New Friend Syndrome
By Tallulah Armstrong-Temple, TIWP Student I know I fall too hardAnd forget too fastSwear I love you in the moment But the moment never lastsI wish I could hold on to someoneBut even though I try Friendships always seem to crash I call it new friend syndrome Doesn’t matter who you areOur fate isn’t written in the starsI’ll…
Change – A Letter to the Ones Who Don’t Believe
By Emma Wong, TIWP Student Why are you so scared of change? Look at the world around you.Heat is clenching its iron-hot fist around the globe,desiccating beautiful fields of rich greens and brownsinto feeble patches of stale beige. Look at the nation around you.The walls that were built on stolen land centuries agoby racist white…
Unapologetic
By Emma Wong, TIWP Student They have tried to cast us,Cram us,Stuff usInto a mold we cannot fit,Into one where girls can’t raise their voices, One where girls must be polite and sunny and quietly accepting As society pokes and prods At the qualities they don’t like, One where girls are ridiculed for wanting to…
Stories Untold
By Emma Wong, TIWP Student When you stop that elderly Asian woman on the streetWho is hobbling her way down the streets of Chinatown,Carrying bags of fresh groceriesAnd a mask tucked over her face,She already knows what you will say. She has heard it too many times before. You can claim you’ve done your research:That…
Coin Toss
By Louisa Perry-Picciotto, TIWP Student Two sides of the same coin Heads or tails Heads hidden when tails is called Tails retreats when heads is beckoned Tossed into the air Flipping for the eyes in the crowdsSurrounded by the whispers Left by the shadows Of the words to come Flipping for the yells of the pastThe distant person Once called to life Lost in the…
More
By Sol Dente, TIWP StudentThey come to meWith their primitive, backwards waysDraped in cloaks of blue and pinkThey do not understand what I amThey cannot be expected toBut they will ask anywaysIn various shades of disbeliefBecause their brains simply cannot comprehendAnything outside of their crude worldviewI will try to explainThat I am moreMore than what…
The Broken Zipper
By Olivia Falk, TIWP StudentSometimes, I have a broken zipper for a mouthSometimes, it gets stuck and I’m left silent on the sidelinesBut around the right people, it unzips with ease and thoughts flow I grasp for words to sayMy mind feels too blankWaiting to jump into conversations, the water feels too cold, too harshTaking…
Noticed
By Sarah Hawkins, TIWP StudentYou noticed me eating less.”Skinnier”You noticed my sleep become non-existent.”Disappointing”You noticed my grades slipping.”Lazy”You noticed my emotions become erratic.”Disrespectful”You noticed me lock myself away.”Rude”You noticed my appearance change.”Gross”You didn’t notice my tear-stained cheeks. You didn’t notice my long sleeves in hot weather. You didn’t notice my meals consisting of ice, gum, and…
Patriotic
By Julia Lima, TIWP Student tell me, america,what does it mean to love one’s country?is it unconditional adorationthe kind that comes with defense against anythreatening word?is it the kind of devotion that is prideful,claiming loudly to embrace its core values–equality,freedom,justice–the kind that boasts loudly over the silenced voices of those who have never experienced true equality,who have never been…
Rules of Society
By Louisa Perry-Picciotto, TIWP Student The rules of societyWalking through a silenced crowd Masks hiding the unrecognized Smiles plastered on, fitted into perfection Thoughts nailed into the heads Paper words covering the bodies Beauty PerfectionHelpless Unopinionated Are pounded into the pavement Tears in the clothsBinding the words That bind us Beauty I am beautiful in my eyes Perfection My perfections are my imperfections Helpless I am good on my own Unopinionated I…
A Love Poem
By Maxine Pollock, TIWP Student I love the worldI love the birds that get me up each morning with their carefree songI love soft sheets on my skin and waking up just to fall right back asleepI love summer picnics when a warm breeze caresses my hairI love when babies laugh and the sound hangs…
A Feminist Utopia
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP Student “Remember to imagine and craft the worlds you cannot live without, just as you dismantle the ones you cannot live within.” — Ruha Benjamin Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516,an ode to an imagined worldwithout poverty,religious intolerance,and corrupt governments.And thus the word”utopia”was born.But this idealistic,seemingly perfect,worldbelongs to him.The utopian fantasies,utopian…
I Don’t Know You.
