graffiti-online

lawrence high school
lawrence, ks

Regret

When you left that September day,

I dropped into a pile of regret,

Regret for saying a brief good-bye,

And not putting up a fight.

I watched the twisted road carry you away,

And swallow you in dust.

I watched the red sun slip down the horizon,

Like a lost love song.

 (Ellen Johnson)top

Abiding

We sit with despair in our eyes,
Our eyes recording endless years
Counting all the way back.
Side-by-side we wait,
We wait,
We wait for the man who betrayed us,
Wounded us, and left us.
The aura of the elements surrounds us,
Permeating us from every direction.
The pond glistens like a spark in the night,
The voluptuous, vivid flowers creep upon us, and into us.
We notice nothing, nothing.
Side-by-side we wait,
We wait,
We wait for the man who betrayed us,
Wounded us, and left us.

 (Micaela Hill) top

I’d Rather Sleep Than Dream

They’re going to...
They’ll get YOU!
(sleep)walk. (sleep)talk.
Just don’t...
WAKE.

GOOD MORNING!

 (zach lang) top

Winter Laziness

The sun warms my cold cheeks.

It hangs directly above me

As I lie in the snow.

The skeletons of trees

Sway in the stinging wind.

I rest among the indentations

Of fallen angels,

Savoring the quiet. 

(Dennis Mersmann) top

Opossum

Thinking on the past two weeks,
I see a revelation.
I see I have been selfish,
I see I have been a jerk.
I see I was set on only myself.
I had no clue I was living like this,
Until a friend opened my eyes.
She opened up and told me,
She told me all her thoughts,
The way it was
Plain as day.
I was as an opossum.
Sly and deceitful.
I pretended to be things I was not.
I pretended to be a superhero.
Pretending to fix the worlds problems.
I realize I hurt my friends,
With the way I acted
Having lost touch with reality.
Now as I am renewed.
I stand on two feet,
Ready to do battle.
Ready to go at life full force.
Ready to conquer pain.
Ready to live again.

 (Casey-Jack Kitos)top

The Creative Process

I must write a poem.
In the classroom,
I must write a poem.
As the sun peaks out from behind the rain-clouds,
I must write a poem.
As the clock creeps towards eleven,
I must write a poem.
As the leaves turn to gold
And drift from the branches,
I must write a poem.
As the birds are leaving,
I must write a poem.
As the trees sway in the wind,
I must write a poem.
As the coal turns to diamond,
I must write a poem.

 (Dennis Mersmann) top

Frozen Hearts

Traipsing we are, through fallen snow.
Enthralling you in my arms, I am.
The feeling of you
In my presence
Keeps me warm
As fresh snow falls.
Crisp, cold, gloomy air
Tickles at my nose
Like you tickle at my feet.
Chills travel quickly)
Throughout our bodies.
I'm spending what is left
Of the time I have with you.
Holding you in my arms, I am,
On a windy, winter afternoon.

(Erin Robertson) top

Contemplating of Nothing

The earth is still hot in the sun is apex.
Atop this grassy slope,
My mind twists and turns
Like the tumult of a raging ocean.
The warm breath of humid summer
Plays across my skin.
Distracted by sudden anger
Caused by sudden sadness,
I give a thought to the sky,
A thought to the heavens,
But what I said
Is lost forever
Atop the grassy slope.

 (Sean Minton) top

Dark Day in December

The dawn has come now,
Bringing forth an anniversary,
A soggy and blotched memory,
Of that dark day in December.
I still feel the cold,
As I lay in the snow,
As I lay next to you,
As you slowly slip away from me.
I glide motionlessly now,
Through the gates intertwined with vines,
Up the rocky pathway,
Solemnly slithering with no facial expression.
Your grave feels so cold against my cheek.

 (Jon Mosher) top

Spectronic Organic Orchestra

Only in a lilac-scented dream, do dewdrops drop
Glistening green as they float ever so slowly
Towards their mother below.
Only in a dream you can smell colors so strong, so vibrant
Where sunrise sits atop the mist-covered horizon, bright pink.
He sings to his children with words so sweet
They have no meaning.
Only in a dream where matter has no matter in affairs
Can I walk barefoot across a purple sea
With rainbow-colored trout swimming so merrily,
Making waves in their wake, a dazzling cascade
Of light and sound in their break,
Only in a dream.

 (Sean Minton) top

James is my Name

They say I'm evil,
But I ignore them,
Ignore them as I creep
Up the neighbor's apple tree,
And crawl down with my hands full
Of ripe, red, fruit.
They threaten me,
But I play no heed to their words,
Pay no heed at all, as I dash into momma's pantry,
Eat all the jam in the jar
And replace what was there with tar.
So what if my picture's in
The Sunday school book?
I see through it,
See through it as I bully
The neighborhood kids,
Curse my mother,
And despise all that is right
They say I'm greedy, sinful, and wicked,
And I know it.
I'm a bad little boy.

