Poetry

Reminiscing in Reverie - Conlan Heiser-Cerrato ‘26

Leaves crunch underneath my worn boot soles.  

Wind howls, hardly heard amidst the trees. 

Hands trace the etchings in the bark, 

Inscriptions from a memory forgotten. 

The forest floor sags underneath me 

Sighing with every step. 

I labor up the hill, as I had done so many times before. 

Foliage hinders my path feebly,  

Twigs snap, the noise fading into the night. 

Conquering the steepness with one final step, I emerge 

Into the clearing. 

Light shines from above, unimpeded by the overgrown branches. 

Stars dance in the dark sky, 

Glimpses of the past among a backdrop of black. 

The wood bench is uncomfortable. 

I can see the city in the distance, 

Peaks surmountable from far away. 

Mist cascades down the other end of the hill, 

Obscuring the little that lay beneath. 

Fog blends with the wispy clouds, 

Painting in the night sky.  

Quiet. 

Reminiscing in reverie, 

Shorter strides, longer nights 

Innocence waxes, full moon radiates. 

Lift fingers to lips 

Pull away 

Smoke is disillusion. 

High coming only from my brain 

And the steam from my mouth. 

I would pretend to be a stoner. 

Alone in the forest, 

I didn’t need a blunt to feel good.

Pink Glasses - Teddy Funck ‘23

My vision is much blurrier now 

I can see less light 

with a tint of pink  

makes the sky a little brighter 

cartoons lie on the shades 

no worry in their twinkling eyes

I can still see you 

but you can’t see me 

you can’t see what I feel—

or if I’m no 

as if a pink veil is protecting me 

from everything perceiving

Black Boy - Zion Zackery ‘26

Black boy, black boy do you know you? 

Black boy, black boy, do you know there’s anything you can do?  

Black boy did you know for you, life won’t be fair.  

Due to the white fan causing resistance in the air. 

Black boy, although you are seen as less,  

you have to break out the cage and demonstrate your best.  

Push forward and grow as a magic bean,  

no matter the ways you are seen. 

Your intellect will always be seen as slang. 

Your unities and communities will be seen as gangs. 

Regardless of the flavor you implement, 

there will always be an ingredient you need to change. 

Your request seen as complaints. 

Presence and ideas viewed as late. 

Your joy and happiness seen as hate. 

Rubbish shrubs compared to your luminous traits. 

Cloth you wear head to toe seen as,  

wait. 

The list of differences is completely limitless. 

We would honestly be here for hours. 

Pass the time you complete homework, clean up, and shower. 

Many things missed on the list, but black boy don’t be a coward. 

Yes, he can be an athlete and a rapper—

But also, he can be a scientist, entrepreneur, and doctor. 

Be you and strive for the highest. 

Do not allow the differences secrete what is the same. 

And most importantly, in all categories,  

be black boy! 

And don’t be tamed.

Only Then - Jacob Hauk ‘24

It is only then, when the trees are mere silhouettes, 

And the clouds nothing but gray deformities 

Only when the ground is cold, 

And the grass wet with dew 

Only when the wind shrieks across the empty streets, 

And the white wolf above glistens across open waters 

Only when tides are strong, 

And beds full 

It is then, and only then, that the sword of my mind shall draw blood, 

And spill it across the battlefield laid out over my desk 

Only when the children filled with fright, 

And the devil may showcase its might 

It shall be then, and only then 

For I only write in the night

Grasslands Green - Joseph Balto ‘23

Like soldiers, arrayed shoulder to shoulder,

pledging their allegiance to Behr.

Forget red, white, and blue,

paint swatches preach Color by Hue.

From left to right, they marshal across the spectrum,

repeated in rows below, but one shade darker.

The descent continues, the tints deepen

seemingly endlessly into blacks: Oil, Onyx, Obsidian.

Some see a psychedelic Library of Babel.

They’re nonsensical, needlessly named.

They’re worthless, offered on shelves for free.

They’re indistinguishable, reds run together relentlessly.

Yet, Grasslands Green alone emerges, nestled between

Paradise of Greenery and Crown Jewel, between

Solitary Tree and Jade Mist.

Grasslands Green is my childhood home.

