Y A W P

I sound my barbaric

Over the roofs of the world

Contributing Writers

Featured Artist: Christian Cromer

Featured Writer: Karisza Jenkins

Featured Writer: Raven Johnson

Karisza Jenkins Life’s Sonnet 11

I’m a… 12

Anglo-Saxon Poem 17

Youba 18

Raven Johnson Life for me… 3

Writer’s Block 10

Lipstick 14

Note to Self 17

Corey Bartley Winter 4

Jamie Jefferson Flirty 4

One Fine Morning 6

Avery Payne Chilly, crying… 4

Triana Moore Die, watch… 4

Alex Hite Curious Pocket 4

Dakota White Oppression 6

There is a Killer… 8

Cameron Farnum We 23

Sam Owen Sediment 5

Mariah Welcher Open Fields… 16

Southern Twang 15

Andy Clem What to Write 7

Zack Mullenax Clouds 9

1-Act Play 19-22

Kate Hazlett Too Shy 3

Boulder Shutt Such a Gut 13

Too Shy

I‟m a riddle in not enough syllables

I‟m a cat raised by pit bulls A mouse taken in by Italians

My mouth is too small for my head My fists are too large for my arms

I‟m a tomato yearning to grow, But I‟ve already shriveled and dried

Embers are all that‟s left to this flame

Life for me ain’t been no...

Life for me ain‟t been no pencil,

No sharp point that can write masterpieces, No eraser that can diminish mistakes,

No “correct-shons”, No directions, to the next pages.

No revisions. Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes. No eraser after today, or before today.

A continuation… in permanent marker.

Die, watch, and wilt I turn flowers and

They buy, brown as me You just

Flirty

Girls in miniskirts Watching boys dribble in shorts

As they miss layups

Winter

Winter air Grasping each other for warmth

Last time before he leaves

Chilly, crying wind, Little, soothing girl

Freezing embrace Blows gentle tears

Curious pocket My pocket Within is…

A stick A stone

Chicken bone

And that

Is all.

Sediment Razor dices rock and eyes run red Any means to scrape green to feed insatiable white

Frostbite‟s inevitable when it snows in your head

Youthful streets raise routines, their influence spreads Submerged in surreal, tell which reality is right Razor dices rock and eyes run red

Grinding bones into powder, like flour into bread Out of mind, cannot find what remains out of sight

Frostbite‟s inevitable when it snows in your head

Mouths are true pipe organs, an ode to a doomed fight But like a bloodhound you crave to sniff out at the night Razor dices rock and eyes run red

You could have chosen meals, you picked deals instead You chose a lone open flame over truly warming light

Frostbite‟s inevitable when it snows in your head

You won‟t be in the obituary that you now call a bed Blown by the wind, so high, strung out, behold the urban kite Razor dices rock and eyes run red

Frostbite‟s inevitable when it snows in your head

Oppression Fearing to speak your mind

Bound, gagged and hypnotized You‟ve been left behind

Victim of Newspeak mesmerized

Intellectually deaf and blind By the thought police you‟re terrorized Commit a thought crime you‟re confined

Beaten down and pulverized.

One Fine Morning Sometimes I feel like I will never stop

Just go on forever Til‟ one fine morning

I‟m going to bake a cake so big The whole world can partake

And love, laughter, and peace will spread the earth And I‟ll look over at God and say, How about that!

What to Write I have to write a sonnet for lit class

And while it will not be my choice of fun I will not let this assignment float past

I sit here now to try and get it done The topic for this sonnet I cannot find

None seem to shout this is their destiny My dilemma facing this task now shines Deciding on a theme is tough for me

For this poem I was thinking about A question of deep philosophy not

And I wrote this poem without a doubt That this poem depicts quite little thought But this cop-out has turned out to be fine

And with this I will cease this poem of whine.

Excerpt from 1-Act There is a killer in all of us Harrison: Please just tell me where the bodies are.

Berwick: Ask nicely. Harrison: I have no damn reason to be nice.

Berwick: Well to call me narcissistic and to say I behave in a nihilistic man-ner is just so rude. (Harrison sits) (Berwick gets up as if to interrogate Harrison) Berwick: Just talk to the judge and I‟ll tell you.

Harrison: I have no problem with killing you right here. Berwick: Do it. Kill me. (Berwick stands there and closes his eyes, taunting Harrison to kill him)

Berwick: From the time you walked in here, I knew you were weak. Harrison: You are Satan incarnate. Berwick: I prefer God incarnate. I test you, not torture you.

