With this being National Poetry month, I want to give us a chance to write a poem. Now, writing a poem is about the language. It is about playing with language using those devices we have been learning all year long.
So, here is your prompt. Write a 16 line "Why does it matter poem?" If you do not like this prompt, write a junk food poem. Whichever poem you choose to write, remember it should have those devices we have been working with: symbols, metaphors, similes, anaphoras, alliterations etc.
The example below is just my take on the prompt. As long as the phrase, "Why does it matter" appears somewhere in your poem, it works.
Example:
Why does it matter that the shoes I wear are not
heels, and my jewelry is not a pearl necklace. Why does it matter
that when I sing while driving, my voice is not amplified or streamed?
Why does it matter that books opened speak a language I understand,
and build with letters,
forming words,
making sentencesstrungtogether that hang across
page after page lighting up the silence? Why does it matter that
when I am in public, I am quiet? Not because I have run out of things to say
or my mind has powered down, but because sometimes knowing comes from
observing and listening? Why does it matter that when the sun comes up
and the sky is streaked with red, orange, and blue,
I cannot help but think in poetry, and why does it matter that
sometimes my fingers cannot help but hold a pen
and watch as it skates across the page etching meaning
to make sense of the world. Why does it matter?
It doesn't matter to anyone but me.
Why does it matter that I am reserved?
ReplyDeleteI talk to those that I have something to say, but why
Must small talk always be incorporated into a conversation?
“Hi, how are you?”
“I’m good, how are you?”
“I’m good”
That’s it, that’s all it is.
And it is annoying and purposeless. Why must I conform to societal
Standards. In this world, it is encouraged to be different,
Unless you’re shy. When you turn your head to most
Because you hate that small talk, people think you are above them.
You think you’re too good to speak to others.
And you’re rude. But if people got to know you, you’d open up.
You need a reason to talk to people
Without that stupid small talk. But in a world where communication is everything
It matters when you’re shy.
(it was 16 lines in word, but looks like it's not here)
-Bolger, J. 2
Have you ever noticed that school doesn’t teach knowledge?
ReplyDeleteAnd yet we still rely on all of our education for college.
I know about matrices and the sinking of the Lusitania,
I can tell you all about the 1648 Peace of Westphalia.
I am able to read music, to read Spanish and French,
I know that sulfur has a very strong stench.
I can solve a problem, maybe area under the curve
I know all about the monetary policy and the Federal Reserve.
I know so many facts, my head is exploding,
I feel as though my desire to learn is eroding.
Facts are fine, but knowledge is vital,
Yet some feel that when they know trivia they are entitled.
But it is intuition, emotion, and especially common sense,
That lead us through life to help us understand all it presents.
I turn my textbook to page five hundred and three,
But why does it matter, why does it matter to me?
-Kett J 2
Why does it matter that I do well in school?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you care about when I grew or fell,
about my work habits or the way I study?
You are Babe Ruth, but I am Alfred Nobel.
Why does it matter that you beat me in sports,
and why do you care that I beat you on tests?
Shouldn't we care less about others with less competition,
and more about our own successes and what we do best?
Why does it matter that some struggle in college,
While you sail through with the wind to your back?
Why do you care about their scholarships and grants,
For you have things now that they'll forever lack.
Why does it matter that we're not all the same?
Why should I care about what others do?
It makes no difference to me.
Care less about them and more about you.
- Ryan M. 2
this is really good, may just frame this
DeleteWhy does it matter-
ReplyDeleteThe rips in the ribs of my angry converse-
When the pale, salt-crusted fabric
Anyway begs to be kicked to shreds?
Laces still done,
The yawning hole in the middle
Hungry for digits to devour;
Disgusting how they lick
Their crusted yellow lips
As I wedge their teeth with the shoe horn,
How they role their fabric eyes
With the taste of their reward.
It hardly matters to my cold feet which,
Parched for flip-flops,
Sing with entrapment as I grab my backpack
And kick my cursed winter shoes
To the car.
Jankovsky A. 7-8
Why does it matter that I sit here for an hour to type a blog?
ReplyDeleteMy mind races with so many ideas,
But I feel like I am stuck in a fog.
Why does it matter that I tend to be over competitive?
A game of Jeopardy wins me ten bonus points,
So winning must be imperative
Why does it matter that I tend to overcomplicate any situation?
