Pick flaws, find faults, forget the man is you
I fell in love with the strange world that was you
Gave like the sun, with colors we never knew was there
Let him burn and dance
My partner in the shameful doom
The wolf seized its prey
Lamb cries in symphony
-kaz

I love you like...

I love you more than peanut butter loves jelly

Which is always a good snack

Whether you cut the crusts off or not

I always give the crust to my dogs

But they like to bark and fight over it

The smaller one always wins

But what about my cats 

They don’t fight 

They’re nice to each other 

They are lazy though

I still love them very much

Just like I love you more than peanut butter loves jelly

-Vector

I Love You Like

I Love You Like

I love you like I love math

Which means I don’t love you at all

I kind of resent you

But I actually don’t

I feel the opposite

Like I am bursting with joy

Especially on the day of Thanksgiving

All the food surrounding me is so exhilarating

Kind of like the 2000’s Top Hits radio station

Giving me an adrenaline rush like no other

Energy drinks could never

Maybe some Mt. Dew and chocolate

Sweet, sweet chocolate 

Tasty and so soothing

Almost like the touch of a soft, cozy blanket

Warming you right up

Like the bright sun during the summer

Which is very close to the beginning of school

Seeing all my friends fills me with immense joy

But not as much joy as you bring me

Trying to see you throughout the day is like a math equation

So complicated yet so exhilarating

I guess I love you like I love math

Except...I don’t love math

JS

You say that you know me 

Inside and out 

You only know the person I want you to see 

I’m a cliff against the crashing waves of the ocean 

Some nights I feel as though I want only the peace of sitting on the edge 

Feeling the wind run through my hair 

Watching the waves in the dark of night roll against the rocks below 

Feeling the splash of impact against my skin 

Other days I feel Fearless 

There is nothing in my way 

With a running start and- a smile pressed into my face, I leap 

Diving into the warm ocean below 

Toes digging into the sand 

Laughing as I watch the fish swim around me 

Climbing up only to do it again  

Some nights I stand against the edge one step away 

Screaming into the wind 

10-foot waves of purple-blue and green 

Smashing into the rugged rocks below

Tears streaming on my knees

Feeling the surge of chaos spinning deep inside 

I am a mountain 

I reach for the sky believing- despite others 

That one day I will get there 

I thrive in the crisp cool serenity 

The peace and quiet 

I love having nothing to do but sit 

Sheltering the lives below me 

Taking the hits of the storm to keep them warm

A sunflower in a field of sunlight

I love being surrounded by others

Soaking up the warmth in the air

Dancing in the wind 

Knowing everything will be alright 

Looking across the glimmering field of yellow 

To the setting sun 

Painting the sky all of the brightest colors 

I am dandelion 

Happy with where I am 

Planting my roots 

Longing to drift around the world 

Wanting to lift in the breeze to run 

And to fly away from life here 

Into the new and thrilling world out there                                                                                                   I wanna see it all

But I plant my roots yellow and young 

Waiting for the future where I’m ready, ready to be set free

Above all, I am simply paper 

Nothing special until a story is added 

I have writing against my skin 

My story 

Some of it is sweet only the kindest words 

But if you look closely 

You will see the words that I and others around me have etched so deeply into my skin