Harrison: You‟re no god that I‟ve ever heard of. (Berwick sits and laughs) (Harrison stands again and looks into Berwick‟s face) Harrison: Tell me where they are now, you sniveling pile of human waste! You‟re not the boy that I remember when you were a child.

(Berwick‟s face twitches, signaling an upsetting remark) Berwick: You have no idea what I went through as a child. Harrison: Yes, I do. Dad beat me, too, Johnny, but I didn‟t grow up to be

like you. Berwick: Yeah, Brother, but you got out early enough. I didn‟t.

Clouds When you watch the clouds up in the sky,

Can you see the smiling faces With all the turmoil they bring by?

The wave of change can lift and fly

And fills up all the empty spaces When you watch the clouds up in the sky.

The visions of life within your eye, Divided into so many cases

With all the turmoil they bring by. The coming storm, large and wry,

It consumes all and many bases When you watch the clouds up in the sky.

The wind does blow, so cold and dry. The clouds do thin into tiny traces

With all the turmoil they bring by.

And finally the clouds do die. Now you go back through the paces

When you watch the clouds up in the sky With all the turmoil they bring by.

Writer’s Block Marley sat on the carpet and pulled out her notebook. The blank page seemed to scream out for a new and interesting masterpiece. She

reached for the pen and began to write a new invention.

“Yes, this is getting good!” Marley said to herself. Just as she began the climax, her pen gave out.

“Not now!” She slammed the pen down, and it rolled across the room.

She stood to get a pencil. Marley returned to her original spot.

The pen rolled back to her.

Life’s Sonnet Life often seems bitter and sometimes sweet

Though never burning hot nor freezing cold Yet nothing can cure such a fierce red heat

And nothing can melt a blizzard so bold If I had life met on another day, Perhaps the stars would shine a bit brighter

Maybe each morning would be that of May, And weight on my shoulders would be lighter

To think such a way is plain foolishness Dreaming that dream will make life much darker

There is no one life filled with such sheer bliss And no one life of which one can barter So life is a seed planted in soil,

To flourish in spring then later to toil.

I’m a I‟m a riddle cracked in half, cooking on a skillet

Mud slathered on my eyelids and spat on One of few plants exiled from the greenhouse

A dog that slipped out the front door when someone came in No need to check the pound; you won‟t find me there

I cannot hide in the shade of a tree I cannot enter the bomb shelter; the missile has already made impact

This time, skin is the only protection

Such a Gut

Ralph Swartzendruber realized from the jeers that once again he was talking to himself, aloud. Some called him Swartzenporker. Others, just simply Gut. Ralph looked down at it. Such a protrusion at only six-teen, drooping, dripping miles, it seemed, over his belt. His back ached from it. He even blamed his horrific eyesight on it, and now Coach wanted him to shower. “I‟m not sending you back to class stinking, Swartz!” The room emptied. Ralph stared up at the dripping nozzles. With a shrug, he removed his shirt. Two large, scaled wings unfolded. Genetically mutated and forever at-tached to his front when all others wore them on the back. “Ghastly,” Ralph muttered before slipping under the water.

Lipstick The woman‟s ridiculous, but her lipsticks worse,

Bright red texture as solid as a cinderblock, Her morals destroyed but her looks… a curse,

Time for more lipstick, as she glances at the clock.

It‟s been an hour since her last show, The lipstick smeared as she lost track of time, She runs to the bathroom, distraught, “Oh, no!”

Mirror image that she sees wasn‟t what she had in mind.

A voice called out to her, “Hurry back, times tickin‟” Tears strolled down her cheeks, slow like honey, Strands of hair attached at to the wet spots, stickin‟,

Beauty is skin deep but anything for the money.

Staple her heart to the wall, and watch the staple bounce back, Hearts so hard, God‟s hand can‟t break through it, Her lipsticks her shield and unlike sex, no one can take that,

Out of bright red, now black replaces it…

Many shades, many faces… “Let my lipstick be a mask.”

Southern Twang Her soul as sweet as cherry pie Her voice soft like the clouds in the sky

With her hand held high at church she sang That girl has southern twang

Small town folks know her name From dawn til‟ dusk her charm and grace rang

When it comes to trouble she‟s not to blame „Cause she has southern twang

A simple country boy engraves her heart

Soon wedding bells in her small town church rang Vow to love one another til‟ death do us part Oh, that girl will forever have her southern twang.

