Lunar - Muhammad Atiq

A moon with many faces

A moon going through its phases

Light is comprehensible

Dark is never visible

Illuminating with all of its light

Battling its gloom in an eternal fight

Continuing to shine

Watching over all at night

A moon being the sun

Never burning as bright

A cure to all your frights

Awaiting the inevitable eclipse

Exposing its darkness for just a glimpse

Bathed in shadow just to be your only moon

Illuminating to dissipate your gloom

Small but bright, powered by your tune


like legos -

you played with her

like a child would carelessly play with a toy

you broke her into a million pieces

like legos

and when you were lonely

you built her into a house to hold you

and when you got tired of her

your words carried her into a

hurricane of emotions

leaving her in a pile of broken blocks

yes, bitter

but we both know she couldn’t hate you even if she tried


summer daze -

when

the sun lives longer days and

your hair smells of salt and the ocean

you have sand in your toes

you smile with that adorable smile that rarely touches your lips

you taste of watermelon and burnt marshmallows

and when

you sing your favorite song in that lovable voice of yours

you watch the clouds turn pink and the sun goes to sleep

you look up to see twinkling constellations sprinkled in the clear night sky

i hope it brings you back

to a simpler time


Poems - Adele Novak-Sandner,

Poems, Poems, words of wisdom, Sky

and ground alike. Flying words to

children o’er Vales and hills and sea.



Poems that shall touch your tongue.

And melt like snow. A gentle melody. And when

it's luster shall return, Found again, many

years from now. I know not beauty that will

reign, O’er vales and hills and sea.

Our Purpose - Natalie Nguyen, senior

In this vast world, there are endless possibilities to what one’s purpose may be.

A man enjoys to fish and becomes a fisherman.

A woman creates delightful treats and builds a baking empire.

The purpose of your existence is built upon the self reflection one must do.

To free oneself of the facades of society, one must let go of judgement.

Being critical to yourself chains you down to societal norms.

To serve others come in many forms other than pursuing medicine.

To live altruistic is to create meaning in your life that goes beyond the surface.

To understand oneself is to rid one of the what-ifs and begin to live in the present.

The purpose of your existence is not built upon the dreams of your parents.

Dreams that form bleak futures depicting only monetary gain is not one made for you.

The future is the time to seize opportunities and find one’s passion.

The purpose of your existence is to be true to who you are and discover what makes you, you.


Worth-Less - Natalie Nguyen, senior

In this world there are many diamonds waiting to be found.

Some shine bright

Some worth millions

But none that guarantee happiness.

It is only when the diamond is rough, uncut, and raw that it is truly beautiful.

To me, it is priceless: one of a kind.

The world does not need to know about it,

For it is in the little things that it shines

The brightest.


Changes - Jazmin Spillan

Change is constant. 

It can tear apart the person you once were,

Break the perfect relationship you once had. 

When you stare at yourself in the mirror,

Sometimes what’s looking back isn’t so bad. 

Change turns you from a child to an adult,

Turns your crush into love,

We try so hard to keep life the same,

But maybe we shouldn’t try so hard to shove,

Transformations, transitions, and growing pains,

Far away, into the dark, soaking in the rain. 

When there’s nothing stable in life,

Change always stays the same.

The Art of Breaking - Jazmin Spillan

I almost broke myself trying to fix you. 

I think maybe I did, 

Just a little.

I mixed up reality, and what I’d hoped to be true. 

But like how muscles grow,

We tear them apart at first,

And it heals stronger.

My heart, it’s a muscle, in case you didn’t know.

So don’t think you’ve got the last laugh,

You may have shaped my life,

But you’ll never define it.

It must hurt, knowing that it’s me you’ll never have.

I am from - Dariela Pineda

I am from lipgloss and eyeshadow

I am from music

I am from sprinting and kicking balls into goals

I am from performing dance routines in my living room for my couches

I am from singing my lungs out in the shower no matter what time of the day or mood

I am from waking up at 5 am for meditation and a walk of 30 minutes to Troy High School at 6.25 am

I am from planning, making routines, and adding so many things into my schedule

I am the laugh to many’s joy

I am from Mexican food and Mexican music who touches my heart


I am pain, stress, tears and scars as well as positivity, advice, care, and endless laughs

I am from companionless nights and stares into the moonlight and stars

I am from falling.. falling really hard and making my way back up, higher than I was before


I am from a Mexican immigrant

I am from the single mother who raised three smart, kind-hearted, and unique children

I am from Flor Pineda, my mother and father

I am from two brothers and video game rages

I am from thanksgiving at aunty Mabel’s house full of tamales and loud karaoke


I am from an accumulation of learned lessons and mistakes

I am forgiving, outgoing, hard-working, courageous, intelligent, a listener and talker and a huge planner for my present and my future

I am built from my past, I am the light at the end of my own tunnel


Droplets - Louis Yeh, junior

You wake up.

Envision a room, walls are all white No doors, one window, and blackness outside

You sit on the floor, letting time pass Wait for a good memory to be had

Words slip through the window and into the room They scatter around like they’re morning dew

You look at the drops They’re memories, they’re thoughts You touch one, it bursts And what comes out is words

This one is good, from when you were nine And dad put a hose at the top of a slide The summer sun smolders Beats down on your shoulders Mind void of the fear of getting older

You touch the next droplet, a memory comes out Describing a bleak sky of solid gray clouds Something lands by your side You look up at the sky You’re witness to hail for the very first time

Two good memories, you’re doing well Third time’s a charm, so what the hell You touch one more drop, and you’re pushed away As a scene of an argument forms in your wake

Two silhouettes, a boy and a girl Yelling is garbled, can’t make out a word You take a step closer And that girl: you know her It’s your ex, your relationship’s over

And one bad memory triggers another Look round the room, you see it’s covered In screwups, bad thoughts and blunders And all the good droplets are gone and smothered

And all the memories overwhelm you They scream and they shout and they all try to tell you

You could have done better, and you’re a lost cause And you pass out, black out from these thoughts

You wake up.

Envision a room, walls are all white No doors, one window, and blackness outside

You sit on the floor and you’re filled with dread Waiting for droplets to come in again.


love is love is love - Lauren Grace Patag

pink skin, chilled knuckles

milky, swirling constellations

hide on top of mountains

and breathe stardust

into your lungs

fingers interlocked

a quiet kiss

a quieter sunset bleeding

orangish-redish-gold

into the horizon


... and love is love is love


empty roads disappear

into the twilight

a pulsating bassline

erupts from the radio

choked laughter, aching ribs

cracked windows, biting wind

singing too sore

joy unspoken

only present and resonant

in the slowing hour


... and love is love is love


as you start loving her

she'll become more pretty

then you last remember

and her laugh will

dance around your heart

as you start loving him

he'll become more handsome

then you last remember

and his eyes will draw you in

warmer and softer


... and love is love is love