Poems by Teens

by Mia Tsaktsirlis, 2024

I am from a loud chaotic home

From scattered shoes to nerf bullets made of foam

I am from the smells that brighten your mood

My mom in the kitchen cooking good food

I am from the mighty oak known as my dad

Whose long limbs I remember as if they were my own

I’m from swimming in the blue sea and tubing in the sound

From my sister my brother and I just goofing around

I’m from teaching my dog cool tricks

To getting him to fetch some sticks

And from having dance parties all night long

To a super loud crazy song

I’m from advice from my mother

Such as always share and be kind to one another

I’m from early morning Easter egg hunts

And the football everyone punts

I’m from Long Island and Greece

From spinach pie to baklava in a big feast

From my little sister explaining to my family how to make a kite

Who is funny, loving, and bright

I am from all of these things and moments

My personality and who I’ll become

I am proud of who I am and where I’m from

by Jack Peirano, 2024

The was an old lady named Rose,

Who made an unusual pose,

She fell on the floor,

Crashed into a door,

And the truth was she stepped on her nose.

by Maria F Rojas, 2024

Midnight Isolation 

I’m a girl.

I look at boys with eyes of passion, 

they, back with a prideful smirk. 

I want a brush of their touch and

submerge my pain into their arms.  

 

What a warmth he would bring to my life.

When I glance at him, I see a facade: 

6 ‘5, brown eyes, brown fluffy hair, skinny, cross around his neck. 

Knowing so much yet nothing from a stranger’s sight. 

Wishing to know, 

what his insides look like

divergent from the external. 

His beauty deceives.

Trips my eyes to look where I should not, 

the places I have gotten lost before, 

and still have not recovered the pieces of my lost, broken soul. 

 

The darkness of the night camouflages my love for him.

 

He, lost in motion,

I, found. 

My lovely distant distraction, 

glances at the ticking clock.

Is he waiting for me?

Ten feet from me, but I know his cologne, 

*Versace Eros.

 

Missing my chaos while focusing on my glimmering sun. 

 

Planning the perfect interaction, 

never having the courage to speak.

My mouth wants to kiss, but my mind is overwhelmed by his sight.

I freeze looking at him. 

body function is none. 

 

My pulse increases, my head starts to spin. 

I could pause life for him. 

Is he just in my mind? 

 

Glitches of reality and my fantasy start to synchronize,

I can’t tell the difference. 

What a joke am I.

 

I lose control over my body,

sweating and 

trembling

as he walks towards me.

 

“Is he ignoring me?”

 

He gets closer to me as the train approaches the station. 

“The midnight train,” 

the last one for the night. 

My train. 

He gets on.

I watch the doors close with him behind, 

I, left alone in the station 

dreaming of his touch.

 

What was his name?

by Julianna Ladani, 2024

So much to do, so much to see

I want to choose the thing that’s right for me.

I want to be happy and make myself proud,

but I fear I will be letting them all down.

Will I rise above and soar to great heights,

or will I plummet and fall, leaving me affright?

I wish it all would become so clear,

so I can take a risk; a chance without any fears.

Yet still I do not know what the future holds,

Truthfully I won’t know until it all unfolds.

There are so many things to choose from, that I know for sure,

But choose the wrong thing, and experience a never ending loop with no cure.

I hope to prosper and choose the right path,

so I won’t have to be stuck, living a life of tragic aftermath.

So much to do, so much to see

I want to choose the thing that’s right for me.

Though it’s clear I won’t know any sooner,

I want to just live a happy life with a very bright future.

 

 

by Michael Sacino, 2024

“My Home”

My home is familiar and cozy. The warm feeling of it makes me feel relaxed like laying in the beach in the Summer.

My home has a beautiful backyard with bright, green grass and tall, healthy trees.  It’s my favorite place to play with my dogs.

My favorite part of my home is the living room. It’s so comfy that it feels like it’s calling my name.  The room is so big I can even play soccer in it.

My home is a safe and warm place where my parents, sister, and dogs live too.  It would not feel like home without them.

by Jenna Levine, 2023

I twist open the cap,

And tip the bottle over.

The colorful liquid pours out onto the pallet.

 

My soft brush

Pushes into the paint

Spreading it around the flat pallet.

 

The canvas, stretched,

Plain and white,

Ready to be defaced

 

The first stroke is always The scariest

Breaking the white of the canvas

Removing the silence of the blank surface

 

Once I start

I can’t stop.

 

I’m waving my paint brush back and forth,

The strokes come naturally,

Easily

 

I paint

And paint

 

Until the painting is finished

I step back

And

 

I hate it.

by Courtney Harrington, 2023

In April they bloom

full and bright

their pink petals decorating the once barren trees.

They are so beautiful

but beauty never lasts.

Almost as soon as they appear

they are falling back into the earth

disappearing

until next April

by Sara Pearl, 2023

I’m a caterpillar at first,

and I like to eat leaves.

When I grow up, I get to be free.

I get to go up in the sky,

where I can fly.

What am I?

by Jenna Levine, 2023

The loss is like someone

Ripping your heart from your chest

And crushing it in front of you.

 

In a matter of moments, 

Everything is heavy.

Your legs are weak,

And you can’t move your arms.

Some words try to escape,

But nothing comes out.

The only thing escaping

Is the salty liquid that’s pouring from your eyes.

 

The signals from your mind

Tell you to brush away your tears.

But you let them fall.

You let your face turn red with dejection. 

Your head fills with memories, 

You’re remembering…

What you did and didn’t do with them.

What you should’ve done, or shouldn’t have done.

It all blends together.

 

And you realize

Everything is quiet.

The silence consumes you

And you feel calm.

It’s not all so loud anymore.

Your mind has gone empty.

Behind sniffles,

You hear the silence.

Nothing can be said or done to make things better.

There’s no changing what happened.

The only thing that’s playing as relief

Is the silence.

 

The car ride to the hospital we all know,

We know there’s nothing to be said.

The silence consumes us,

And we’re left to think.

 

What will be different now that he’s gone?

How much will his passing truly affect us?

What happens now?

 

The family fills the room,

Gathering around the lifeless shell of a person,

Who used to be your father.

 

The Silence is loud.

No one dares to break it.

 

Later that week, 

“I’m sorry for your loss”

Fills the funeral room,

But it doesn’t make it better.

Silence would be better,

Much better than this.

The generalized apologies,

Lack personality,

It lacks true empathy,

Frankly,

It feels insincere.

 

It would be so much better if everyone

Stopped talking,

Stopped trying 

To make things better.

Stopped everything,

And embraced the silence.

 

Silence is peaceful,

And never awkward.

 

Silence is personable,

It speaks more than you think.

 

Silence is pleasant,

Relaxing and

Far,

Far from the noise of the world.

 

The noise is obnoxious,

Stress inducing,

Loud.

It’s distracting,

And irritating.

It keeps you from staying focused and on task.

 

Silence is better.

The silence swallows you whole,

Allowing you to reminisce on the world

Your life,

Your actions,

Everything that led up to this moment.

 

It’s all because of the silence,

There’s no judgment in silence,

No fake apologies,

No pretending to care,

 

Just peace and quiet

That is why

Sometimes silence is better

by Markos Rapitis, 2022

Give me the cooling night sky in all its beauty.

Give me the pretty fireflies that light up the night.

Give me the grass that is covered in dew.

Give me the chance to look up in the night sky and see the stars.

Give me the sun with all of it’s heat to warm me up.

Give me the evening when all goes quiet to watch the sunset fall.