We appreciate all those who have participated, either by submitting poems or by reading the works of our talented community.
We appreciate all those who have participated, either by submitting poems or by reading the works of our talented community.
LibraryClub: Poetry Bingo Challenge
April is National Poetry Month and this year we have added a new component to our Annual Poetry Contest on our beanstack LibraryClub!
Sign up for the Poetry Month Challenge on beanstack to start playing Bingo and earning new badges. You can even invite friends and keep track of your reading all year long.
No Promises
Who’s to promise I was given love.
When no one gave me but an empty heart.
Who’s to promise I won’t be hurt
When I was shattered more than hurt
Though I loved her and wish to see her with my eyes.
Something stopped me to a halt.
Could I step into a dream?
Out of bounds from the world
Or reality?
Or did I get caught in my self with her?
People wonder why trust issues happen.
When promises can also be broken
Who can promise me a promised land?
When they can promote a shattered place
A place full of shame
The space full of guilt
The floor made of regret.
For the one and only place I speak of Is inside me
For it is the production of love
But the production of brokenness
To ease the pain of never having her
For whom I truly wanted out of her
though the image of her
the one I wanted.
never came to reality.
but must’ve known.
that I existed
because ‘she’ never truly existed
--Symon T., 9th-12th Grade
When no one gave me but an empty heart.
Who’s to promise I won’t be hurt
When I was shattered more than hurt
Though I loved her and wish to see her with my eyes.
Something stopped me to a halt.
Could I step into a dream?
Out of bounds from the world
Or reality?
Or did I get caught in my self with her?
People wonder why trust issues happen.
When promises can also be broken
Who can promise me a promised land?
When they can promote a shattered place
A place full of shame
The space full of guilt
The floor made of regret.
For the one and only place I speak of Is inside me
For it is the production of love
But the production of brokenness
To ease the pain of never having her
For whom I truly wanted out of her
though the image of her
the one I wanted.
never came to reality.
but must’ve known.
that I existed
because ‘she’ never truly existed
--Symon T., 9th-12th Grade
i threw it away
every second
Library note:
If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or thoughts of suicide please seek help: you can call 866-629-4564 to reach a specialist with The National Depression Helpline. It’s a free, confidential, around-the-clock helpline for depression and/or anxiety. Or please call the CA Youth Crisis Line at 1-800-843-5200, 24/7 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
every hour
every day
i counted off the weeks
i begged on my knees
breakdowns leaning on the bathroom door
staring at myself at the mirror in nothing but a towel
wretchedly pale, face blotched red
i sobbed for hours, i debated collapsing on the dirty floor
forevermore lying there, never waking up
left my hair matted, stared at the sheets imploringly
each puzzle piece of me picked away
slowly
i recorded my breakdowns and watched them back with some masochistic gleam
everything i did to avoid thinking about it
the hot flames of my cheeks, standing in front of everyone in the room
i’ve never seen the walls collapse so silently
save me, i screamed, i begged so pitifully
i sought out three day weekends and let tsunamis flood my cheeks
i traveled to the furthest escapes and woke up with my skin glistening
but i had no one to blame but myself
these stirrings i found in the nooks of my body
they attacked me so briefly and saddened me greatly
i never knew how to dealt with it
i never did
i never knew how to fix it
so i threw it away
--Riley L., 6th-8th Grade
If you or someone you know is experiencing depression or thoughts of suicide please seek help: you can call 866-629-4564 to reach a specialist with The National Depression Helpline. It’s a free, confidential, around-the-clock helpline for depression and/or anxiety. Or please call the CA Youth Crisis Line at 1-800-843-5200, 24/7 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
The Blood That I Bleed
The blood that I bleed
It is crimson in color
As is everyone’s
The tears that I shed
Are filled with melancholy
As is everyone’s
These emotions felt
Define my actions and thought
As is everyone’s
Who has injured me?
Who has injured me to bleed?
This is known as fear
What are these tears for?
Why must I feel such sorrow?
This is known as fear
Is this feeling real?
What am I feeling to them?
This is known as fear
Fear can disappear
There is no correct answer
Everyone must choose
However while deciding
Something is lost, forgotten
They forget one thing
What is the blood that I bleed?
--Ulysses S., 9th-12th
My Father
Sometimes I love my father.
He taught me to be strong,
He showed me how a woman shouldn’t be treated.
My father, a narcissistic liar.
His darkness which consumes my mother’s light.
His word was nothing like mine,
His world was nothing like mine.
Did I really have a father?
My father, a sociopathic fire
destroying the life within his daughters.
Library note:
If you or someone you know has a problem with domestic / relationship violence please seek help: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
He taught me to be strong,
He showed me how a woman shouldn’t be treated.
My father, a narcissistic liar.
His darkness which consumes my mother’s light.
His word was nothing like mine,
His world was nothing like mine.
Did I really have a father?
My father, a sociopathic fire
destroying the life within his daughters.
--Harmony H., 9th-12th Grade
If you or someone you know has a problem with domestic / relationship violence please seek help: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
Nothing Like Home
People often say:
“Oh you are my home” or “you make feel at home”
But to me,
You are nothing like my home.
Because for me,
Home is a mess.
It is full of screaming and crying and cussing,
It’s like the sounds of crashing pots and pans;
Accompanied by the screaming and yelling and lots of
madness.
It is nothing,
But a roof and 4 walls.
If you were like Home,
I don’t think I would love you all that much.
Because home is anything but a safe space.
But you,
Oh, how you , my love; you are my safe space.
You make me feel safe
You never raise your voice or throw stuff
You never make me feel guilty just by eating a cookie.
You never even make me feel bad for expressing my feelings
towards you
So unlike home,
You make me feel safe with your arms wrapped around me
feeling your soft touch and you telling me how much I mean
to you and how much you mean to me.
You are nothing like home
But in this case,
I think it’s a good thing.
Thank you,
For being nothing like home
Library note:
If you or someone you know has a problem with domestic / relationship violence please seek help: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.
“Oh you are my home” or “you make feel at home”
But to me,
You are nothing like my home.
Because for me,
Home is a mess.
It is full of screaming and crying and cussing,
It’s like the sounds of crashing pots and pans;
Accompanied by the screaming and yelling and lots of
madness.
It is nothing,
But a roof and 4 walls.
If you were like Home,
I don’t think I would love you all that much.
Because home is anything but a safe space.
But you,
Oh, how you , my love; you are my safe space.
You make me feel safe
You never raise your voice or throw stuff
You never make me feel guilty just by eating a cookie.
You never even make me feel bad for expressing my feelings
towards you
So unlike home,
You make me feel safe with your arms wrapped around me
feeling your soft touch and you telling me how much I mean
to you and how much you mean to me.
You are nothing like home
But in this case,
I think it’s a good thing.
Thank you,
For being nothing like home
--Felicity E., 9th-12th Grade
Library note:
If you or someone you know has a problem with domestic / relationship violence please seek help: National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text BEGIN to 88788.