A Paper Figure

  He is a silent delicate shape stationed at the upper left corner of my desk. He is the lifeless bird that dreams of clouds and gushing winds, yet it is useless. He is a lonely paper bird that guards my desk and observes the handles of the grandfather clock as it clicks eternally forward.
  I wonder if he thinks he is unloved and to make sure he does not swallow that horrible belief I whisper him a name because anything with a name has a purpose and a reason to earn that name. I decided on Johnny, a reminder of that character in a cartoon who carried his only friend--a wooden plank with a marked smile and eyes.
  Johnny must stare at the jays and the Robbins wandering outside the window, envying their soft feathers and round cautious eyes. But he is remarkably beautiful because sharp folds and patterns form his body made of neon orange paper and it seems his silence drowns out any winged friend outside the window. Johnny is not alive, but attest he will never die. At least I can carry him in my pocket to the land beyond my lawn and just maybe, If I feel generous, I'll rest his frail body in my palms, stretch out at arm's length to clouds and gushing wind, and for a slim moment in his endless lifetime let him feel like he can actually fly.

All About Angels

Angels        are born from laughter, smiles keep them growing, and the suicides make them cry.

         It seems only children can keep them breathing what with adults beliefs fading through the reality they live in.

                     Birds live for angels, they just fly and explore for them, unsure if heaven has a boundary with the sky.

                                      And the echo of their songs engulf our minds.

The World

      Before we enter the world, we are clueless of its capabilities and think of ourselves worthy of luck. But than the world tickles your life, whether as early as childhood or as late as middle age, it starts to happen. But no matter the tightness in our throats or the tears that flood our eyes, we seem to heal into something stronger. Like a Christmas ornament smashed by your toddler cousin and slowly is reconstructed into a glorious statue.

Dead Crow's Nest

I was wandering the road, only dawdling because I wished to not return home.
Clouds covered the sky like an endless gray sheet. The dull leaves rattled from the harsh wind that now stormed from the west. I should have hurried on home, but why rush? It was safer out here.
Alone.
Something fluttered above. I glance up to spy a mangy crow on a low branch. He caws like he is singing, singing to the empty world.
I smile, because I am like him. Dark and dirty, no one but myself, no limit of my life. If I could, I would fly away. But I can't. Because I am dead to this world. No hobbies, no sports, not even a best friend.
The crow caws out, but tilts his triangular head to me. His embry eyes mock my wingless ability.
"Cry out, laugh all you want," I courageously announce, "You can't break me. I am already a shatter puzzle."
I shake my head. What am I saying? This bird can't understand me. But as I walk away, he seems to be calling me.
"What do you want?" I demand as I whirl around. But the crow is not there. The wind picks up and water my eyes, but I still search the roadside. The crow is gone.
I spin around to continue my stroll, but something crunches under my feet. I jump back and gaze into the dead eyes of two baby birds in a nest. Baby crows.
That's why the crow calls. She calls for her lost family, lost love.
"I understand too," I whisper, as the crow appears on another branch, "I lost something too."
I don't bother to step forward. Instead, I bend over and pick up the fallen nest in my cold hands, staring at the poor dead birds.
"I cry for you," I mutter as I place them in the tall grass on the gravel's edge. "I just hope someone will be there to cry for me."

Playlist of Her Life

1.     “Born This Way”—Lady Gaga

2.     “At The Beginning”—Donna Lewis and Richard Marx

3.     “I’ll Always Love My Mama”—The Intruders

4.     “Growing Up Like That”—Rodney Atkins

5.     “Love Story”—Taylor Swift y

6.     “Ignition”—TobyMac

7.     “Alone Again (Naturally)”—Gilbert O’Sullivan

8.      “Life is a Highway”—Rascal Flatts

9.     “Larger Than Life”—Backstreet Boys

10.  “Fighter”—Christina Aguilera

11.  “Here I Am”—Bryan Adams

12.   “Because You Live”—Jesse McCartne

13.  “Bye Bye Bye”—NSYNC

14.  “Circle of Life”—Carmen Twillie and Lebo M

Chill

I think about those moments,
that winter flooded the earth
and painted the land white.

A blank canvas to start a story,
of the birds, buildings, and bravery.

Why don't you glimpse those flakes,
and tell me what first strucks your eyes.
Is it that day of baking in the santa claus pajamas?
The morning you tumbled in the frozen ocean of your backyard as the dog lands on your chest?
Or the night you sat cross-legged staring at that holy chritmas tree, not a word needed to be said?

Think about the chill that climbs your spine
and how you only wonder when you'll see that winterland again next year.

Remember winter is a symbol of death, but after death comes birth.

And that's how the cycle moves

Dear School

Dear School,
      Do you realize you waste a good fifteen years of people's lives? That you are the cause of teen depression, agressive behavior, and multiple broken hearts?
      You take the life out of living. Making us get out of bed before the sun does; so that we walk around your halls living living zombies.
       Thank god we are zombies or we would be smothered to deth with essays, vocab, and math sheets, the thrawing stars of our teacher's wicked arsenal.
        But does it honestly please you to watch us stumble and yawn through four years of your sleep deprived institution.
        YOU ARE A MENTAL INSTITUTION.

By Meghan, Noelle, Ali, and Kristen.