Past years...
Pigtails and playdates.
Yank her hair rope off her head.
Best friends forever.
-Chloe Murphy
Bad anxiety,
go away at once, right now.
You are unwanted.
-Matthew Crocco
I say I love you,
only to satisfy you.
I do not love you.
-Julianna Villella
Trigonometry is so confusing.
Can’t see the right angle’s
Tangent, the teacher goes on.
-Christian Manie
In isolation
We barely see each other,
But we talk the same.
-Brianna White
My brain is hurting
I write down numbers and think.
It’s complicated
-Amanda Trifon
The teacher stood up
and corporally punished
the class for one crime.
-Timothy Klaum
Born to be a pair.
Not blood but sisters at heart
together we laugh
-Olivia Evola
I am not ready.
So why does the teacher call?
I am now the fool.
-Ilyaas Fedaie
Calculus is hard,
finding limits of functions
was not made for me.
-Hannah Cruz
Like crunchy cornflakes.
Gold leaves rustle underfoot—
Beauty in decay.
-Jakub Pipota
Flies swarmed our
school. I’d never kill one,
but lord do I want to.
-Tina Khoshkehpazi
Flirtatious glances
only interrupted by
Farrell’s angry shriek.
-Elvira Taku
Feels like I’m in Penn
Station every time I try
to get up the stairs.
-Katherine Gotard
Bullying is wrong.
But if they didn’t see it—
It didn’t happen.
-Keara Shea
Hallway Haiku and More...
(Lunchroom, Hallway, English, Math, Global. Bus, 406 (9), Science, PE, Library, Bathroom, Staircase, Graveyard, Track, P-Lot, T-court, Back Field, Art, Turf … heartbreak, lust, forgiveness, disappointment... .)
New..4/ 2026
Forgetting your face,
my brain no longer encodes
long term memories.
-Nathalie Robson
Cold tiles call to me;
screaming, shouting; drawing me
in as I sit still.
Writing on the wall,
striking deeper and longer.
Posters draw dry eyes.
-Liana Chetty
The long, echoing
hallways with empty lockers.
The cutter roams, lost.
Ceramic tiles crack,
the student just needs a break.
A pause in a stall.
-Osmin Bautista Ramirez
Your eyes neglected.
Songs forgotten by many.
I cherish you over.
The place where I taught.
I look forward and let go.
I run with my heart.
The place I was built.
Chasing what I lost so long.
I run without drive.
-Alexander Bass
ISS feels cold.
My eyes droop heavy with sleep—
I feel far away.
-Zainab Aslam
Sticks dance on worked wood,
he catches the rhythm— yet
space stands between them.
He parks in the lines—
and parked becomes his purpose.
Expected part played.
Bright would we reflect
if I could love loudly,
landscape our puddle.
-Ian Black
Pointy quarter notes.
They crescendo through me as
I sight read the songs.
Ball flies through the air,
Hitting hoping people cheer.
Point won with a spike.
-Sarah Bruzual
The paint brush stroked with
my creativity. The
showcase of my life.
Sine, cosine, tangent.
Stress, confusion, rolling tears.
Another test failed.
-Angelina Lorente
Past years...
Screenguards bound to desk
Stopping the flow of knowledge
Separating us.
-Shannon Turner
Memorizing is
my demise— formulas bring
tears to my blue eyes.
-Abby Dinstell
Bloodshot eyes gleaning
Her benign touch I adore
Asphyxiating.
-Cal Eidinoff
Thumb on his two lips
Pressing ever so slightly
He listens, he does.
-Matthew Masaya
Right out the door, gone.
The years left without a trace;
Their echoes too sparse.
-Adam Tabibzada
I love you so bad
My exalted salted fault---
Mcdonald’s hash brown.
-Chelsea Perry
Dreaming of being
The masks that cover faces,
Hugging more than me.
-Ashley Herrera
Chilly breeze bounces
Off of my left shoulder blade
Whoosh it bursts and flows.
-Zaen Asghar
Chickpea hummus, sit.
Perhaps bell pepper poets
Will tickle your fancy
-Sophie Fyfe
Eyes are glistening
Shining blue in the moonlight
I gaze into them.
