MPitS - Point Arena High School

MPitS

South Coast High School
2003/2004

Trees

Birch, Oak, Redwood
all I have seen
Eucalyptus, Cedar, Madrone
all I have seen
trees are my dad's life
trees
it's all he does
trees
when I was young
trees
were all I did
trees
climb trees
play with them
love them

Heather Thompson

I Am

I am a survivor
I am bold and courageous
I wonder when the world will end
I hear nothing
I see a wonderful ending (maybe)
I want to live in harmony
I am a survivor

I pretend that I am a lion
I feel hungry for blood
I touch my teeth to your flesh
I worry I will kill
I cry when it actually happens
but I am a survivor

I understand there won't be peace between us
I say, "no more violence"
I dream of life beyond death
I try not to fight - it's no good
I hope someone hears my plea one day
I am a survivor

Heather Thompson

My soul is as free as a bird
my soul moves like the wind on a rainy day
my soul smells like a home cooked meal

my soul has been seen dancing with the moon and stars
my soul walks with a cocky attitude
maybe, my soul is like the ocean when it crashes on rocks

every day, my soul leaps in the air
like it has won the race

you should know one thing about my soul
it is one of the purest

Heather Thompson

My soul is beautiful
my soul moves like the wind
my soul has been seen like a butterfly
my soul walks with the wind
maybe my soul is like an eagle
every day, my soul follows me
you should know one thing about my soul
it chases the wind

Katrina Azbill

My soul is moonlight shining bright
my soul moves like the wind communicating with my sins
my soul smells like death, sounds like a threat
my soul has been seen by all human beings
my soul walks with the devil and dreams about heaven
maybe my soul has convulsed off all that booze
every day, my soul gets a work out
sometimes it makes me want to blurt out
you should know one thing about my soul
it is precious and full of gold

Nikki Ramirez

That Sweet Touch

I sing to the sun that shouts to my heart
quivering like chills
flowing gently to the back of my throat
like the softness of a sour kiwi

I talk to the sky that hides from my touch
like an ice cube sliding
down the back of my throat
like the brightness of a summer sun
glowing off the river current
pushing and pushing
so strong yet so alive
unspoken

Mary Lopez

Midnight

Midnight, my turning point
tired, but awake
late night animals screaming at my midnight moon
the dying light reflecting off the open window
blowing whispering sounds into my ear
midnight animals that roam the misty sky
the ones that graze in the grass and scatter into the trees
my midnight moon
peaking at me over the mountain view overlook
not sure where I am
not sure where to find me
but she knows I'm there

midnight, opening our playful minds to the night
friendly, but chilling feelings glowing off my skin
sending messages to the night sky
hope for our lonely hearts to be picked up
to be cleansed with the tears of the ones we love
to remind us that midnight is the hour

midnight wears her birthday suit
feeling the softness of her pillow
cooling her face like a ghost had just entered her soul
midnight, the hour of love
the hour of silence
free to feel
free to fall
free to think

Mary Lopez

6 a.m.

My hour is 6 a.m.
quiet, yet also rough
wait, no, that's the roof under my fingertips

my hour needs my book
without it I'd go insane
from the thoughts fluttering in my brain

my hour is filled with greens, pinks, reds
of trees, brushes and flowers

in this hour my dog is waiting
for what? I don't know
in this hour my cat is watching
waiting, prowling
my hour is also waiting
everyone is waiting in this hour
for what?
for this hour to pass onto the next
so they can wait some more

my hour feels refreshed
ready for everything to start
for anything to start

my hour hears the breeze, the birds, the ocean
my hour gives me the soft, sweet, crisp morning light
that feels so good when it hits my face
my hour wears as little as possible so it can feel the morning
my hour eats nothing yet it tastes as sweet as nectar
my hour wishes it could stay waiting
for the sun to rise forever

Katie Eagleton

Tired is baby blue

it smells like stieg smoke.
it taste like dry spit.
it sounds like heavy breathing.
it feels like a soft blanket.
it looks like a bed that I should be sleeping in.
tired is me wanting to sleep.