By Hailey Topolovac, TIWP StudentI don’t know you.You know nearly everything there is to know about me, yet you don’t know me either. Though, there are some things I know about you: I know that you have the sweetest smile I’ve ever been lucky enough to see. And I know that seeing you smile makes…
To Change the World
TIWP Student We live in a time of great injustice,of death, of disease, of discrimination, of hate, of climate change, of inaction,problems persisting for centuries.It is our time to step up.We riseon the battlefield of doom.There is a lightwe see in our hearts.HopeBut some have none.If my news is wrong and your news is rightthen…
Walking My Dog
TIWP Student On my walkstep by step I move,he a step ahead and sometimes behind.But I have to move fastand with great intent.The trees look down at me from aboveand I smile wide.I hear the birds sing,their songs of love, of cheer, of sadness.On a bright sunny dayI am sweating.I need to shower.My dog squats…
One Thing
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student change one thingthe butterfly’s wingthe dominoes are falling am i still alivecan civilization still thrive if you take the queenout of her hive would i have been born?against changing the past i warnwith every rose of repercussion there’s a thorn
Did You?
By Sofia Chan, TIWP StudentStrapped in with a bindI agreed to thisI signed the contract of our relationshipA fool I wasTo be tricked into believing you caredWith your compliments and your affection When behind was an ulterior motiveA fool I wasYou used meFor affection and careTo gain compliments and attentionYou signed a contract tooWas it a…
Not so Different
By Emma Stokes, TIWP StudentI stepped outside my tentMy skin started to sizzle like oil in a panI shaded my face with my hand looking around at the dry golden grass and up at the skyAs I peered up at my surroundings I saw many a treeThe trees were swaying along with the melody of the…
Hard to Hope
By Grace Kosla, TIWP StudentYou feel as if the world hates youIt wants to make your life miserable too,You stare at the clock wishing it would go fasterThe only thing that’s on your mind is a huge disaster,You see no light at the end of the tunnelAnd everything becomes a struggle,Then finally something goes right…
The Land of Wanderlust
By Caroline Crossland, TIWP Student The little holes of deep chocolate sprinkle and indent the strawberry laffy taffy pink air.Those holes each carry a whirlpool of endless thoughts and ideasthat swivel with their own colors and fairytales,all connecting to the base of the universe.I am in The Land of Wanderlust everyday. The light purple grape sparkles…
My Words
By Sol Dente, TIWP StudentMy words are not what you want them to be. My words are not neat print. Or swooping cursive. My words are not perfect thesis statements. Written in golden ink. Adorned with jewels and gems. My words are not evidence. Not quotes anchored by heavy iron. Nor citations cupped in round…
Her Story
By Cami Lovell, TIWP StudentWhen a woman tells her own story,She lives foreverKeeping hidden, quiet,Those are invisible cursesShe is just lost, within herselfEating away at her stories, experiences, personalityUntil there is nothing left but a blank mindand a broken soulMemories that once kept her grounded,Scraped cleanA loss, too much to handleBut when the story is…
I Am From
By Ellie Hawkins, TIWP Student I am from the endless starsand the ethereal sunsets painted across the sky. I am from thunderstorms,dancing in the rainand summer crickets that keep you up all night. I am from my grandma’s endless fudgeand the taste of fresh mango that emits a sweet fragrance. I am from soft lullabiesand…
Please Don’t Hurt Me
By Elise Flagg, TIWP Student Please Don’t Hurt Me.I’m already falling. I’m an easy faller. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to attention.Maybe it’s because I tend to let everyone in.But please don’t hurt me. I’m just a girl,falling fast,for someone who barely knows her. Then again, does anyone really know her?Or do they just know her name?I’ll…
The Moon
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP StudentEvery time I reach for the moonI come back empty handedEveryone else seems to succeedTheir hands covered in moondustWhile I sit and watch from the sidelinesMy own palms holding nothing but failed attempts and empty promisesI have wished on so many dandelions, so many shooting starsBut they are never answeredThe universe…
Roots
