Poems from Humboldt County

By MARELBU, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53754719

Yellow?
 
 Yellow, the color of happiness and hope.
 It’s what makes the sweet honeysuckles so inviting,
 but it’s also what makes the sun so intimidating.
 Yellow, a bright, fragile song, whispering in the waves,
 but also a bitter, impatient lemon.
 Yellow feels like water, it has so many ways,
 sometimes it’s cold and numb, sometimes it’s burning
 so hot it gives you blisters, sometimes it’s a refreshing
 trickle or mist. Yellow, without touch, soothes your
  wounds,
 or makes them worse. Its unpredictable, ever-changing
 self is sweet on the outside, broken on the
 inside. Yellow hides spicy secrets and holds impossible
 grudges. As confident as yellow may
 seem, sometimes it hates being a lemon or
 a sunflower. Yellow wants to change, and stop
 living in the shadow of gold, stop being called
 a gold wannabe. Yellow wishes she were
 a furious, bold red, or an optimistic
 orange, or a lonely, underestimated blue, or,
 or, even a vomit green! That disgusting
 color of jealousy would be better than yellow!
 At least that’s what yellow would think.
 Yellow doesn’t understand its beauty and grace,
 or what joy it spreads.
 
 Naeva Wilke, 6th Grade
 Skyfish School, Humboldt
 Pete Harrison, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Hello I’m Helix.
 Extended kisses is what I have.
 Lick lick.
 I’m Milo’s dog.
 X out cats!
 
 Milo Boyer, 2nd Grade
 Dow’s Prairie Elementary School, Humboldt
 Jenny Ramos, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 
 Geode Can Mean Ode
 
 You are the earth made of life,
 You are a poem crazy and cool,
 You are the other half’s wife,
 You feel like the walls of a pool.
 
 When you’re in the sun,
 You glimmer and shine,
 You look fun,
 But you are not mine.
 
 You belong to earth,
 You saw the world,
 On the day of your birth,
 Then you curled.
 
 Hailey Trone, 3rd Grade
 Hydesville Elementary School, Humboldt
 Rachael Riggs, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 Gone (a poem on global warming)
 
 Life will change soon.
 So will the colors.
 Red, the wilting flower that sits in front of me,
 the one that used to bring me hope.
 Orange, all the Halloweens I spent trick-or-treating
 with my friends and family.
 Yellow, accepting people the way they are.
 Green, the trees that would sway in the wind.
 Blue, the waves tickling my feet as I lay on
  the shoreline.
 Purple, reminding me that it’s coming.
 Black, to the dark hole of all our memories.
 They’re all gone. Gone.
 
 Lula Andrae, 6th Grade
 Garfield School, Humboldt
 Alaina Kelley, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 I Don’t Know
 
 I don’t know what’s inside of me but every
 second I feel like it’s snowing outside
 and I’m inside with my friends
 and family sipping heated cocoa and
 watching a nice movie it’s
 like a fair with fun rides and
 candy floss and mini donuts it feels
 like a burning summer day at
 camp it’s like a sleepover
 with your best friend doing your
 favorite things it’s like the end of
 school activities it’s like a birthday
 pie it’s like when you actually get
 math it’s sledding down a snowy hill
 it’s anything but bad.
 
 Phaedra Steadman, 4th Grade
 Whitethorn Elementary School, Humboldt
 Elizabeth Ballou, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Baby Blue
 
 See what Baby Blue
 can do. He is as cool
 as a Lamborghini. He feels
 like a diamond as tall as
 a pyramid. He says he
 is ready for another poem.
 He is as calm as an
 everyday time. He moves
 like a cheetah getting its
 food taken away. He tastes
 like an ice cream sandwich.
 Baby Blue wants to be
 baby new. I wonder
 what else Baby Blue
 can do. Probably more than
 you.
 
 Davey Hipes, 2nd Grade
 Ambrosini Elementary School, Humboldt
 René Brown, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Book
 
 I am a book dropping. The kind
 that can see the monsters in you. The one
 book that can read you instead of you reading
 it. I’m no original book perhaps I’m
 not a book at all maybe I’m a dream. A musical
 dream that doesn’t play music at all. Or I’m
 a wish that people have seen never before.
 A wish that could fly away close my eyes
 get lost in a secret place no one will find.
 
 Baylee Carpenter, 5th Grade
 Peninsula Elementary School, Humboldt
 Tess Yinger & Linda Stewart, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Remember When
 
 Remember when you had so much
 fun shaking with joy.
 Remember when you were
 scared you were shivering
 hoping that it would just end.
 Remember when you were
 alone and then you felt
 like you could never fit in.
 Remember when you just
 found that friend that could keep
 you company.
 Remember when you saw the
 real world for the first
 time.
 Remember when you were crying
 on your parent’s shoulder
 and your parent helped you.
 Even if you think things are
 just left forgotten, please remember
  when.
 