You will see the lies

Insecurities 

And darkest parts of who I am 

You will find my mistakes and faults 

Bleeding out my imperfections

Sealed together with the faith and hope that my cuts will heal 

Paper crumpled and tossed around 

Knowing that I will never undo the damage done 

But despite the changes made to my story 

I am the author I get to choose what words will affect me 

I will write my own ending 

Choose to live happily ever after 

Because the truth is I am 100% me 

But you will only ever see what I choose for you to see

Who am I

Am I the girl who everyone likes

Or am I just another person walking down the crowded halls

Am I really always this happy and excited about everything 

Or am I just holding a mask in front of all the brokenness

Am I just as smart as everyone else

Or do I just have the most common sense

Am I an athlete 

Or just another want to be

Am I really always kind to everyone who’s not

Or do I talk like them too

Have I always helped people 

Or is it what makes me happy because no one else can do the same for me

Does it always seem like everything is going right for me

Or am I just trying to stay positive through the pain

Do I really not like getting hugs

Or do I not want to get to attached so when they leave it hurts less

If you make me mad am I leaving you

Or am I taking a step back so I don’t lose you

Do I make everyone my priority and I’m theirs

Or am I only their option

Do I believe every compliment I’ve received

Or do I second guess it and believe every insult 

Am I really wide awake 

Or am I so jittery because I’m trying to stay awake

Do I really procrastinate all my writing assignments

Or do I wait because I write better underpressure

Am I an introvert who doesn’t talk unless spoken to

Or am I actually an extrovert who doesn’t shut up once I get to know you

I know I am these things but which ones

I don’t know for sure

So who am I

Island Story

I was planning a vacation to Vancouver for a couple of weeks and I didn’t know it would be my last. I asked my brother if he would like to go because he likes taking vacations so he can get away from his long work days. 

A couple days later we were headed on our way to Vancouver on a boat. They said it would take a couple of days so my brother and I decided to get comfy. I woke up late morning. It was about 11.25 a.m. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and a slight breeze blowing on my face. My brother and I decided to get up and get some breakfast to start the day even though it was late morning. We had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and pancakes. That was one of the best meals I have had in a long time because my dad usually makes breakfast for my brother and I, but I moved out of there a couple weeks ago and moved in with my brother that had just bought a house. 

It was around 12:30 pm when we finished our meals. We decided to go play cards for a couple of hours to pass the time. We played a game called progressive rummy. I had a very good time playing cards. Then we both decided to go look out at the sea and see what we could see in the ocean or in the sky. We saw some seagulls and some other type of bird that I didn’t know the name to. I also saw a couple of dolphins playing and jumping in and out of the water. 

It was about 5:30 - 6:00 o’clock when my brother and I decided to go get some supper before we go play cards again. My brother and I got a couple of slices of pizza and some chicken wings for supper. The pizza was one of the best I have had. The wings were good but not as good as the pizza. We went to go play cards for a second time before we went to bed. We played UNO and we also played War. I had a great time playing cards. It was around 8: 00 o’clock and we decided to get some shuteye because the next day was going to be a very big day. The captain said we were close to Vancouver. I woke up in the middle of the night and it started to storm. There was lightning and thunder. The waves were crashing into the boat. That happened for a couple hours. 

We finally reached a point where the boat was going on its own. The captain could not control the boat anymore. It was terrifying when the waves crashed into the boat but it was even worse when the boat went out of control. I heard screams just before we crashed. I passed out from the impact. I woke up a little bit later and I saw a couple of people dead. I went to find my brother but I couldn’t find him. I got outside the boat and my brother and a couple of other people were with him. They were trying to find food and wood. One of the others was a woman by the name of Barbera. She found a stick and started to draw. She started making letters. The letters were spelling out SOS. I asked the other person that was there if he had a flare gun and he said yes. I said we can save that for a different time. By the way the other person is a man by the name of Bruce. He was a tall muscular guy that looked like he had been weight lifting for a long time. The woman by the name of Barbera was short and had red hair. I asked what she did for a living back home and she said that she was a rock climber and she ran every single day. I asked Bruce the same question and he said he lifted weights and exercised every day. I told him we could use your strength to break logs and other things. I told Barbera that we could use her climbing abilities to get berries and other fruit from high places up in trees. I could do the math and calculations in my head if we needed to do that for how much food everyone gets over the course of a week. My brother was a science guy and knew what we could and could not eat and drink.