By Kayli Harley, TIWP StudentI am from doctors, story tellers, and empathsThe quiet, the spirited, and the feeling. I am from travelers, homebodies, and the in betweenThe curious, the known, and the content.The creators and the created. I am from people. A complex tree of talesand triumphs, of pitfalls and pains, of those who livedand lived good. I am from blond…
The Devil’s Hour
By Henry Hawkins, TIWP StudentThe Devil’s hour as it’s known,It tortures and torments all the alone.You can try your hardest to run or hide,But believe me by 3 minutes, you’d have died. There’s history behind this so called Devil’s hour,Those who attempted to survive it with massive manpower.These stories always seem like heroic tales.But trust…
True Colors
By Grace Kelly A tribute to Darnella Frazier:She bore witness to somethingso unbearable to see.She bore witness to somethingso painstakingly horrid.She bore witnessto watching a man’s life leave his eyes,to watching a heart go silent,a heart that had beat to the man’s own rhythmmoments before. She bore witness to the police officer,someone who was trained…
Welcome to Episode 10 of My Podcast: Self-Transcendent Emotions
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student Inspired by the article A Rational Case for Following Your Emotions by By Amanda Mull for The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/06/emotions-arent-irrational/592486/ Self-transcendent emotions are thought of by many scholars to be what connects us all and what we need more of to help heal the world. They are empathy, gratitude, and awe.…
A Selection of Poems
By Kaia Miller, TIWP Student1. I still get those stupid butterfliesAll the poems are still about your eyesI am throwing away my disguiseYou’re my wallflowerCherry piesFlying kitesBlue bird criesI am not where I want to be but thank god I am not where I used to be thanks to my wallflowerGolden hourRed roses on the…
Disappearing Silhouette
By Kaia Miller, TIWP StudentFreckled face, hair in red lace.Bouncy curls, string of pearls.Eyes a glow, smiling in a scarlet dream.Hands clasped, sadness maskedArms raised, skirts swirlingShadows dancing without you for the first time. Water splashes oh how I adore herChipped wine glass red stained glassEyes a glow smiling in a lilac dreamBubbly laughs sadness…
Rainbow Weather
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student diamond skiessharp tonguelittle white lies sunkissed shouldervine-covered fenceeye of the beholder cloudy visioneverything’s not finerainbow fission of the mind
Midnight Atmosphere
By Olivia Tiffin, TIWP StudentThe fire crackled. The warmth, comforting you. The rain soaked the outside world, drenching the tattered cabin roof. The trees loomed over the small forest house. The sky was dark, flooded with shimmering lights above. A mug of hot cocoa sat in your hands. A blanket lay over you, as you…
Four
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP StudentSome things I cannot understandLike how she said her favorite number was fourAnd I met her in AprilOn the fourth dayAnd thought to myselfHow can this beBecause love at first sight was only in fairy talesAnd yet there it was standing in front meGorgeous and sunshine mixed into oneWho smiled and…
The Wise Woman
By Ellie Hawkins, TIWP Student “She walks in beauty, like the nightof cloudless climes and starry skies.” —Byron She walks in beauty like the nightof cloudless climes and starry skies,her glowing hair, a shining light,she can convince you with just her fearless eyes.Born with the strength of a thousand mothers and the fire of a…
Dear France
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student Dear France,I’m curious as to why you have the stance on the amendment you try to advance to enhance your nation. What’s the motivation? Because right now I can only think of one. Only one reason why you would say, at 15, someone can fanoodle with your son, but if…
Dear stranger I used to know,
By Ava Skidgel, TIWP StudentSometimes I wonder how we drifted apartTwo boats drifting away from one anotherBut at some point we stopped seeing each other clearlyWe weren’t able to see the soul crushing riftBecause we couldn’t recognize one another Our souls used to thrive within each other’s presenceWe could sit for hours on end without…
Rhythm
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentHelp me dance.My heart lost its rhythm.Yours gained it all.In your arms.Safe.For me.Dangerous.For the world.Lights pirouette though my vision.My thoughts spin to oblivion.I curtsy to your love.
