Fool's Gold by Kira Chen

she counted down in agony,

waited for what came next, 

the hero’s descent from glory, 

broken as she watched the crown melt, 

watched the poison trickle down her neck

diamonds lay dented on the floor, 

while her piercing eyes hit the glass

the tale of the century spoiled, 

by gloating buried with stolen gold

her misled hope was misplaced, 

by those who etched her rumors, 

her reputation on the palace walls, 

built with loose stones like marbles, 

that made her slip on her own soul

but while everyone laughed at her, 

she got up again with diamonds in her hands, 

and built herself a throne, 

because she was her own antidote 

iridescent existence by Jessie Wang

the judge of liquid ruby undyingly sounding the omnipotent gavel​​ of mortality 

the hypnotizing seduction of a blaze promising Eve whispers of truth within the inferno

rays of the brightest star unveiling the earth as floral namesake bow to their king

mother nature's proudest monochrome boasting the fantastic haven of life 

the blank canvas of expansive sky inviting even the infinitesimal artist to detail his epoch

midnight swells eternally marrying the shore under the starless officiant of twilight 

ethereal dusk belying the primal demands of cosmic mountains majesty

Not Enough… By Jacqueline Crisostomo

“The past comes back to haunt you”, they say.

“No one will ever care about you”, they say.

“Who will you be when we’re gone?”, they say.

I stay quiet for the first two,

but for the last one… my mind can’t help but whisper,

“Not enough.”

And it’s true.

Something has always told me that no matter what I accomplished,

no matter if I was the perfect daughter…

I still wouldn’t be seen as good enough.

I really don’t see it as my fault anymore…

it’s yours.

You raised me, right?

All of my “faults” are yours.

The first lesson you taught me was…

well...

not enough.

Love and Loss… By Jacqueline Crisostomo

The saying is true, “you never truly cherish something until it’s gone.”

I stayed up nights wondering how stupid of me it was to only see the value…

just moments after it slipped away,

And how careless it was of me to never see how special it truly was…

when it was mine.

It’s silly to think that maybe there’s a reason it happens that way,

to think that the reason why people meet is to simply be taught a lesson meant to linger after,

to think that love and loss are concepts that go hand-in-hand and never without. 

Because meeting you taught me to love wholly…

while losing you taught me that it was love.

Little Things… By Jacqueline Crisostomo

As a society, it’s a shame that we don’t focus on the little things.

Our minds tend to dwell on the big things,

making it impossible for us to comprehend the most beautiful details.

We don’t see the individual raindrops setting on window sills…

or a beam of light reflecting off puddles of water.

We tend to see the storm before we can understand the darkness…

we get startled by the hurricane before we think to follow the wind.

Perhaps if we contemplated the darkness and followed the wind…

we would find light where it’s seldom found,

and a calmness that we would’ve never achieved.

Letter to the Misunderstood… By Jacqueline Crisostomo

You’re beautiful, strong, and resilient.

I’ve seen you conquer seas of astronomical tides,

and stubborn winds as if it were of a hurricane,

and yet you kept a smile on your face for everyone to see.

My baby, i know it was hard and i know you’re tired, 

and i know it’s worse because no one understands why. 

Not everyone can see what’s going on under the surface as well as you can,

and you know it too. 

Just know, your intuition and spirituality is a talent,

understanding everyone has always been your strong suit. 

Oh honey, how i wish i could guide you through all the winding roads of life.

But here are my final words of advice…

when life throws you for a loop over and over and over again,

and it seems like you won’t find your way back,

just remember you’re stronger than you know.

Beauty of Insecurity By Jacqueline Crisostomo

It’s hard to think that something as beautiful as the moon can ever be insecure of themself.

People look up to the moon,

cherish their light,

have the most endearing conversations with them,

and even get lost in all their wonder that they can’t help…

but just admire them. 

They do their best to shine as bright as they’d like during the night…

just so that they don’t have to be seen in the daylight.

