“Regret”- Anonymous, grade 10

It follows me like a quiet shadow stitched to my heels. Some days it is small and barely noticeable, but other days it stretches across the ground like a dark road pointing back to where I’ve been. It whispers in a voice made of what ifs and if onlys, soft, but impossible to ignore. It collects my forgotten moments the way autumn gathers fallen leaves. Every word I swallowed. Every chance that slipped through my fingers like water. Sometimes it taps me on the shoulder and shows me pictures of the past, like an old movie that refuses to end. The scenes constantly flicker in my mind. Doors I almost opened, roads I almost walked, conversations that never happened. The strange thing is that it grows stronger whenever I turn around to stare at it. When I face forward, it fades a little, but it never fully disappears. Even when the sun is bright and the day feels new, it lingers patiently behind me, waiting for me to remember. It walks beside my memories like a silent companion, carrying pieces of yesterday in its pockets. Sometimes it even feels like a backpack filled with stones from places I can never return to. And the farther I walk, the heavier those stones seem to become. No matter how far I travel forward, it keeps pointing me back to the roads that I can never walk again. 

“Beneath The Peeling Coat Of Perfection”- Anonymous, grade 10

Going through life as a checklist,

Every turn taken ninety degrees,

Every path measured with a ruler.

If something bends,

I press it flat again,

Even if it was never meant

to be straight.

I erase the paper until it thins,

Until it gives way,

Leaving only a hole behind.

One that cannot be repaired,

So into the trash it goes,

Flaws don’t belong.

Nothing is finished 

Until absolutely flawless—

No flaws allowed, 

Yet flaws are all I seem to make.

Every compliment given feels temporary,

Like paint drying, 

Touched too soon,

And it peels away until nothing is left.

Somewhere between trying again

And fixing what I missed

I forgot the point—

Why I try so hard.

Why I feel like I’m disappointing everyone.

If only I could succeed 

the way I picture it—

The perfect surface cracks, 

And everything underneath shows through.

No matter how carefully it was painted, 

The flaws were never meant

To stay hidden forever.

“Roses”- by Maggie McGinty, grade 10

I never would have thought I’d love roses.

Sometimes they get a bad wrap.

I pick it up and the thorns prick me,

yet the pain is always temporary.

I know I will forgive the rose,

because I keep getting drawn to its allure,

And I hope it never dies.

But every time it withers, 

I grab a new one

Just to get pricked again

And even so the thorns can be removed.

Some naturally have less than others.

I never forget each rose I’ve held,

Each one different.

Each little detail.

They all make me feel the same way,

Warmth

Joy

Peace

Despite their flaws.

“The Tell Tale Heart: Confessions of the Heart”- Samantha Morris, grade 10

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I beat on. Sweaty. Anxious. Foreboding.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

There are people here; the police I believe. I cannot see anything but layers of his muscle, blood, flesh and ribs. I cannot see, but I can hear.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

They ask their questions, my surroundings begin to tremble.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It suddenly comes to me: The eye. The old man’s eye. It came to me, like a vision–an after image of some sorts.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

In an instant, I understood. The eye. I beat faster.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

“Say nothing. Say it wasn’t you.”

With each answer and explanation, I hammer against the cage of bone that surrounds me; I will burst through his chest if he continues on.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Guilt claws and digs into his flesh, ripping all forms of reason from his body.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

“No! You blasted fool! It is not his heart, it is yours!” But alas, he jumps to the floor, prying at the wooden planks.

Thump. Thump. Thump…

And what was done, had been done.

“Mindless” – Andrew Bothell and Alan Quinn, grade 10 

Squeak, Squeak, Squeak

A sound I once had known

Now it’s the plastic on the keyboard

With a cold and hollow tone

All these children turned zombies

Blinded by computer’s light

Not once thinking on their own

Wounded by the blight

Blowing through the classroom

Right outside the door

The thoughts of the lively youth

Vanished, are no more

Living in the moment

Now a thing of the past 

A generation lost to screens

Their childhood fading fast

“A Picture We Can’t Rebuild”- Camila Rodriguez, grade 10

We were once so close,

fitting like pieces from the same puzzle.

But as time passed,

the edges shifted, 

turning us into different people.

There was nothing we could do.

Our lives were reshaping us into different pieces,

creating a picture we no longer shared.

The connection that we once cherished,

loosened with every passing moment,

until one day, when we realized  . . .

we no longer fit together.

“A meadow of flowers”- Kevin Urban, grade 10 

I am a meadow of flowers, 

each a different color, 

each with a new flow. 

Bees and butterflies go from each flower to another. 

They laugh and buzz as they fly. 

The bees drift near me, 

and I get a piece of their warmth, 

yet no bee stays on my petals.

I bloom for many, 

yet belong to none. 

I am in their presence 

part of their lives, 

but then the sunlight falls on me, 

and I am once again left alone.

“Emptiness”- Eva Monen, Lia Spillane, Jenna Zahr, grade 10

I walk along the shoreline 

Reminiscing on good times 

I can feel your presence in my palm 

But when I look down you are gone

Waves crash along the sand

The tides sweep away all we had planned

A lonesome crab finds it way 

How can I rid myself of my own dismay?

The sturdy castles that once stood tall 

Now crumble from it all. 

The towers fall to the ground

And broken pieces scatter around. 

The ocean thief claims what is mine,

Collecting countless ships over time

The shadow that once was you lingers next to me,

I thought our love was true  

Now I stand alone by the sea.

4 Long Years by Luis Abrego, grade 10

December arrives, winter comes

Loneliness is here, not love

The cold wind sways on my way

Winter ends and the snow fades away

Hiding behind the snow is love

Spring is here, life is reborn

Sun is out, love arrives

Four long years and life’s demands are what kept us away

Love and unity are what comes back again

Like flowers flourishing and birds singing

Please let it be like this once again.

I want to feel the warmth and humidity of this season.

Winter, please don’t come, and Spring please stay, 

I want it to stay like this forever again.