Open Fields of Everlasting Sunshine Open fields of everlasting sunshine Twirling down pastures in a joyful cry

Freshly picked fruit off the grape vine

Beautiful and vast skies of mine Clear blue about with a ball of beaming light, why? Open fields of everlasting sunshine

Fancy glass filled with fine wine

Bitter sweet taste, my oh my Freshly picked fruit off the grape vine

God‟s creation in the eyes so divine Throngs of pines standing high

Open fields of everlasting sunshine

Cotton balls of clouds as sweet as a lime Drifting slowly across the sky Freshly picked fruit off the grape vine

God‟s creation in the eyes so divine

Inhaling the pure air with a sigh Open fields of everlasting sunshine Freshly picked fruit off the grape vine

Anglo-Saxon Poem

The dreaming dreamer dreamt of lights Such a silent sleeper is much too bright

Floating fume fires burn then sizzle With veracious venom verging to fizzle

Needlessly nearing nothing to see Nothing no nothing is close to thee.

Note to Self Stop being so accustomed to change.

Stop being so afraid of change. Stop being so terrified of the world.

Stop being so adapted to the world. Stop putting up walls. Stop opening up so easily.

Stop being so realistic and dream for once. Stop being a dreamer and look at reality.

Stop being the opposite of everything I say I am.

Youba Undefined unsteadiness Uncensored blessedness Unspeakable sweet bliss Aura too obscure for any true kiss Tongue like a fiery red comet Words like divine magic vomit Legs locked like broken key holes Arms stiff as urban city light poles Feet flat as uncapped diet soda Mind the size of a galactic supernova Teeth straight as dream encompassed white picket fences Life always spoken in redundant past tenses

1 Act Play

Character list: All parts may be male or female

Leon/Leona

Conscience

Creativity

Ego

Intelligence

Common Sense

Emotion

The Executioner

(Great clamor as the six parts talk to themselves and stay in character. Leon stands in the mid-

dle, staring blankly ahead. Each part should wear something to signify who they are ie a beret

for Creativity, a heart for emotion, etc. Leon should have nothing special. All characters should

have black shirts and black shorts/khakis. Leon should have a black sweat shirt, while the Exe-

cutioner will need a robe. Leon should have a box he can stand on. The parts move around

Leon, facing forward at all times. All parts should be at the same volume.)

Leon (monotone): This is me. (all parts freeze) Each of these things is me, or at least a part of

me. And I am a part of them. You probably know all of them in some way or form

(Conscience steps forward)

Conscience: You know, it’s not very nice to lie to your parents. How do you think they feel?

Leon: My conscience.

(Creativity steps beside Conscience)

Creativity: Let’s paint the town red! No, blue! No! (pause) Purple!

Leon: My creativity.

(Ego steps forward)

Ego: Forget Jacob! I’m the best at baseball! That’s why I’m starting tonight.

Leon: My ego.

(Intelligence steps forward)

Intelligence: E=mc^2 times the power of pi squared divided by q which means E = q! (pause) I

think.

Leon: My intelligence

(Common Sense steps forward)

Common: Why take the long way when we can take a short cut?

Leon: My common sense.

(Emotion steps forward)

Emotion: Omg! Jessica wants to go to prom with me! But what if she doesn’t like my suit? And

what if Jacob shows me up? Why I’ll – (Common Sense puts a hand over Emotion’s mouth)

Leon: And that was my emotion. All of these things influence my everyday actions. I would be

quite boring without them. (pause) But today, I have unleashed myself unto you. The parts of

me have come to a disagreement. They want to know who is the best part of me. (All the parts

begin stating their case at the same time. Leon holds up a hand) That is why I have organized

this little tournament. (The six parts look around confused. Leon holds out a hand) Sit. (The six

parts sit down abruptly)

Leon: Each part will face another part in battle. The winner moves on. The loser? We’ll discuss

that later. The winner of this whole battle will be the guiding force of me. I will embrace that

mindset completely. Our first combatants shall be Common Sense and Intelligence.

(both parts stand up. Common Sense get’s in a boxer’s stance while Intelligence is nervous.

Leon: This is not a fist fight. (Common looks disappointed while Intelligence looks relieved.)

Instead, the two of you shall engage in a conversation. The first to confuse the other will win.