-Noah Biton
In The Silence,
The World Begs For Air.
Daily Mask Usage.
-Aaron Jurrist
In the midst of the
Field, I absorb and transform
Nature’s wispy air.
-Sophie Sieli
Masks taped to our mouths
The new style accessory
We can’t leave without.
-Maria Garcia
Blowing a balloon
for a physics lab becomes
a big bioweapon.
-Humza Asif
Tripping over stairs
Running weighed down by my books
No time for lockers.
-Caroline Schrama
Your life flourishes
though we know of your demise.
You write when you're wrong.
-Mary Reciniello
My day has been bad,
but it all gets better when
the Whitman dog licks.
-William Valle
Laughter fills the air.
This room is my safe haven—
4 years gone so fast.
-Olivia Bonomo
New...4/2026
Hundreds of feet walk,
but only for five minutes,
then back to stillness.
-Emily Butterfield
A pale face, no thought.
The mirror has stories
it can’t ever share.
It is quiet.
A place to clear my head.
I am now at peace.
-Gabrielle Cali
Loud and narrow, I
try to hide in my music
hoping for silence.
Always told it’d be
fun, the best year of the grind.
Now I’m all alone.
-Ever Chavez Hernandez
Behind it, never seen found
peace of mind— there's only me to ponder.
Lost never to be allowed to be there.
-Logan Christiansen
Faces I know of
years of seeing the same looks.
She sticks out to me.
Land full of learning.
Sea full of entertainment.
Letters fill the mind.
-Brihanna Floyd
No one to be seen.
The bell already rang loud.
The aisle is dead.
The little pebbles.
Green crumbs stuck inside my shoe.
You are always there.
-Sarah Goldberg
Motivating quotes
trying to keep you afloat,
and yet you still sink.
-Kevin Hernandez Medina
A field of footsteps
outlined by packed fallen snow—
tombstones watch them pass.
The bell rings final lap—
Lactic building, arms pumping—
Now I see the stars.
-Nevyn Jerez
Peace, love, and writing.
Rhythms and scents set the tone
to enhance our minds.
Dewey decimal,
pages flipping all over,
an escape from life.
-Monica Katwala
My frozen eyes seek
Your rebelling winds.
Thank her for the warmth.
-James McBrearty
Where the dead is kept,
There, spirits rise - and falls sunset;
I dug up a soul.
Bubbles form in glass.
Though bubbles form in minds!
Dreams awaken, bright.
-Amber Pendel
That stupid smile.
She hugs me tightly and says,
Keep us a secret
A sawed promise ring,
Setting the late man's features,
His darling love weeps.
-Areanna Quijadara Rivera
Lovely harmony.
Carefully watching your hands,
waiting for release.
Autumn leaves linger,
old swing sets long forgotten,
breeze that transports me.
Beauty in body,
concise, perfection in mind.
I hope it’s enough.
-Jordin Rubin
A sea of people;
pearl, wood, copper, plastic, clay,
like mismatched buttons
Lights shining—night dark,
chin up, hands still, finally
the musician bows.
-Katy Valle
Past years...
Crisp weather out now.
So why the hell haven’t the
flies died already.
-Kayla Andrews
Only five minutes
to try and get to Guam and
back. We need more time.
-Keara Shea
My shoelace untied
first period pen doodles-
I'm not really here.
-Melissa Portillo
Moving pens, bell rings
five more minutes we say as
we begin to guess.
-Marta Campos
We are not all lions.
Some are frogs, monkeys, deer, bugs.
Part of the same kingdom.
-Sean Williams
I dash into school,
the clock strikes seven thirty.
A white slip of shame.
-Darren Bentler
Expansive green field,
filled with students having fun
stomping on goose poop.
Crowded hallways filled
like congested arteries.
Again I am late.
-Aiden Smyth
Words fade into
obscurity, can I please
just take a nap?
-Tina Khoshkehpazi
100 wing boys
share kisses with 9th grade girls—
I just walk away.
-Olivia Bonomo
Heavy breathing that
is followed by soft curses—
The mile is over.
-Elvira Taku