For a month, my brain told me Akron.
But my heart fought for the Bearcat Nation.
Yes I have my weaknesses,
I cannot count how many there may be.
But value me for my strengths,
And you’ll get the best out of me.
Srivastava R, 2
Noooooooo just realized this is only 13 lines ;(
DeleteIdentity
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter what I choose to look like?
I am me, it's never been clearer.
It's much too hard to be someone else,
A haunting reflection in the mirror,
Who pleases all around but me.
This reflection is everything I am not,
A beautiful red maple tree,
While I am a sorry shrub.
Why does it matter what everyone thinks?
The whispers beside me tell whimsical lies,
They are far more creative than I.
My truth is etched in shiny stone.
Nobody knows who I am,
But I will show them.
I am me, it's never been clearer,
I won't change my reflection in the mirror.
I actually wrote a much better one on the same topic without the restrictions that I like much better. I'll just throw that in, too.
Who Am I?
I am a soul, inhabiting a vessel.
My body is a form of transport,
Moving me from place to place.
My mind is made of stardust,
Infinite constellations of neurons,
Firing for eternity in conversation.
I am a never-ending galaxy,
Bursting with color and complexity.
My thoughts are beaming stars,
My fears are black holes,
But I am wholly invisible.
My body is not my own,
What is visible is not me.
I am a soul, inhabiting a vessel,
Whose exterior is irrelevant.
- Bahr, S. 7/8*
Why do I tend to listen to my brain?
ReplyDeleteAnalytics, numbers, and amounts drive me insane.
Are these the true amounts that define who we are?
Or are they just numbers that set the bar.
Why does it matter what grades I gets in school?
Although it’s important to some, it is not a statistic that rules.
We live in a world defined by a single amount,
That we forget to pay attention to what counts.
Why does it matter what college I go to?
Like a marriage, it’s something most people do.
It consumes our thoughts and heavies our minds
Like a weight on the back of mankind
Although it isn’t necessarily right, it is the way the world looks at things
We can either conform to it or be our own human beings
Although it might be a difficult toll,
It is the only way to our one true goal.
Wasylko, G 7/8th Period
Why does it matter what story I choose to write,
ReplyDeleteHow impactful I make my thesis, or that my explanation isn’t right?
Why does it matter that I’ve failed so many tests,
My mind ran away from me, it wasn’t enough to give my best.
Why does it matter that I tripped up in a race,
Are my weary legs not as worthy as those in first place?
Why does it matter that I cried the other day,
A million tears poured down the mounds of my skin, all because of a letter grade.
Why does it matter that I let a friendship go,
Seven years no longer matter when the torn up pieces cannot be sewn.
Why does it matter that I didn’t win the prize,
“Good job,” you say, I congratulate you; can’t you see through my disguise?
“Why does it matter,” is just a question, and these words just a reply,
But the emotions these memories can create make it hard to say goodbye.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what flaws have filled these years,
For they have been truly worth it, and their impact will always adhere.
Shaniuk, B 7/8
Existential Crisis Over Coffee
ReplyDeleteOver coffee, my best friend and I contemplate the universe.
Between sips, the questions spill:
“Why are we here? What’s the point?”
“Why does it matter that I paint and you write poetry?”
“For who? For what reason?”
I have no answer to offer, only an unfounded faith
That the human experience is a story, one worth telling,
One with plot, design, commentary – in tender hands,
Beginning like petals of a flower unfurling
And ending with a broken stem, snapped gently, with the kindest fingers.
They say there are sunflowers growing over Vincent van Gogh’s grave.
I can’t say why, but I think it’s very beautiful.
I watch as this poem writes itself,
My fingers along for the ride.
I don’t know why it matters,
Only that, somehow, it does.
Keller N 7/8
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ReplyDeleteThis isn't a poem I just wanted to let you guys know there are scholarshipson on poetrypower.org where you can submit poems for scholarships!
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ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter what score I got on the OGTs or the ACT?
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter what grade I got on the AP Chem test or what my thesis for AP Lit is?
Why does it matter what percentile I am in my graduating class?
Why does it matter what scholarships I got if in the end I wonder if it was all worth it?
To society, I am a walking number that shows my worth.
Twenty-first in my class and a 31 ACT score, they call me.
But what does that all mean?
