rat6n come queso,
eso, eso, eso!
Alia Vinson
Austin Intentational School (K)
Austin
1l
skv
The sky has no limits
to what it will be
The clouds take shape
then my imagination runs free!
Camille L. Westfall
Oak Hill Elementary (4th)
Austin
tttttf
Puppies
Drooly, jumpy
Barking, sniffing, playing
Chase their tails around the vard
Loyal
Lindsey White
Oak Hill Elementary @th)
Austin
T2
Hockey
I skate fast,
on the cold ice.
I like it fast.
I shoot goals.
I race down the rink.
I like it fast.
I turn and skid.
I like it fast.
Hockey is my game,
And Ben is my name.
I like it fast.
Benjamin Corley
Austin International School (2"d)
Austin
13
Sizzling Bacon
Sizzling on the pan
A meal meant for a man.
The smell of red, hot meat
Is such a tasty treat.
The crispy smell of bacon
Is lingering in the air.
pray
I
it is not taken:
That is a thought I cannot bear.
Kyle Barton
Oak HiIt Elementary (4th)
Austin
000 0
Rice
Rice is plain
It is mushy and sticky,
and just plain white,
kind of like a poem
without any details,
without any flavor
but with them ...
it is delicious
Alexandra Tate Soechting
Cypress Elementary (4th )
Cedar Park
t4
My Own Country
I'll
make my own country,
I'11be the president.
Only one problem,
I'm the only resident!
I'11be the cool kid,
the Big Cheese.
But no one will answer when I ask,
"Pass the salt, please!"
I'll
miss my friends,
and my family, too.
But I've found an antidote,
I'll
invite you!
Zoe lrene Graham
Lee Elementary Q'h)
Austin
Peace
Peace is colorless
a dove
like
It makes me feel calm inside
And I don't ever want it to leave me
Marietta
Wise
Casis Elementary (3'o)
Austin
l5
Rhythm and Rhyme
I hear the funky rhythm ...
I hear the jazzy rhyme.
A tingly sound that blows my mind.
I look to see what's up ...
And it pops up looking so fine.
I must follow that good straight line.
Alexandra Coleman
Ortega Elementary (3'd)
Austin
Mad
When I'm mad
There's no stopping it
My face turns scarlet
I feel like Not being Pretty!
Frannie Seiler
Casis Elementary (3'd)
Austin
l6
The
Artist
I am an artist
I paint
I draw.
I love colors,
that dance on the page.
artist
I like pastel colors.
My favorites are
lavender and pink.
artist
My favorite picture
I drew
is a ballerina,
dressed all in blue.
Paige Gillespie
Austin Intemational School (2tu)
Austin
Artist
Artist
Remember happy times
Times that you loved
It is what makes your art so great
Sensitivity makes it even better because it's
True to the heart.
Jaede Davis
Brentwood Elementary
Austin
t7
(4th
)
I Like Numbers
I like numbers.
addition
subtraction
multiplication
division
Problem puzzles to figure out,
I like numbers.
Word problems to challenge
my brain,
I like numbers.
I like a lot to work on.
I like math the best.
It is the best part of my life.
Alex Trudel
Austin International School (2nd)
Austin
18
Where
I'm From
I am from the
star of Texas
And the blue house in the alleY.
From sleepovers
And the bulletin board with all the pictures.
crash that my great, great, great aunt survived.
Titanic
From the
To the fancy headdresses that an Indian chief wore
And my back yard littered with beer bottles.
From the blue deck scattered with so many memories
To the trampoline with so many holes.
From being split, two new homes
I am from camping and Enchanted Rock
And those car rides to the places I love.
From climbing fences just to get in my house
From the things that make me haPPY
And all the things that make me sad.
Grace, Vicki, Jessica, and Celina
my friend forever.
affected
almost
to 9-11 that
From rosaries and used moPeds
the
club soda that I tried to make Sprite with.
and
Pizza,
I'm from Kasi, Bill, Rosemary,
I am from Trophy's whose music kept me up all night
I am from #!*#@ ! (my dad has bad road rage)
From "Be home at five," and the house on Forest Avenue.
To "Call me when you get there" from my mom before I go.
I am from the bird in my playhouse, which my cat ate.
