Slowly rises the pink dragon of dawn
Shooting flames from her maw in a waking yawn
Churning up whisps of fog from her nostrils, she sighs
Raising a rainbow belly to greet the too early skies

It's time for a tale of my school's counseling system
And how it effects the students within
So to all of the counselors who ask "why don't they come to us?":
Here are the stories we take to the bus

First of all, it happens that you're never in
And without you there, how will they talking begin?
We get that you're also the hall monitors
But the way things are, you won't even let us be heard

And honestly, don't even get me started
On the stories students had once they departed

I had a friend, C, who's a bisexual girl
And, of course, that yields problems in this world
In middle school she dated another girl
In the "oh my gosh, we're holding hands" sense of the word
And one day, when it became all too much
C told her counselor about the dating and such
A day later, C and her bae were called in
And, I should note here, bae's parents saw the rainbow as sin
Turns out the counselor had told both their parents
That their girls were dating, despite the problems apparent
After that C never saw bae again
And that is how counselors treated my friend

My bestie, S, had many problems at home
She would avoid being stabbed by running outside into the snow
So one day she went to talk mental health
But her counselor gave her something else
When S, a philosophical joker, mused the meaning of life
The counselor told her it wasn't worth the strife
The woman told her that she had not place on this earth
And general statements that were all rather dearth
And S thought as she walked out an away
"What if somebody suicidal walked in today?
At least that's not any kind of issue for me."
And that's how our counselors treated my bestie

The final anecdote is a bit personal:
I'm the girl who did this, after all
Things had been getting more tense at my house
My mom's shouting outbursts made me want to vanish like a mouse
Even on a vacation to Virginia Beach
These problems always happened to be within reach
And afterward my mom would try to make things smooth
But her words only made me more and more confused
So I went to Mr. R after months of stressing
Hoping I could find solutions to a problem that was pressing
He told me I should be honest with my mother:
That I should tell her I saw as terrifying what she saw as a bother
So I did just that in the late afternoon
Wishing it to work, but not raising my hopes so soon
And of course my words fell on deaf ears
My mom told me I was irrational for my fears
And later still, in future nights and future fights
My mom had a new verbal weapon: yelling at me for my fright
Saying "don't you cry, I'm not hitting you"
It took me the rest of the year to figure out what I could do

But there is one thing that I hold dear
Given to me by my counsellors here
For if my counselor hadn't said that to me
You wouldn't be reading the poems you see
My way of dealing with my problems was verse
At first in note margins, than this site on the virtual universe

So to all you counselors who asked why students never come to you:
We've found other places to do what we need to

"Another day
And another mass shooting
In America"

When will we notice?
When will this be the headline:

"Another day
Since the last mass shooting
In the world"?

The ink on my palms
Realistic dripping cuts
But in blue and black

Instead of red blood
Art, poetry, and music
Flow in my mind's eye

She looked at the river, the sea, and the sky
At the birds and people who flew on by
As the city's population ran back to the mountain pass
She calmly strolled into the growing cloud of gas

Donning her mask and gloves, she went in
Looking at the mirrored walls, she sighed "so it begins"
She knew she couldn't get things to how they were before
She wondered if Rai would recognize her anymore

Walking past the holograms, she threw her rainbow curls back
She kept the same pace by the graffiti and the tracks
She reached city center and saw humanity's bane
Looking up at the studio's screen, she called out her name

"Rai!" She called out, keeping the same tone
The girl materialized like a game on a phone
Keeping her gaze steady, she said "it's time to stop"
Hoping that her voice reached silent Rockefeller's top

Rai turned around, eyes betraying suprise
Immediately recognizing her friend under the guise
"But why, Naomi" she said, sounding like a vocaloid song
Putting her lenses down she asked "Did I do something wrong?"

Biting her lip and doging with her eyes
Naomi said "I know you didn't mean to, Rai"
"Oh" said the A.I., putting everything on the ground,
"I just wanted to make cameras, but now I've let everyone down"

Naomi climbed and jumped fire escapes, her legs strong and spry
Until she was next to Rai's screen in the sky
Her reddish skin contrasting with the sky's blue
She touched the screen and said "Hey, I've ****** up like that, too."

"Why do you think that I nearly blew up California with my tech?
So we made huge mistakes that humanity probably regrets
But we stopped in time and never actually killed a guy
So let's stop here and go back home, Rai."

The girl nodded along, making sure to listen
Then she packed away all of the lenses as they glistened
"Ok, Naomi, I'll see you back at home
Before I go, do you need me to change out the telescope's dome?"

