MPitS - Mendocino High School

MPitS

Mendocino High School

2009/10

Trespassing on Facial Land

Find a freckle
follow today bricks
hopscotch between each lily-pad,
trail the coming path.
Do not peek a toe into
the wise and wrinkled water.
Skip over the bridge of
nose and
dive down the sand-dunes on the other
side.
Find a way, northeast of mole
but leave no tracks or holes.
Try pulling at the grassy roots – ticklish –
don’t let their giggles
hurl you away.
Leap off speckled, twitching rock
and slide down handsome, spreading smile.

Savannah
Grade 12, Mendocino HS Poetry Slam Team

Garage

Cool steel tools
Warm leather seats
Sound of country radio
“8-track flash back”
Smell of oil, grease, & gas
Cold concrete floor
Warm halogen lights
Sound of a ratchet
Smell of BBQ
That’s where I belong.

Zachary
Grade 11, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

Finding You

Like the mist of broken waves
that will return to the sea
I’ll one day find you, you’ll find me,
but for now, I keep looking

Like the gates that keep me out,
that will someday come falling down
only to be built again, but I’ll
find my way in

Like the way I’ve searched so
thoroughly from icy Everest to hot
Death Valley, it’s like you’re hiding
from me, like you don’t want to be found

Like the way I’ve looked for someone
to replace you. They tell me they
love me, but can’t erase you.
So I’ll keep looking, looking for you.

Patrick
Grade 11, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

America, the Best!

My land is America, the best of the best,
a land of fake terror, treason and death.
A place where natives used to frolic, in harmony with life
until we came, and killed them with our knives.
Yes, my land is the best, the most powerful in the world,
where we can do as we like, and still afford
to send our troops to save other nations—
this is the cause of my radiant elation.

My land is a place of North vs. South,
To free the slaves, so they could talk with their mouth
Us civilians in America must be choking on lost souls
for all the battles that have been on our soil
Yes, America, I love you so!
Death to anybody whose opinion is low!

Nicolas
Grade 9, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

The Time Keeper

from a photo by André Kertész

I look down from my tower where I stay
and see the laughter and playing
and joy that is in everyone
They don’t know how much
I long to be like them
but no, I’m just the time keeper.

I wish I could come down and look up,
instead of everyone looking up at me
To go for a swim in that cold pond that I see
but no, I’m just the time keeper.

If only I could hear what they said about me,
instead of them hearing every tick and tock
If only I could talk with them,
but no, I’m just the time keeper.

I can see the smoke from chimneys rising
from the trees in the distance
If only I had a fire
to make me warm on those chilly mornings,
but no, I’m just the time keeper.

I have been here all my life,
and now my arms are tired,
So I will stop ticking and stop tocking.
Nobody cares, I’m only the time keeper.

Then the clock stopped ticking
and the clock stopped tocking
and it seemed like the world stood still
for there was no time keeper.

Christiana
Grade 9, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

The Scarlet Messenger

first in The Messenger series

She whispers to us, she tells us secrets that only she knows.
But we can’t hear her, or we just choose not to.
She tries to warn us of things to come as she reaches for the sky.

Sometimes she hurts us if we come too close and don’t listen to her.
She is always frustrated that her cries go unheard.
She weeps for us, and wishes she had a voice, a voice to sing out what she knows.

If only we chose to hear, if only we learned to listen,
We would know what the future holds.
We would know, and we would be able to change it just by knowing.

She is our unknown, unheard savior; she is our oracle and our prophet.

She is The Scarlet Messenger.
She is the red, red rose….

Cecile
Grade 9, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

Adiós

Adiós
dos miradas de despedida
una falsa sonrisa
sólo recuerdos me haran crecer

dos miradas de despedidas
lágrimas en las maletas
sólo recuerdos me haran crecer
con estrellas en las manos

lágrimas en las manos
heridas en el corazón
con estrellas en las manos
tendremos que corer

heridas en el corazón
despedidas por montones
tendremos que correer
escapemos del dolor

despedidas por montones
abrazos desgarradores
escapemos del dolor
dame un beso por favor

abrazos desgarradores
una falsa sonrisa
dame un beso por favor
adiós.

Goodbye

Good bye
two glances for a farewell,
a fake smile.
Only memoires will make me grow.

Two glances for a farewell,
tears in my suitcase.
Only memoires will make me grow,
with the stars in my hands.

Tears in my hands,
wounds in the heart.
With the stars in our hands,
we will have to run.

Wounds in the heart,
too many farewells.
We will have to run,
let’s escape from the pain.

Too many farewells
and painful hugs.
Let’s escape from the pain
and please, kiss me.

Painful hugs,
a fake smile.
Please, kiss me
and good bye.

Daniela
Grade 12, Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher
translation by the author

My Beast

My beast of a car
It has an awesome sound to it
She purrs like a tiger

I had to give her a name
I named her “Shelby”
My beast of a car

She takes turns with ease
Because of her fat tires and heavier weight
she purrs like a tiger

You can hear her coming from far away
As her engine roars with power
My beast of a car

I feel bad about keeping her under the speed limit
She wants to be let loose
She purrs like a tiger

It’s the end of the day and we both must sleep
Tomorrow I will let her loose
My beast of a car
She purrs like a tiger.

Bobby
Mendocino HS
Karen Lewis, Poet Teacher

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