Do I really want people to remember me as an analytical number?
Society sets obscure bars that we as people are supposed to strive towards.
I should seek a Master’s or a Ph.D just because it makes me “look better?”
I should undergo a certain profession because it is more valued in society?
But, what if I do not see the worth of it all at the end of the day?
50 or 60 years from now will I seek refuge in my score on the AP Government exam?
Will I be okay knowing that people only remember me as a statistical number?
No. I want to be remembered as loving roses and having a dream of helping others.
The little things and my dreams should define me, not a statistical number.
This is not 16 lines on here, but I promise it was 16 lines on word!
Senator
ReplyDeleteSenator
You walk in at the end of the night with your secretaries
On your arms, smiling and nodding at everything you say.
You stroll down to the end of the hallway, shake hand with the other execs,
Smile. Eat the pizza.
Leave.
You did your part. It all went down smoothly;
Even more smoothly for you when you didn’t have to see
The people that smell of cigarette smoke and drive rusty cars
And thank us as we fill their trunks and backseats with their Christmas dinners
While you were home eating and wrapping expensive gifts.
Because in the end, you don’t care about them. You said it, once, but
Saying it means nothing if your actions betray you,
As was said to an equally arrogant prince by the heroine.
I’m no heroine, though.
So, as I watch you smile and wave to your adoring public,
I let you keep the thought that seems to guide your actions:
Why does it matter that others do the work and the worry, starve and strive and act human,
As long as I get the attention I deserve?
For you, we doesn't matter
And never will.
Keep up the good work, sir. See you in Washington.
I’ll be the one on the other side of the picket line.
Maslach, K 2
“May I be Excused?”
ReplyDeleteWhy do we run so easily from the world?
Why does it matter if we flee from our problems?
The judgments catapult our way
Rude questions asked every day
Flee without hesitancy
“May I be excused?” Yes, you may
Why does it matter that we flee from our problems?
To flee? Or not to flee? That is a question of the soul
Leave home when the abundant arguments break out
Or stay, and contribute to the deafening shout
To fight the Cyclopes and create a grave
Or flee grandly from the problematic cave
Not all flowers should be worldly displayed
For sudden synthesis cannot be repaid
One can always return when the darkness strolls away
And in that time of leave, enjoy the day
Turnea D, 2nd Period
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCelestial Brothers
ReplyDeleteA light breeze runs across your face in the night as the Moon struggles to Hold back the Sun.
Fading, dying, lost, the moon’s luminous light, aglow in nocturnal obscurity. Midnight’s gleam wanes as the birds chirp,
The trees wake
The Sun asserts itself in moonlight. The night’s shadows and the Sun’s Auburn rays lay atop one another, superimposed: equal, separate, brothers.
Time stops to witness a dying Moon’s soul taken by the Sun.
Taken, used, but to be restored.
Spirit fuels the Sun as It rises, Its life casting light into darkness,
taking the day. Later leaves blow across patches of four-sided stone,
pressed upon the dirt in days past, but warm still from the day that is ending...
...birds fly tired, singing on a wave of flushed red light, the Sun’s final breath. The Moon claims the sky as the Sun subsides. Ethereal and crisp becomes the world as it bends to the will of its new harbinger.
But why does it matter? you ask as philosophical paralysis overcomes you. Hollow synapses run through your brain as you struggle to comprehend; staggering in the face of a cosmic life-cycle.
You start to ask W..h...y...?
then you realize you are the cosmos.
Bruggeman J 7/8th
Why does it matter? What a question to ask
ReplyDeleteFor indulging in our existence is not a simple task
In retrospect, nothing matters at all
No church visits, no money, no morals, no gall
It does not matter who we are, or how we choose to be
Because when it comes down to existence, we are as important as a flea
Humans are not individual or rare
In the end, we simply all must pay Charon’s fare
So I encourage you young children, please make quick haste
Or you will continue to be subjected to eating society’s paste
They try to categorize us, stick us to their boards
Keeping us in line, busying us with tasks, unplugging our cerebral cords
We are circus elephants you see, with a few tasks to follow
If we do good, we get our peanuts, I mean money to wallow
So do not believe in the line to which we must adhere
Because when you stop following the expectations, your mind will never feel so clear
Megan Lear 2nd Period
The holier than thou
ReplyDeleteLooking down from their heavenly heights
Elevated above the “lesser”
Enlightened in their sacred sight
But regardless of this ignorance
We still inhabit the same holy hall
Though they piously pontificate
Around one and around all
And while still on this earth
It is quite easy to claim
Despite one’s own actions
That you see us the same
Perhaps in the future
You’ll be more self-aware
That all the people around you
Couldn’t give your “holiness” a care
Why does it matter?