 (Andrew Bailey) top

In Retrospect

If I had known that instant
Would be my final minute beside you,
That I would nevermore witness you
Shutting your eyelids,
Evaporated in your passion for rhythm,
Beating those drums-
If I had known that you would abandon her,
Brimming full of despair and yearning,
Her world torn in a torrent of hail,
Her pillows soaked
From sorrowful, sleepless nights-
If I had known I would have to ache
Through your memorial service,
Pressing back silken tears swirled in remembrance,
I would never have let you in the car.

 (Elizabeth Karpowitz)top

Good Night, Summer

Summer's resistance drags on.
There's no end in sight.
My highway is ever elongating.
Summer's sweat drifts
To the rest of the world.
At daylights rest,
Crickets play one last time
Sweet melodies across their violins.
Birds warble good night,
And dandelion seeds waft aimlessly
Into the sky,
Dreaming of birth.
Prayers from the children
Cradle the earth
To sleep.

  top(Hallie Fitzgerald)

To You

Let us dance
Forever.
Let us be modern objects,
Colliding and combining and reacting
To old-fashioned tunes.
Let our shoes
Wear deep grooves into the dance floor
Where we have sung out our souls
To each other.
Let us value
Those calculating and scientific and judging eyes
For a second only,
And let us dance
Because I love you,
And all I want
Forever
Is you.

 (Benet Magnuson) top

Simple Thought

Our lives change from day to day
But for God it is merely a little sway
Back to front side to side
Keep seeking never hide

(Jason Russell) top

Perfection

Without the thought of you,
Everything seems so unreal.
Without the sight of you,
Everything looks diabolically corrupt.
Without your sensuous scent,
Everything reeks like ammonia.
Without your lips upon mine,
Everything tastes like charcoal.
Without the feel of your body,
Everything scratches like rust,
But, when I have you,
Even for just a moment,
Like the water in an empty glass,
That's really a rushing creek,
I rapidly ascent to the brim,
For, without your perfection,
Everything nauseates me.

 (Jon Mosher) top

September 11

Content, they smile.
Mortified, we cry.
Joyous, they cheer.
Destructed, we collapse.
Our salty tears fall heavy and white,
As do our citizens from our towers.
Our thick blood gushes beaten and red
As our streets pump full of ash.
The world stares, silently.
They turn back from their celebrating,
Eager to see us dying.
They turn to watch us fall, though we rise.
They turn to watch us cry, though we sing.
They turn to watch us die, though we live.
They turn to see that, however salt-and-blood soaked,
Our star spangled banner yet waves.

 (Kristen Tedrow) top

Beside The Ocean

She, like an angel,
Was beautiful, yet delicate.
Sweet, as a sun-kissed rose,
The world was illuminated by her elegance.
She sat, savoring the sand beneath her.
Beside the raging ocean,
The waves were breaking around her,
As if she were a star,
Alone in the sky.
Like an angel, she was.

(Nina Chandlee)top

I See the Memory

I see them.
Two lovers abide upon the thoroughfare,
Full of love and lust for one another.
They are mesmerized by captivating stares,
And whispers of sweet passion tickle their ears.
Yes, I see them there,
With all of their joy and fervor.
I see them enveloped in a world
Where nothing disturbs their beauty.
Pain thunders in my chest,
So I sit back softly, sadly,
And scratch sketches,
Trapping their moment on my white canvas.
Sorrow, strong sorrow…
Was that not once I,
Upon that very thoroughfare
With his whispers burning my ears
With passionate words,
Hot, like the blade that took him from me?
His soul, so lively and gentle,
Seeped from him like the scarlet blood
That seeped and pooled about his broken body.
Wrong was it, to be this way.
Memories torment me still.
My shattered heart aches for his touch,
And my mind play sand replay sour moments
Upon that thoroughfare.
Memories sing to both my heart and mind,
But the memory that blooms in my soul
Is the seed planted within my womb.

 (Heather Hinshaw) top

Sacrifice

Fiery, noon sun
Casts bright rays of light
Through windows
Of the cold restaurant,
Warming my legs.
A porcelain mug stares at me
From the table.
Its contents of tea
And a small peppermint leaf
Infuse the air with a lingering, familiar aroma.
I imagine what plant,
Now dead and in heaven,
Had been forced to sacrifice its life
For a leaf,
For me.
I imagine the other dead plants
That, too, had been victims,
For the sake of others.
These wicked wonders engulf my every thought,
Now,
No other being can change
This evil execution.
What's done is what's done.
With less guilt,
I guess I'll drink up.