But little do they know,

They don’t have to be afraid…

People love them,

And their beauty shall never go away. 

Costa Rican Beauty by Jacob Lozano

Scenic Masterpiece

By the will of God

Filled with life

More than one can imagine

Just like the waves of Jaco

Just like the forests of Limón

Admiration of the Land

So rich and diverse

Filled with people and animals alike

More than family together

Just like the volcano of Arenal

Just like the people of San Jose

Sleepy Sloths and Meddling Monkeys

Together in Harmony

Filled with joy

More than two species

Just like the birds of Carara

Just like the waterfalls of Tenorio

I love my umbrella by Jason Dong

I love my umbrella

My umbrella is my dearest friend. 

My umbrella keeps me dry,
My umbrella keeps me blind. (The icy rain stings my eyes.)
My umbrella crosses out my deadlines,
My umbrella softens my every fall.

My umbrella drowns out their nagging voices- "Do this thing!";
My umbrella blots out the figures that want me to. (Open the door, they say. My umbrella says Let's not.)
My umbrella makes me happy when it is dark,

My umbrella entertains me when I am bored.

My umbrella hugs me when I am lonely,
My umbrella tells me I am good.

... 

I want my umbrella back.

Grocery Store Roses and Grilled Cheeses by Stephen Sauceda

Quiet Intimacy, I once called it.

A gentle kind of love. 

A phone call where we can't stop laughing, made in pouring rain. 

Whispering and sharing a book on a park bench. 

Grocery store roses for no good reason other than

"I love you"

A Soul Connection, online introductions into forever friendship.

Love that beats like the bass at a concert. 

Nights spent shuddering and smiling about stupid horror films.

Reading each other's work with enthusiasm and awe.

Grilled cheeses with pickles on the side, but I can tolerate it cause

"I love you"

Sometimes to get through my days,

I focus on the little things.

I focus on what means the most to me. 

Rain, notebook paper, pixelated video games,

Grocery store roses and grilled cheeses. 

Frog in a Pot by Jason Dong

There’s a frog in a pot and it’s going to hell but

It’s freezing out there and it’d rather not dwell on the

fumes of the flame that now heats it alive or

The bite of the wind or the nick of the knife that I’d

Hold to its neck after failing that life

I’d fought off the voices that sought to destroy the

warmth of the soup that the frog now calls home and

like Atlas I’d held up a tinfoil lid

upon it- rainwater from eons undid

soon, I hope, shall we both boil

The flavor of bodies turned liquid in soil

a flash, a whirr, then a dark hissing smoke

shall the scribes writing our stones wearily croak.

A Smile So by Eileen Um

A wave in my direction

I smile

Only to remind myself

That he would never know

He smiles so innocently

I almost fall again

The days the calls the nights

But he would never know 

His acts of kindness

Felt like something else

I have to remind myself

He doesn’t know 

My heart used to be in his fingertips

I turn around but

His smile so sweet

Only sinks into me cold.

Deep Down by Lynn Sunwoo

If you dive deep down, past where the cry of life can be heard,

You will find something sinister that was supposed to have ceased

A long time ago.

It’s dark, it’s deep,

You cannot erase this forgotten fortress. 

Try your best to draw in the light you once knew.

The trance put upon you by the keepers of the gates,

Is moving you towards me.

Linger here a little longer and you will find me.

You must find me no matter what it takes. 

No matter how many times the waters scream for help,

No matter how many times you lose yourself.

It’s too deep, it’s too dark, 

You cannot breathe, you cannot leave.

The sinister is right behind you. 

Another one has gone missing…

Deadly Reflection by Julie Liu

the longer she stares

the quicker her

reflection can attack

the longer she stares

the slower her

defenses can react

the longer she stares

the less she fights

she cedes without objection

the longer she stares

the fainter she cries

choked by her own reflection

The Lady in the Moon by Kaitlyn Zhang

For as long as the stars cast their luminescence

Staring into the vast infinite emptiness, 

Glimpsing only lanterns of the Mid-Autumn Festival essence

With the nights everlasting– 

Forever entrapped by the heaven’s embrace

Chang’e, thief of the Elixir of Life!