I am from everything
Travis
Stephanie Simmons
ni\nts Elementary (5th)
Austin
t9
Home
I walk in the dark shadows and think why I am not home.
Home is where people greet you with a hug as you
enter the door.
To be in your mother's arms
And feel the joy melt on you.
You see her smile that same smile.
To see your dad's face fill with joy as you walk in the door.
Home is a place where laughter fills the air, and you are
overjoyed as you play.
I would give anything to be in my safe warm bed.
Home is a place where precious memories live inside
the walls.
I remember on cool summer nights we went to the meadow
with bare feet
And catch fireflies in our hands.
I can almost feel the soft squishy grass between my toes.
Home is a place to play all day in your rose garden
Tending to your roses
As you see them gtow from bud to flower.
Home is safe and warm.
Jessica Danielle Balderas
Jollyvilte Elementary ( 5th )
Austin
20
Night Time
I lay there on my comfortable bed,
moonlight shining through the window
making a patch on the ground.
I hear cars driving by
TV flashing on the wall.
I hear squeaking noises and an ambulance,
It gets louder and louder.
I look out the window and run outside
to see what is going on.
It pulled into the apartments,
My mom's friend on the bed in the ambulance.
The lights hit my face,
And the noise is so loud that it stands out in the
dim night,
I find out she has had
a heart attack.
Katlyn Green
Travis Heights Elementary (5th)
Austin
2l
The Snake Bite
The slithering snake's skin
Not needing
a
fin,
While hunting his prey,
Has nothing to say.
The ground has a chill,
A
snake in the
wild,
While the ground was still,
The snake came upon a child.
The child with nowhere to run,
Not waiting for fun,
With fangs sharp
as claws,
Snake bites, child falls.
Elizabeth Geisinger
Oak Hilt Elementary (4th)
Austin
22
Seasons
When the last rose bowed its head,
The trees knew it was time to give up.
As they're falling through the darkness of sleep,
They think of good things.
When sleep is done, their fingers
Scrape up the freshly hoed dirt and soil.
Water rushes through the fingers to the mouth
Like a flowing river full of life.
As the first rose lifted its head gracefully,
The trees knew from this moment and on,
It was a whole new beginning.
Kathryn Michelle Hill
Cypress Elementary (4tn )
Cedar Park
23
Tanka
Fall has taken place
lraves color the earthy ground
Red, yellow, auburn
Gusts send them off in the air
Only to float back downward
Frigid raindrops fall
A cold breeze shows its presence
Ice flakes cascade down
Green trees change color to white
It's a winter wonderland.
Chris von Rosenberg .
Oak HiIl Elementary @th)
Austin
The Dawn and The Pink Sun
As I sit
on my porch
while watching the sunset,
I think of a friend,
because she was
the dawn
and the pink sun
to me.
Haley Marie Soechting
Cypress Elementary ( 3'o )
Cedar Park
.
24
Autumn
Orange and red leaves
fall on my head.
Autumn colors
Children crunch them
under their feet.
Autumn sounds
Summer is gone.
Everyone is happy.
Thanksgiving comes.
November chill.
Autumn thrill
Madeleine Barjau
Austin International School (4'')
Austin
The Sun
Today I told my friend I was going to the sun.
But he told me that I would burn and it would be
no fun. He said that when I got there, the sun
would be too bright. But I said "don't worr],"
I'm going at night.
Foster McFarland
B rentwood Elementary (th )
Austin
25
Night
Night windblows through the trees.
It's dark.
Night comes early now.
We have dinner in the dark.
It's nighttime.
Out my window I see the moon
in the sky,
a
big silver ball,
floating up high.
It's night.
Daniel Wheat
Austin International School (1")
Austin
26
Nightfall
A bfud swings low
in the burning sky,
floating upon the flow
of nightfall.
The last leaf
swooshes to a stop,
and sighs
in relief:
nightfall.
A burning tiger glides
in the lazy jungle
as the
calming tide
of nightfall overtakes him.
Burning bright,
the sleeping stars
of the night surrender to
nightfall.
Abi gail J ohanna S ande rs
xeiltng Middte School (8th)
Austin
27
Ever After
Do you believe in happily ever after?
Could there really be such a thing?
Does the east of the sun and the west of the moon
Lie beyond the immortal spring?