Though I’ll never revisit its creaky pine floors,

its wasp-infested columns, or the camaraderie once found

in the dark green bedroom I cherished with my brother,

Grasslands Green calls me home still.

Playing Cards - Danny Funck ‘23

They show up for all to see

Sometimes we hit big and cash in

You never know what is coming

Fifty-two cards and twelve faces

Each card appears to be the same

But once revealed they are all different

They hide and pop up in funny places

Reach behind an ear and one may appear

Fifty-two cards and many ways to play

We all hope to win but rarely do

“Frameless” - Anonymous

Humans were made to be naked and free, 

Yet you made a choice to cover up,  

To clothe such a fair personality, 

One as full as an overflowing cup.  

Your hearty ship adorned with a frame,  

You, earthly king, who dons a splendid crown,  

Emblazoned with another man’s name, 

And in the sea of mediocrity, you drown.  

Is it better to be prideful and fall? 

An original individual,  

Or a copy, with nothing special at all? 

The answer seems quite clear to me, yet you’ll- 

Still show another on your exterior,  

And hide virtues of your interior. 

Falling Down the Hargaden Bleachers - Chance Miller ‘23

I tumble, tumble, tumble

All the way down.

Endless steel.

Shiny, thin, and loud.

Unforgiving,

and cold.

The sound is like thunder

as I bounce from

step to step.

They are shocked

As I fold like

a pretzel.

Finally, sirens come with

Fentanyl short

to follow.

My plan is successful.

My fix will be fully

Filled again.

Same Color Outfit - Liam Brune ‘23

He stands in front of a mirror that mocks him

as the morning sun bursts through his window.

The raspy rhetoric of the man on the radio

slices and scratches at his soul as if

each word is a dagger in motion, but still

he locks his eyes on the mirror.

His shirt, his shorts, his socks, his shoes

all present the color blue.

As they did the day before

And the day before

And before the life lived monochromatic

when he looked to the mirror with the eyes of a child,

He lived

wrapped in colorful chaos

But now he drowns in order.

He fears a change to life in color

The jump to unpredictable.

He fears to remain, stagnant and smothered

Till’ years drive by, a forgetful blur.

Tomorrow, he tells himself once again

I’ll add a splash of color.

But not today, never today and

today is where we live all our lives.

His choice much maligned by the radio

Which speaks its mind in rhythmic tune

As the tambourine man sings of him:

Tangled up in blue.

Leaving Me (Baby’s Poem) - Brooklyn Jones ‘23

Started with restrictions,

His stay was meant to be temporary

With intentions of being gone in days

With the intention of leaving being denied

There were no more cries

not a single cry

From the beginning, locked away in a cage

in the corner of my living room

Baby’s love endured from

the outset of his stay—

My love for him was always there.

His bright eyes, like a blue light

fixing an empty dark room.

His gray stomach fur, flutters over me

like a blanket in the fall.

His white back fur stains my black pants

like white paint droplets on a black canvas.

His paws pretty and white like snowflakes

Fascinating but will disappear within touch.

From his last day here

His final vet visit

Signing his death papers

Saying my last goodbye—

Baby came quietly and left a mark

My child, my sweet boy. - Zach Lyons ‘23

A cardinal sings its tune.

The sun begins to rise. 

The dew of wet grass stains the feet of animals in the forest. 

Breathe. Breathe, my child. My sweet boy. 

Reminisce on a life yet lived and dream it true,

For even the broken wings of birds can heal.

The singed song proves true, the cardinal

Finds a mate. The sun sits center sky and glares

Down at all its children. 

The hunter cleans his rifle and shall ring the world new.

Remember. Remember, my child. My sweet boy. 

The darkness can never out darken the light,

For even a tiny flame can outshine the night.

The cardinal lay to rest and dreams of tomorrow. From his nest

The sun no longer casts its shadows. Swaddled in wooly blankets,

The hunter prepares. The hunt is tomorrow

And he dares to dare.

Love. Love, my child. My sweet boy. 

Have compassion for everyone, everywhere,

For even if hatred comes your way, 

For even if the entire world is undeserving, for even if

I'm gone, be the change and set the world on fire.

The cardinal lay broken at the bottom of the tree. 

The sun is yet to rise, but it slowly begins to peak.

The roaming hunter hears a subtle quiet cry which he quickly finds. 