Your sacrament and share
Found from some fantastically fabricated
Book that too often errs
Mike Crow 7/8
Why does it matter that I am going to school without my best friend?
ReplyDeleteMy shoulder to lean on.
My competition.
My second brain.
Why do I care so much about tangerines and PB&J and losing the game and Zeke?
Why do I get jealous when someone tries to take my place? Why have you not let them?
Why don’t I care that you’ve seen me at my worst?
Why do I call YOU when disaster strikes or pain hurts?
Why do those four hour phone conversations still make me smile?
The ones that got me in trouble.
The ones that I don’t regret for a second.
Why do I hope that our friendship will be as reliable as the sun?
Absent only for a moment, but always there the next day.
Why did God bless me with such a wonderful friend like you?
Why did He allow for our first simple, stupid, small conversation to blossom into this unbreakable trust?
Why does it matter that I cry thinking about possibly losing the friend who has made such an impact on my life?
Why does this matter so much that I can’t see my computer while I type?
Why does all of this matter?
Because you, sir, matter so much to me.
Woods, L 2
Why does it matter what my writing style is like?
ReplyDeleteFrom Shakespeare to McCarthy no two writers are alike.
Yet, in High School, we are all chained by the rubrics of conformity.
Monotonous, scholarly, systematic writing.
You can’t go over a page or employ contractions,
A five paragraph structure of the significance of the most insignificant detail is desired.
What is the significance of a grain of sand on a beach?
Deviate from this path and your grade is in dire.
But in looking for meaning in everything are the big ideas of literary works forgotten?
Does anyone truly remember the color of Raskolnikov’s shirt or Alex’s pants?
After reading a book we are left wanting,
We never get to see another person’s perspective without restrictions.
Discussions have become substituted by rubrics.
Who cares what you think? This essay of one thousand restrictions is how you should think.
But how can a subject as arbitrary as writing be fairly graded?
When a literary masterpiece to one can be garbage to another.
Judele C, 2nd
Why does it matter that I’ve stared at this blog for 65 minutes now, not an ounce of inspiration sparking my brain?
ReplyDeleteMy eyes have now crossed, the words have blurred.
My eyelids grow heavy, and my mind ever more fogged.
Why does it matter that I’m bogged down with work?
From AP Euro, to AP Lit, Lax to NHS, OSU to IA scholars: the demands never-ending
So many acronyms and abbreviations,
Yet their true meaning seems lost beneath a mountain of responsibility.
Why does it matter that I’m losing my mind?
Adulthood stands 3 weeks away,
Full independence in 4 more months.
Yet, instead of excitement I feel stress; instead of joy, anxiety.
All of this matters, but in a way it doesn’t.
In 4 months I’ll be 120 miles away, questioning other assignments,
In 4 years I’ll get a degree and be thrust into the work force.
In 400 years, I’ll be gone, but the big picture will still stand; someone else will sit in my place asking, why does it matter?
Harris S, 2nd
Why does it matter that I am not the best, nor am I perfect?
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter that I am not within the top one hundred of my class, and that I have not had straight A’s in years?
Why does it matter, if I don’t ever really figure out physics?
Or calculus, or even poetry?
Will I really use it later in life anyways? And perhaps I just can’t understand it now.
Why does it matter that I am not the first chair first trumpet player,
And that I am not the star of the pieces?
Why does it matter that in the eyes of my role models, I make wrong choices,
And simply cannot live up to incredibly high standards?
Why does it matter, that I am not the perfect shape or size,
Especially in the eyes of the society around me,
When I am happy as I am?
Why does it matter? It doesn't matter to me.
I am content with the fact that it does not matter,
Because at this moment I am the best that I can be for me.
Anna Bunting 7/8
Why Does It Matter?
ReplyDeleteWhen I’m sitting behind a desk one day
Dressed in a power suit, going on my fourth cup of coffee,
I’ll gaze around my office, and see what I have built
And wonder if my work was worth the quiet.