Blankie I Be!
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentWarm that’s me.Me that be.Heehee.Teehee.I be warm. You love me.Dark dark fold up.Heehee.Chump.I be warm cozy Funny NiceSleepy Pretty Haha.Prettier thank you.Teehee.Poopoo.So warm.Warm warm warm warm warm warm warm.Ahhhhhhh.Warm.Cold. Cozy. Me. Be. Warm.Fold up.Load up.Ahhh.Heehee. I be.Me.A.Blankie!Warm.Fold.Heehee.Teehee.I be. Blankie!Dark alone you gone so sad.So bad.Not warm.Just cold.Without.Your hold.I be blankie.Sniff.Blankie I be. Back you be! Happy is me.Blankie is…
All for the Little Girl
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentIt was pulled back in time,The ivy,Anchoring the metal to the earth.The little girl had loved this train.Every day.She rode.Through the city.Pollution.Fogging her lungs.Smoke.Stealing her life.But she still boarded the train.In the hot summer.Her white flannel dress,Rippling in the faint breeze.Her head out of the open window.Her smile like a thousand…
Not Yours
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentDragging me down,Strapping my heart in lead bonds.Laughter filters through nothingness.Is there ever really hope If there’s no one there to feel it?Blinds pulled shut.Lights off.So cold.So alone.Who cares what they’re doing.Laughing without me.Let them try to comfort me.But they won’t.’Cause they don’t know me.Mirages.Facades.Fakes.Wrong.They see someone.But not me.Me is sobbing on…
In
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentPretty little buttons,All lined up in a row,I guess for the rest of them,It’s all just a show,The actors are plaguedWith the curse of enslaved. But the stage of worn wood, May not be enslaving,And to speak the words to the world,That just may be lifesaving. The soft of your cotton coat,It rubs against…
She
By Mina Talebi, TIWP StudentHer pen slows to a stop above her inky, smudged paper.She runs her trembling hands through her tangled, knotted hair.The wood from the pen rubs against her hands.The paper is so light.The wind, so near, so lifting.The paper drifts to the dusty floor,Finally settling on the wooden floorboards beneath her feet.The…
I’m Fine
By Kimya Karachi, TIWP StudentWhen people ask me how I’m doing, I don’t know what to say.I feel like my body has frozen and time has yet to go on.It feels as if my mouth has been sewed closed and no words can come out.My body feels as if I’ve had a chemical imbalance and…
From the Top of a Tree
By Audrey Kosla, TIWP studentWhen you’re young, you climb trees that reach the heavensYour vantage point a bird, soaring through the windsBarefoot flying across rocks, catching frogs in pitch blackThe stars a guide and the campfire a compassLeading back to sticky marshmallows and chocolate-covered facesVillains of the day are sunscreen and shoesThe empowerment of staying…
Deserving
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student What makes a life deserving to be lived?An A average?Valedictorian?Dream job?X amount of volunteer hours?Low screen time?Low carbon footprint?X amount of protest?Going through a tragedy?What makes a life deserving of being lived?It is as if we are all in a video game.Up jump left down right.We are all looking for…
Gone
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student I once held the key to your heart.It could give warmth on a snowy day,When the snowflakes fell.When the fire crackled and radiated comfort. I once held that key.I once held it in my cold, pale hand.Frozen.Because there was no fire.No warmth.No you.But I had learned your game.Your secrets.Your ways. I…
Star Snatcher
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student Black ink spilling,Tainting fingers,Diamonds glittering in the spill,Dark danger,Silent beauty,Gone.Cold breeze,Ripples your skin,Frozen grass,Crunches under your bare feet,The simple silk black dress,Tossed about in the night. Star snatcher,Night stealer,Come steal me a star,The heavens are mine,In your arms. Star snatcher,Dark thief,Hand me the moonlight,To breath.Star snatcher.Night stealer.Dark thief.Moonlight marauder.Silence bandit.Meteor…
Alone Without You
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student The sand is pulled back by the frigid waves.The water splashes against a rock covered in seaweed and barnacles. The spray hits my face, sharp and mad and shockingly cold.With a shaking hand, I wipe it off, though the smell of salt still lingers.I hear kids laughing in the distance, happy…
Pretty Girl