When Apollo draws his chariot gold
We watch the sky dance amethyst, aflame
Legends of our past are commercialized, sold
For all that glitters is not gold.
And if I said happily ever after,
Would that always mean forevermore?
What could one do to deserve eternity
Could this be the truth in the ancient lore?
We hear tales of the damsel in distress
And the knight in shining armor who comes to her aid
Today's tales are not much more or less
Our ancient repetitions merely in new clothes are laid.
Were the brave engraved in the grassy fields
Where in their honor poppies grow blood red
While in books lay the popular clichds shield
Do they rise aflight instead?
28
And if I said happily ever after,
Does that mean Eternity?
Will it be always happiness and laughter
Or daily life opposite sincerity?
A prophecy at the spinning wheel
She pricked herself at age 16
A tale, a thought, a dream, a deal
Or excuse of one who wants only preen?
These ancient tellings that now bring
The idea of beauty, the way the birds should sing
Long blond curls and emerald green eyes
The illusion of perfection brought by tales oversized.
"E tu, Brute?" great Caesar cried
Yet immortalized in his death
His fame is the fame of Shakespeare's sun
Or like good and evil, Horus and Seth.
Passing over the ironic link
But few of us have stopped to think
If I said happily ever after,
Does that alwavs have to mean the end ...
Sarah Rahman Sahibzada
Cedar Valtey Middte School (6th)
Round Rock
29
?
BXIT Sign
The EXIT sign
It's like
a god
to me,
Because
Of its shininess,
But to you,
It's
a beacon
Of red light,
When you're
Too drunk to see.
Or even think.
And, after the football game
Is over,
And the empty bottles
Lie there,
Empty,
As the chubby fry cook
Comes out,
"Oi! Get off the table."
Oh, EXIT sign.
Harrison Richards
Kirby Hall School (/h)
Austin
30
Scratch
It costs a dollar
and a penny.
The thrill of the scratch
revealing the hidden
Fuels my obsession.
You will win 2,
Then lose 5,
But with each unveiling
A new chance
A new possibility
Arises.
Life is too short
To dwell over the 5 lost,
Butjust long enough
To rejoice over those 2 won.
It is the possibility of
Another life
So I grab
Another lotto
Alyssa lves
Wstwood High Schoot ( nth )
Austin
31
The Runaways
It was early in the morning or maybe
Too late to remember and you were
Rubbing the sleep from your eyes when I
Honked the horn. You stepped out and
It was like the sun came up again for the
First time in years. We were
Young and in love and everything was
Fresh with morning dew even as the
Streetlights faded to a dusky rose in
The hours between fatigue and sleep.
Your head on my shoulder, I
Watched the bright lights stream toward us
Into oblivion, our eyes blurred from exhaustion
And the exhaust pipe wheezing into the wary air.
It was a long way down but we
Made it halfway there and stopped to rest
And watch the sunrise bloom pink on the horizon,
A strawberry kiss transcending our lips to the hills.
We left the map in El Paso, hitching rides
When the gas money turned into liquor money
And liquor money dissolved sweet and sickening
On our tongues and ended up blurting from our
Sweet pink lips into bushes crouching stealthily
Behind the burlesque highway.
We led ourselves through the wastelands toward
The coast, whichever one we hit first, we said. I said
Atlantic, you said Pacific, and we figured we'd just
End up somewhere along the border of Mexico.
I hear it's beautiful this time of vear.
Sharon Silverberg
Anderson High School (I2th )
Austin
32
Stealing Me
A smile is frozen on my face.
I can't let them see I don't remember.
What I was doing ...
Where I was going ...
Who I was speaking to ...
It's all so unclear.
Floating through grey mists,
never to be seen again.
The dreams haunt me.
The hands that comfort ...
Voice that soothes ...
The warmth and happiness ...
Goes dark. It is an empty stage.
I worked so hard,
built so high.
Who would throw it down?
Break me down?
Make me not remember ...
The grey swoops in
The empty dark ...
...
My screams are muffled.
My strength and soul just out of reach.
Lost to me.
Build me into what you wish.
Slowly now,
for I can't even remember
Marissa Stewart
Lago Vista High School (9th)
Lago Vista
33
Remembering
Her face, faded and torn, sits perched
On a stone as he traces his dirt-covered finger
Along her cheek, the warmth that he once
Knew so well, gone from memory.