Condemned to an endless dance of immortality

Entangled in the celestial prison of her own billowing sleeves 

Rivers of her endless tears, muddling the boundaries of her lunar prison

The moon casts her forlorn gaze

Oh, Chang’e, enchanting but lonely

Continue your dance amongst the stars for only eternity

Running Horse by Brett Brzycki

Pedal down, the clouds run faster.

Shoe flailing back--but pushing forward

Still, moving with no end.

Once surrounded by the pack,

Sand, grass, waves, stone--

Now behind or in front but never

Together. Just--Alone.

Music and memories.

Few run with no desire;

They find a destination.

No purpose, chaotic subconscious.

Slowly, I find myself,

Running, hurrying myself,

Your thoughts, in the moment,

Never had a future.

Wishes for a halt;

I know that I will.

I’m afraid of that moment.

Look carefully, friend.

The horses nearby;

Even if they do not run

The pace is steady and

Hopeful, that they stay

For the rest of my life.

More Than This by Aaryan Mukherjee

I’m judged on my face value,

there’s no denying

that I’m not given my voice,

as if I am lying

that I am this, and that, and so much more,

What’s wrong with that? Can’t you see that I am more?

Open your eyes, and see that you can’t judge me

I have no destiny, you can’t even try to control me

I am who I am, take it or leave it

My face isn’t my identity

Why won’t you see?

I am more than this

There’s no changing that

I may look different

I may speak different

I may act different

But at the end of the day,

I don’t care what you say,

Because I am more than this

Talk to me, ask me “What do you like?”

Who knows? We both might bike

Or hike, and there! We’re so similar,

What if you didn’t strike the match

You didn’t give the chance, never knowing

I am more than this

We need to understand,

that we are more than this

This charade, this bias, this prejudice

that we are the same, NO

We are more than this

“Where are you from? Where are you really from?”

How do you care?

I am more than this

Judge me not by my skin, nor my gender, nor my age,

But by my accomplishments

There is more to me than what meets the eye

I’m not your everyday “foreign” kid

I am more than this

Because my identity is defined by me

I blaze my own path, fate, and personality

I hope this makes you believe

I am more than this

1/1/2023 by Jason Dong

1/1/2023

the moon has not risen today; she has forgotten how

so our wheels grind against yellow light, tinted by the ground.

they bear blinding fruit- those concrete trees- their soft white noise a mechanical breeze-

so choice upon choice we ought to make, pushed by the eyes of great machines

yet only now do I wonder where these roads are taking me.

I look around, met only by my reflection, and glares from strangers unseen-

they do not know, there is no help- we must live on within this scene

I fear it now, and yet it comes- please spare me, let me dream

My Brother by Joseph Buehler

My brother is annoying,

he calls me names.

Every time I try and help him,

he rants and raves.

Some say I should let him be,

but then he’ll just annoy me.

With weird words,

(and ridiculous sounds)

he insists on irritating me

without bound.

“Why you complain’in?”

You may ask.

It’s cuz just watching him

is such a task.

What would you do,

in my shoes?

Film him for views?

Find the hypotenuse?

Or perhaps ask him

about an electrical fuse.

I choose none of these,

“No Good” I say!

“I don’t like your solutions.

I’ll find my own way!”

So I sent my brother

on an impossible quest

I gave him nothing but a thimble,

(previously used to sew a vest)

To empty a lake at my behest.

At first he complained,

his eyes leaking,

his body quaking.

Then he began

his assigned undertaking.

With my brother distracted

I was no longer tormented.

The sweet sound of silence

left my ear-drums contented.

Its five years later,

and he’s still going.

Im happier now,

Practically glowing.