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student Pretty girl, Pretty girl,Stand by my side and smile.Pretty girl,Pretty girl,Let me walk the mile.Let me do the talking, the walking, the work,You just stand there and smirk. Pretty girl,Pretty girl,I’m all you’re worth.I am all you are, on this entire earth.Pretty girl,Pretty girl,Stand and watch me play.You can’t ever catch a…
Love
By Mira Haldar, TIWP Student What is love?Does it come from the heart?Does it form a connection? Even when you’re apart?Is it warm like sunshine? Or cool like rain?Does it feel like a bond? Or profound pain? Love.An eternal abyss of sublime virtue,a physical and mental state; no one can hurt you.A feeling so ardent,…
Ode for Thee, Seventeen
By Lucy Fox, TIWP Student Some people,for some odd reason,like numbers such astwo.Repulsive.I would rather haveseventeen.This may seemstrangefor seventeento be pickedas bestbut it is unlikelyto be guessed.Therefore,it is scientificallythe best.Odd?Yes.But prime,not needing to sharewith siblingslike five, ten,and fifteen.Its edgesare sharpand harsh,not softlike sixor eight.No sir.Seventeen is no pushover.One numberpeople seem to likeis five.I think that theyjustwant an easy numberto multiply.In the wastelandof maththere was a…
A Formal Apology to Taylor Swift
By Erin Hambidge, TIWP Student I’ve apologized many times in my life, but no one has deserved it more than you I’m sorry I can’t listen to your music without feeling a pang of guilt, as it still reminds me of the foolish girl I used to be I’m sorry I dismissed your songs as…
Hush
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student We have all been censored.Been told to hush,or have a trigger warning slapped on us.We’ve all been told to be quiet when they were the ones who asked.So I let my words grow old, never to be unmasked.Words are made to hurt, heal, teach.But when you are so often told…
Two Voice Poem
By Elle Gordon, TIWP StudentVoice A (A), Voice B (B), Together (C) A: TiredB: TiredA: TiredC: NOA: I have this worksheet.B: The deadline was so long ago.A: RestB: RestA: RestC: NOA: Work hard.B: Do this if there is no place to go.B: TryA: TryB: TryC: NOA: There is no stability in try.B: Don’t stoop so…
First Kiss
By Elle Gordon, TIWP Student I’ve never been kissed.Well, one that counts.You hear of your first kiss, at 13, with your Romeo and Juliet, or however else you identify.But what if you were four,you didn’t want to be an outcast so you did it though you weren’t sure?You thought nothing of it but a decade…
The Harshness
By Taryn Pearce, TIWP Student She had a dreamer’s heart and a sparkle in her eyes that no one could forget. Her soul was sweet and the chaos made her beautiful. But then the harshness of the world got to her. Drenching her in its sick rain, filled with hatred. It extinguished the flame that…
Paradox
By Kea Yoshinaka, TIWP Student Come over and hold meI’m lonely but I hate you— I hate myself more.I’ll shove you.Please don’t shove back.Sensitivity has never been too fond of me. I stare at the ceiling.I’m anxious and chaoticbordering on neurotic and holding on to whatever I’ve got left.I guess I suck the fun out of life.I’ve threaded…
Words of the Universe
By Olivia Tiffin, TIWP Student Subtlety, it’s danced across my heart. Weighing every step, one thousand pounds. A tickle reached my chest as it swam through the rivers of my blood. Stars twinkled above my head, speaking the universe’s bidding. The air around me drops, twisting my lungs into a knot. The breeze felt like…
Scheduled Programming
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student you dance in the harsh lightspotlightunclean machiavellian soulsdecay that only spreadscoating daylightin ash now darkness fallscuffs that once held heroes,confining the wrists of horrors the ones that line my history bookthe tragic atrocities that trickle into fill the previously blank pages programming blares on,switched off, by me
Dance Floor
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student up and downrollercoastersstanding on a highwaydress billowing in the windthe mind of a scholartoo shy to speakthe old man twirls his wifelittle girls spinning on the dance floor petals thrownphoto boothhelps us to remember not to forgetpictures with propsyour face in a locketthe old man twirls his wifelittle girls spinning…
Sweet Talk
By Caroline Crossland, TIWP Student Dear Sweet Talk, Let me rewind your brain just a little, from the white tops of my lavender fingertips and tell you a little story about the golden trophy who stands tall and wide with its cape and crown. And I’m going to make it even more dazzling for you,…