"If it looks bad" said Naomi, descending to the ground
The gas had disappeared, so there was quite a crowd
As the citizens and police came back to the city
All Naomi could think was "How could I even explain this to a jury?"

Whoever said "the truth will set you free"
Never had secrets like you or like me

"You shouldn't be afraid unless you have something to hide"
Excuse me for trying to choose who gets to see my mind
"I see your Facebook, and I'm allowed to look at whatever I want anyway"
Well, in that decision, I didn't exactly have a say

¿Como se llama?
Creo que es "Ecuador"
Porque usted es
Muy calor

Why do you insist
On insulting my friends
I'm wondering if the complaints
Will ever end

When will you stop
Mocking and making fun of
The celebrities and characters
Whom I follow and love

And I understand that
You have your own point of view
And you wouldn't like them
But I am not you

And I understand that
You might just need to blow air
But your comments leave me wondering
If you really even care

Because what if I agreed
With them more than you
What if I had traits in common with them
Then what would you do

Would you still accept me
Just as I am
Or would you turn me away
Like a criminal on the lamb

From ashes to ashes, and so from stardust to stardust
Despite the harsh stasis, a mind of wanderlust
From black holes to aliens to a history of time
We bid farewell to a man of great mind

I've always found it bizzare
How people describe brutality
As animalistic

Did animals create
The nuclear missile
Showers of zyklon B
The middle passage
The inquisition
The gladiator games?

No, these horrors
Are purely man-made

This brutality
Is not animalistic
It is human.

I think everyone has been self conscious
When it comes to how we view our body
How could we not, with all of the images
That we see online and on the T.V.?

For me, what helped with my view of my bodice
(Though it might seem quite weird)
Is that I could've been greek goddess
Like the statues in which they appeared

People often speak
Of mankind and nature
As two separate things

But the way I see it
We are not opposites
But rather complimentary colors in the wheel

People often talk of natural beauty
Or man-made art
But I find it more beautiful
When the two mix

picture this:
The sun is rising over a marsh
Against the vibrant hues lies the silhouette
Of a shuttle on the launch pad
Sleek, modern, impressive
But yet, not intrusive
Rather, complimentary in its juxtaposition
And its coexistence

People act as though wilderness and civilization
Can't coexist, as if they are at war
I'm fact, we both need each othe
And through our shared past and planet
We are one and the same

Lately I've been wondering
If the truth is really worth it
If my curiosity really paid off

Was it better to be innocent
Or to be informed?

But I've realized something:

No matter what I find out
Wether knowing was really worth it in the end
I still try to find out

Even knowing
That my curiosity has revealed
Things I didn't always like
I still find myself
Snooping and digging around
Again and again
Success or failure
Answer or only uncertainty
I keep finding myself trying again

Because my curiosity
Is instinctual
And for better or worse
I can only be
A curious little cat

Fake malware warnings
Are the most annoying thing
(To me) on the web

Don't tell me of eternity
I doubt I could ever know
For the girl you see before thee
Was raised on touch-and-go

I only know a nomadic way
Of moving from city to city
My four years here will be my longest stay
In my entire life's story

I know that people will go as well
Friendships fade in but two months
Even family grows old, as I can tell
That the same people change under the sun

So don't tell me of forever
In a gated Hollywood paradise
An eternal feast and fanfare
Under great paternal eyes

Don't tell me of eternal voids
A perpetual nonexistence
A world with no light or noise
An eternal nonsensation

Don't tell me of eternal hell
A forever unchanging war
A torment I can not tell
To others whom I care for

Because, Mi amore, I don't need
A stagnant, unchanging world
I just need change, like sand into pearls
Or a woman growing from a girl

Do you ever drive
By a city or town in the dead of night
And wonder
About the people within?

How many are in debt from school?
How many have gone to bed with the love of their life?
How many are trying to hide family troubles behind locked doors?
Is the world's next Einstein in there?
Hollywood's next rising star?
How many go to bed afraid of coming out to their friends?
How many have some buds they'd die for in that town?
How many struggle day in and out, fleeing from a substance?
How many go through a routine each day, afraid to do more but afraid of leaving their path?
How many jot down ideas for that play they want to write on a napkin?
Is there a future president in there?
A poet of unparalleled verse?

How many people
Go from day to day in that city
Thinking they're alone in their problems
While surrounded by people who also think that?

What's going on
In those unlit houses of the city
Where the human mind resides?

