elementia issue 13
Writing
Crimson and Blue
By Gus BrandmeyerThere is crimson and blue on the floors,
Where the players shoot, shoot, shoot, and score,
In the stands the crowd cheers,
For all of Lawrence to hear,
Basketball is in our DNA,
Ever since James Nai,
Searching for Starry Night
By Guanghao YuWhen I look into the lonely night sky,
I am reminded of yesterday’s passion.
Didn’t the stars fill the sky last night?
Didn’t your face reflect
The radiance of the moon?
We made music in the air, dancing
Under heaven’s light.
Parting Gift
By Guanghao YuGive me an unagitated evening,
where I could sleep-walk
under a light rose-petal sky,
and arrive at your door,
40 miles away,
just in time for dinner.
Colorado Green
By Guanghao YuHave you seen her? You must have seen her,
she’s one of the trees, with all the rain
that she can bear:
Eye color? Colorado green.
Hair color? The evening sun.
Don’t mistake her voice
for the hidden opal stream.
A Writer's Rhythm
By Gabrielle BrazzellSometimes all it takes is
A lyric of a song
A fragment of a conversation
A moment captured in a photograph
Then suddenly there you are
Using whatever you can
Napkins, paper, your own skin
Praise Poem
By Ethan HermanI believe that I am tasty Hershey Bar.
I’m 4'11" and, I think I’m as tall at the great big Redwood tree.
I’m as handsome as a daisy.
When fall comes it brings multi-colored leaves that are the best to look at.
I believe that I’m a great big shiny star.
Hollow
By Emily WilkinsonI am in love with a girl… who is afraid of breakfast,
who brews coffee in the morning like gasoline feeding a starving engine.
Her fingers dance around the machinery of her waist out of step with reality.
Forever in Paradise
By Emily SteinmetzNot all passion is love or an action,
it is a feeling and can be full of hatred.
The enemies of which we seek,
the monsters that we associate in our dreams are stuck within our heads.
The Walk On
By Daniel MarkiewiczThe fans knew it was the end
Their championship hopes were looking as bleak as a stormy night
As the star player fell down in fear
There was a crack that was clear
For his leg bone was fractured with an ambulance near
If Only it Wasn't a Dream
By Christopher MooreI can hear the loud silence
coming from the 100s of seats.
The pristine Steinway grand sits right in front of me.
I touch the black bench and feel its leathery surface.
I sit down and realize
幽玄 (yūgen)
By Catherine Strayhallthe moment that i lost him/i threw my belongings into my backpack/grabbed my hiking boots, and headed/to the great appalachian trail/where each step i took/over the dusty earth/reminded me/of growing up//i heard my dad/in my best memories/speaking/breathing/as he walked tall beside me/and constan
Falling Asleep to the Brown Line L
By Catherine StrayhallChicago, my beauty;
Chicago, my heart.
Chicago, the deep breath of
Every morning I start.
Chicago, my summer;
Chicago, my light.
Chicago, the way her buildings
Shine in the night.
Gold Medal
By Carolyn NussThe diver and the coach as still as a rock
Because the diver failed her dive because she balked
The coach’s eyes were filled disappointment and fear
But do not worry she will better next year
She will be better next year
Battle Wounds
By Caroline KoenigSometimes things happen
It is a part of life
But no one said it would be this hard
Take her back to the start
In the beginning it was all fun and games
The Definition of Friends
By Caitlyn MumawThe dictionary defines a “friend” as “a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.”
So are they homework answers?
Project partners?
A list of names?
None of the above.
New definition:
The Greatness of Maritza Paul
By Arthur NewbyI know you tell me to write about myself
But I am not the one who deserves to have his ego coaxed
My mom, Maritza Paul is the one
The greatest woman that has ever been
Starting off with almost nothing
And rising to be the queen
elegance and harmony
By Anonymousmy fingers rest above the piano
and their shadows trace my presence
upon its ivory white keys. i
inhale, my fingers rising gently, and i
exhale, pushing into the keys,
ringing several notes at a time.
Midnight Light Switch
By AnonymousThe initial absolute of "black"
fizzes out; reds and blues and shapes pulse
with every beat of your racing heart.
You can feel her hands, see the basic outline of them,
of her shoulders, her curved collarbone.
As you reach for her -
Beginning // End
By Allison GliesmanToday, I am the only song you’ve ever known all the words to. I am the first person who ever meant it and the last thought you can manage before you close your eyes. You look at me, and all you see is light. You look at me, blinded, and you tell me you’re the happiest person alive.
the world of song
By Alice CristThe world of song is like a gentle stroke of a paint brush on a canvas creating what ever beautiful creation you desire.
Ode to Saxophone
By Ali RobinsonI awaken you from your slumber,
as I slide you out of your safe, velvet bed.
I ask you to help me play the tunes
that dance around in my head.
I taste the sweet cleanser that resides on your reed,
as I dampen it,
when it all fell apart
By Abbey Kelleyhe wouldn’t meet her eyes
when he told her that he met someone,
suggesting they take a break to figure themselves out.
“but I love you,” she said over the lump in her throat,
eyes burning with unshed tears.
“there’s nothing for me to figure out.”
it's real with her
By Abbey Kelleymy laughter quieted
when she looked at me.
there hasn't been anyone else in the world
who makes me as still as she does,
because her eyes sparkle even when
she's frowning,
and she I know she can see