Touch
By Kayli Harley, TIWP Student I miss touch, the gentle caress of angelic skin, the clasping of giving hands, the embrace of tired limbs.I long for the communion of strangers, the brushed shoulders in crowded city streets, the occasional grazing of fingertips, the oblivious privilege of presence. I yearn for innate connection, the alternative to words, the warmth of a hand on my back, the thoughtless passings…
They’re Bananas
By Mina Talebi, TIWP Student Bananas. Yellow bananas. Now they’re rotten.Now they’re gone. Now there’s more in the fruit bowl. But no one eats them. They’re bananas. They’re yellow bananas. They’re rotten bananas. Now they’ve gone bananas. Suddenly,there’s more. But she’s the only one who eats them. They’re bananas.You walk into our house. There is a rotten smell. It’s rotten bananas.Yellow bananas. Rotten bananas.Gone bananas. Yet she still buys more. More…
With A Pumpkin
By Lucy Fox, TIWP StudentAnd the pumpkin shrank, as a pumpkin is not a carriage, just as I am not you,and you are not me.And why did the pumpkin shrink?Because as the bells chimed midnight,she could not face him, with a pumpkin,and two lizards,four mice,a goose,and a torn pink dress,She could not face her prince.No,she could not. She must…
The Mermaid and The Girl
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student, Age 9 The girl at the beach was having a blast. The girl at the beach was having fun at last. The girl at the beach is going to the water. The girl at the beach’s fun is drowned. Down, down, down, in the water. Drowned, drowned, drowned. The fun…
Fire
By K.W., TIWP Student, Age 9 Fire is a burning sensationthat keeps you warm.Fire can give you a warm toasty feeling.Fire feels like warmth holding you tight.Fire looks like flames rising from the ground.
Magic Is…
By K.W., TIWP Student, Age 9 Magic is…a magical force,pushing you to do whatever you want,pushing you to move towards your goal,telling you to do what’s right.Magic is…Magical.
Everything Is Important
By K.W., TIWP Student, Age 9 Everything is important.Some things can be remade, like the clothing you tore.Other things can’t, like knitting.One thing that will live on will be your memories of the things you’ve lost.
I Believe
By Samah Hamid, TIWP Student I believe in myself.I believe in happiness.I believe there’s good in everyone.I believe we can change for the better.I believe in love.I believe in peace.I believe in equality.I believe in justice.I believe in hope.I believe in striving for knowledge.I believe in fun.I believe in learning.I believe in beauty.I believe in…
Here’s What I’m Telling You
By Samah Hamid, TIWP Student Inspired by a line from Eve Ensler’s poem “Manifesta to Young Women and Girls” Voice your thoughts.Love yourself.Travel the world.Surround yourself with the people you love.Be kind but firm.It’s okay to feel.Follow your dreams.Realize how strong you are.Be confident.It’s okay to be a little ‘feminine,’ whatever that means.You don’t need…
How to Change the World
By Hettie Van Dyke, TIWP Student do not be afraid, my child.do not be afraid to run,to leap,to fly.do not be afraid to love everyoneeverythingeven yourself.do not be afraid to be everything you want to be,to drape yourself in velvet and pearlsand coat each person’s tongue with your dreams,your imagination melting in their mouth like…
Impossible Emotions
By Kea Yoshinaka, TIWP StudentSometimes, I don’t know how to find the word for how I’m feeling, so I describe it. This is me describing my impossible emotions.Being left in an abandoned parking lot during a storm. Jolting awake from a dream.Laughing until you can’t breathe.Falling on your face in front of a crowd. Waves in the ocean hoisting…
From Pebbles to Birthday Candles
By Kaia Miller, TIWP StudentWhat if I’m the only one staring out my window waiting for the sound of a pebble tapping glass to pull me out of my misery?What if I’m the only one who wasted all their birthday wishes?What if I’m the only one who wants to be whisked away?What if I’m the…
A Fall Full of Color
By Kaia Miller, TIWP StudentFree, orange, red, green and blueFree, no needs to know whoFree, only person there is youUntil you hit the ground.Every little ounce of bad wounds up and stabs you in the back,Every little crying night emerges back out and strikes,Every scar reopening,Blood rushing through the open gates,Flooding the idea of coping.
