Flying Sideways

(This one is about insomnia. It's a little rough still and I'm working to edit it, but I wanted to post it, so here it is!)

This is how I roll
This is how I ride
On a balance beam on the edge of time
I slip, I slide in eight-inch heels
On an icicle over an abyss
I sway in the wind over an icy plane
All is dark and the wind bites
Fear is tangible on this dark night
Red fluorescent numbers sing me the time
That’s my death sentence, that’s my crime
All is empty, silent, still
A black hole that sucks me in until
I’m lying on ice that’s far too thin
I trip, I step, heel to toe
On a rooftop edge a mile high
While a question lingers against the sky,
Across the depth
What if I were to miss a step?
I laugh, I wobble on this edge of mine
I might just slide back into time
Into a dawn and a burning sun
Who knew the day had finally begun?
Cartwheel sideways, wheeling still
Trip and flip and slip until
My lack of balance has me…
Standing still
Those empty eyes look on, won’t flee
They didn’t know I had it in me
Handstands and triple flips
What I lack in confidence
I find in sheer pig-headedness.
But when I close my eyes
When I give up,
Let out a sigh
I fly sideways off this icicle edge of mine
I lose my heartbeat, lose my spine
The walls fall and the tears glide
All my flaws just seem to slide
Away, away, I let them go
Falling, falling towards empty snow
An empty welcome, an age old crime
It will happen again sometime.
Next time I find I cannot sleep
I’m flying sideways, in too deep.

Frances

Perspective

this is my first post and its about a convo i had with my bestie (shout out to fitzy)

Im not a monday person she said
not a monday person?

Nope she said as she looks at her shoes
every monday she looks at those same shoes

they never say anything back

Well dont worry,
why?
There are only one hundred and thirty-six mondays left untill you graduate
you sure do know how to put it into perspective she replys


the echo of her shoes fade as she walks away with a smile

L-Staff

Poetry Jam 2008

Schedule:

Dec. 14-
Start submitting poems! (email to MHSpoetryclub@yahoo.com)

Dec. 21-
**Christmas Break - Happy Holidays!**
Submit poems
Practice reading & start memorizing
Think of creative ways to present your poems

Jan. 4-
Sign up to help with the show
(directors for planning, volunteers for Jam night)
Submit poems!!!

Jan. 11-
!!!DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS!!!
Typing and emailing poems in the Computer Lab
(bring any you need to type)
Poems printed, copied, given to directors for selection

Jan. 18-
**Midterm Exams - okay to miss meeting**
Directors read poems for selection
Seek volunteers and tech as needed

Jan. 25-
[Decide can you be in the show or not? - check dates / conflicts!]
Editing Workshop - bring your submitted poems

Feb. 1-
Jam Poem selections to be announced!
Fill out a Director's Notes sheet for poems with special presentation
Start memorizing your Jam poems

Feb. 8-
Reading Workshop - bring your Jam poems
All Director's Notes sheets must be turned in!
(Directors working on Master Script)

Feb. 15-
**February Break - Enjoy!**
Memorize those poems! Practice reading with feeling!

Feb. 29-
Reading Workshop - memorize so we can work on delivery
Master Script to be presented (voice any objections)
Script copied and distributed to all

Mar. 7-
Practice poem order, memorization checks
Plan bake sale, program and ticket design, advertising

Mar. 14-
!!!DEADLINE TO MEMORIZE POEMS!!!
You must memorize to be in the Jam!

Mar. 20-23
**4-Day Weekend - Happy Easter!**

Mon, Mar. 24- Rehearsal in Auditorium
Tues, Mar. 25- Rehearsal in Auditorium
-- please, everyone, plan to attend both rehearsals --
Wed, Mar. 26- (nothing. rest, focus, practice...)