I wonder if happiness comes not with six figures and glossy framed diplomas,
But sticky fingerprints on the back windows of a minivan.
Would I be happier if I had someone to come home to
Rather than a job to get up for?
At this moment I contemplate, review, remember.
When creating the time table of my life,
I made sure to include college, and law school, and investing, and career building
But I forgot to leave room to breathe.
Economists can measure GDP, TCO and MCP
But can they calculate the value of life?
I glance at the clock and tell myself I still have time.
I wonder if it’s all worth it.
Florek, E. 7/8
Untitled
ReplyDeleteHis lulled eyes and hollow cheeks
sink every bit more with each drag of toxins.
And I sit beside him on the cold cement floor
suffocating on the secondhand air.
His bleeding blue eyes are crazed and drown me in
“Why does it matter?”s
And I cannot respond.
We don’t see the same things.
After his lifetime of searching for meaning in mountains
and young, pretty girls,
that rug was pulled out from underneath him,
leaving the cement floor we sit on.
As I watch him suffer and degrade,
I see the gears of “starting over” creaking.
He will find what really matters
and get off the icy ground.
Why does it matter? Why don’t you see, that it doesn’t matter for you or for me
ReplyDeleteAm I a nihilist because I see the end? The dust, the darkness, an unspeakable void
As the time goes by and my expiration date looms, should I get a tattoo?
Pierce my body? Shave my head? Why not?
Or should I go to church, get good grades in school, conform to society like they expect me to?
Maybe I’ll get a tattoo that doesn’t matter, or dye my hair because I’m half dead anyways
As I write this I realize that I suck at writing poems, but in one hundred years will that matter? No
So maybe I’ll eat that extra chicken wing, spend two hundred dollars on a bathing suit, and get my nose pierced because who will be left to judge me when we’re all decomposing in the ground?
Aguinaga, C 7/8*
Prom King, Prom Queen. High School Days,
ReplyDeleteLong nights. I think back to myself, “Why does it matter”?
Why am I obsessed with the latest news? The new trends?
Who got with who this weekend and who did not?
If I have too much fun, I do not care about school.
If I stay at home all night, I have no life.
The bigger picture states otherwise.
High School is just one small chapter of life.
You turn the page and you have a whole novel ahead of you.
College, work, family, death, life, gains, loss, etc.
You look back and those four years become insignificant.
You stumble across an old photo of you at a prom.
You were not queen, or king, or anything. You were just you.
You think back and say “Why does it matter”, was it even worth the stress?
Society puts forth a mantra that High school is the best four years
Of. Your. Entire. Life. We think that we have something to prove.
We are supposed to “find ourselves”.
How can we do that with 2400 judgements, 2400 complaints?
2400 pointless souls that made you feel less of a person anyway.
We cannot simply do this.
We all look back and think “Why does it matter”?
It something that is done without thought. 7:25 to 2:15.
Ten class periods that is supposed to enlighten the world
On who you really are.
AP classes define the successful, the motivated, and the achieved.
Regular classes define the others.
However, years from now they will be a mere memory.
Stop worrying about making the most of this time and
Worry about making the most of life in general.
Then you will no longer find yourself asking,
“Why does it matter”?
CIka, M2
Why does it matter?
ReplyDeleteYears from now I will sit and ponder,
4 years I’ve spent, I’ve always wondered,
Why it is we must conform,
Forcing ourselves into a social norm
Must we be bound for success?
Our futures relying solely on tests,
Our character relying only on a degree,
Rather than a sense of integrity.
The clothes we wear wont help you through college,
An ignorant tidbit among high schoolers that lack knowledge,
Why cant a human find love in the same sex?
Do they not deserve to feel wanted like the rest?
Why does it matter? You see I’ve come to find out
That compassion is not what this world is about,
This world is about being just like the others,
Struggling to fit in, true originality smothered.
Mewhinney, M 2
I want to know what drives a decision
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter in the long run?
Who gets to decide what is right for the good of an overall group?
Each decision is a note, part of an overall tune
It's rhythm, and style are it's variations of previous one, made it's own
Justified in it's right to live, it marches from off the paper to life
It's struggle all it's own and its change it's own decision
The music decides it's own course of life, what is both right and wrong
Its knowledge is revered far and wide just like its family that rallies on steps
It preaches what right from knowledge, wisdom and faith
Standing resolute in granite at the end of the day
Carved from the mountain of despair as a stone of hope, for all to see
That a decision is worth much more than originally thought
It drives a march to a faster pace so that music can be heard by all.
