If Billy Collins could turn into a library, maybe he could change me into
something new, a birthday cake made for one purpose—to make others happy. Or
a mirror to help other see how they truly look. But they would not appreciate the
mirror they look into. I am not unhappy, to say the least, but a change [...]

I wish you were here.
Driving all on my own
to see the spinning gold spear
is just like living alone.
Driving all on my own,
watching gliding deer,
is just like living alone.
Makes me want to live here.
Watching gliding deer,
stopping for souvenirs,
makes me want to live here
to show you I made it from here to here.
Stopping for souvenirs,
to see the [...]

Wish you were here,
lying down on the ground
in the middle of all these flowers
where I stopped on the drive through California.
Suddenly you stand up and run
to the mountains.
by Ceasar, 9th Grade
(Photo provided by Flickr)

What happened to the old superman
when no one man could save the earth or land?
I saw a puddle that flooded a city
I saw one with sheets killing ones with not
I saw a bench that didn’t accept darkness
I saw black boots that stomped on the white doves
I saw one play toy kill a little child
I saw [...]

When dreams flee, the heart breaks.
When your poem sends the gentlest
waters into a rage, the petals go adrift.
When love is only black tears, the pain proceeds.
When it’s too late to apologize, that’s when
you’re left standing alone in the spotlight.
Taha, 9th Grade
(Photo provided by Flickr)

Green trees, sandy deserts,
flowery gardens outside the houses
with men and women laughing
and playing with their sons and daughters.
Then blood drenches everything,
turning pink as it stains the tree trunks,
the orange-tinted flower petals,
the crystals of sand,
the dirty hands of the soldiers,
the children’s bare feet.
War changes everything.
by Michelle, 9th Grade
(Photo provided by Flickr)

Two soldiers point their guns at each other.
Do they know why?
Their mothers will never meet,
but both will cry.
Who will shoot first,
one man or the other?
What if, in reality,
they were brothers?
Both men, ready to fire,
neither ready to die.
Both men ready to fire,
neither knowing why.
by Shane, 10th Grade

In 3 minutes I can rob
a bank,
run to Africa from Asia,
travel the seven continents,
feel sorrowful and become extinct.
In 3 minutes I can dance
on the Eiffel Tower,
win an Emmy,
be the first lady,
rule an empire.
Take the world and make a storm.
Float as a lifeless feather.
Paint an empty room.
In 3 minutes I can read
an entire library,
jump off a [...]

Our imagination can come alive.
Sometimes, I feel like I’m fading out,
like people can’t see me
or like I’m stuck in another dimension where there’s no light,
captured by evil darkness and trapped in a wooden box,
slowly turning me from who I am into an evil spirit.
But my good spirit overpowers the evil trying to get inside of [...]

Quisiera ser un ave para volar y ser libre. Estar sola con el viento para encontrar paz y tranquilidad. Volar sin alas. Mi familia dice que a veces tengo un corazón duro pues desde que asesinaron a mi papá en Colombia, siento que no puedo querer a nadie y aunque han pasado muchos años, todavía [...]