silence in the house
I let the blanket of it
wash over me

fish on the wall
your mouth hangs open,
will you ever answer?

Alexander Bergland (7)

solitary road trip
the wind delivers
the sounds of dusk

Benjamin Kuxmann (5)

quiet study time
i long to be studying
you

Cassandra Reed (4)

beneath the sheets
I hear laughter
outside the door

Jessi Kreder (6)

first snowfall
the world engulfed
in silence

Gillian Genardo (6)

hospital room
the oxygen tank
his only company

Joel Ochoa (9)

open meadow
an orange butterfly
finds my shoulder

Jon Kuebler (8)

the world isn’t cold
you are
she gives him her jacket

John DeAngelo (8)

backyard
I notice
new flowers

Victoria Stuart (4)

alone in white
I try on
my mother’s dress

quiet library
one book
untucked for me

Jon Kuebler (8)

all alone
will this last forever?
she asks the winter moon

Rebecca Jaffe (7)

winding road
I brake to
save the turtle

Victoria Stuart (9)

a joke which fell flat
thoughts of
ripping my skin off

Morgan Bode (14)

deeper into the blizzard
one yellow light
too far

motionless
the doll's eyes
reflect the lonely moon

Michael Hoelting (6)

date night
all I hear is
dogs barking

Michael Hoelting (4)

whistling wind
you carry
my secrets

Michael Hoelting (6)

heading out the door
I turn to say goodbye—
you're no longer there

sleepless night
in a bed without you
black hole

autumn night—
the last firefly
extinguished

starry sky
i try to feel
your presence

Maddie Curtin (5)

strawberry dusk—
a cricket sings
hoping for a harmony

Madeline Wilson (11)

coffeeshop soliloquy
two seats
one person

Madeline Wilson (12)

holding this stretch
I elongate
my stresses

chasing the ball
the recruiter
leaves the stadium

tracks in the snow.
going every which way . . .
lost in thought

a peek
into the universe
sand between our toes

Alexander Bergland (9)

snow covered mountain
looking down
at the spine

Alexander Bergland (4)

chatter filled
coffee shop
her face fills the pages

sun gazing on
the stadium
empty at halftime

Jon Kuebler (5)

jersey number 5
will I ever be called
my name

Joel Ochoa (6)

drive-through window
no plastic straw needed
save the turtles

cracking wood
still used in bonfires
they burn just the same

John DeAngelo (8)

seven years gone
his room still left
untouched

Joel Ochoa (7)

customized dog bed
fingertips tracing the spot
where he used to sleep

straps molded to a fist
a broken Viking shield
hangs on the wall

open corn field
a luxury mansion
for field mice

Jon Kuebler (7)

ears ringing
laying my head
on the pillow

grandma’s hands—
liver spot
constellations

Gillian Genardo (11)

pressed between
the fresh pages
a worn photo of us

Jessi Kreder (9)

fallen tree
over it grows
a pillow of new moss

an old map
journeys through the years
it gains new folds

John DeAngelo (9)

mid-afternoon coffee date
I ask her how
she got that scar

childhood library
the pages of my favorite book
folded at the corners

Meghan Hayes (10)

endless horizon
soft sand
flooding over my toes

the worn stock
warms my cheek
grandpa’s .22

thanksgiving
grandpa snorts
at the table

Rebecca Jaffe (4)

white lace gone yellow
the button back still undone
too small

Morgan Bode (6)

old bridge crumbling:
hands held tightly
across the way.

Maddie Curtin (4)

old man’s kneecaps
knotty oaks
still standing

weary traveler
leans over a bottle
arms crossed

distant mountains
memories of
his strong hands

Gillian Genardo (7)

lined tombstones
the fallen leaves
join the army

Benjamin Kuxmann (10)

muddy cleats
the old field
gains new bruises today

John DeAngelo (4)

old city streets
are the ghosts in you
or me?

Madeline Wilson (10)

new neighbors
introducing myself
over a plate of fresh cookies

Joel Ochoa (6)

when he pulls away
my lips taste like
sugar

playing tag in the
middle of the store
he and I are young again

Meghan Hayes (11)

early morning sunrise
unzipping the tent
my father awakes me

Jon Kuebler (7)

feather pen
behind the display glass
held by thousands of eyes

Alexander Bergland (5)

I wish
to be frozen in time
with you

wine elixir
the weight of the world
melts away

Madeline Wilson (9)

music in the streets
blasts our eardrums—
a wedding parad

fire burns
so does my
marshmallow

Victoria Stuart (4)

ferris wheel
you grab my hand
the older couple smiles

Maddie Curtin (9)

open arms
my mother greets
my fiancé

three legged cat
it hops to the toy
same as the rest

cumulonimbus
rabbit
in the sky

summer camp
I hold a paper bag
full of lemon drops

Elizabeth Napier (6)

our walk back home
too late to mind
the mud

my fingers in the sand
finally
5 o’clock somewhere

pawn shop silver
gifted for Christmas
weak clasps

Morgan Bode (4)

Mississippi River
much larger than
the last time I saw her

Meghan Hayes (5)

awakened by
bellowing laughter
the scent of cinnamon rolls

Jessi Kreder (14)

love in the air
surrounded by
sunflowers

the zoo
a collection of plush tigers
for protection

on a plane
everyone drunk
except the pilot

late night in Jackson Square
an old woman tells me
about our future

Meghan Hayes (8)

Café du Monde
the saxophone serenades
our beignets

Meghan Hayes (8)

what's your biggest fear?
he asks
a warm hand on my thigh

Madeline Wilson (6)

hair cut in a bob
it's remarkable how many men
think I am of age

Meghan Hayes (13)

the world is collapsing
the only thing keeping me going
dissonant jazz chord

Madeline Wilson (7)

fogged windows
you show your flaws
to me

staring into the pond—
a fish jumps
to greet me

 
first beignet I mistakenly wore black

orion's belt
she holds it
together

Maddie Curtin (13)

crossing the threshold
bridge
a corpse below

red leaves
they don’t care
about midterms

Maddie Curtin (4)

                morning
           sun        rise
peeking         over      the
            rolling      hills

Joel Ochoa (7)

fall breeze
early season hopes
dying

you see
galaxies
i see
questions

Maddie Curtin (12)

vanity
fallen from the stars
cassiopeia

Maddie Curtin (4)

gibbous moon,
a sky not
full enough.

emperor penguin
her baby
warm between her feet

 
nail biting down to the quick my answer arrives

 
reaching for his hand as we cross the sinking street brother

one fifty seven
a ghost
or a new old friend

melting ice
new plants poke through
the evidence

glasses of lemonade
pizza by candlelight
april fools

police knock
escaping
through the window

pink backpack
in the trunk
his trophy

Victoria Stuart (4)

gun tucked
beneath the seat
tinder date

dead hitch-hiker
the same haircut
as his mother

Morgan Bode (9)

snowflakes descending
they push my voice
back into my throat

open closet
how many pink sweaters
does one person need?

Morgan Bode (4)

leafless tree
kids play
in the remains

Jessi Kreder (7)

basil plant
on the window sill:
a blizzard outside.

blanket wrapped
around shoulders
brother missing

paper torn up
scattered
saturn's moons

Maddie Curtin (9)

cross eyed
just enough to notice
when you get close

Rebecca Jaffe (4)

grace
her hips sway
politely

on the couch
with an old friend
I hear a new story

Valentine’s Day
raspberry chocolate
shit.       It’s orange

winter incoming
longing for
my toes in the sand