By Shoshana Castro-Root, TIWP Student I took the eraser,ebbed my eyeballs away.I took the eraser,brushed it across my raw,blood-battered lips.I took the eraser upon each fickle ear.I took the eraser—my breasts, gone!(Along with my heart.)I took the eraseraround the bulge of my belly.I took the eraser along the wayward curve of my spine.I took the eraser,resculpted the sloppy meat of […]

By Shoshana Castro-Root, TIWP Student My hair is like the weather—unpredictable and always changing. Sometimes soft and fluffy—a cloud on a sunny day! Sometimes wild and chaotic—a thunderstorm of curls.Oh, and if I’m not careful, unruly strands will sneak into my mouth like spies on an enemy base!Yes, I could tame my mane to behave how I want, but most […]

By Hannah Shagan, TIWP Student In French class we discussed the difference between Love, amour,and Friendship, amitié,and which you’d rather live without.  I wrote that there was not one without the other. Love is the best part of friendship.Friendship is the best part of love.Love without friendship is hollow.Friendship without love is merely acquaintanceship. Love is […]

By Catherine Foster, TIWP Student She visits me in butterflies.  I don’t know when she will arrive or when she will leave,She simply flies into my life unannounced. She used to knock on our door,She shaped my wings. But as all butterflies do, she dissolved before our eyes Yet she simply didn’t have enough time to transform. […]

By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student I want it to be quiet.I want it to be so loud that I feel quiet.I want to scream‘til my voice sounds likeI smoke a pack a day. I want to be loud.I want to speak And not feel like I’m saying the wrong thing,The “why the fuck did I say […]

By Audrey Lambert, TIWP Student “you’re so shy” they say,“you’re so quiet,”but, don’t you knowhow loud it is in my skull?you can’t hear it, thoughts like a spinning top.sorry i don’t feel likespeaking to you.nothing personal,really, it’s justi don’t think you could navigate these echoing canyons.i can barely read themap myself andthe white water’stoo dangerous for you.trust […]

By Callie Fullop, TIWP Student North is maror on Passover, or when I hula-hoop at recess. South is jump roping, and gymnastics, and playing with toys. West is playing music, and singing, and dancing. East is laughing with my friends, or taking a hike in the woods, or baking with my mom. And North, South, […]

By Harper McIntyre, TIWP Student I feel exposed. I’m in a ring with a thousand people surrounding mebut not too closely, there’s distance within it: emptinessfocus my clothes space.  but no eyes, all of those are on me.  as is the spotlightan eerie iridescence that switches on when im least ready that’s the magic of circus syndrome.not so much […]

By Annabelle Kennedy, TIWP Student I know you created me. I know you created me, and everything and everyone. I know you created some creatures to be small enough to be mistaken for a grain of sand and some To be big enough to pierce the clouds and make them bleed the rain that feeds the EarthBut […]

By Viviana Sanchez, TIWP Student “All the ingredients are here, which is gratitude…to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,telling them all, over and over, how it isthat we live forever.” — Mary Oliver The ocean is alive, always. The waves are the heartbeat of the Earth. Clams bring bubbles up to the […]