Anxiety

Alyssa Patten

 

Its hands suffocate you

small words of fear consume your brain

don’t breathe; don’t speak; don’t move

Don’t.

 

All day, every day

weight rests upon your shoulders

taunting you

second by second

minute        by minute

Hour                 by hour

Day                          by day

 

You try so hard to break free

the exit is right at your fingertips

then

complete

darkness  

it’s back

and it won't let you go.  

A Perfect World

Ashley Kelly

 

love is s          omething

you don’t re     alize you’re e

xperiencing at f  irst. This odd fe

eling you can’t place, until you u

nderstand. you get jealous w

hen you see them wi

th someone else.

every kiss t

ears yo

u apa

rt.

 

ev

ery h

ug. kin

d word. smi

le. you want t

hem to hug, kiss, l

ove you the same. but y

ou know what, life isn’t abou

t getting what you want. you see h

er with them. you t     ry and ignore the j

ealous feeling yo         u have. the feelin

g tears you in t             wo. there’s noth

ing you can                    do about it.

 

every kiss like a knife.

every hug like a hatchet.

you’re so deep in this feeling.

you don’t see it.

she has these feelings too.

about you.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Brazil

Melyssa Almeida

 

I

 

The torn hearts tremor with Temer’s actions.

The militia have arrived to take away our fun,

But the Carnival never stops in Brazil.

 

II

 

Stand up for your rights in Brazil,

and you're dead like Marielle.

Sometimes you just drown like Mariana.

 

III

 

The Brazilian coconuts are martyrs for the government.

When a coconut picker is pushed out of a tree,

It is death by coconut.

 

IV

 

The slums are Brazil’s greatest tourist attractions.

They are beautiful flowers on a hill.

Where drugs, violence, and poverty sprout in the spring,

And then go unnoticed forever.

 

V

 

Stars in Brazil don't exist in the sky or waters.

And passion is not feeling.

They are the bitter fruits of the earth.

 

VI

 

In Brazil they tell you not to end up like the neighborhood drunk,

But he is the most sober man you'll ever meet.

 

VII

 

Race is a matter of limes and lemons.

In Brazil a lime is a lime,

And a lemon is just a yellow lime.

 

VIII

 

Soccer is not the only sport in Brazil.

Now that you have met the kite fighter he will tell you

All about his bleeding fingers and the liability he calls

Home.

 

IX

 

In Brazil the poor are more focused on their appearances

Rather than their bank accounts.

While to the rich,

Rural farmhouses are escapes from debt.

 

X

 

A ton of coffee,

Is the weakest source of strength,

Unless it has milk.

 

XI

 

Each of the twenty-six states of Brazil,

Live in their own unique world.

Like distant cousins,

That sometimes see each other on Christmas.

 

XII

 

Brazil is the capybara.

To some it is a cute tiny bear,

But to others it's just a giant rodent that can swim.

 

XIII

 

Don't forget about the tribes,

That lives deep in the Amazon,

Hiding from the tree murderers.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Paper

Bryce Taylor

 

I

 

Badabing badaboom vim vam zoom

Badading badadoom dim dam poom

Those are words from a Paper

 

II

 

Sometimes I read comics

I usually just watch the cartoon adaptations instead, but

On the rare case that i dont, i have a really good time

 

III

 

I feel like comics can be better than movies or cartoons

Cartoons can be rushed and put on a schedule

But people dont really rush someone to make a comic

Theres almost never a due date

You cant put a due date on quality

but some people do

They are asses that make something great

Become trash

 

IV

 

Books can be better than a movie

Sometimes its easier to speak with written words

Than speaking with speaken words

 

V

 

Paper is super

I really love me Paper

Especially thin

 

VI

 

Paper is literally anything

It could show anything you want

If you dont like it 2D have it 3D

Thinking about it anything could act

as paper does so

Anything is also “Paper”

 

VII

 

Paper is like its own separate universe

It has endless possibilities of what to do with it

Will it be a man, a dog, or a bird

You can draw a horse

Or make the paper a horse

Or throw the paper at a horse

You’ll make a story that way

But thats not the only way to make a story with Paper

 

VIII

 

Paper has a lot of uses

You can draw on it

Drawing Paper

You can fold it

Origami Paper

You can Burn it

Fuel Paper

You can clean with it

Towel Paper

You can wipe your ass with it

Toilet Paper

Paper has more uses than you

Better-Than-You Paper

 

IX

 

What if every story made a separate world?

We could be one, you never know

I used to think that

But with Paper you have to keep in mind that it isn’t real

You can’t grow too attached to Paper

A man named Chris Chan did

His life is miserable now

He lives a fake life

Surrounded by delusions

Thinking that Sonichu is with him

A portal to another world in his closet

He’s a man who serves as an example

Of what not to do with Paper

 

X

 

Paper is infinite

Paper is all

Paper is 3x4 inches

 

XI

 

As cool as Paper is it's also pretty stupid

You can make a masterpiece over the course of

10 Years

But then a couple days later it’s nothing

Garbage

 

XII

 

Something is always better than what you do

It’s never the best and never will be

Even if it is, you won’t know

Because the Best know that they aren’t the Best

Paper

 

XIII

 

Paper isn’t just Paper

It’s stone too

Anything can be paper if you try hard enough

Paper is used for portraying something, usually a story

But how many things can portray something?

People just draw on themselves sometimes

Yeah that’s right

You’re a Paper

That doesn’t mean you have to draw on yourself

You don’t need too

You’re already telling a story