Recalling the words of his mother, the hunter picks up

The little red bird, and shelters it in his hands.

Come little one, the man says, for life woes and it weighs, but hear my word. 

Strength. 

Believe you are strong, little bird, and you will be. 

You will be strong again, for even little birds heal their wings.

Two Red Lines on a White Backdrop - Andrew Hill ‘23

The plastic test does not malign

Two faint lines revealed

Seventeen and all alone,

Her eyes bleed heavy, falling tears

Upon the off-white floor

Her spinning head, a brewing storm

One picture among remains

A foolish night, a grave mistake

But time cares not for choices made

Upon the off-white floor

Empty boxes alight the bed

Their trials all the same

And like the child growing,

She curls into a ball

Upon the off-white floor

A Day’s Life - Eli Eib ‘26

From the cool darkness to the brightest light 

And the moon and the stars are led astray. 

Night births young dawn, and the sun shows its might. 

Heaven’s eye saturates into the day. 

It ignites the skies in orange and pink 

But its bright beauty eventually dies. 

It leaves the sky within a single blink 

And early dawn fades into deep blue skies. 

A breeze cools down the late early morning 

It makes leaves and grasses start to dance 

It cools down the air without a warning 

While the weightless clouds continue to prance 

The birds soar freely throughout the light air 

And a fawn wakes up from a nighttime sleep 

The birds fly gracefully without a care 

While the deer walks off with a single creep.  

The world reveals its spirited nature 

The light lucid lake flows peacefully by. 

The colossal trees stand tall and greater 

Then that which is visible from the eye. 

The sun rules over its earthly kingdom 

And its powerful heat warms the meadow 

While the creatures of earth run with freedom 

And the graceful leaves fly with the air’s flow 

Dusk taints the sky with a purple filter 

The sun sinks down to a silent slumber 

And it throws the heavens out of kilter 

Leaving the deep dark night sky in wonder 

The white moon rises to its full glory 

And the stars illuminate the night sky 

They draw a picture and tell a story 

And the nightly owls shout out their cry.  

Such is the nature that is here to stay 

Such is the lifetime of a single day.

Resistance is Futile - Matt Mulhern ‘23

The constitution was abolished

The states went into chaos

Hammers and sickles slew 25 eagles

Silver spoons and corporate kingpins killed 25 more

Rick Smith, the C.E.O. of

Horse Manure International,

Wrangled and rounded up

New York and old New Hampshire

Cameras were watching

Spies lurked everywhere

Rick developed tasers

Lethal beyond compare

The surveillance state sees all

No stone goes unturned

When Rick wants a man dead

His moments are numbered

Protests make the asphalt run red

The many potholes become pools of blood

Crimson rivers flow through the city

My hope dissolving at the bottom

Found Poems

Explanation: One of the many unique assignments tasked to our Creative Writing class this year was the “Found Poem.” In this assignment, each student was given a piece of paper ripped from a magazine or newspaper. Using their piece of paper, the students had to construct a poem by cutting out words from the paper and gluing them to a new piece of paper. The two poems below are some results from this assignment. Although their final versions have since been altered by their authors, we’ve included a picture of their original work below each poem. Enjoy!

Media - Leo Foust ‘23

On websites, people post about

more than a million individual communities

News, Politics, Trees, Marijuana Enthusiasts

The click of a button leads to so much,

from astronomical popularity to crippling outrage.

Embarrassed Americans don’t know how to feel

Ugly rhetoric and inside jokes

express the baffling and disturbing time

of a nation divided once again

Change fearing people had vanished

to wallow in their own anxiety,

worried of the times to come

Reddit rules the common people.

Manipulating, destroying

those who call themselves proud

Benjamin - Patrick Eskildsen ‘23

His father worked in fashion magazines.

His close-cropped hair was silver

like sunlight breaking through the

clouds of a changeable sky.

He has an air of uncynical intelligence,

very creative and very fussy about detail.

He would spend more than seventy hours writing

intoxicated by deep concentration.

Too cocky

Too self-confident

Too fast

After two years he simply felt

lonely. It couldn’t continue.

His life was very, very demanding

where it began to shut down.

Alcohol induced coma locked

his life to the rocker.

His concentration and creativity slipped

to the fifth of Jack on ice.