Donny Eagleton

I am

I am constantly trying
I wonder how people can lie
I hear screaming silence most of the time
I see skyscrapers in the clouds
I want to be at peace
I am constantly trying

I pretend to understand
I feel my heart stop
I touch the wind and wish I could fly with it
I worry it's gone forever
I cry because it gives me release
I am constantly trying

I understand why people fight for what they want to keep
I say keep fighting
I dream about the day we meet again
I try not to hold my breath
I hope before the end I can make a difference in someone's life
I am constantly trying

Hayley Dougherty

7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m. is the hour of fading light
Scarlet and gold dim on the horizon
as the sun dives into the freezing Pacific.
Goose-feather beds calling with sugar voices
Candles on hilltops
nocturnals stirring
the world closes its doors
It's the hour of cooling earth
scarves and jackets draped around tawny bone
The night sipping color from the sky
it's tall glass, decorated with paper umbrellas and a pineapple
7 p.m. has eyes to perceive what the heart wants
lips who call for a companion
Shhh...absorb this gentle hour

Hayley Dougherty

Untitled

The snow falls softly on the last day of our lives, painting the world white, painting it quiet. Coldness creeps across the floor and freezes our marrow as we whisper our last words. As the tears fall we catch glimpses of the photographs impressed upon them, black and white portraits of the unforgotten. Shadows no longer haunt the walls and hallway footsteps cease. Time freezes and we see ourselves in heaps strewn across the floor. The blood falling this day makes paintings in the earth. We tremble as we walk in the wasteland, inviting us into wooden unknown. Shots fire, or was it ringing in tired ears? We stumble upon a clearing and find remnants of a lost existence. We smile as tears roll down our cheeks and the sun slowly finds us there. I will never leave this place, even as my steps carry me into the desert, the place of outcasts and outlaws. But the prison has been swept away by the icy dawn angry at the intrusion. I sit now in this barren valley and play chords no one knows. I pound the keys until the mountains call for me to stop, but I wont stop. My heart is broken. The trees weep for me as I pour emptiness from my fingertips. The cruel wind begs but I am absent in sound. Death alone can cure this love. So my fingers dance across the notes. They sing and move the clouds to tears. Snow flakes fall and grace my melody with their delicate filigree but they cannot quell the poetry in my joints, poetry beyond words, wrapped in a silver lace of sorrow. This tune is forever. It will linger long after I wither away, echoing its music in the hills and among the trees.

Hayley Dougherty

Reality Distortion

Is what we perceive to be real, actually real?
Take a closer look:
I stand on the sky and look at the ground above
I float in a sea of hate, drown in a sea of love
I lay in the ocean, swim in the sand
I feel I could succeed, everyone tells me I can't
Murder the one you love, let live the one you hate
Accept everything as circumstance, defy the notion of fate
Cry when you're happy, smile when you're sad
Never see any reason to ever be glad
Sunbathe in the storm, run under the sun
Deny it to everyone, that you ever have fun
Close your eyes, open your mouth, and taste the dust
Deny your passion, there's no such thing as lust
Open your eyes, close your mouth and shield yourself from the rain
In a sick way you enjoy it, whenever you feel pain
Chop down the seed, plant the tree
There's no such thing as being free
Drive in the woods, walk on the road
Don't let anyone help you carry your load
Slow down when your enemies advance
When given the opportunity, don't take the chance
Fog burns the skin, fire cools the senses
Build up your bridges, burn all your fences
Breathe in the smoke, exhale the oxygen
Climb back into that little black box again
Open your eyes
Close the book
Everything's distorted
When you take a closer look

Hayley Dougherty

Three Haiku

Loneliness shatters
Body like an empty vase
The flowers are gone

Consuming red flame
Hides ashes of what we were
Only shadows now

Porcelain faces crack
Tears dissolve painted colors
We are all alone

Hayley Dougherty

The Acrobat With A Ball, Picasso

The earth and sky blend together
As she dances in the paleness
A smile on her face
A tiny flower holding her hair
Adding to her grace
Behind her, a family lost in rolling hills:
A pony she used to run with
A puppy who taught her to dance
A child she used to play with
A mother that didn't give her a chance
She wont look back
Fearful of the nothingness that reconfirms her solitude
Invisible tears on her cheek, she continues to dance