Thurs Mar. 27- !!! POETRY JAM !!! 7-9pm, MHS Auditorium
Fri., Mar. 28- !!! POETRY JAM !!! 7-9pm, MHS Auditorium

On a bus in Hawaii

True story. This is the randomnest thing that ever happened to me - I was waiting at a bus stop, and this guy (he lives there) just started flirting with me for no reason. And this is pretty much how it went...

You have nice eyes, you said
(it’s true, but you didn’t mean it)
You have nice sunglasses, I said
(mirrored orange plastic,
warping my image and rendering me in
cheap metallic flame;
and of course I meant, what if you took them off?)
Understood.
You slid the plastic frames up your forehead,
revealing two
simple
curious
chestnut-burning-to-emerald
windows on your soul.

Your soul wasn’t cheap plastic,
and I think you saw me clear,
and yet
when I said those were nice eyes too,
I didn’t lie, and I didn’t mean it either.

-- Alexa

African god

Pretty man
Dance for me, pretty man.
Swing your waist
and grind your hips for
ME pretty man.
Leap and kiss the stars
with your lips wet
from the rain of the Savannah.
Climb the clouds
to reach the sky
and swim through winds
of opal blue.
Pretty man
Can you sing, pretty man?
Can you fly on trees
and lie with the sun
when it beds my Mother Earth?
Or you laugh with the sea
and sip wines of fire
pouring down celestial eyes.
Stretch your mind to
feel a heartbeat, pretty man.
Lapse your tongue and
hear the night soar
pretty man.
Be MY pretty man.

- Jemimah

Generation Legacy

Summarizing the actions of Sally Heming /
Sally Heming how could you?
As if I don't already know /
Sally Heming why wouldn't you?
Rather than to get beat up /
to get worked out /
you got fucked up /
and dropped down three children. /
Damn that Jefferson man. /
Damn that just for fun man. /
Man who take and don't acknowledge /
man you men. /
How must it have been for you /
Sally? Sue, Sarah, Sasha, Shaniqua, Shakeira, Saleeta /
how is it for you?

By DeidreAnn

i am grateful for snow...

i am grateful for snow
the sky's every imperfection is
whited out
smothered and
suffocated in
an ambiguous mess of cotton
confusing
these highway voyagers

snow spills around us
swaddles us
creates a cave in thick blankets
snow chokes
every squawking annoyance and
isolates us in city
squares
like
puddles

im grateful for the snow
that glosses all surfaces
with its white overcast reflections

and i am reminded of
times when five
years old meant memories
warm, when my houses brittle woodwork
chipped and created gardens of dainty white flakes
on windowsills where
windows were bare and held white worlds in their stomachs

i love these black pines huddled in
the snows angsting oceans
flooding the backyards

i love the snow washing the weary warmth
off my bones with its bathing cold

by Colin

Moonlight

She dances, you know, in the moonlight
Grasses turned stark at her feet
She whispers, you know, in the moonlight
Spoken to an ethereal beat.
She wonders, you know, in the moonlight
As time stands still by her side
She paces, here, in the moonlight
Longing for tears never cried.
Otherworldly, here, in the moonlight
Invisible to all who may sleep
She who is haunted by demons,
The midnight hour must keep.
Her face, vivid in moonlight
Reveal shadows never seen
In daylight when truth is lost
And the world is never between
Longing, here in the moonlight
For a day that never would end
If only the sun never set
If only time could unbend,
Wistful, here in the moonlight
For a time when emotions weren’t spent
For a moment when she could feel
That her emptiness wasn’t so apparent
Lost now, here in the moonlight
Wishing for time long returned
Wishing that she hadn’t traded
Her youth for a pain that still burns.
Heartbroken, here in the shadows
Wishing she were fast asleep
Longing to be free of a curse
Free of demons who won’t let her weep.

By Frances

subway stations

Life is a subway train, it really is
rattling and bareling
convulsing madly on
skinny railway's shoulders.

You didn't choose to board this train.
Now its writhing wildly
through
the cities darkened
insides

Can this conductor manage his histeric wheel?