Who's there?

it's not the bustling city
with its massive modernity
and ever present life.
it's not the mountains
with their wild, untamed nature
and their way of making towns look small.
but something stands to be said
for the way the highways curve
into a mall complex
designed to look pleasing,
And for the way millions of cars
and parents and children
manage to fit together like a puzzle
so one can drop her youngest off
run errands with her eldest
and be home in time for her favorite evening programs.

So this, readers and friends
Is where it began
I don't know where it ends
But let's look back again

A fourteen year old is writing
In a hospital room
Far her right in bright lighting
Is great-grandma, who'll die soon

She has few memories of her
As she wonders about home
Nonni keeps asking mother
Not to leave the girls alone

Now we're back in the hospital
On some Pennsylvanian hill
Thirty five family members in total
Nonni's more than ill

Christmas day, and we're at a friend's house
When we hear that final call
A week later, I'm at a funeral, sounding like a mouse
For someone I nearly didn't know at all

Looking back, that was the start
Of most of my questions
On society, religion, art
What the rules really ment

I found a taste for the books
That mom didn't like
I expanded my looks
Gained interest in the night

I started growing apart
From those I once knew
With secrets in my heart
My friends were my closest few

I learned more about a family
That I once thought typical
And (mostly) solved my belifs
On the meaning of "it all"

I look back on the before
As though regarding a cat
It's cute innocence I adore
I find it hard to believe I was that

I still have that Christmas blanket
A snow leopard, her last gift
For a woman I saw maybe four or five times, it
Still has a nice warmth to it

So sometimes I dream of a mint hospital wall
And think back to the start of it all

Coming through arches and glass
Out with your bags, inspected fast
Under a tree in a garden's sun
Read out the rules to everyone
Tell us how to drive safe as kids
Homilize on the things people did
Over and done, we get our cards
Useful for work or for fun
Seems like only yesterday
Everyone had to ask 'rents for a way

My best trick ever
Is hiding crazy mischief
As part of my mind

My second best trick
Was putting sprinkles in the
Peanut butter jar

Eros
Someone who tastes like
Ramune and Faygo, smells
Like Shenandoah

Mania
Waiting for six months
Only to find that you are
Eighteen and fourteen

Philia
Eyes just like snowmelt
Soft, cool, and fresh in the spring
Small signs of some hope

Ludus
A homecoming dance
Bumping bodies in a crowd
When your date ditches

Agape
The news surrounds us
Against suburban ap'thy
We are fighting back

Storge
Speaking of the sea
Advanced chemistry, and of
Secrets kept from mom

Pragma
One year of dating
But the sun and earth go back
Farther than we do

Philautia
Maybe we'll see it
Like a rose blooming forth from
Torrential blizzards

Life is like
A buret of acid
In a high school lab

It slowly drips away, imperceptibly at first
But then it's suddenly gone

Sometimes, a careless student
Will unhinge the stopcock completely
And the life will pour out quickly

Sometimes, someone will be clumsy
And knock the buret from the stand
Breaking it in the middle
And the life will drain out
All at once
Spattering all over the counter

And in the end
Wether the reaction was magnificent
Or mundane
Those around the buret will take note
Write up their lab reports
And the buret will be one of the many
Random memories
Of a class and year
That passed too quickly

It's suburbia
When the dogs start howling with
Ambulance sirens

I aspire to be
Both brave and smart
To have the wit of a fox
And a thundering heart

I yearn to become
Both kind and tough
The girl who's nice
But doesn't mind being rough

I wish I were
What I aspire to be
But the path to my goal
Is one I can't see

Little blue marble
Hurtling through outer space
With lone yellow star

Wind in my hair
I stretch my legs
Smell food in the air
count the lamppost pegs
a breezy, misty morning
boys playing ball
seagulls give storm warnings
we've got fourteen hours in all
play fights in the lot
before the night's coaches
the buffet's only got
moments before the crowd encroaches
only minutes before the breakfast buffet
and a tour of the city later today

I wonder if my life
And all of its things
Is held up by
A set of strings
It just seems to me
That every day
Someone else
Is deciding my ways
I wonder if
I am really me
Or if someone else
Decides who I'll be

And I wonder if
I'll lose this bet
And remain
A marionette
I wonder if
I should be this way
Or if it's better
To break away

What I wonder most
In all of these things
Who is the one
Pulling these strings
Is it someone close
Or a large crowd
That keeps me from saying
What I wish to aloud

And I wonder if
I'll lose this bet
And remain
A marionette
I wonder if
I should be this way
Or if it's better
To break away

If I break these strings
Will I crash as I fall
Or will I learn
To fly above it all

And I wonder if
I'll lose this bet
And remain
A marionette
I wonder if
I should be this way
Or if it's better
To break away

