1

retire early or rise late
exhaustion seeps in
either way dark circles
frame my eyes
I control nothing

Sophie

a twelve hour night
asleep in bed
exhaustion seeps in
as do hollow eyes
I control nothing

staring at the ceiling
my exhaustion creeps in
4 AM.
is it too early
or too late for us?

retire early
or rise late
dark circles
frame my eyes
either way

2

up and down
the brick street hills
of Athens, Ohio
my wife imagines
bike rides to school

xxxxx

a bicycle up
and down
brick street hills
imagine the paper route
on a snowy day

3

in the end
I’ve always gotten what I wanted
but to celebrate my wins
is to ignore the losses of others.
I’ll stay quiet.

xxxxx

confetti & party hats
an award
on the wall.
i’m sorry
to second place

in the end
I got what I wanted
but I’ll ignore what they’ve lost
in celebration of myself
if I don’t stay quiet

4

chittering ducks
and chirping crickets
moonlit symphony
tuning
the night

Leah

soft quacks echo
the chirping of crickets
slow evening ambience
suddenly
a moonlight sonata

chittering ducks
and chirping crickets
moonlit symphony

5

War in the east
a repeated genocide
miles away from home;
My country offers aid
to the terrorists

xxxxx

6

the old
friend walking across
the rainbow bridge
the comfort of
one day

xxxxx

walking across
the rainbow bridge
the comfort
of one day
and an old friend

the old friend
walking across
the rainbow bridge
the comfort of
one day

7

a friend’s mom’s goddaughter
toddles over to me.
my dislike for children
melts away with each
rest of her head on my shoulder

xxxxx

a goddaughter
toddles over to me
my dislike melts away
with each rest of
her head on my shoulder

8

everything kind and good
must come to an end,
even the earth
kills herself
to be renewed again

xxxxx

all things kind and good
come to an end
even the earth
dies in the hopes
of a new beginning

the earth
dies
to be reborn again
everything kind and good
must come to an end

9

moving to a new city
every two years
growing up
I remember parks
and librarians

Randy

grown-up
moving to a new city 
every two years
remembering parks
and librarians

moving
every two years and
growing up in a new city
remembering
parks and librarians

moving to a new city
every two years
the books
in the library
my friends