by JOHN

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Judgement.
I hate when people judge before they know.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? LOVE.
Love is hard to find, but
never give up on it.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? Fun.
Fun is always around. Fun is more
fun with friends and family around.

by AJANI

She pressed my start button. I’m awake. It’s time to start. Then she goes through my walkthrough.

It’s my turn. My turn to start.

I’m walking and learning to play my own game.

I’m getting better, learning movements, leveling up.

(I’ve got my own style, moving on my own, growing older.)

There’s always a new challenge. Some the game makes your life hell, make you want to quit. You feel like there’s no way.

Maybe it’s time to stop. Maybe we should end it. We’re faced with challenges. There are no second chances, no places to go, no online walkthrough to help us.

Eventually we die. No one could care. No one could notice.

Especially myself.

No one should be dragged down by one person.

Eventually we head back to our beginning, except unnoticed, down in the dirt.

And unlike in a video game, there’s no restart button.

I won’t ever be faced with those large questioning letters:

CONTINUE?

by KENY

Stares here and there, like an
endless hall-path that’s completely
filled with mesmerizing reflecting mirrors.
I hesitate to keep up, knowing
that all I had was myself and
nothing else. It seems as if I
am trapped in an inescapable room
in the center with everyone
just observing me. Everything comes
together. I sense everyone
towering over me. I see their leader
and a wave of fire enters
my soul. I snap out of it
and defend everything
within. I promise myself, never
again shall this happen.

by KENY

I know my eyes were honey, and now they are hazel.
I looked at my veins, and they showed a blue green sea.
I searched for my beauty and had my eyes closed,
But I saw the world and left destroyed—
Edgy personalities hurt and abandoned me in the abyss.

I shall never open my eyes again.

by CALEB

I always wonder about everything non-human,
Yet I think I know all about humans.

I know everything can kill me,
Yet I think I am superior as a human.

I think that I am flexible,
Yet I hate to be out of control as a human.

I create weapons of destruction,
Just to misuse them on other humans.

I sometimes care more for animals
Than my own fellow human.

We think we have advanced,
When really we have fallen farther than other humans.

I am always afraid of intangible things,
Yet I hurt other humans.

Sometimes I think, “Caleb stop it. They aren’t worth it.”
But it all comes back to humans.

by JAROD

My dad sat me down,
Said something that changed me.
He said never fall in love.
It always comes with a fee.

He said it will beat you up
And leave you crying on the ground,
But it’s a silent killer
And doesn’t make a sound.

He said it’s mentally abusive
And hurts you on the inside,
But it makes you feel special
Like you’re surfing on a tide.

He said he wished someone told him
Because he used to get attached.
He had remembered the first.
He thought they were latched.

He said that when she broke up with him.
He was on one knee.
He had proposed to her.
He thought she was the key

To unlocking his happiness,
but apparently he was wrong.
Now he falls asleep at night
singing a sad song.

He told me not to fall in love—
After it’s over, you are the one who is down.
You’ll be the one on one knee.
You are the one looking like a clown.

by ZIV

Bolton St. was a quiet street with great neighbors and a restaurant at the end. Bolton St., Baltimore, Maryland. My old street was great. I had a good time with friends there. Everyone was in walking distance: friends, family, the pool, great restaurants. I loved the area, we had the symphony in the distance. The BSO had good performances. We could walk down to Ravens games and Orioles games. Camden yards was the area where the Orioles played every home game. There were some stores like Rite-Aid or Save-A-Lot that were near where I lived, walking distance to be exact. There was a park down down the street where me and my friends would play football or throw a baseball around. I remember playing video games over at a friend’s house; this is probably how I grew to like video games. This is why I loved my old street, it was filled with good and loyal friends, a pool to go to during the summer and neighbor’s homes to go to for parties.

by OWEN

As it has to be pounded into the ground,
being shaken at the sheer force some people hit it with;
and being attacked, beaten, and
sometimes skinned for a “smoother surface;” while
all it wanted was to be left alone, sleeping
in the grass of the forest until it was found by a hiker,
or even a kid, which
would be the worst torture ever; always in
eternal pain of being hit on the ground, other
kids, and thrown around throughout the
otherwise quiet forest; but the one pro to being
picked up by a kid is being broken quicker;
with the sweet release of death being
the most wonderful thing for a
walking stick.

by MAEVE

Like that time I got a call about Holtums that
reportedly began filling the hallway of a mind
that wasn’t even mine
just as the seasons on my nails turned from
frustration to power to growth to affection without skipping a beat so hold on —
just wait a minute —
go ahead and check
your front
doorstep
and I’ll keep curating until it’s stopped working —
just so you know, it has
but my photo booth captured
a realist  and elitist — guess which is better
cuz flaming hot cheetos never could
again, by the way, it was mine, you know
the mind was mine although I only knew
that when the avalanche finally
dropped
to let go of the heavy, forest snow so I don’t
mind carrying it on mine as long as it’s yours
get a rest.