Rainbow Stranger
By Kaia Miller, TIWP Student I want to get into my carand drive until I find what I’m looking for,but not without my rainbow stranger,fleeing from the cold grasp of empty time,curls flying in the wind,his accent playing through the stereo,me and my rainbow stranger escaping time.
i love the way Mother Nature created you
by julia lima, TIWP Student i love the color green.i love the green in the trees, in theflowers, in the toads that hopacross the pond.i love the green that’s held in your eyes,so rare, no emerald could ever compare. i love the stars. i love the how they twinkle and glow through the night.i love how they spread…
The Myth of the Imperfect Woman
By Julia Lima, TIWP Student I used to say I had flaws,but that was before I realizedthat everything I had seen as an imperfectionwas createdby the media,by society,and everyone in the patriarchal worldwho profits off of my insecurities.Now I thank my bellyfor keeping in my organsand holding in all the delicious foodI love to eat.Now I’m…
Let Us Be Alone
By Julia Lima, TIWP Student let us be alone together,for it is the closest we can getto familiarity in this unfamiliar tunnelwe are traveling through. let us be alone enough enough to remember the secret joys and comfortsof eavesdropping on silly conversations and mapping out the life stories of strangers passing byand other silly things that make us human.…
Exponential Thinking
By Kea Yoshinaka, TIWP Student It happens almost every time I’m alone. My brain begins to churn, and thoughts go from milk to butter. I call this exponential thinking. Similar to metacognition, I often find myself thinking about thinking about thinking. What are we, really? What’s the purpose in this seemingly repetitive and mundane…
Life Force
By Erin Hambidge, TIWP Student I was water.I was air.I was Earth.But they burned me. They burned my green forests and lush meadows. They tossed darkness into my seas, suffocating the lives of the children. They choked the air from my very lungs until I could not breathe. I sunk low into my very core…
In the Calm of the Night
By Kayli Harley, TIWP StudentIt’s not yet midnight and the wind rattles my door as it dances in by way of my open window. The sounds of the house have quieted, night has swept over every corner of every room, and the others breathe in gentle waves; in and out, in and out. Tonight, I will close…
A Repairing of Wings
By Kayli Harley, TIWP Student Your wings were shattered when our paths crossed. You had lost all hope, but your soul was entrancing. You had life beneath your skin, there was light inside you. But, you were unable to see it. You set a date to die. You tried to rip your wings off your bodyand poison the golden fire that surged beneath the surface. All I could do was sit…
Kiss Me If You Dare
By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student, Age 9 Kiss me if you want,kiss me if you dare,but I’m not a princess in a tower.I’m ready to fight,not cheering the prince on.I’ll fight,I’ll punch,I’m strong,and I know how to pick a fight.I wouldn’t wait desperately in a tower,waiting for my one “true love.”I’d be out there,fighting the…
Artemis in the Suburbs
By Pascale Lowell, TIWP Student I am restless here.I want to wander in a forestand lose myself among the trees.I want to feel moist dirtunder my bare feetand hear the river call hello.I want to lie on the bankand sing with the birds,sit in the trees,cradled by their branchesand sleep there without dreams.I want to…
Shefesto
By Amelia Chen, TIWP Student So I will carry on, carry forth, carry out my cause, create the next clause in this chapter of my life. Through strife, I suit up and face my demons. Through the seasons I find reasons to make music and use it to dance with the chance that others will…
Leaving
By Maxine Pollock, TIWP Student Walking away is a hard thing to do.You realize that nothing is permanent.In the present, we work hard to make our conditions ideal,make sacrifices, change ourselves, gain friends, lose some.But one decision at any given moment can change everything you worked so hard to create.And what are we walking into?Why…
Manifesta to Myself
