CHHS's Literary Magazine
By Tatum Chewning She steps out of the diner
The street is busy and the sun is setting She makes her way back to her apartment, her heeled boots clicking on the sidewalk A man walks up from behind her and asks her where she’s going She says nothing and keeps her face forward He walks closely next to her and asks her questions anyway “So where you live?” She keeps walking “Come on sweetheart, what’s the matter?” She speeds up, he speeds up She slows down, he slows down “What, am I not good enough for you?” Her anxiety grows It seems small to him; harmless but to her it could be anything A creep who can’t take a hint or worse She texts her friend “creepy guy following me, you know the drill” This wasn’t her first time and her friend knew what to do The sun is down now She passed her apartment ten minutes ago She digs around in her bag just to check Mace? Check Keys? Check She grabs her keys and clenches them in her fist Each key protrudes between her knuckles She makes her way to the movies, the man in her peripheral vision She can’t turn and look She can’t look scared She must look strong but she doesn’t feel strong She finally finds her friend standing at the theatre and walks up to him He puts his arm around her and kisses her on the cheek It’s not real, but it’s enough to scare off the stranger He mopes away like he’s failed his mission It's not fair that she “needs” a man to keep her safe from the danger of other men It's not fair that her experience is not abnormal Just something she must prepare for And it's not fair that she's like about eighty percent of women
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By Rydia Hodge Fret and worry not my beauteous rose
It aches my heart to have you so morose Let me sooth your frazzled nerves, my dearest When you’re free from tears your splendor’s clearest Grow accustomed to our humble dwelling Desires to flee I’ll soon be quelling Please cease your weeping my gorgeous angel Here you’ll stay, forever, with me, ma belle When I gaze upon you I’ve found true love That’s why I clipped your fragile wings, my dove They say if you love something, set it free But I’m selfish and need you here with me So sit still for me while I embrace you Together we shall bid the world adieu Locks and chains; inconsequential things In here, in our castle, we’ll live like kings I beg you don’t say this room is stifling Not cramped, but cozy, my most beguiling I beg you sweet kitten, don’t treat me cold Come now, come here, and please do as you’re told Hey now, didn’t I say you shouldn’t cry? Need you be taught a lesson, butterfly? I’ll have you know I’m quite patient indeed I’ll wait forever for you to love me By Kate Keelan Enclosed, a space where no one knows the words,
The syllables we fight to leave unsaid. Grey whispers pull reluctant thoughts from heads, On exit we pretend we haven’t heard. Thick red mud caked on dusty black carpet - I know I should spray it off, but I don’t. Pale marks streak the glass, but that way they won’t Penetrate, see our faces starkly lit. Draped with a sheet, taken down to the store, It falls to even greater disrepair Than how I kept it before I went North. Mud still smeared on the black and silent floor, It sanctuary closed now to the air, Secrets no longer traded back and forth. A taste of freedom; short, but bittersweet, The first stop only on the road ahead, Until leaves and snow crunch under my feet - Departures from the life I learned and led. By Julian Howard A small ember dances in the wind
I stand over it, not knowing if I should blow it out. I stare at the only picture of us as the flame swallows it watching as we vaporize into dust If only my heart was a flame. If only my memories didn’t betray me. But if my heart burned, it would burn with passion Sometimes I want to pick up the phone Just to see if you’re there But then I’d hang up Because your cute voicemail would answer Telling me to call back. I wish you wanted me to call Instead I send a text Now we’re talking again. We pressed factory reset but it’s faulty: there's a few glitches in the system, a few words that are left unsaid. As I am once again left on read. The sick thing is, you’re the one that left, but I still come crawling back. Even though I know how it ends. Even though I know we can’t be friends, without catching feels. It’s crazy how much we get along After we aren't together There's still a residual love But it's shrouded and quiet I lay awake in the dim moonlight, Thinking of why I’m thinking of you I took enough history classes to know, to know I shouldn’t repeat myself, I should put my heart back on the shelf. That’s the smart thing to do. I’ve never done drugs but I swear you’re addicting There’s a buzz in the room It’s my phone, It’s the sound of you calling I let the buzz fade, I’ll come back to it tomorrow, but then I change my mind, and hit redial By Julia Fort Take out your phone
