the bird on fire

The Palm Valley School Student Blog

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I live in your version of sensibility…

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By Anne

 

My feelings are always wrong,

except for guilt which is what I deserve to feel

and the fear that must always control me:

 

My sadness and anger are selfish;

My happiness is a burden and a chore;

My very existence has brought hardship,

And my fault it has always been.

 

My job is to fix everything broken

and to hide from the world while doing it.

 

All people are evil inside;

To form relationships is a careless thing

–but being alone is pathetic.

 

My reality

fictional.

My opinions

wrong.

That which I love doing

isn’t worth doing.

At least this is what you’ve taught me.

 

Editor: Brennan Nick

Time

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By Shelby Armor

The Desert Town Hall Forum hosts Caroline Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, next Thursday, March 8. Typically, the Youth Town Hall invites high school students to meet the featured speakers. Because Ambassador Kennedy is such a force in the poetry world (editing 19 New York Times best-selling anthologies), The Desert Town Hall Forum sponsored a poetry contest in her honor. The theme? “Giving Back”–for Ms. Kennedy and her extended family “exemplify a dedication to public service.” Shelby submitted the following poem:

Time is a fleeting thing

Going by before the chance to reflect is given

Going by with too many forgotten moments

My dad told me of Times where he went through battles

Battles he fought for his country

Battles he fought for himself

Battles he fought for his parents

He told me that these Times possessed lessons

He told me to always give a firm handshake

To never give opposers the satisfaction of victory,

Even if it hurts

I took these lessons with me through my life

And Time passed

The ever-fading moments flitting by me,

As I desperately tried to hold onto his lessons

And to form my own

When my father passed, I kept his memories with me

And when my children would ask about him,

I passed on his lessons

Telling of the battles he fought

And the things he sacrificed

I gave back everything he taught me

I gave them my own memories of Times gone by

The lessons I learned

The ones I took with me

The battles for myself

The battles for my dad

The battles for them

They took these lessons with them

And I knew that I had given them all I could

Lessons from fleeting Times that have passed

 

Editor: Renée Vazquez

Thinking of Love

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Thinking of love? Valentine’s Day is on its way. “Anne” has some ruminations on the subject for you.

 

By Anne

 

It’s as if you’ve turned my heart into an ocean

at the same time you’ve lit it on fire.

It seems to slosh around with every motion;

I can feel its weight, its infinite depth.

There is no limit to its flow.

The fiery tongues dance inside me,

engulfing everything they see.

I feel the warmth of both comfort and anxiety.

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

Fundamental Love

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We welcome Leo Milmet to the Blog Staff. Previously, Leo contributed as guest reviewer. More Leo reviews are to come. Today, he debuts with a poem. Leo says of the topic “Giving Back,” This is really something I believe in. The poem also serves as a submission to the Desert Youth Town Hall poetry contest honoring upcoming speaker Caroline Kennedy. The contest’s theme is “Giving Back,” named for Ms. Kennedy and her extended family who exemplify a dedication to public service and its impact on individual citizens.

 

By Leo Milmet

 

Why give back? Not because you should but for

Love of your fellow humans. Helping those

in need makes me feel good. I love all people.

All should be helped. Why? Imagine you were

a person in grave terrible need, then helped by one with a golden heart,

who clothed you, fed you, generously gave you enough to survive just one more day.

You would be happy. You would be grateful for their generosity.

Why? Maybe because they saved you from something,

or at least tried to. The golden-hearted person showed love for a fellow

Human being, a beautiful person inside,  like all of us are.

 

Empathy. Life. Humanity. Compassion. Love

for your contemporaries on this planet.

You don’t want them to leave forever, so help them.

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

Dear Future Me

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By Anonymous

 

Dear future me,

I hope that you’re okay.

I hope that you haven’t given up

and that you’re still alive.

I hope that you’ve started living,

rather than just surviving.

I hope that you keep your imagination,

but you change the things that it conjures.

I hope that when you look in the mirror

you see something beautiful.

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

4th-Person Poem

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By Brennan Nick

 

So I was in English class talking about the perspective a story can have: 1st person, 3rd-person limited omniscient, 3rd-person omniscient, and 3rd-person objective. We also learned that it’s possible to have a story take place in the 2nd person with pronouns such as “you” and “yours.” Then, I searched if there is such thing as 4th-person perspective, and I was not disappointed. According to Wikipedia, “The term fourth person is also sometimes used for the category of indefinite or generic referents, which work like one in English phrases such as ‘one should be prepared.’” So here’s my attempt at writing a quick poem in the fourth person.

 

When one takes a nap in the shade of the Banana Tree,

One must be sure the Parakeet bird won’t see.

For if he sees one asleep, he will come in from behind,

And the bird may steal from you and not at all mind.

One’s food and one’s drink he will take as inclined,

And return to his perch all sated and dined.

If one wishes to sleep beneath the Banana Tree,

One must be sure the Parakeet bird will not see.

 

Editor: Shelby Armor

Comfort

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By Makena Behnke

 

everyone goes through an awkward and clueless phase

that’s normal

you may not be the star quarterback or the lead role in a play

but eventually you will find your thing

it might be something artsy

something music related

something techy

or something completely different

your individuality is gained by understanding that the world around you

judges

no matter what

so do your thing

your gained individuality will help you find your thing

so if you’re grades aren’t that great

and if you have trouble speaking in public or reading

you’ll be fine

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

“ugly” things that are beautiful

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By Makena Behnke

  • acne
  • albinism
  • big lips
  • big noses
  • birthmarks
  • body hair that “shouldn’t be there”
  • bushy eyebrows
  • crooked teeth
  • curly hair
  • double chins
  • fat
  • flat chests
  • grey hair
  • hip dips
  • heterochromia
  • hooded eyelids
  • limb transplants
  • scars
  • short eyelashes
  • stretch marks
  • thin lips
  • vitiligo
  • wrinkles

–the “ideal body type” is trash

 

Editor: Peter Kadel