A horn sounds, overhead, and thousands of men
March in step to the edge of the hill. Heads held
High, old and young stand ready, clenching their fists
And whispering a last goodbye.
Charging, he looks out at the endless sea of
Grass stretching beyond the peach orchard before
Him. The smell of hot lead and gunpowder permeates
The air as fire clashes with metal around him.
Clouds of smoke hover over both lines
While thunder booms over his head. Swords meet
As brothers fall to brothers and the sacred bond of
Family lies in shattered, crimson pieces at his feet.
The masses let out a yell as fear, a massive flame,
Burns bright in every rushing face. Birds flee
From the trees, families shut their doors, and
Children hide their eyes as the lines collide, and he falls.
Bang! Rows of tarnished and unmarked stones line the
Earth at my feet. Fresh air sits calmly
above the solemn ground.
I turn and spot an old photograph lodged beneath a rock.
I pick it up, and a woman, her face faded and torn,
smiles gently back at me.
Samantha Goodell
Trinity High Schoot (l2th)
Euless
34
Hunter Gatherers
While he hunts the caribou
On a distant plateau,
She stays behind and weaves
The willow fibers into cloth.
When he carves the a:rowhead,
She gathers moss on the tundra nearby.
While he patrols the canyon wall
She adds mushrooms to the stew.
When he is wounded in the fray,
She stops his blood with magic dust
And offers prayers unto the midnight sun.
He protects her from the spider's fang.
When freezing rain drips down his neck
She beckons him to sit beside the warming fire.
Ted
Dorosheff
Westfield High Schoot(I lth)
Fairfax, Virginia
35
June 6,1944
In a steel boat,
I stand beside twenty of my comrades,
All anxiously awaiting our chance
To fulfill our duty to God and Country.
It is D-Day.
Salt water hammers the sides of our vessel.
Smoke blankets the sky.
My heart flees from its resting place in my chest
To take refuge in my throat.
It is D-Day.
My face becomes pale and clammy
As Death's screams batter my ears.
Aerial artillery rains down like hail
To steal the virtue
Of the boundless, sugar-white beaches of Normandy.
It is D-Day.
Gun in my hand,
Cross around my neck,
I hear Death call my name, summoning me,
But I refuse to give in.
It is D-Day.
I glance to my left
And see three men praying,
Heads bowed and arms around each other's shoulders.
Another man looks at a tear-stained picture
Of his wife and newborn son.
Today could be the last time he'll see that photo.
It is D-Day.
36
The closer this floating
Seasickness-inducing, metal coffin gets to land,
The more vile the stench
Of wounded bodies and chared corpses becomes.
My gut expels vomit in protest.
It is D-Day.
With a thud the boat touches shore,
And its ramp sinks into blood-covered ground.
As my buddies and I storm the beach,
Iraving footprint beyond footprint in the sand,
A minuscule piece of shrapnel slices my cheek.
It is D-Day.
Sweat pours down my face,
And its salty sweetness seeps into my mouth.
My ears ring with the chorus of automatic rifles
As a soldier next to me takes his last step.
I fall to my knees to read him his last rites
While bullets dance 'round me.
With his final strength,
He hands me his faded, tear-stained photograph.
It is D-Day.
I tuck that photo into my shirt
And lift my rifle,
Then charge the bloody gauntlet before me.
I say a prayer and ask for protection.
I'm caught in the middle of D-Day.
Joshua Shane Riley
Trinity High School (12'h)
Euless
37
I Hear War's Screaming
The sound of bombs
Releasing from planes,
Destroying thousands of people
Unprepared for destruction,
Their funerals given without peace.
Wounded citizens screaming for help,
Screaming in pain.
Dead bodies lying still,
Insects feeding on corpses.
Pearl Harbor,
Now in rubble.
Planes bomb from every direction,
Leaving citizens confused and scared.
Screams echo endlessly across the sea,
Deafening screams,
Silencing one man's cry for freedom.
wwI,
A man is killed.
And the whole world is involved.
Innocent women and children,
Killed without a reason.
Young boys gone off to war,
Soon forgetting
The reason for the fighting,
Some hoping to come home soon.
38
WWII,
The world
seems to come to an end,
Races destroyed by a great dictator,
Hitler.
Camps set to destroy
Without meaning or purpose,
Children and adults
Put into gas chambers and burning beds.