So why does it matter, the repercussion for a decision
Because at the end of the day it still stands not only in heads but amongst the cherry blossoms in DC.
Supina,R 2 .
Life is a huge competition against each other,
ReplyDeleteClimbing our own mountains,
To see who can get the highest.
Sometimes a fall stops people,
Sometimes it encourages, excites, and emboldens.
The people in our lives we have met,
And all of the people, who we will encounter,
Come into our lives and give us a set of directions,
To add onto our past collections of memories.
So we move on, day after day,
Towards the uncertain future,
Always hoping that this may be the one stop,
Where the person will not have a set of directions for us,
Maybe they will have more to offer,
Maybe they will offer something beautiful enough,
To inspire us to stay.
Patel, D 2
“Dear Society”- By C. Lenhoff
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter if I only have a few good friends and not an entire group?
Why does it matter if I would rather stay in my room
Like a turtle afraid to come out of its shell,
Than to be a social butterfly?
Why does it matter if I work on homework all weekend
Instead of gathering with groups of girls and guys at the mall?
Why does it matter if I am not the prettiest, the smartest, or most popular?
I am good enough in my eyes; why not in yours?
Why does it matter if I am me?
Who should I be? You?
You who judges without knowing?
You who never sees under the surface?
You who is like a dark cloud hanging above people’s heads
No, I will be me
I am who I am; feel free to judge
But why would it matter what you think when I am happy as I am?
~C.Lenhoff 2.
I have made plenty of mistakes in my past
ReplyDeleteBut why should that matter now?
Everyone has an oops moment in their lives
But why should that matter now?
The past is in the past, or so they say
But our pasts tend to make appearances
Where and when we least expect them.
They say that Judgement Day is coming
And that He will cast the final hand when
Choosing our fate. But why should that matter now?
I say go out and make those mistakes,
Because what you do matters now.
Your life is all that you are and all that you have.
It is like your canvas, or blank music staff, or blank paper.
It is your medium to create what should be the greatest story ever told.
The story of you.
Dame, E 2*
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter that I’m clumsy with my mouth
That my words have trouble coming out
That I struggle to put the pieces together
When I’m talking about anything other than the weather
I’m just a girl trying to find my way
And sometimes I have nothing good to say
So let me wander, and find what I should use my words to build
Fix these broken cities- because I think I am skilled
Enough to put us back together
Pick our organs up off the floor, however
It does not change a thing
I still can’t use my wings
I can not stomach anything honest so my speech comes out in slurs
I bare my teeth and try to contain these haunting words
Someday I will teach my mouth to tell you what’s wrong
Maybe someday I will even be strong
Gall, A 2
Why does it Matter?
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter that I don’t know the square root of 529?
It’s not like I’m going to need to know it anyway
Why does it matter how many passes I’ve used already?
I just need to go to the bathroom
Why does it matter that my jeans have a hole in them?
I don’t have another pair clean
Why does it matter that I didn’t do my homework?
I have a job and you don’t grade it anyways
Why does it matter that I am on my phone?
If I needed to listen I would
Why does it matter that my hair is pink and purple?
That is who I am
Why does it matter that I don’t want to talk in class?
I cry myself asleep over it already
Why does it matter who you think I am?
It doesn’t because I already know
- Angie G. 2*
ReplyDeleteI overheard some kids at school;
"We need another MLK" "We need one soon"
"We need one now."
Fifty years later and how many times does your grandad degrade
"Those people"
Ninety years later and how times are we told to
"Go back to the kitchen" or asked "But what were you wearing?"
How many years to go until we don't hear
"God loves you, but not who you love."
We are all hellbent on changing society with some
hashtags,
Hashtags don't stop the hate that is happening.
We don't need another MLK.
Don't wait for someone to step up.
Pick up your feet.
It matters because we all matter.
Parey C 7/8
Why does it matter
ReplyDeleteIf I am broken or I am perfect
If I am thick or I am thin
If I am alone or surrounded by many
Why does it matter
If inside I am white or I am brown
Or I am red or yellow, green, pink
It is all the same, yes?