It's easy to say
You'd take a bullet for a friend
When no one has
A gun held up to their head

For all of my coastie dad's wisdom
My summers spent learning to sail
My affinity for swimming since I was three
The countless snorkeling trips
The hours spent in canoes and kayaks
The trips paddle boarding and whitewater rafting
Somehow
I'm still petrified
By the rushing numbered current
Of a digital stream

Just take me to the stars
So brilliant and so bright
What we were, what we are
Let's learn it all tonight

Let's fly up on past mars
From where we ran away
Healing Homeworld's old scars
We'll take you there someday

Yes, we come from the stars
But now we can't go back
Least not to open arms
For fear of an attack

But one day we'll show you
That land from where we came
But know that once we do
Things will not be the same

So let's go to the stars
Like diamonds in the sky
What we were, what we are
Up in a ship on high

The hunter runs after his prey, and then
It leaps forth into the stary night, which
Swallows it up to be part of it when
The hunter finds their chase to be unhitched
Around the entire globe, we find
That we all have some commonalities
We all have something in the human mind
That reflects our common realities
We chased our prey, only to find that it
Had taken off for the celestial
With our knack for storytelling and wit
We had made star pictures and festivals
It oddly speaks to our human nature
That our stories can become much greater

I imagine this
feels somewhat like flying away
over a dark plane

Black swans and roses
And debonair dark hose
What the conductor says
Is how the music goes

Night's magic abounds
Students horse around
Then the music plays
And it's silent on the grounds

Spotlights make auras
Players dance through the stanzas
The night's nearly out
At the end of the codas

The kids run off the stage
Never losing a page
With the March air about
The swans act of their age

You know
This would actually be
Kind of a fun game
If I hadn't already run a mile and a half
If I actually liked sports
And if I weren't afraid of being decapitated
By an airborne soccer ball

In our world, it's hard
To tell truth from the lies
When everyone just says
Whatever people will buy

When TV creates
Unreal reality
They compromise truth
For what people want to see

Honest, serious programs
Are frequently unnoticed
So reporters only show
What clickbait puts in focus

But I have hope
That this problem will be fixed
For there are still those who care
For news in a reality midst

Some of your stories are daft
But some will give you a fright
Much like "the Russian Sleep Experiment"
Which I just read tonight

In today's complex world
Full of questions and hazards
Where some voices go unheard
And people have conflicting standards
Sometimes I wish
That for a little time
I could be less human-ish
And more canine

I could run like crazy
And bark like a dog
And after hours of playing
I'd skeep like a log

I could jump and yip
As a clever little fox
With agility and wit
I could skip over rocks

I could join the chase
As a strong hunting wolf
In an open, starry space
I could just howl and woof

Somedays I'd like
To be of genus Canis
For I'd enjoy being doglike
When humanity gets on my wits

Does everyone do this, or is it just me
That sometimes I love a celebrity
Because whenever they show up on T.V.
I'm reminded of someone I used to see

Waves crash over me
As the fish swim and I sink
Weightless and blissfull

I swim up above
Wrapped in sea foam and seaweed
My world is at peace

Wakey wakey
Big mistakey

I attempt to pay attention to the events
But no mater how hard I try
I understand sports as well as
A penguin trying to fly

But I really do love this event
That comes once every four years
Because with all that goes on in the world
Global cooperation like this is music to my ears

We have
Some of the highest test scores
Some of the highest placing graduates
Some of the more expensive neighborhoods
And our teams and ensembles
Are nationaly recognized

We also have
At least one trafficking incident in every school
At least one suicide per school per year
Drug deals so rampant every student has seen one by the time they graduate
Fights in the hallway almost every day
And school counselors who can tell you all about what classes you're best suited for
But who can't give halfway decent advice for life

Once I saw a leprechaun, and he gave me a wish
I thought I'd travel to every satellite dish
Just so you know, I wished to dance with the stars
And ever since then, I've been orbiting with mars

I wake up early
the tropical squall outside
turns the beach blue-grey

outside our hotel
the bay looks rather bizarre
so quiet and still

I get dressed quickly
we pack our bags just as fast
glancing at the paper

we check out quickly
before realizing that we
still had three hours left

so we drive downtown
past the tropical art deco
to get some breakfast

two empanadas
tea for me, coffee for you
watching the local news

there's not really anywhere
where we can go for an hour
and be back in time

so you just drive 'round
I guess this seems strange because
It's usually busy

Streets filled with tourists
spring breakers and the partiers
are now near silent

a wet, grey Sunday
the streets no longer bustling
we wait to meet mom