Second Annual Poetry Contest WINNERS!!!

I can hear my bones creak

in the silence you weave.

The swings in the yard squeak

waiting for you to leave.

But you’d never let me be,

instead you stay,

watching the wind sway

in and out of me.

There’s a cavern

where my soul should be,

you left it there,

like the carvings in a tree.

Your initial, next to mine

frozen in time,

tapped off, like the scene of a crime

Your well is full of water,

but mine is shallow and dry,

like the clothes on the wire

that you’ll never bring inside.

Your absence comes

like a whisper, fragile

in the way it tears me apart.

You’ve been gone so long,

you’re almost easy to forget

Except on holidays,

and at shopping malls,

where little girls twirl

just before they fall.

And I remember it all;

every milestone you never saw.

I’d weep, if the tears would fall.

But my eyes are dry,

and I’ll never be as tall

as the price you paid

to never be here at all.

Content Warning: This poem references suicide by imagining what the friends, family, and acquaintances of someone who died by suicide would go through the next day, in an attempt to discourage teens from harming themselves. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of harming yourself, please reach out for help. Some resources are Sandy Kauffman, high school mental health coordinator, trusted adults at the high school, or calling 988 anytime, day or night, to talk with a trained professional.

The morning after you take your life will be ordinary… almost.

Your alarm is going off, you won’t wake up to it though.

Your best friend will still call you to make sure you get out of bed,

your snap streaks will come through,

your tv is still playing the music you can’t sleep without.

Your cats are scratching at your door, they want to be fed.

Your room is still mess,

and your cup is still half full.

your alarm is going off; you won’t wake up to it though.

School will still happen, your classes, your clubs.

The bells at school will still ring.

Teachers will still teach, students will still learn.

The cast will still act, and the crew will still create.

People will still eat lunch, and the choir will still sing.

Those people who caused your pain will still walk the hallways

and the people who were there for you will too.

Just because you’re not there doesn’t mean everyone won’t still do these things.

Though you may feel invisible with the way life goes on when you’re not around,

without you, the earth has shifted on its axis now.

Although since you didn’t wake up to your alarm, there’s still things that will change.

Your mom and your baby brother both woke up late.

You know how they never hear their alarms,

but you would’ve always heard yours.

Your mom will rush into your room; she’ll try to shake you awake.

It’s time for school and she can’t afford to be late.

She’ll shake and shake and shake.

Maybe she’ll dismiss it, assuming you don’t want to go, because when did you ever?

That place you were sent to was like a never-ending warzone in freezing cold weather.

She’ll keep trying to get you up and out the door.

And here’s the big change.

She’ll find her baby sleeping, but this time for evermore.

The shock is going to kill her,

because now what is she to do?

Now she’s missing her baby, and it’s all because of you.

Her sobs rattle the house, it felt like she might shake the walls loose.

It wakes your baby brother and he hustles into your room.

He’s bewildered at what his eyes behold and he won’t believe the truth.

Your mother lost her baby,

Your brother lost you.

The news will get around

to your family, and friends too.

Your best friend is a mess,

she stopped eating again.

It always worried you when she did that,

you would always lend her a hand.

You kept her together,

it was always you and her in the end.

Now that you’re gone, who’s going to hold her together?

Your bond was stronger than a belt made from leather.

It was you and her against the world, but that has shifted too.

And now she’s only half a whole, because who is she without you?

Your funeral will be quiet,

even though you wanted it to be loud.

You wanted a party but you were the highlight of the crowd.

everyone is thinking,

searching their memories for a sign.

They all wished they could’ve done more to save you.

You could never find enough time.

Your mom is somewhere sobbing, she’ll probably start using again.

You were the one that would have to save her but now no one can.

Your baby brother is confused, he doesn’t know what to do.

Who’s going to guide him? Who’s going to teach him what not to do?

Your big brother is lost, you were his best friend.

Who is he supposed to talk to?

What is he supposed to do?

Your dad can’t believe it, you were so full of life.

His signature hat is laid low, you know the one you used to wear?

He wishes he could protect you, like when you were small and you were scared.

When your first dad left he stepped up for you,

Now he feels like he failed and you aren’t there to tell him it’s not true.

Your biological father is one of the people who lower your casket.

He lets you down one last time.

He’s full of regret, he wishes he could go back and make it better with you.

He wishes for a time when it was you and him against the world.

Everyone is scattered, it’s quiet in this crowded room.

You had so much ahead of you,

You had so much to do.

Your problems were only momentary,

and in a blink you were gone.

How do you expect them to move on?

Everyone will live in their memories,

That’s the only way they can keep you close.

They replay the videos over and over.

They call your phone to hear your voice.

Your boyfriend keeps your phone,

Your mom will sleep in your bed,

and now you’ll only be alive in everyone’s head.

These are the things that would happen if you were gone.

Please stay alive, even when you can’t breathe

There are people that will give you air,

there are people who will bring you peace.

These feelings are only temporary,

they will take off shortly, just please wait.

The choice you would make is forever,

there’s no coming back from that.

Don’t take the permanent road,

For that solution is set in stone.

And when you think that it’s a dead end,

and you can’t seem find another path,

take a U-turn and keep it pushing.

There are people who need you here,

your time is not yet up.

How hardworking the ants are

Overlooked in this cruel world

At least they get to see

The beauties of nature

Before their short lives end,

When the sun sets one last time

Where the water falls with grace

A hidden jewel that only some

get the honor to see

Its spray reaching the light

with a burst of color,

Where the sun sets one last time

The “dangerous” greenery

Filled with a quiet strength

That has survived years

Rainforests sustain the life they create

Oh to be that strong

May they outlast me by lifetimes,

Before the sun sets one last time

Where will this all go

When I leave

Will my body rejoin the Earth

And finally be at peace?

Or will it disappear with my soul,

While the sun sets one last time

The wings on that birds’ back were torn,

No longer flying great sores.

Locked in this cage he knows as home,

This was the life he had grown to know.

That colorful bird lost his vibrates.

The blues and greens faded to grays.

“Accept your fate little songbird,”

For the coyotes had laughed and laughed away

His eyes had closed.

The death had neared.

With one last work,

His song made clear.

“I may be gone for you hurt me,

but I do tell on this day

I will fight and fight away.

You can break my bones,

Break my soul,

And my colors may fade away.

But my soul is bright,

It lights my way.

You are dark

and you are cruel,

For I see you

And see those eyes

Soulless and unlife-like.

Hear old coyote, listen close

Cut my throat,

Cut and cut away

But you will hear this song for the rest of your days.”

The sky melts softly into night,

A canvas brushed with fading light,

Where stars awaken, shy and bright,

To dance within the hush of night.

The breeze hums tales through ancient trees,

A secret song upon the breeze,

It wraps the world with gentle ease,

And whispers dreams beneath the seas.

In twilight’s arms, the heart will find,

A quiet peace, a calm unwind,

Where worries fade, and time’s confined,

To moments sweet, by fate designed.

Sweet thing, the light behind my eyes

Tenderly, your chapped lips meet mine

Summer passed me by, like the endless lights along the interstate

Surely as September sun may rise, intertwined across the crimson string of fate

Insatiable, ill sink my teeth into the pureness of this love

Strangely it’s euphoric how i feel the rush of blood

Sweet thing, the light behind my eyes

Tenderly, your chapped lips meet mine

In every life, I’ll find you like a moth chasing the moon

This ecstasy devours, and punishes unto me the desire to consume

Halo blinding, addicted to your light beyond this finite place

Gaze is binding, heaven knows no equal to your face

Sweet thing, the light behind my eyes

Tenderly, your chapped lips meet mine