 Isaiah Case, 4th Grade
 Morris Elementary School, Humboldt
 Melika Huneke, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 life, time, Death and the ocean
 
 life time Death roll all the
 same ways they feed off the
 ocean they breathe in the ocean’s
 mist life time and Death also
 copy it life rises as the way
 the ocean waves do the ocean
 repeats so does time Death crashes
 down upon the living the
 way the waves crash and break
 the coral
 
 River Mattole, 6th Grade
 Mattole School, Humboldt
 Kevin Vesely, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 Elodia Blows
 
 She glows and feels rough
 She tastes like sorrow
 She hears you when you scream
 She sounds like a baby crying
 She moves like a zombie
 She is always angry at you
 She knows what we did
 She tries to fix it
 We ruined her life
 
  ELODIA
  Lost
 everyOne
  During
  fIres
  And global warming
 
 Avin Clow, 3rd Grade
 Mattole School, Humboldt
 Nick Tedesco, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 Earth Speak Up
 
 I am old to
 some young
 to others. I’m the weight
 of the world. Am
 I trash. Do I matter. I
 keep heaven and
 hell at
 peace. While you’re sleeping
 I keep
 moving. Don’t put
 trash in
 my
 ocean. Don’t keep hurting me. Don’t
 play your war games anymore.
 Speak up earth and I
 will answer your
 call.
 
 Madison Weaver, 4th Grade
 Trillium Charter School, Humboldt
 Aly Lescht, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Why Cut Me Down?
 
 The redwood forest knows, feels,
 and sees.
 
 When the redwood moans he
 whispers, when he whispers he
 sings, when he sings he says, “Why
 cut me doooown?
 I just want to be a home
 and help you breathe.”
 
 Then one day I heard him singing
 this song while I was getting ready
 to cut him down.
 
 When the redwood tree starts singing
 I wonder and imagine what
 it would be like to be a redwood
 tree having to deal with people
 trying to cut me down every day!
 
 When the redwood sings once more
 I think if he can sing he is
 alive.
 
 The redwood forest knows,
 feels, and sees.
 When the redwood moans he
 whispers, when he whispers he
 sings.
 
 Aurelia Stage, 4th Grade
 Orleans Elementary School, Humboldt
 Shelly Slusser, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 Thirst for Sound
 
 I wish I could hear your eyes’ voice.
 The way they roar when you’re excited.
 How.
 When your passion comes up in a conversation
 they scream.
 I wish I could hear your mind’s life beat.
 How when you’re drawing, creativity gives
 your ideas.
 Oxygen.
 I wish I could hear your blood travelling.
 Every beat the cells are bouncing. When
 you’re angry the road is.
 Popping.
 I wish I could hear your smile
 forming.
 Knowing you’re happy is comforting
 and if you were forcing to show
 your teeth I will know because.
 The sound.
 It would be different.
 I wish I could hear the universe
 speaking.
 
 Adriana Cutsall, 9th Grade
 Redwood Writing Project, Young Writers Camp, Humboldt
 Marsha Mielke, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 In 100 Years (after “A Hundred Years from Now” by David Shumate)
 
 What’s going on? How’s everything?
 Is the tundra still there? Has
 cancer been cured? Please tell me?!
 Are there new animals? new fruits,
 vegetables, races? I’m hoping it’s about the
 same, better. I’m leaving
 you knowledge, right now May 26,
 2016 we have an election, Donald
 Trump, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton.
 Do you remember this? Polar bears are almost
 extinct, the tundra is melting, send help.
  —100 years ago
 
 Anaiyah Yemaya, 6th Grade
 McKinleyville Middle School, Humboldt
 Lizzie Dostal, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Why
 
 Questions fall out of thoughts like
 asteroids falling out of the sky. Questions come
 out that have no response as some have no
 meaning. I have gone ill of these wonders
 as they come at me like an attack, as I age.
 
  Why Why Why
  don’t do ain’t
  bears people I a
  fly? exist? horse?
 
 In
  my reason.
  perspective no
  these have
  questions
 
 So why do they keep on paying treason?
 
 Lying under the stars I doze, then the
 answer soaks into me!
  WHY
  NOT?!
 
 Asa Ryce, 4th Grade
 Skyfish School, Humboldt
 Sean Anderson and Ella Early, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Black
 
 My heart is black like a panther,
 my eyes are red like a monster,
 I feel strong like burning fire,
 I will never stop following the
 sun, I will follow the sun until
 I die, I will not stop until my
 feet turn brown, I will die when
 the wolf sees me, I will turn into
 the ocean, the sound of my voice sounds
 like dead waves, I will look
 for the sun, I will never stop
 following the sun, you will see
 me everywhere you go, you
 will see fish jump up, that will
 be me or my friend.
 