There was a crisis Take out your phone That painting is priceless Take a video of the concert Looking through the camera Instead of being in this era You chose to put it online Instead of taking it all in There was a crisis So put it online Instead of calling for help You get more shares That painting is priceless So strike a pose And put a filter over it Instead of learning all about it There was an accident? So take a picture Of the family that died To a drunk driver And laugh about it online There was a suicide? So make fun of them online They can’t see it anyways so it won’t matter But it does Too many people think That if someone cant see you That if someone is dead There wont be any pain But there is still pain For the ones who relate For the people who have lost There is still pain and sometimes forever So take a picture and make it last So you never forget The moment that lasted five seconds By Iris Hill Do I want to be her? Oh yes, I do
want to look like her, Aphrodite, so full of life, beauty, and love, yes, I know just as she is so gorgeous, I am too, but when I look at her, a faint ache, oh, how badly I want to be like her, though when I then gaze upon her, a red hue colors my pale cheeks, and so then, I knew. Do I want to be her? Oh no, I do not think my greed stops there, I want to love her in a way that goes beyond the norm and purely I wish for it to be true, eternal and elusive mourning dove, allow me, please, to hold you through the storm. By Ian Periquet Stanforth I remember how my sharp, uncut nails
Dug and bit into my gripping palms Like hungry, starving little puppies How the crowd screamed and wailed in awe As I watched you twirl and twist As you flew with your wings outstretched From the concrete rooftop Dancing, as though it were your last performance Slowly, even though you fell so fast Found in a limbo between living and dying Like the cat in the box. Or is it more like The image in a snowglobe? A place outside time A perfect winter wonderland And the snow, forever Falling. But I know That you danced in March And the only snow that was left Was pushed up on the sidewalks Stained black with dirt It got my shoes dirty when I walked on it So real. So disappointing. And it stopped snowing a while ago. Not like you would care I wouldn’t either I do wonder though How did eternity feel? That little place outside time Where you danced in that place between life and death With your stretched arms And your crossed legs But what struck me Was how serene you looked With your eyes closed Knowing you’d die. Is it like Being inside a snowglobe? A perfect, quiet little place Where the snow falls Forever? I wish I knew, I would’ve danced with you. By Ian Madden Once upon a time, in a forest free
There was a nest which held a bird The nest up on a branch in the tree Safe for now, so be assured The trees would shake in the gentle breeze, The clouds would come and go as they please. The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. The owl’s hoot becomes a comforting drone When night after day came to one, alone. The glimmer of the lake makes two eerie tones Out of luminescent shadows in a vivacious dome. His wings will flap in a gust or breeze Yet he glides about his tree with ease. The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. The bird came home to find a crack, Then a peck, then a beak, then out popped Once upon a time in a forest free There was a nest which held two birds The birds would scamper about the tree Safe for now, so be assured. With his beak, the first bird gave a squeeze To the scruff of his kin, carried to the tree The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. One night unforgiving snow and sleet Made a large, thick, icy sheet, In the nest, the birds are asleep, The other’s warmth, their only sheet. The trees would shake in the gentle breeze, The clouds would come and go as they please. The nest packed tight, for at night the freeze-- Icing the bushes and frosting the trees. By Hsa Wah I lay outside under the tall green grass,
staring at the beautiful night sky how long can I keep going with this lie As I am thinking about life, how fragile it is like glass Maybe this world isnt ment for me As I can't find a place where I fit in Where has all the time been There's no point in being mean We all feel and hurt in the same ways And some of us are just stronger than others But if were to just treat each other like brothers Maybe that little boy who took his life would still be alive He would live his life to the fullest and survive But it's never too late to be kind and treat others with respect By Ethan Hauf In death, I wish not to be forgotten,
to grasp fame before hell obtains my heart. It’s sad that I’m not good enough at art Not Talented enough for a college. I Wish this was a song, not a sonnet, but with music I don’t know where to start. No one will hear my words, at least I’m smart My memories will sit here and rot then. Was I cheated or was I just lazy I’ve been sheltered and never been denied Will be heard or unheard off, maybe I’ve tossed it around too much in my mind But should I let the negative phase me Cause I’m not dead yet, and I still have time |
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