So Bruce started to find pieces of wood we could use for a fire and also he got some sticks and leaves to sleep on. Barbera started to climb trees to find food for everybody. They asked me questions like,  “how much food would last us for tonight?” and “How much wood we would need for the fire to burn all night?” I answered their questions and they went out and got it. They came back within a couple of hours. They got the stuff I asked for and we sat there for a little bit and I brought some cards so we played cards for a while. Everyone started to get hungry so I said use your food wisely. I totally forgot about the water so we got buckets of water and sat them right up against some logs. We waited until it was about 8:00 p.m to start boiling the water so we could actually drink the water. It took a while to boil the water and get the salt out of it. It was about 9:00 now and we got tired so we went to sleep. 

I woke up in the morning and Bruce was getting wood for the fire. Barbera was up in the tree getting some berries and fruit from it. She was about 20 feet up into the tree. I thanked them for getting up and getting the food and the wood. Throughout the day my brother was getting asked questions about how much food we need for the day and how much wood we need to burn for the night. We took a dip in the ocean to pass some time until it was lunch time. We ate some red and black berries and some vegetation that we were able to eat without getting poisoned. After we ate we rested up a little bit. After that we played cards until it was about 3:00 p.m. Then we were all back to work. We worked until about 6:00 p.m. We took a break and ate some more fruit and barbera found some coconuts on the palm trees. We also cooked some water so we could drink it. I wanted meat but we couldn’t find any wild animals except for birds, lizards, snakes and frogs. I didn’t want to eat any of that. So I stuck with berries coconuts and vegetation. Every night we have been here so far we have made a fire to let pilots and people on boats see if they can see the smoke from the fire. Bruce brought a flare gun with him in his bag. We stayed another night hoping for someone to see us. We went to sleep at around the same time every night. We did the same things every day. 

The next day bruce and Barbera were playing catch with a coconut. My brother and I decided to get in on the fun. We played catch with it for about thirty minutes before we got to work and got the food, wood and water. Today was as normal as any other day we were there. We ate after the water was cooked. We had the same thing as any other day but we had coconut milk to drink instead of water. I stuck with the water after trying the coconut water for the first time ever in my life. My friends and brother started cheering me on while I was thinking whether or not to drink the coconut milk. We played cards again for about a couple of hours. I had so much fun today playing cards. After we played cards we got back to work. We worked until almost 6:00 p.m. After we worked we went and swam in the water. There was a shark in the water and it bit my brother. There was blood filling the water. My brother was screaming. We got him out of the water. We wrapped his leg with leaves and we had a little bit of rope on the boat so I ran and got it. We wrapped his leg with the leaves and tied it really tight so it would stop the bleeding. We found some maggots and put it on the bite mark so it would eat away the bad flesh and leave the good flesh. We tried to comfort him but he was in so much pain. That night we got some food and ate. The food took a little bit of the pain off my brothers mind. It was about 8:30 p.m now and we all decided to get some sleep. I woke up a couple of times from my brother screaming so I went over to him and asked if I could do anything and he said to wash the wound. I said I will go get the alcohol and pour it on the wound and clean it out. I went back to sleep. 

I woke up to a boat horn. I started the fire to get people's attention. The boat started to turn towards the island. It took about 20 minutes to get here. The boat finally got here and I called for help. I told the captain to call 911 so he did. It took the helicopter awhile to get here. The helicopter got here and brought out a stretcher and put my brother on it and I told him it was going to be okay. We got on the ship and went to the docs at Vancouver and got off. I bought a cheap phone as soon as I got off so I could call my brother as soon as he was feeling better. He was airlifted to the hospital in Vancouver. They told him he had to go to a different hospital so he could be treated properly there. So he was airlifted to University Health Network Hospital in Ontario. 