I think these tunnels will not hold us
this cities carcass
is just to fragile

Life is a subway train,
collapsing frantic upon crowded stations
and then

out
again

down a tunnel
out of existence

by Colin

Saturday Morning

Clouds of grey hang over the trees
Their leaves have long since fallen
The trees give no more shade
From these clouds fall snow
A soft blanket to warm
The black slab of granite
That stands alone in a sea
Of other slabs of granite
That hold no importance to me
It’s quiet
Not many people come here
Depressing, they say
But I find it peaceful
In this blanket of white
My back rests against the granite
And it’s cold,
But I know he appreciates the visit
So I don’t mind
I talk to him sometimes
But I think he likes the silence more
So I let my thoughts roam instead
To brighter and warmer times
I try not to let a single tear
Escape my eyes
I wouldn’t want him to know my pain
Pain that, though not fresh
Is still present in my soul
Though the pain though
Is the comfort of being near him
As I sit in this blanket of white
And watch the snow fall
I feel at peace

Love, Kendra

Chaos Crept in Line

(I'm on a roll with the short ones here XD )

The truth was laid out neatly
Aligned in crisp array
And every variable accounted for
A ban to disarray
Panic seized up quickly
For chaos crept in line
And oxygen got caught halfway
Traced in wild design
Epiphany was hollow
For deluded were the lies
But soothing, too, a teddy bear
To hide denying eyes
Disorder stole its triumph
Confusing b's and a's
Mixing, mushing black and white
Exuding murky grays

The Fates all sat back, cackling
Content to watch me break
They revel in the madness
When there's sanity to take

~Kassi~

Thinking Again

Thinking Again

I’ve been thinking,
Always thinking

Thoughts of life
Thoughts of people
Thoughts of myself

And it seems that every time
I come up with a new thought
It leaves me blank
Not really knowing what to believe

About life
About people
About myself

Well that isn’t a surprise
Because I am my own mystery
Lost and confused about what to do

With my life
With my people
With myself

Well I ever make up my mind
About my life

Well I ever be seen differently
By people

Well I ever, or shall I never
Find myself

*~Carlie~* <3

By the Tree of Red Stars

Anointing on my head
By the tree of red stars
Ceasing to feel
Delusional.
Expected to rise up and
Fight for a cause
Greeted only by
Hesitation.
I was lost.
Justification, an absent presence.
Knowledge, known to give clarity
Lest you are troubled.
Me, myself, and I
Not knowing, if I should live through my faith
Opposing someone else’s choice
Pleading to make my own decisions.
Questioning myself
Regularly, was the hardest.
So many choices
Time to choose, not enough.
Understanding didn’t come easy,
Vile thoughts went
Without the understanding of from whence they came.
X-rayed, my thoughts laid out before me,
Yearning for a decision;
Zebra cakes and air, that’s all I need to get by

DeidreAnn

Period B

Donated cans are stacked
in a little corner of the room
for those who are willing and have to give.
I pass by it feeling a little prang of guilt
but my mind cannot dwell on it seeing
as how my teacher begins the lesson
and pieces of balanced equations
start sawing at my brain.
At the end of class the teacher mentions again
that if you bring in cans
you can get extra credit
I, who is failing, walk right out.

DeidreAnn

White Pan

O water, voice of my heart, crying in the sand,
All night long crying with a mournful cry,
As I lie and listen, and cannot understand
The voice of my heart in my side or the voice of the sea,O water, crying for rest, is it I, is it I?
All night long the water is crying to me.[ARTHUR SYMONS]

I close my eyes to see Willet avenue
with its brick homes
and stony steps.
It's small basements
and floody depths.

The water is rising.

It destroys everything.