 (Molly Hoss) top

Only You

A slow, undaunting feeling
Gradually rose with intensity,
His unknowing eyes too innocent
To see the fervor in mine,
Cautiously hiding this affection,
Too scared of changing
Such a remarkable relationship.
These feelings thrown into a safety locked heart.
Yet, on a cloudless night,
All was chanced.
I turned to him and whispered sweet songs of love
To his awaiting lips.
To my surprise, he returned this kiss
With new-found passion and joy.

 (Jessie Landers) top

Memory of Today

Darkness from beyond
Is a flood flowing
Through the streets.
Light disappears,
And all is hushed.
Frozen quietness
They are captured in.
The chilling silence
Of the world
Outside this faded framework,
Does not cease the dance
Of my heated heart.
The pulses surge,
A tango of passion.
His face blinds my thoughts,
For I see nothing of things
Past his savory smile.
Clouds of love fog my mind.
My daily drudgeries vanish.
Every minute,
Every movement,
Every moment
Is captured in the memory
Of today.

 (Stephanie Santa Cruz) top

Fisherman

A fisherman am I,
Staring downward,
Into the fish-less sea of water.
My beloved woman is continually at my back,
Grasping flowers from the earth
To color her life.
Our newborn lies bundled in a single blanket,
The only warmth she knows,
Besides the arms of her mother.
I falter to bestow attention to our child,
For I do not want her to hear my raspy voice,
Know my sunken-in face and weak touch,
Understand my failures in life-
My rejecting of tender love.
Escaping to the endless sea.
Is the choice I bear.
There, I am no longer tied down,
And worrying of fatherhood will be at my back.
My boat will become my solitary sanctuary,
Enabling me to travel at the tip of my fingers.

 (Kristen Jarboe)top

The Storm Rolls In

Upon this gloaming hour, she waits
For an arrival she knows will come.
As the old, soiled pick-up truck
Intrudes on her vision,
The storm rolls in.
The crooked and ripped screen door
Shrieks with pain as it slams
To a silent stop.
Stumbling with intoxication,
His silhouette dances through the dark,
Mocking her pain.
The storm rolls in.
Thunderbolts of screams
Rattle through the darkness.
Fists free-fall like lightning
Through the flashes of light and dark.
A stroke-light effect
Generates feelings of fear
In the already-menacing night.
The storm rolls in.
Shrieks of bloody murder
Encompass this red-stained room
Full of love, hate, and tears.
Suddenly, all is silent,
No shrieks, no pain, no more tears,
When the storm rolls in.

 (Juniper McCoy) top

The glowing moon,
Framed by a sapphire blanket,
Lights a path to my doom.
The door whines
As it creeps open.
Cold, hardwood floor
Stiffly embraces
The ball of my foot
With each minute footstep I advance.
I feel my heart in my chest
Pounding rapidly.
I glance through the glass,
Wondering at the dancing oaks
Twirling its leaves
In the cold, midnight breeze.
I yearn to be free,
Free like them.
Timidly, I attempt to sneak to my chamber.
Unfortunately,
A dreadful obstacle lies before my feet incompetent.
Stumbling,
My figure catapults
To the base of the stairwell.
My furtive scheme awakes the snarling beast,
Triggering the creature's ranting and raving.
My cheeks,
Burgundy red,
Suggest my guilty tardiness.
Unsympathetic, the beast imprisons me
Without justice.
I glance through the glass,
Wondering at the dancing oaks
Twirling its leaves
In the cold, midnight breeze.
I yearn to be free,
Free like them.

(Molly Hoss) top

Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane

Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane will never be the same.
The blissful night is awakened
By the ill wind of morning.
A canopy of smoke covers
The once-glorious Topeka sky.
Cries from hell ring out.
Sheets of intense, violent flames
Rage from the roof and out the shattered windows.
Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane will never,
Never be the same.
His innocent, weak, eight-year-old hand
Stretches through the overpowering smog of smoke,
Searching for the loving touch
Of his lifeless grandmother.
Smoke fills his eyes
As his screams of abandonment
Fill the soul of his suffocating mother.
Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane will never be the same.
His orphaned hand is then graced
By the embrace of a fire-friendly hero,
A hero from God who eased his pain,
The pain caused by Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane.
An unknown person created an act of rage,
An act of rage that forever changed
Eleven-Seventy Southwest Mulvane.