After I got the phone I decided to go find an apartment to rent. The rent wasn’t too bad. I decided to watch TV and relax after what had happened a couple of hours ago. I fell asleep watching a football game. I woke in the middle of the night and I was hungry. I walked to the restaurant that was a couple blocks away from the apartment complex. There was a McDonalds that was open so I decided to go there. After I got back to the house, I ate my food and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and I felt horrible. I booked a flight to Toronto to go visit my brother. I had to be on the plane by 1:00 p.m. I got there and they got me in and I got on the plane. I slept for awhile. I got some peanuts to eat for a snack. After I ate most of my peanuts I went back to sleep. I woke up again it was morning. I asked the person who was next to me where we were and he didn’t know. I went to the bathroom. I went back to my seat and sat down. 

As soon as we landed I got a taxi to the hospital. I went in and asked the woman at the front desk what room my brother was in? She asked me who I was and how I was related? I answered her questions and she told me where the room was. It took me a couple of minutes to get there. I finally got there and there was a doctor checking up on him. I asked if I could speak to him and he said yes. I asked my brother if he was doing okay and he said yes. The doctor said he would be out in a couple of days. I had some hospital food in the afternoon. The food was not half bad. The next couple of days I asked him what he wanted to do after he got out? He said he wanted to go to the beach and sit in the sun for a couple of days. We got out and he had crutches. So we went on the beach and sat there baking in the sun. After the couple of days we booked a plane and went home.

DJF

Breathe and Relax

I love you like I love my bed

The way it comforts me when I’m tired and stressed

It keeps me warm and relaxed

Like a laid-back summer day

With no plans

Except going to the lake and tanning

But that could smell weird and you could get sunburned

So maybe I won’t do that

I’ll just stay outside and relax in my hammock

And listen to music

Probably some country music

I love the country

It makes me feel free and alive

I can clear my head 

And sort out my thoughts

I can breathe in the fresh air 

And feel at peace

Like when I’m laying in my bed

So that’s why I love you like I love my bed

-Em

I Am.

I am smart, yet so easily tricked

I wonder what my purpose on this earth is

I hear others say, “I believe in you”

But I know it only matters if I believe in me

I am on a journey toward happiness

I want knowledge and success 

I am smart, yet so easily tricked

I pretend I am fine all the time

But there are times

I feel like there are two people living inside me

I touch your hand

But you are a ghost

I worry that I am not enough

I cry when I think about you

I am smart, yet so easily tricked

I understand that I am wonderful and destined to do amazing things

I say, “I’ve got this!”

I dream of standing next to you and  of knowing I am better

I try to not let that matter

But it does

I hope I can learn to be happy without comparing myself to you

I am smart, yet so easily tricked

- Ms. E

The warmth of Christmas

The frosted cranberries glistened in the warm sun

The sun felt warm compared to the recent weather 

Melting away all the worries in the world.

But God had a different story to tell

The wind whistled as flurries of snow spun through the air,

Forming snow creatures

Drifts overtake highways as traffic stands still

As cars get stuck in ditches by the icy roads

There is still beauty and danger with ice

You slip and fall on ice

and your friends laugh

And you laugh with them. 

As you start heading home 

To watch movies 

And cuddle by the fire 

With family gathered all around. 

~Jules

I love you like...

I love you like a bowl of ice cream

that has melted over the counter

and is dripping on the floor

with a cat licking up the drops.

I love you like cats love dogs

Which they don’t

And neither do I have a cat

Come to think of it, what is a cat?

I love you like soft blankets.

Which I think are like cats.

Curled up on the couch.

With a spoon and bowl in hand

Which is why I love you like a bowl of ice cream.

Menchie the Cat

I Love You Like...

I love you

Like I hate you

Like I will never get over

Everything we have been through

I love you like home

But you are the home

And now I am unwelcome 

I love you less than before

Like I just miss the presence

Not like I want things to be 

As they were before

I love you like my classmates

Often I hate them

In the end, 

I wouldn’t have it differently

I love you like a puppy

When I need comfort 

And you’re right there for me

But I hate you like a puppy

When I don’t want to 

Be responsible for your behavior

I will always love you

Like I will always hate you

And eventually, I will get over

Everything we went through

-Ylime Leon