No insurance hose to suck up the flood, instead
plastic containers.
Toys to be thrown out,
few clothes to be made even fewer,
the lines separating her face appear again
just as they did last time.
All I could do was stand and watch.
Watch as the narrow walkway, wide enough for one person,
turned into a smelly swamp.
We were the guppies now.
The bathroom became a toxic waste plant
worked in by latexed hands and hankerchiefed faces.
Ammonia was thrown out back
to keep the cats from lingering
while we opened the door
to let some good air in.
Everything had to be wiped down with bleach,
floors mopped,
carpets pulled up.....
Scrubbing has never been so hard, a thought
while fanning away sweat and flies.
The work was tedious,
but by now we'd fallen into routine.
The scrubbing made knuckles raw
and beautiful brown skin became wrinkly,
too soft.
"I am blessed oh Lord,
I am blessed oh Lord..."
Chorus' rose in times when will power stretched thin.
Smiles on faces
but inside...
I was hating life, hating people for being so ignorant,
vexed with God.
Yet when I looked over to her, she smiled
and sang
smiled and sang.
I am not a mind reader.
so I smiled and sang,
and scrubbed and sang.
I couldn't let her know it was getting to me
Between the two of us, I was afraid that if I fell
she'd fall too.
We'd work past the night,
all the while scrubbing away at sleep.

The scrubbing never stops.

Everything has to been clean.

After,
I thought I'd still have it in me to scrub myself the same way,
I settled for cheap bar soap
and the same white pan every time.


DeidreAnn

The Reduction of This Woman I Once Knew

He says you're beautiful
in his your hands he holds
and you fall for his lies
never wanting to know he's empty inside

Boy girl has been a controversy since way back.
When from the time God pulled Eve out of Adam until now when
Adam runs from Eve to Steve for comfort.
Her emotional ties are stronger than his and so with
eyes closed and ears clogged she stumbles along, her
hands outstretched, and miracuoulsy he's always out of reach.
You see she thinks she has been made for him to love her
and her kind alone but silently he struggles
to pull away from what they teach.
It's just a phase. 'it's just a phase' you say to all the
gawkers and observers who've come to talk to you with
their faces behind hands- cruel intentions behind hands is
what you think of it and continue to walk with him at the
distance he allows; holding on to the little he gives.
No one is there to rock her little insecureties away so
she falls for him in every possible way,
pulling him around her like a rough wool blanket on the
rainest of days.
The years pass and she thinks it's time to start a
family so she leaves him hints both weekly and annually and tries to
bring him around both mentally and sexually.
Yet you've allowed him to block you out in those same years passed
and those sexual advances exite not the reciever but you
and you alone.
She's condoned to let him break away and become his own
man, too much of his own man and
soon she realizes it only just a her, he's been gone
for a while now.
'I won't break away',
so you say yet you say and keep on saying
until it has reduced you
'reduction'
I told you
'no you didn't'
I warned you
'no you haven't'
Yes I have and don't correct me. You called it cruel intentions way back then-
'whatever'.
And so she slumps to less than a woman, the woman
she wanted to be as a child reduced by a man, who
when given freedom, took it and ran as fast as he could.
Poor girl didn't want to keep up and now she's running
to Eve and Eve is running the other way
(After Steve:trying to kill him)
cause he's taken away the only man she's ever loved
the one she was promised,
made for,
made her complete.

DeidreAnn

DeidreAnn's Po-antics

I heard him say to me
things that made me cry for me
but being the only I I
looked into the mirror's eye and saw still peace,
which I took a piece of and broke it into pieces of thousandths and tenths
and told myself that this could make mends
between those high in power and those weak in stature.
But who was I to fool myself?
These tools couldn't do so much without the help of something else;
clouds formed over and the rain began to fall
the all that I sought to put in became dampened.
Yes! I had once said to I; yes, these little pieces would change the world!
I believed then that they were just in concentrated form
and once placed in the body they would infect, positively.
Now in my dampened state my exclmation has been dilluted.
My many reflections of peace, so tiny and so small, were undervalued
and upon his return the things I anticipated no longer mattered
because the feeling of one day ascending out of my shame stuck like a bloddy copper to my tongue
grabbing me
small sizing me
and reducing me
just like he was.
Presently I no longer need him,
neither am I any harm to myself.
My many pieces of reflection never showed me peace.
Only cowardice.

