By Zara, TIWP Student We are simplerun downtragic accidentally absolutely present. We are the creative genius behind the automobileand the scythes come to execute the believers. We are sheep that believe they are shepherds,the artist that draws inside the lines formed by the imprint of our fingernails. We are blooddripping from the rooftopand rain running down […]

By Lina, TIWP Student It is too difficult to write flawless poetryor words that encapsulate exactly what the mind speaks.The psyche is too profound to be consummately represented on paper.Yet in a world that praises masks to hide our passions behindwe must write our emotions into existence.We must let the world make a spectacle of […]

By Stella V. TIWP Student Each person has their own stamp,their fingerprints woven into the skinjust like trees, strong and older,each ring of the rough tree bending with stories. Reaching high, intertwining in the skyproviding a canopy of safety,we run and play under ituntil we grow tall like the trees. Hair rooted to our headour […]

By Zara Q., TIWP Student My English summer reading tells me,“Every good poet needs a good spring poem,”then goes on to say there’s no way to make them original,and therefore their captivation to the audience has ceased to be nothing,and I guess poetry is dead. So tell mewhy are we assigning value to a poem?Why […]

By Laily, TIWP Student There is a memory stored in our bonesbefore we ever learned to explain it.We feel a disconnection when we pull away,when we step out of the living pulse of the worldand try to survive inside plastic wrappers and fragile bubbles.We forget that we are not observers looking in from the outside. […]

By Zara Q., TIWP Student I think I think that I understand people.That I can meet them, sit in the same class for a few months,talk a few times.And then I get them, for the most part.I know why they do the things they do, say what they say.The people who puzzle me shock me and […]

By Laily, TIWP Student I am full of society carving its expectations into my skin,yet starving for the freedom to exist in my own body. I am full of every day feeling like a raceyet starving to let go of the “doing” andlearn how to just be. I am full of reading every room, absorbing […]

By Lina Norris-Raman, TIWP Student LoveElivens.Something stirs in me,The way your wordsBrush my cheekAnd wrap me in a heavy blanket that tugs awaymy self-doubt.These remarkstell me I am living,That I deserve something,For the simple fact that I exist.They remind me that the worldDoesn’t view meThrough my own cracked mirror—That maybe the worldCould be more truthful […]

By Zara Quiter, TIWP Student Toxic masculinity is like any addiction.Poisonous and sweet,Aggressive and gentle.It is that same drug that offers me a jacket when he sees I am cold,who throws away my garbage and asks for my number.Who texts me that night and says, “I’m glad.”Do I smile at him, do I text him back, do […]

By Katelyn H., TIWP Student At 12 a.m. the memories replay like songs I don’t want to end, the worries crowding my mind, and the quiet truth that this year is slipping away. It’s strange how people who filled my days with laughter might slowly turn into old pictures, faded messages, and stories I tell […]