Why does it matter
How many crumbs fall, in a trail, perhaps
One, one hundred, one thousand
Pieces of me are everywhere
It shouldn’t matter to you
Nor to anyone with a rightful soul
Because dipped in a tall glass of cold milk,
All us sweet thangs is the same.
"Perspective of a Cookie"
by K Brav 7/8*
Why does it matter if I’m not stick thin?
ReplyDeleteMy mother told me beauty comes from within.
Why does it matter if I don’t have an abundance of friends?
My mother told me less is more when it comes to the end.
Why does it matter if I don’t like to drink?
My mother told me it’s better to be able to control what you think.
Why does it matter if I don’t like to wear makeup?
My mother told me if they don’t know the real you, it’ll cause a break-up.
Why does it matter if I am not the top of my class?
My mother told me to give it my best shot, and that’s all she asks.
Why does it matter if I prefer to be in sweats?
My mother told me you don’t always have to dress for success.
Why does it matter if I party?
My mother told me if I’m not hung-over then I won’t be tardy.
Why does it matter if I take my mother’s advice?
She brought me into this world, so I kind of owe her my life.
Reva 7/8
Take a trip to Time Square and what do you see
ReplyDeleteThousands of people come to experience the American dream
Lost in all the lights that appear on the screens
And everyone of them capturing the moment on their own mini devices
Why does it matter?
The screens take over
The world no longer belonging to the humans
Taken over by Twitter, Instagram and the endless Snapchats
Pictures and tweets to remind us of all the wonderful memories
But they do not matter
The memories were never created never sealed in our brains
None of it matters until humans take back their lives.
Sansone A 2nd
Beyond the closet doors lies a world too vast to imagine.
ReplyDeleteSo I lay completely still on top of freshly washed sheets exactly 10 inches from the left so I won't see the curtain brush against the shadowed silhouettes.
When I wake pillows are everywhere but beneath my thousand pound head. The guardians of my room have disappeared.
I am standing half in front of one mirror and half in front of another not knowing how I was able to tell my legs to swing myself out of the impossibly controlling sheets.
I eat five,pink marshmallow peeps for breakfast. They stick to my lips like the taste of rain. Sweet, but the taste never lingers long enough for me to hold onto to. 40 grams of sugar stabilizes me more than multiple pills with multiple colors and multiple numbers. Their color intrigues me more than the white curtains of the emergency room. The ticks of each doctor's pen aligns with the shivers of my spine. I'd rather suffer than be a bill, a diagnosis, on the community clipboard. The stares don't matter. The poorly lit offices with sticky leather chairs don't matter. The moving silhouettes who whisper sweet nothings don't matter, because I am me, and no brisk wind in my face will change my thoughts. So I nap at three in the afternoon, 10 inches from the left, on top of freshly washed sheets.
Grabowski,H. 7/8
Why does it matter?
ReplyDeleteWell to you, it may not.
You were not there from the very start,
When I learned there can be miracles.
Where’d it begin? It started in the jungle.
With chaos all around, I found my sanity.
And when the worlds were at war,
It became my safe place, my home.
And oimoi! my bonds grew stronger,
As we set our fates right together.
And though we sometimes argued,
I knew all along there’s no place like home.
My love for it grew to the heights of giants;
Being there felt right, like powdered sugar on French toast.
All of our insecurities were dropped like vines,
Because there, we could escape from our troubles.
As my responsibilities increased,
I realized that the magic had lasted past midnight.
We accepted each other’s unique insanity,
And always knew to take an umbrella if it’s raining.
It’s something so much bigger than one person,
Because we’re all in this together.
And though we had to say some goodbyes,
The circle will always be unbroken.
And we went out of the wabe and into our last year,
And the days flew by until there were none.
We sang, give me one good reason why I should ever make a change,
And learned that the differences that make us odd will change us for the better.
So why does it matter, you ask?
Because it has changed my world.
It makes me happy when skies are gray,
And taught me that there can be miracles, when you believe.
--Dushek, K 2˚
Why does it matter when someone doesn’t like you?
ReplyDeleteReputation isn’t everything, you know.
Why does it matter when they shout words that aren’t true?
Walking away is better than stooping to their kind of low.
God knows their words will cut like a knife.
Your demons will drag you down and laugh,
You’ll feel like you can barely hold on for dear life.