DeidreAnn

How to Be

How to Be

Stand up tall.
What’s the point of living if you don’t?
Fail every once in a while
And recognize that it’s not the end of the world
A letter or a number does not define any part of you,
Not even a minute part
Defy everyone’s expectations, one way or another
You might just discover a part of yourself you thought you’d lost
Forget responsibility
It’s overrated.
Act spontaneously
You can only let the world in if you’re unprepared
Take yourself out of the center of your world
It will center you far more being left of center
Dance for no reason
It will set your heart free
Pretend you can fly
Having imaginary wings can make dreams come true
Breathe. Just breathe.
It puts so much in perspective
Escape from behind any self-made walls or cages
Stop restricting who you are
Realize that if you don’t enjoy life
Nothing else will matter.
It’s your life. Your choices.
Your dreams that will fade or bloom
So take a chance.
Live a little. You know what?
Live a lot.
Living is means more than just surviving.
It means taking life and running with it
It means making choices that make you smile.
It means being you, whoever that may be.
It means recognizing that in the end, you can’t fail
As long as you are you.

by Frances

Insomnia

Because the resident insomniac just *had* to post her albeit uninspired insomnia poem =)...

The moonlight is a fickle friend
For it demands my time
Attention, too, it wants and needs
A receiver for its shine
Its beams keep my mind spinning
Too dizzy to decline
To go befriend the stars as well
To join the cosmic design
Alas, it's trapped me up again
Night can't be kept in line
I'll always be its dazzled slave
So sleep cannot be mine

~Kassi~

Look, it's a picture!

It's so easy to put images on here.
When you write your post, there's a button for inserting
images (up near the bold and italics buttons),
and you just click it and browze on your computer
for the image you want.

We'll be able to post photos of the club this way! Yay!
- Alexa

Forget Me Now

Bringing back a classic from the jam of '07
I miss you guys :(


You break me down

with words unsaid

your laughing eyes

that smile you fed

forget me now

a waste of time

controlling lips

your kiss devine

I turn away

forget me now

your arm is strong

as you turn me around

a shove

a hit

a dogging hand

you kick

I start to land

the gravels rough

my skin is bare

a bloodstained streak

upon my hair

a cry for help

but nothing comes out

a scream of pain

my loss, your gain

your laughing eyes

that smile you fed

its too late now

now Im dead



Shana C.

Not really a Haiku

The right notes -
soft chords, without percussion
- to tell me, I'm home.

-Alexa

Poetry Club Newsletter

Hey all,
We had a great meeting this Friday with many laughs as usually, but we were lacking in attendance. Next week we are going to do a workshop, which will be announced at the beginning of the meeting. After Ramadan, we will begin to communicate with the Iraqi youth which will give them a chance to communicate creatively to the world. Thank you to Alexa for her efforts in helping to coordinate this. If you have any questions or want me to add another person to the email list please tell me. Have a relaxing weekend

Alex

Dark

Haha sorry guys, I had to!


The dark is where I wanna be
The reason is clear if you don’t see
It hides the glare of the superficial
It eliminates a world in which looks are crucial

In darkness everyone is the same
A body with a heart, a soul, a brain
Where in light a person is what they wear
Girls empty themselves into toilets and don’t even care

It’s all about appearance, out there in the light
People try to look fake with all of their might
Because they think if they look good, they’ll be accepted
But in the dark, looks are rejected

In the dark you can dance your own dance
Walk your own walk and you just might have the chance
To be you
‘Cause in the dark your identity shines through

People in light are living in lies
‘Cause your soul can’t be seen with your eyes
So the dark is where I wanna be
‘Cause the dark is the one true place where I am really me

So the next time you’re in a world obstructed by light
Close your eyes when you talk to someone and you just might
See the person for who they are, and like it too
‘Cause in the dark, your identity shines through



♥Kendra*

n/a

No title.