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP Student Hello.I am here,not to be an emblem of cheer,because just like you,nothing can ever be expectedto maintain anunaffected stanceon all that appears.I am not hereto raise fear,or appraise your obedience,which seems to only bringmore pain.I am not here to tell youyou are prettyor some otherseemingly wittyphrase.I am not here to…
Letter to My Middle School Self (and My Sister)
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP Student This is what I want you to know:When you mold yourself into someone else,to fit what you might think to be the “norm” or what others decide is “right”, the only person who will be hurt the most by this betrayal,is you.So what if people make fun of you because…
Pen to Paper
By Olivia Tiffin, TIWP StudentYou scratch my pages with ink and fill them with words.You write down many things, some similar, some different.But every time, the sharpness of your tip dies down with dark black words that dry permanently soon after. I have one question for you: what is the meaning of ruining the perfect…
I Am
By Olivia Tiffin, TIWP StudentI am the wind that blows through the meadow. I am the fire that lights the path.I am the stars that shine brightly upon you.I am,I am the feel of grass on your feet.I am the rocks that make your mountains. I am the river that leads you. I am, I,…
Always Like This
By Neena Grewal, TIWP Student It will always be like this,the endless tumble betweenhigh and lovelike ragged wavesso turbulently tameto the tides.I was caught in an wave onceclose to shorethinking I would dieas my head brushed the sandand my lungs ached already.It’s like this every other week.The other half isholding onto an electric eelthrilling as…
Some Helpless Creature
By Robin Grewal, TIWP StudentThey named me,for that was what I was.Some helpless creaturethey locked awayin a bird cage made of crinolines,roaming the hallswith the drapes drawnand hands slender and weak.‘Why must I stay inside?’I asked once, foolishly.His teacup clinked against its plate.‘Because you are a helpless creature,’he replied,‘And that is all.’That night, I met…
The Stars and The Sailor
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student I’ll sailYou guide me I’d sinkBut you brighten the sea I’m only hereBecause of the guarantee That when I sailYou’ll guide me
Floodwaters
By Hazel Smith, TIWP Student looking through the windowslightningthunderfloodwatersseeping into the holes you left in my heart i let the seaof nothingness engulf me and as it washes awaymemoriespainheartbreaki start anew
You Are Enough
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP Student “We accept the love we think we deserve.” —from The Perks of Being A Wallflower We accept the love we think we deserve,but we are blinded to the fact that:there is so much more lovewe don’t accept,so much more thatwants to be given to usthat we push away.Love isn’t something…
True Beauty
By Eloise Anagnost, TIWP Student I am beautiful because,I was brought to lifeby two incredible people,each soimmeasurablybeautiful.The intertwining of their soulsrendered me whole,in the mist of a chillingFall.I guess I know,afterall,what made the leaves change their colorthat fateful season.I am beautiful because,though I thought I was whole,through the conjoined souls,there was a beautyI was still…
What is Beauty?
By Amelia Chen, TIWP Student What is beauty? Is it a trait, a sense, a feeling? Does it come from wonder, from manipulating, from a blessing? What makes beautiful? What even makes being? In my hands I hold these musings, gripping firmly, not releasing. Or maybe beauty is just the word you use to label…
The Barrier
By Sana Miller, TIWP StudentSmell of sugar and burnt dreams, do the stars look different over there? Here I lie, awake at night,my slice of the nightmare.Melted candle wax to burn your skin, decaying smiles plastered on the wall. Just another thingfilling my emptiness, that’s how I look at the brick wall.
The Window
By McCoy Heaton, TIWP Student I am the broad window in the corner of the dark room,thick with black it would be, without me. I let silvery light in through my thin pane,keeping the room out of the black. I am looked at by others with distaste,as the white paint on my frame chips away.…
Pens of the Pandemic 