9lll,
Random planes crash into buildings
Without warning
Or reasonable thought.
Children evacuate schools:
Adults leave jobs.
Children panic,
Confused,
Only wanting their security blankets.
Parents wolTy,
Scream,
"I'm coming ... "
Watch sons, brothers, friends, husbands
Go off to war;
Hope they will come home.
Only memories hold them close.
Reginald E. Richmond, J.r.
Trinity High School (I lth)
Euless
39
See
Ya, Texas
Six months,
I'll drive away
And hope not to get lost.
I didn't realize
How scared I'd be.
Surprise.
Returning to my roots,
I'll make my family
So proud.
Just pretend, baby girl;
Smile sadly.
You're all right;
Tears
won't stain.
Turn their expectations
To gold.
The Future says,
"Travel North."
So wrap up beautiful memories
In that bold heart.
Hold on.
Brace yourself.
Make that new city shine.
Shake Reality's hand.
It ain't that bad.
I'll
throw my hat
Into the air.
Snap chapter-ending photos,
And be gone.
I
just don't know how I'll leave
How will I ever leave?
Hannah Titony
Trinity High School (12)
EuIess
40
Two Halves
Ballet was good for her her muscles growing, toes pointing,
height extending.
Ballet was good for her classic music playing,
the vivacious young dancer
listened to butterflies:
the keys of pianos.
Ballet was good for her new French words, new French bodY,
new friends:
an anorexic model from Brazil;
she writes gay literature.
Ballet was good for her it taught her new things she didn't know:
how your throat works backwards,
exercising with colonics.
Ballet did miracles for her pushed her hips out, toes out.
shoulders back, arms soft moulding elbows, fingers and face.
Ballet was how she kept her lips tight
those butterflies in her stomach
would
flutter
flutter
away
if
-
she opened her mouth.
Ballet was how she learned to write
gay literature.
-
Ballet was good for her.
Kristine Keyser
Alamo Heigh* High School (12'h1
San Antonio
4l
-
A Rodeo Sweetheart's Moment
Silence flees
With the familiar introduction of my name.
The arena, awkwardly empty, beckons horse and rider.
Blinding lights illuminate the ebony night and anxious
faces of the crowd.
Three identical barrels twinkle invitingly in the glow.
Liquid anxiety flows like currents of electricity through wires;
My body trembles, my heart races, my veins tighten.
Electric desire wildly flows from my fingers,
Seeps beneath into my muscled steed.
The beast impatiently stirs,
Searing, burning to complete the much-awaited pattern.
A jolt from powerful legs,
And inertia pushes me forward.
I whisper, "It's all ours, champ."
His dashing thunder of hooves echoes through the chute,
Announces our entrance into the arena.
The caged butterflies inhabiting my stomach
Fuel my anxieties, then fly free as we round the first
and second barrels.
With grace and balance, like performers in a water ballet,
We turn the final barrel.
A swift kick and a quick kiss rocket us into a flying gallop
On the unbreakable strength of his iron muscles.
Flying, glowing,
Ecstatically serene, purely satisfied,
My horse kicks up his heels.
My hands no longer on the reins;
I cling tightly, lovingly 'round his neck
As he carries me 'cross the finish line.
Melissa Gibson
Triniry High Schoot (l I'h )
Euless
42
What Kind of Love
This isn't
thatkind of love.
This isn't how I loved him.
how the goblin in my throat
curled into a ball
every time I imagined losing him
how my hot tears didn't hesitate to form
when he kissed me good night
burning a new kind of mark
No
this love is a different kind of love
the kind you can only hope
you never experience
again
for you
are nothing more than
a comfort
like an artificial plant
sitting on the edge of the business man's desk
He only wants it there
to say he has a plant
without having to nurture it
with food and water ...
without having to care
His clients will take note of it
reflecting, 'oh, what a deceiving arrangement'
but the business man only bought it
because he knows from experience
that real plants die.
Malia Bradshaw
Wesrwood High School (Idh)
Austin
43
Forgetting the Sunshine
The morning sunrise warms the room.
As the bright gleam fills my eye,
A new day begins New ways to remember.
I remember how you warmed my heart,
Making it sing forjoy.
I remember how you made me laugh.