Sometimes you’ll feel utterly trapped,
Yet you continue to wake up at 6 AM
And each day you grow a little stronger.
You no longer want to get back at them
And you can hold back your anger a little longer.
They can no longer snap you like a twig
And suddenly, they don’t seem to be all that big.
Why does it matter when someone doesn’t like you?
The only approval you need is from you.
Cruse S, 2
screaming,
ReplyDeletei pick up my car keys and drive away from it
crying,
i play music louder than my thoughts and roll the windows down to feel the cool sting of the wind rushing on my face
bleeding,
i rip the words from my mind and feel the burn of the battle scars they leave behind
promising,
to myself i would not care that this would all be irrelevant someday anyway
lying,
because all i do is care
hurting,
because i don't like complaining
complaining,
because i can't handle the hurting
arbitrating,
the rising conflict within myself
illustrating,
in my head what it would be like had i made better decisions
memorizing,
the space between the dashed lines on the road, much like trivial test questions on notecards
reflecting,
on every bad thing that's ever happened
listening,
to memories of being told i could not do things
watching,
the slideshow of everything that has ever happened
blinking,
maybe for too long
draining,
all emotion like the dentist
fearing,
what people would say
acting,
because masks are just easier
concluding,
because i like having the last word
falling,
because why does this matter
westphal 2nd
Why does it matter if I answer you?
ReplyDeleteYou talk at me, through me, not to me.
I’m a pawn in your game using me to get back at each other.
There is no right or wrong just yelling.
The fights are endless, relentless.
Feelings flung like heavy cans of paint against the already stained canvas.
Mosquitoes mow my marble nerves to nothing.
But now I’ve ventured and travelled yet I haven’t seen a single soul.
Not a person to confide in or even a place to hide in besides myself.
This fortress within is most heavily guarded.
I’ve known her for years she lets no one pass through
Climbers beware; the walls are tough and extremely high too
No one has any idea how cold and icy the nights are.
Friends and loved ones seem to stay far
There is a constant argument for everything
Why does any of it matter?
Ramsumair 7/8
ReplyDeleteWhy does it matter that I want a busy and hectic life?
Waking up at seven in the morning each day to go to work,
running around filling paperwork and calling back clients.
Having only two hours of break and getting out each night at 11:30 pm.
Why does it matter that I leave for a week looking to expand my business in other places,
scheduling meetings and driving from place to place.Exploring new locations and possibilities that drive me home past 3 in the morning.
Why does it matter that I own one, two, or three businesses and carry on the work load typical of a man?
Working hard for hours everyday and building my career as a successful business woman.
Why does it matter that I barely have time for anything other than work?
It doesn't because I enjoy working long and hard, knowing that every drop of sweat matters. It doesn't because I know that family and friends will always be first. It doesn't because it makes me happy. In the end, that's what matters.
Galvan E. 2nd
The actions you take on defines you.
ReplyDeleteThe words you speak, the steps you take
the action you face
They define you.
But what about the air you breath or
the warmth you feel
as you speak, as you take a step.
Does that define you?
Whether you walk where the green grass grows or
talk to the ones your mother looks down upon
that is not what defines you.
The type of step that leads you to where you want to be
whether it be towers of cotton or fields of buildings,
that defines you.
The people you associate with that are different inside from out,
the ones that give you hope on a rainy day
that defines you.
So why does it matter where I walk?
Why does it matter who I talk to?
The little voices in my head talk to me.
The roads at night talk to me.
Does that make me crazy?
Maybe.
Does it matter to me?
Everything and more.
It defines me. It makes me who I am today.
Each action I take speaks to me in its own way, shaping who I am.
It defines me.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat is death and why does it occur
ReplyDeleteWhat is it about this thing that makes me unsure
Why did it take away someone so dear
And become a thing I can’t shake, but can fear
Death never leaves, in fact it always stays
In real life, dreams and even in plays
So why does it happen and why so fast
Why can’t the precious moments not leave, but last
So death is like disease, infests and can’t shake
But you fight for your life because it’s all at stake
Every battle you fight, and struggle you face
Will disappear when you death pleads its case
So I have another question, just one more to go
Why does one fight if there’s soon nothing to show
We all want to live, and none want to die
But if we can’t run from it, why do we try?
-Camille