Katrina

By Elizabeth Oxendine, TIWP Student She walks down the cobblestone stone street with a crooked smile. The humidity hugs her skin too tightly but, it’s nothing compared to the dress she’s wearing; it steals the breath out of her lungs and gives her nothing back. Black lace fades into the night sky and she wonders […]

Woman

By Ryann Drue, TIWP Student Woman. A word I believe to hold a vast spectrum of dignity and pride. A word that does not stand beside but engulfs the true meaning of what it is to be strong, to be powerful. A word I believe to hold the fierce beauty of a glowing fire. But […]

Metaphors & Sayings

By Katerina Bonderud, TIWP Student The jar of beans spill onto the table, scattered all around just like my thoughts. I thought the jar had cracked but the box of milk beside it broke the jar’s fall. The milk tips, then spills, tangling with the beans. Soon after, it drips off the counter and creeps […]

My Brother

By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student Be honest with me. Where can I go from here? A girl with no parents loses her brother. A girl with no friends loses everything. I still haven’t cleared out his room. I can’t bring myself to do so. Our apartment is so quiet, so empty. I wouldn’t have admitted […]

I Will Not

By Izzy G., TIWP Student I will not hold on to what doesn’t serve me. I will not give up what I know for sure. I will not whisper my secret into the microphone. I will not stop my clock for your race. I will not pretend to feel insecure. I will not put on […]

Empowerment

By Ryann Drue, TIWP Student It is okay to let go. It is okay to forget. It is okay to move on—because the warm hues of true happiness can only seep through the souls of the free. I was once trapped, held captive by the longing for a rewind button. But I wanted to be […]

Mary’s Question

By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student “Tell me, what it is you plan to do with your one wild and precious life” —Mary Oliver Not a single person has asked me that question before… which is why it has left me so stumped and confused and lost. All my life, I’ve been told how to act, […]

The Lost Boy

By Alex Bonardi, TIWP Student “You have something to say. Your soul has a story to tell.” —Melodie Ramone You want to apologize. You want to bring back those seventeen lives. You want a chance to explain. But you don’t get to. No one will listen. No one would care. No one will ever see […]

Legends

By Alexia Tzortzis, TIWP Student Icarus flew too close to the sun on purpose—and laughed as the wax burned down his back and he plummeted into the ocean. The sun painted everything in shades of gold, and set the feathers around him a flame. There is a certain beauty in setting the world on fire […]

The Evacuation Theorem

By Ashley Larson, TIWP Student Guns. Guns on land. Guns of different brands. Gun that are small and guns that are grand. Guns for hands. Guns hidden in the Florida sand. Guns still aren’t banned. Fire away mentally ill renegades. Fire on this day. Fire at school today. Fire through the lung’s airway. Fire at […]