I remember
A brisk wind whirls the air,
Hugging trees, cracking twigs, lifting leaves.
It's like a fateful dream
Whose ending is all too clear.
I remember your sweet whisper,
How you used to calm and soothe me.
In the worst of times I took refuge
in you arms.
I remember.
44
It's growing cold outside,
Almost unpleasant.
It's not easy to see the sunshine anymore
And it's only getting colder.
I remember the chilly looks you gave me,
How you stared in disappointment,
How you said you wanted the best for me
But only wanted the best for yourself.
I remember.
It's pouring.
I'm already soaked.
I try to prepare for days like these.
But I'm always standing in the rain.
I don't want to remember anymore.
I'm tired of the storms in my heart.
I'm tired of the downpour of tears.
Maybe I'll leam to forget you,
But how do I forget the sunshine?
Rachel Foster
Trinity High School (12'h)
EuIess
45
The Most Dangerous Game
I hunt the most dangerous game.
Not javelinas among the East Texas grass,
Not the fatal bobcats of the California pass.
Not the Colorado timber wolf between the
mountains tame.
No, no sir, this is a much more dangerous game.
This game is all the more lethal and will strike
Without warning or notice
Motionless and stealthy, she traps like a lotus
She distracts the eye with these things that you'll like
It'll rise and overtake you just like the Third Reich.
I hunt the Great American Female.
And how those monsters can put up a fight.
Masters of illusion,
You think you have them in range but they
are out of sight.
Think you are the one hunting, reality soon
makes you pale.
Hunting her is exhilarating, if you don't end up in
jail.
I make my way to the great beast lair,
They roam in packs in a jungle called the mall,
Venturing there is hazardous, meant for men with gall.
You can enter the place, but proceed with care.
She'll talk you to death about books, movies and hair.
46
She wears a paste that masks her real face,
You don't know what's under that cream.
Could be a girl or just low self-esteem.
With this "make-up" she'll look harmless,
even hot
Get away from these girls cause most of the
time they're not.
Don't look like you're hunting,
keep the excitement inside,
She'll pounce once you show interest,
that's when she knows,
You'll be at the mall with her in no time,
buying her clothes.
Hold on tight, try to last out the ride,
But jump off quickly when she starts reading
Modern Bride.
Glen Powell, Jr.
Westwood High School
Austin
(Ilh)
I
\\
47
l/
Mountainous Longing
"Do you remember? The colour and the smell, and
looking across at the Grey Mountain in the distance?
And because it was so beautiful, it set me longing,
always longing ...
C. S. LEWIS
"
Do you remember
when we sat together,
never
see
touching
always wanting to
-
what was on the other side
of that mountain?
With deliberate speed
We
Flew
and ran, hand in hand together
Down
through the corn fields, and spreading
The
spectral wings on our backs, we flew down the
Mountain.
You were never more beautiful
than when we sat in the weeds and mud.
counting dandelion seeds. You
hurt
me when you left
your kisses and your love
only with the flowers. I have
heard too many times that we
are
just friends.
Adam Schaack
Wesnvood High School ( I lh)
Austin
48
The Way That
It Works
Creativity and i have this love/hate relationship
when it comes (in the form of poetry)
it defines itself by scratching its way out of a cheap
black pen
a distorted and harsh product often signifying inexperience
more errors that have to be fixed (in time)
when creativity loves me (seldom).
my verse is sodden with demonstrative extended metaphors
and swift rhetoric
rooted in these devices is my message (though convoluted
it may be)
from it, maybe you'll obtain a sliver of comfort (perhaps
a dose of seething pain)
or insight
or something
when it loves me (never)
so don't be afraid to let it guide your psyche (for a
limited time only.)
it just might take you wandering into the zenith of your
existence (or endless depression)
now answer the question with the correct choice below:
which friend is more fickle
A - fame
or
B- creativitv
Ariana Lawrence
Lake Travis High School (Ldn)
Lakewav
49
FiIm Noir
mary has one green eye,
one brown. and I don't
know which one to look at
she tells me how she often dreams
of pregnancy, tiny fetal limbs
that flail and swim beyond
any type of interpretation
but children would ruin
everything, she says,
because she wants to be
and old+ime movie star.