Common Sense: This should be easy.

Intelligence: My smarts will win this.

Leon: Very well. Your topic of conversation is politics. (Both sides look shocked) Begin.

(The conversation happens very quickly.)

Sense: Politics are worthless.

Int: Yet necessary for out peace and defense

Sense: The people can defend themselves.

Int: But without laws, chaos and anarchy will ensue.

Sense: But officials are corrupt.

Int: Some

Sense: Most

Int: Politics are important to civilized nations.

Sense: And yet third world countries seem pretty happy.

Int: And yet they have nothing to show for it.

Sense: Says you.

Int: Says me?

Sense: So long as they are happy, then it doesn’t matter what they have.

Int: But they are uneducated!

Sense: So?

Int: Ignorance is a sin!

Sense: And just because they’re ignorant they are sinners?

Int: Yes!

Sense: Do you know the meaning of life?

Int: What? No. No one knows the meaning of life.

Sense: I do.

Int: Yeah right.

Sense: So you want to be ignorant?

Int: Well, no but-

Sense: You choose to be ignorant and a sinner.

Int: No!

Sense: I’ll tell you the answer.

Int: Please!

Sense: The meaning to life is pie.

Int: What? That makes no sense!

Sense: But you’re confused now, right?

Leon: Intelligence has been confused. Common Sense is the winner.

Int: No! He tricked me!

Sense: Made the most sense to me.

(A man entirely in black comes in stage right. He is the executioner. He grabs Intelligence)

Leon: Thus is the fate of the loser. I would say I’m sorry, but that is Emotion’s job. Goodbye,

my dear smarts. You will be missed.

(The executioner takes Int off stage. Screams are heard then cut off with the sound of something

swinging down. The remaining parts look disturbed.)

Leon: The name of the game is to win. The last standing gains control of me. Do you still with

to play?

(The parts begin to object, but the executioner returns. He hand Int’s item to Leon, who sticks it

in his back pocket)

Leon: Now then, the next contestants are Creativity and Emotion.

(Both stand up, afraid. They step forward)

Leon: This is a competition of the heart.

(Emotion falls to her knees, crying) I can’t do it! I can’t do that to Creativity. We’re like sisters!

Creativity: Yeah! We won’t stand for it! You can’t do this to us!

(Leon raises one eyebrow and snaps his fingers. Exec appears and grabs both parts. They strug-

gle as he drags them off. We hear a snap, then bodies hitting the floor. Exec returns.)

Leon: Moving on.

(Exec gives Leon the items.)

Leon: The last two contestants of the first round are Ego and Conscience. (They step forward)

This is a battle of the soul. Each of you will be given a question. The person who best exempli-

fies their part wins. (Pause) The scenario is why do you deserve to win?

Ego: Because I’m the best. That’s reason enough.

Leon: And you Conscience?

Conscience: (hesitating) I don’t deserve to win. I’ve watched everyone die and I’ve done moth-

ering to stop it. (he lowers his head) I concede to Ego.

(Ego pumps his fist as Exec arrives he moves behind Conscience, then grabs Ego.)

Ego: Hey! Conscience conceded!

Leon: He exemplified himself more. Goodbye, Ego.

(Ego is screaming and kicking as he is dragged off. The screams end abruptly. Exec returns and

hands Leon the item)

Leon: And now the last pair remains. (He steps down behind Conscience and Exec appears.)

I’m sorry Conscience, but you lose.

Conscience: What? Why?

Leon: You forfeited.

(Exec drags Conscience off. Her leg is visible behind the curtain thrashing then abruptly stop-

ping.)

Sense: So, I won?

Leon: Not quite. (He snaps Sense’s neck) I do.

(Leon rummages through the sweat shirt pocket and finds a pair of Devil horns. He puts them

on and cracks a sly smile. He takes Sense’s item.)

Leon: We all know that cunning is the best.

(Exec returns with Conscience’s item)

Cunning: Thank you, Leon.

(Exec throws back hood and reveals a black-eyed human – the real Leon. Cunning touches

Leon’s head and falls. Leon grabs the horns and puts them on with a smile. He winks at the au-

dience and walks off the stage as we hear the other parts crying for help)

(Black out)

We We live, we love, We kiss, we hug,

We smile, we frown,

We turn each other‟s world

Upside down,

We fight, we cry,

We live, We die.

Robert E. Lee High School

2010-2011