My windows open on the Universe,
The panes awestruck with stars,
The black unknown full to burst
With soons, long agos, and afars.
My windows open on the Universe,
Dimensionless dome of wonder,
And gazing out, I am immersed
In inspired rain and thought thunder.
My windows open on the Universe.
If ever that vivid view changed
To an overcast day, tense and terse,
I'd close the blinds and cry.

- Alexa McKenzie

MHS Poetry News September

We have talent. Yes, we are off to another great year of poetry. We have a lot of new faces in the club and they read some great poetry. The veterans continue to take the helm, but I am looking forward to some freshmen kicking off the meeting. Mr. C is still the advisor and he still has that enthusiastic touch. This year will be awesome I know it. I want to ask you all to use the Blog more. I think it is more fun than writing emails. You all have a great Columbus Day Weekend.

Alex

Saturday Showdown

I wrote this one a few years ago. And since it is football season I thought you all might like it. The game took place on Saturday and Jake the snake got the boot.

Saturday Showdown
By Alex the Pres


Patriots say bye, before they fly to “Mile High.”
They step onto the field, it is real.
Blitz, sack, steal!
Jake the Snake is caught,
like Adam and Eve.
No where to go they flush him out.
Brady takes the field
He is in the gun.
But now he is on the run.
Touch down in the red
And they beat the three point spread.
In the post season, they are now twelve and 0.
And there are just two games to go.
Go Pats!

Questions of a broken heart

This is a new poem that I wrote during the summer of inspirition as I call it.

Question of a broken heart

Can a heart that is broken
Be mended by time
Or simply affection
Of another kind

Can it forget it's sorrow
And convert to it's old ways
Or will it always see love
As a fatal game

Will it one day not be a victim
Of mind tricks and be pulled by strings
Or will it always and forever
Be a puppet to it's masters manipulative ways

Will it hold fast
To what is true
Or will it's faith die
In love and everything that is good

Maybe one day this heart will beat
With reonouced love
For the one person
Who can revive it with his gentle touch

*sorry for spelling errors*

~carlie~

The Complication of Temptation

(because we all need something fun and fluffy ^_^ )

Stress and agitation,
Too much hesitation,
I hate this new sensation.
I'm crazy, don't you see?

All this aggravation
Feels like sheer damnation.
Is it my imagination
Or are you still staring at me?

Now my frustration
Comes from my elation,
For you're my new temptation,
But I can't have you here.

This minor complication
Has me running all over creation.
I'm in deviation
From a path that was quite clear.

To your satisfaction
You're my one distraction,
But only a small fraction
Of my feelings do I show.

Even in a faction
I get the same reaction,
But I can take no action;
I'm shy now, don't you know?

This wild celebration
Has messed with my education
And causes sleep deprivation.
You see the things I do?

Stress and agitation,
Too much hesitation,
It's a whole new sensation;
I'm crazy over you.

Yay Poetry Jam '07!!!!!!!!
~Kassi~
=)

No One Does

(Let's start posting poetry! This is one I did in the Jam last year -- happy memories ;-)


I saw you walking in the road.
I asked you, did you have the time?
You thought I meant, please check your watch,
And you said, ten o'clock.
I thanked you anyways and then
Continued on my walk,
Wondering,
How could you so have misconstrued
so obvious a question?

- Alexa

Welcome!

Hello everyone and all! = ) MHS Poetry Club here and we created our own blog, where we will be posting information about the club, up coming meetings and everyone in the club will be able to post their poems.

Everyone feel free to post your poetry and other creative expressions! Please be appropriate and professional, we are still associated with the school so we would like to be viewer friendly. ^_^

From
The poetry club officers