exist only in black and white
never Technicolor
-
she want to pose elegantly
upon a balcony, bellow
over cigarette smoke and,
with sexual overtones,
say,
come up and see me sometime
however, I believe she believes
she's destined to be a mother
because she says "when,"
not "if' and tells me that all she wants
is to live up to her name: have it
be immaculate
because when she pictures the future
she knows she'll have,
she sees herself reclining
in the back of a taxi, breathing
hard and hoping
someone will hold her hand
at the hospital
Jacqueline Mercer
Westwood High School (12'n)
Austin
50
Iamdefinedby, the
color
the tone
of
of my voice,
myhair, and the way each curvein
my body
twists whenlsit. I am
defined,by
pimpleonmycheek,
and dots
the huge
by the slashes - - -
... in my writings,bY
theeempty
space
hot cup of coffeewith
the smell of brown if
had a smell. Or its steam as
ithitsmyface with
slaps
filled with
a
it
of the morning
I am defined bY the teacher
who pours
outtears
grateful for a student
like me, by the cold
leaves dreading the day they'll get stepped on. I
lm defined by the undefined terms and
words of the Holocaust
victims, by the quotes of Emily Dickinson
and her
never ending sentences complete my thoughts; I am defined'
Amanda Gonzales
Reagan High School (12'h1
Austin
5l
Such a warm glow she exudes Not a particularly bright light
But pleasantly dim
and pale.
Her presence, unembellished
But her wings, far from frail
And these, she
extends
to shelter
Not for selfish flight,
How lovely she glides in
To cure the worst of my blight
An angel she is not,
Very human she is, indeed
But come tempestuous rain
Nothing will impede
and blustering wind
The progress of the burdensome walk she chooses
As she stretches her tattered wings
Made heavy by ruthless age,
And without a thought,
Wraps them around my fragile being
While an unforgiving storm
Always indiscriminate
Pelts, in a frenzied rage,
Her bent, hovering form:
Although lacking brilliant sheen
My mother
With all her humble flaws
Is the most radiant portrait of imperfection
That I have ever seen.
Rene Huynh
McNeil High School (12")
Round Rock
52
Self Porosity Rejection
Everything in the entire world is beating
with me, against me, around me
life grasps my entire being
and captures me in moment after moment
until I feel like a film reel playing in slow motion
I can hear everybody laugh
and feel the sadness of everybody crying
all the tears that were ever cried
and all the laughter ever bellowed
all echoing through strings and strings
of brain tissue
I watch every sin performed
while Frank Sinatra sings
and I taste the mixture
ofchocolate and garlic and soy sauce
but I want to experience these sensations
individually
I want to listen to rain drops
and feel them on my skin
and know that I am standing in the rain
It all comes to me when I am sitting
in one place at one moment
I open my eyes
and I see that I am alone
and I can suddenly feel
the silence of solitude
harder than ever before
Molly McCracken
The Grffin School (Ido)
Austin
53
If Neo-con Grad Students
Made Motion Picture Left-wing News Tabloids
The coffee machine screams in a boxy-prox room
saturated with rip-rendering snob goblins,
all hip-handling and felt-belting with leaky reeks
of
soft emulsion.
Snip-shivering flicky-flickerslicks of polk-tolkery
slob
job blip.
They have problems with society.
Capitalistic sloshy-gloss consumer eve-weevils,
and trying to pay the rent.
If people won't listen, they'll
at least watch
-
Their eyeballs slick-slackery over the grim-grinding
muck. Eating foul plates of
shimmer-swill and bent mint.
Rachel Stuckey
Anderson High School (12'h)
Austin
54
NYC Winter
We parade around in one-dollar, meant-for-tourists,
balloon hats with big hearts (as we hope ours are) big as our smiles - that bob atop our ungreyed heads.
Our scarves nearly choke us
and our jackets make us blimp-like
as they shield us from the New York City winter.
We stand back and watch as an aged man perhaps once the front man of a garage band stands in front of Duane Reade and shouts
obscenities as his calloused fingers force their tired
way down the steel strings of his electric guitar.
We swear never to get that old
and the man's weary (not yet defeated) eyes glare at me,
try to pierce into me with experience,
as his lips form a devil smile.
We laugh and shiver,
walk away
into the comfort of our vouth.