Hayley Dougherty

Mask-Era

Every morning she paints her face
Mascara litters her eyelashes
Foundation hides her skin
She was once a brilliant flower
Now she's artificial
An imposter's version of the "real thing"
When the mascara runs down her face
She dabs it with her napkin
And coats her lips with cherry substance
A little more foundation, a little more mascara
And don't forget the blush
She's hiding behind a mask of emptiness and false-contentment
Any onlooker can see her story plainly written in the wrinkles of her face
Seldom has anyone ignored her appearance and searched inside her eyes
I did once
And shuddered at what I found
A violent flash of misery, abuse, hostility
and flight from all of the
above
Immediately averting my eyes,
I turned away and felt the building around me collapse
I know why she hides

Hayley Dougherty

Silent Portrait

We find ourselves in a dimly lit room
Where yellow light bulbs flicker
Casting on the walls
Silhouettes of what we really are
Tree branches and stick shapes
Swaying in the fickle wind
Threaten to topple everything we've built
Grey fog spills over the mountains
Creeping into our homes
Painting them into silent portraits we vaguely remember
Reaching up as we sleep in our beds
It encircles our throats
Stealing what air we have left
A lonesome cloud frozen in infinite solitude
Sunlight has wounded our damaged hearts
Darkness dies as our breath escapes us

Hayley Dougherty

In one second I can:Take a breathForget my thoughtForget to breathe In five minutes I can:Contemplate my futureListen to my favorite songClose my eyes and drift away In one hour I can:Write a poemWatch the clouds fly pastThink about what I shouldn't In one week I can:Go crazyLose my best friendAccept the unacceptable In one month I can:Forget who I amFall in loveFind liberation from self inflicted bonds In one year I can:Forget what I hadLearn from my mistakesRemember all that was

Hayley Dougherty

An Ode to Summer

A season defined by its warmth
By sunsets flecked with strawberries and ginger
I like to sit and watch it go to sleep
My world, that is
Shrouding itself beneath an immense cloud of
Forget-Me-Nots
Children play in the freshly cut grass
Running through sprinklers
Building sandcastles in the sky
Reveling in simplicity
No entry-fee required
Sugar plums and oranges introduced to one another
Enjoying them to the tips of my toes
The smell of steaks on a grill
Bodies splashing and laughing in the peanut-shaped pool
In the twilight crickets speak to me through the window
Barely open
I cannot forget the crickets

Hayley Dougherty

Liquid

When free bodies run
They catch the sun
And all that that implies
Shadows scattering lies
Painted across the sand
Here we stand
The water between our bodies connects us
Reflects us
Seals our skin into the curves and lines of each other
No other
Aqua, salty, clean, it's glue
Between me and you
And when we feel it
We reveal it
Casting happiness into every corner of that sunset-stricken beach
Bodies make like a leech
Suctioned together
Breathing in the salty mist
Not thinking of all we've missed
Thinking about how we're blessed
To find ourselves enmeshed in each other
The little droplets in between are conducive to love
Feeling the sky above
And all around, upside down
Boom as we hit the ground
Screaming with a sound
We can only describe
As loud

Hayley Dougherty

Thorns

I dreamt I lay in a field of thorns
Prickly little thorns with red-tipped ends
The sky made of water drips in sequence
Splish, splash, it's over in a flash
Clouds from behind reflect back to me
Lightening tears its way slowly down my back
Lacerated rose petals scatter into the wind
Creating a grave where I can rest
Buildings are falling and I can't wake up
Closer the thunder claps
Laughing in my face
My ears perceive a distant howl
A cackle, a throaty groan
Which heralds the end
Splish, splash, the sky is falling
Drowning from within
I utter a scream that reaches the air as a mere gargle
Blood seeps from my disengaged eyes
Paving the way to blindness
Haunted by uncertainty
A single rose
Amidst a field of thorns

Hayley Dougherty

Time goes by like passing clouds
sometimes slow and steady
other times fast and swift
sometimes times seems to stop like an unwound clock
as if time was broken with no way to be fixed
sometimes time seems to disappear
without a trace like a cloud of smoke
vanishing in the sky
sometimes I hate time and I don't know why

Chester Reynolds

Faun, Picasso, oil on paper, 1946

Good times, bad times
Happy faces, sad faces
looking like a joker
that is bored. Looking
lonely, having nothing
to do. Looking lost. Lost
in a different world
the joker feels green and yellow
maybe feeling sick
maybe feeling sad
not knowing how he feels
because it is confusing

Ortencia Sato

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