 (Bobbie Lee Riling) top

Moving On

As I carefully contemplate
The repercussions
Of our relationship,
I stand atop the jagged limestone boulders.
I realize that I never wanted this,
That you never mattered,
That we were a lie.
The vultures prod and pick
At the cold flesh of our relationship.
Tearing away my memories,
Stealing my yearning for you,
They swallow our past.
The rain stains my heart.
Clouds of anguish hover above my eyes.
Invading my nostrils is the odor of death.
All hope is relinquished.
I know that this agonizing sensation
Is caused by the fact that you really did matter,
That we were never a lie,
And I truly did love you.
Still, I never wanted this.

(Karen Strauss) top

I AM WEAK

I am weak,
Weak
to the interrogate pounces of instincts
that touches my mind.
I know good,
I know bad,
or,
some would say un-moral,
that I can not begin to say what urges me on.
Upon these impulses I shutter.
I feel disgraced,
That I should make such a big mistake
once more.
I am not worthy,
but I must go on.
Fulfilling my duties is non-negotiable,
I must carry on.
So this is my last cry,
and my last time
(Justin Kelly)top

Division

The day of her soul transforming
Crackles with shuddering mourning.
Today-her wedding of sorrow to elation.
She places her trembling hand to her heart;
Betrayed are the secrets of her spirit,
Her hopes for the future.
She desired him once,
Once when time was a child
Cradled in his mother's arms,
And she herself awoke,
Possessed by his caress,
To the smell of fresh morning,
But, now, night has swallows her adoration
With his black coat,
Blocking out all affection for him that once was.
Today, she perceives her love
Through a window,
Which reflects rays from her somber soul,
Dividing woman from man.

(Sonja Fleischauer) top

In the Garden

they originated from the same earth,
springing from tulip beds
with fresh life dripping from virgin petals.
Both explored the garden,
Each discovering the fruit
And tasting the abundance
With lip vivacious.
One cool April morning, they met,
With the sun just beginning to caress the path
Where their footsteps led them to each other.
Songs bloomed from their mutual glances,
Poisoning the noxious weeds
Which had been found in the garden
So many years.
Hot intuition ruled their hearts.
Never questioning their future as one body united,
Together, they experienced all season twice.
Time amplified their adoration
While their bodies withered away.
Hand in hand, they sank one day
Into the accepting soil,
Planting seeds of future love
Among the flowerbeds from which
They themselves had sprung.

top(Sonja Fleischauer)

Reluctant Wayfarer

Goatskin drums and incense musk thrum
Over the shifting dunes to tease my wayfaring senses.
Mere dust and hear the wind seems
To those pale, laden foreigners poised precariously
Atop plodding, over-burned camels,
Like the monocles perched
On their squinted eyes.
No lessons will they learn
On this, one of their many "expeditions."
Forever their only report will be
Of sand and more sand,
"a glass-maker's paradise,"
"a sandcastler's dream!"
never will our ways they accept,
not scarf-dance nor nomadic life.
We are but mere guides to them,
Convenient compasses to point the way,
For lost they would surely be without us.
Many a star-dusted night I've longed
To take leave of them and their lamentations
Of heat and sand to answer the beckoning
Of canvas tent and the mother tongue.
Alas, their coin calls stronger
With promises of food for me and mine.
Ojala, I shall return to the sands of home some dawn soon.
Ojala.
Ojala-(o-ha-la) Arabic for "may Allah grant that" or "God willing"

(Brittany Rank) top

Silent Rings

Tracing the speedboat's foam-capped path,
Th shot-down soldier releases his reins.
His smoky steed charges on,
Upsetting virgin waters.
The discarded carcass whips,
Flips, and plunges
Through the lake's abrasive bath.
The bloating sun scalds him in the dead water,
The thrill of the ride
Drifts
Away
On
Silent
Rings.

(Oliver Simmons) top

I wore
your earrings
south,
(opalescent birthday gift),
Fishing for compliments,
they dangled
from my ears,
caught in the net of my hair.
They sparkled
like raindrops
in the mountains of West Virginia.
I danced
with them
on the beaches of Virginia
and they
flew out
from my ears,
floating
on clouds of air.
They came to rest
and the waves rolled in.

(Jane Ballagh) top

(you)

I stand here now. Awaiting my escape.
Finally breaking out of this place.
But you already know. You have it taped.
Simulate a sunny day with lights
Turn the temperature just right
Cause a little breeze
Simulate trees
It’s called trickery but you can’t fool me
I live in a Sim-City.

(zach lang) top

we hope you all enjoyed our words and visions!! check back for updates and additions!! thanks for sharing OUR experiences…

special thanks to mike carriger, joy clumsky, angelia perkins, justin kelly and all the others who helped read, format and edit!

extra special thanks to martha oldham, arla jones and the lhs library staff for hosting our work!!

enjoy,

mr. p.

lawrence high school online press 2002

all poets and photographers retain copyright on each piece;

any reproduction without consent of the artist is strictly forbidden

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