Olga Rukovets
Tenafly High School (l2tn)
Tenafly, NJ
55
Thinking Hurts
Wake up and get upi get ready to drive to school;
Sit, pay attention, participate, and look interested These are the commands of my teachers,
Often unspoken but clearer than the brightest of
summer days.
We learn to fall in line and obey, and then we just
creep along.
Life no longer changes; it just is.
Standardized tests and number two pencils envelop
our lives.
Our minds are exercised and pushed to their limits,
And this is the norm for twelve years:
We awaken, go to school, and are made to learn.
It's all I've ever known. and I wonder if it will ever
change.
I know better, but in the back of my mind, the thought
eats away:
We are all soldiers, drilled to perfection, meant to be
flawless.
Irealize now that, while necessary, thinking hurts
and is easier not to do,
But we have to think anyway, so we might as well
get on with it.
I leave you, as always, to think about the words you
have just read
And to wonder, "When will we be spared these thoughts
That currently plague our minds?"
Chris Hanis
Trinity High School ( Idh)
Euless
56
ldream to be afree sPirit
but am caught in an organized disaster
I appear put together, faking discipline
and need to cheat out of the prim and proper
Oh but how my chest sits heavy with changing faces
Elisandra Saldafta
Reagan High Schoot (t
lh)
Austin
Delicate Rejection
In gray-blue and denim,
she sits languidly at attention,
auburn hair in a bun
sloppily stuck through with a gnawed pencil,
rectangular tortoiseshell glasses
perched on the bridge of her nose,
purple pen hovering over her notebook,
poised to record the intricacies
of King Henry VIII's sex life.
She is casually sexy, infinitely nonchalant,
ignoring me in all her splendid grace.
I would strive to capture her delicately,
but she (very kindly)
does not deign to acknowledge my existence.
Sophie Rusu
Westwood
High School (12'')
Austin
57
The Curve of a Woman's Back
The world's orbit could not align my perfectly
The most delicate shape of her back.
Syrnmetry to baffl e mathematicians;
An arch gravitating to undermine the concept of science.
Oh the electricity of that which lays touch on her skin
Sensational bubbles, clad with wild molecules
open fire onto your finger!
Skin covering flesh, flesh covering bone,
and the bone holding secrets of another world.
The Loess hills stare with jealous eyes at
her curving mounds
rising and lowering like
a wave with nowhere to go - just a wave.
Two pillars of ancient bone, timelessly reaching the
epitome of Hunger and Touch.
On of beauty, one of lust.
Creamy fruit pastries shaded gray next to it.
Heat of burning coal made ice.
Place the ice cube on her back and watch it fall.
slowly, cautiously, melting away in the heat of her body.
How lucky.
Vanessa
Hicks
Anderson High School (12'h)
Austin
58
About the Artists ...
Christine Gitbert (cover art) was an English major in
college, got a Master's degree in Latin American Studies,
has worked as a copy editor, is married, and raised two
boys. In 1985 she started taking art lessons and she now
hai an art studio and paints watercolors and acrylics' She
still does some editing and writes poetry, and she loves
to dance.
#FF
Glynn Monroe Irby (cover design) has created graphic
designs for advertising as well as graphics for two poetry
books: 3 Savanna Btueby Irby, Carolyn Luke Reding, and
Peggy Zuleika Lynch, and Silhouette to Unheard Music
by iynch. A professional member of American Society
of Interior Designers, he also belongs to the Galveston
Poets' Roundtable and the Writers League of Texas'
Irby holds a BA in history from the University of
Texas at Austin, with previous studies at the University of
Houston, Brazosport College, and Edinburg University in
Scotland. He completed additional graduate studies in
architecture at the University of Houston.
59
Editor's note ...
The editor wishes to thank the parents, teachers, and
especially, the students who made this book possible.
For without their willingness to share their personal
vision and creative insight, there would be no anthology.
My most sincere thanks goes to our next generation
of poets.
...Deborah Akers
Austin
\.
"*tt"r4t
Donations are Welcome
For information about this anthology please contact:
aip.t t a @ s b c e lob al.. ne
t
Austin International Poetry Festival
Youth Anthology Editor
PO Box 26455
Austin, TX 78755
Typeset in Times New Roman
Text page layout by Ralph Hausser of Eight Hands press
Printed and bound by Morgan Printing
900 Old Koenig Lane, Suite 135
Austin. Texas 78756
60