Student poetry

Association of California School Administrators

By Various Authors | May | June 2022

UNTITLED

It started as a whisper Fluttering through the halls Drifting from person to person Murmurs of what’s to come It started as a whisper Gaining traction Small numbers, but lethal Fear of what’s to come It started as a whisper It got louder and louder Ears ringing and pulse rushing Every day worse things to come It started as a whisper Questions of when it would end Hopelessness and loss Who knows what’s to come I know what’s to come It returns with a whisper Creeping words of normalcy I know it will not end in a whisper We know what’s to come We see the television screens We see the line growing higher, higher Taller than before They know what’s to come They see the same things we do They do not change their policy They will not listen to the whisper It started with a whisper And ended... with a bang?

Clover McKenna Izzo attends school in the Oak Park Unified School District

Thank You, Coronavirus

No school, wahoo! Two weeks of no work Very sudden and random, but no school, so that’s a perk Little did I know, the 2 years of isolation and stress And fights for equality through mobs of protests Feeling isolated, yet not being fully alone Seeing the same faces daily, only within my home Many phases from boredom, like Tiktok and biking Mental health went down hill, instead of rising The famous George Floyd started many conversations Racial prejudice created rightful frustrations Masked up, while on a fight for equality “BLM” and “Stop Asian Hate” because of racist monstrosities School starting again, but this time, online Being distracted, bored, and unmotivated combined Seeing teachers and classmates through a lifeless screen Not the most desired way to turn thirteen Finally learning my privilege of being healthy physically Seeing the impact of treating people equally Will never take people for granted because of this crisis You’ve taught me so much; Thank you, Coronavirus

Matthea Zhang is a freshman at Oak Park High School in the Oak Park Unified School District

Isolation

I always try to survive all of those Sleepless, restless, nights When you feel all alone Even when you are home Do you wonder why Your body is tired but won’t even try Or attempt to shut down Would you rather just drown In your thoughts and feelings Which will come back and sock you in the stomach When your already in pain Will it drive you insane Or will you learn to tame The beast that is Isolation

Kate Levy attends Oak Park High School in the Oak Park Unified School District

6 feet away

1 foot away Something I took for granted 2 feet away And the distance between us had doubled 3 feet away And we had begun to panic But why? 4 feet away And we accepted our fate It was something we had not quite understood Something that we had no knowledge of 5 feet away and I called for your name My voice filled with grief and confusion Despite the distance between us We were painfully close But the danger was thought to be revoked 6 feet away A length so great We could not navigate the new normal And as my heart pounded with fear No one was there to hear

Nikki Cheng attends Oak Park High School in the Oak Park Unified School District

The COVID life

Every day waking up startled Tired and sleepy Birds singing loud And the sun shining proud. Retrieving my notes Watching the time Following it like a hawk I don’t let it out of my sight Joining in Hearing the lessons Seated close by As the voices mix in my mind Clock whirling around Not even noticing So intrigued in the lessons getting lost in time The hours of listening My ears start aching The quietness of the surroundings But only the computer is talking It is wide awake Glistening with light Brightening up the room When everything else is dark Nothing moving No dust floating by Only me and the screen With pictures gliding by Times of boredom Quickly followed by work Finishing it all Because that is just how I work With nothing open Shut down from Covid No where to go And no friends to see Stuck to electronics And facetime you see Explaining our classes And our bottomless boredom Seeing people on screens Was everyday fun Living in every moment Before it was done Night seeps through the windows My alarm gets set Drifting into nothingness Then waking up and doing it all again.

Sascha Golove attends Oak Park High School in the Oak Park Unified School District