Grandpa
Grandpa
when I would come to his house
he always gave me a Popsicle
and now
when I come over
there is nothing there
by Lily Sotelo
Age 7, Castlehill Country Day School
A Bird
Blue sky and brown pinecone,
Made me feel at home.
Puffy white clouds and wind,
Blowing on my face,
Made me smile.
Ahead I saw a friend,
And flew to her,
We rested on a pinecone.
Soon I flew away,
Past thick green trees,
And multi-colored rocks,
Past a small flowing creek,
Where I stopped to take a drink.
I saw a wolf and was frightened,
I saw his yellow teeth,
Heard his growl,
As his paws scratched in the gravel.
I hurriedly flew for my life,
Far away to a prairie,
Perched on a blade of grass.
I felt wonderful,
With the wind on my face,
And open sky!
by Annie Liu
Age 9, Harelson Elementary
Untitled
Your fingers slip through the ribbon,
As you tighten my lace bow.
I remember being young
With you there.
I now don’t have that comfort of feeling
That I have some sort
Of father around.
To me you are
Broken.
It’s almost Christmas now...
That’s been eleven in a row.
Your distant love forces me to love harder.
Every day the more I love you,
The further your fingers slip from the
Tight bow that is now
Tightly wrapped around your heart.
I still hold on tight.
Screaming into a pillow
Doesn’t fix broken hopes.
I can only put on a band-aid
And hope the scars don’t show.
The pillow only makes it hard to forget.
If only I could forget.
Do I really want to?
Now that I understand
Broken
Should I let go of that lace bow?
Let it slip from my fingers
To a heap on the floor.
by Courtney Donnellan
Age 13, Desert Christian Middle School
English Please
Chaparrita de pelo largo cobrizo
Cachetona and big hazel eyes
Gordita, no,
llenita nomas.
Entro de la mano de su mami
Sin saber una gota de ingles.
Are you sure you’re in the right class, he said
el güero pecoso with the dark blue eyes.
Zuilma Amador, she whispered.
Giggles and laughter filled Mrs. Hernandez’ room,
While a roadrunner ran through the halls
Trying to escape.
Today...
Kelly with the light brown skin
And eyes like chocolate marbles
wants everything her way.
Black Dickies and purple short-sleeved shirt
Are the uniform.
A frown is part of her uniform, too.
She bangs the prep table at Taco Bell
English, please!
But in the restaurant, the customers are brown.
It’s the tall giraffe that is out of place.
English, please! Customers
I took my gloves off and went to Kelly,
I’m not gonna let anyone disrespect me like that.
You have no right to tell me what language to speak.
She never thought I would say anything.
Zuilma Amador, she said.
by Zuilma Amador
Desert View High School