 Elijah Valentine Estrada, 4th Grade
 Washington Elementary School, Humboldt
 Sarah Drisko, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 My Twisted Love,
  Anxiety
 
 I’m a shaky hand,
 A stuttered word,
 A desert in your mouth,
 A pounding heart,
 A wobbling stance,
 The cold in your chest,
 yet the heat of your face
 I’m the dark spots in your eyes
 getting closer, and closer,
 as your throat closes,
 and your vision darkens, and blurs
 I’m the thud
 of your head
 hitting the ground
 the embarrassment afterwards,
 our bestest friend
 I’m Anxiety
 and NOTHING will keep me from you,
 my love
 
 Gabrielle Bakotich, 12th Grade
 East High School, Humboldt
 Jen Femenella, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 Blind
 
 Even if it makes me blind,
 I just want to see the light.
 But the shadows hold me back,
 like I am a dog on a black leash.
 I struggle, then turn around and
 face the shadows with a white smile.
 I stay out of the rain, so the smile
 will not run.
 
 Maddy Estes, 6th Grade
 McKinleyville Middle School, Humboldt
 Anne Hartline, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Desperation
 
 Desperation is a wild card flashing reds and greens.
 
 It tastes like leftovers from
 other people’s meals. An orange peel, half
 of a banana, stale bread crust thrown out
 by the wealthy to rot in barrels and
 jars, but the hunger is always there and will never leave.
 
 Desperation lives in the empty
 stomachs of starved Jews in
 concentration camps.
 
 Desperation wears things stolen from
 the innocent and looted from the
 graves of children who died before their time.
 
 Desperation feeds on pain and hunger and regret.
 
 It whispers words of encouragement
 to thieves, it never really leaves.
 It lingers in the minds of the poor
 and up the wealthy’s sleeves.
 
 Connor Olson, 8th Grade
 Blue Lake School, Humboldt
 Ann Lawlor, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 The Definition of Living Art
 
 My family is like poetry
 We work together like a complete poem
 We think with one reflex and are exquisitely descriptive
  Like acrostics
 We know when to give each other breaks
  Like stanzas
 We can be weird and goofy but get the point across
  Like limericks
 But we can also be serious and help each other like
 free verse
 We know no limit and we’re honest with each other
  Much like poetry
 
 Kaileigh Moore, 12th Grade
 Willow Brook High School Learning Center, Humboldt
 Mark Blackwood, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 This poem appears in WHERE ANIMALS MOVE LIKE PLANETS, 2016 Statewide Anthology

 Shade & Shadow
 
 The shade, the small pockets
 of night, trapped in the sunlight.
 Cover of thieves, murderers, and
 sunburnt people too.
 Realm of shadows,
 who waltz in the
 night.
 
 The shadow migrates into the
 shade in the daytime. The shadow’s
 skin is delicate, it can easily
 burn. They cling onto cover, anything
 it might be. Waiting patiently . . .
 patiently . . . patiently . . . Until at last . . .
 The sun has dusked, and moon has
 dawned.
 Music plays, footfalls quake, singing
 and chanting wake.
 
 Julia Calkins, 7th Grade
 Murphy Elementary School, Humboldt
 Amy Gossien, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Default Purposes
 
 I like to imagine humans as IKEA pieces
 
 Nuts, bolts and fastened plywood we are
 
 We get pounded into our purposes
 
 One’s purpose might be a hinge to a door
 holding it together
 
 The other would be a door
 taking credit for everything the hinge has done
 
 Others may be a drawer
 holding new purposes
 
 A sink’s purpose is to wash away
 the bad purposes
 
 At one point in our lifetime
 
 We will have a screwdriver in our head
 
 One 360 after another
 we will be closer to our purpose
 
 Emma Fechner, 8th Grade
 Blue Lake School, Humboldt
 Ann Lawlor, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 The Untold Story of a Half Written Novel
 
 I am a book
 half unwritten,
 but still on the shelf.
 I’m small,
 full of mistakes,
 and always being edited.
 My story so far
 is full of loss,
 and hurt,
 but I must keep moving on.
 I fear that I am forgotten,
 for my author has gone missing,
 unseen for years now.
 I fear that I may be a book
 with no ending.
 No happiness, but
 then again, no sadness in the end.
 I wish to find my author
 so he may write me the suitable ending
 for this interesting story.
 
 Maybe someday . . .
 
 Kasey Throssel, 11th Grade
 East High School, Humboldt
 Jen Femenella, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 the trees are sleeping
 but golden flowers sparkle
 on the wild green sea
 
 Mabel Houle, 8th Grade
 Honeydew School, Humboldt
 Margaret Fraser, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Today
 
 Today I died, my soul floated from
 my lifeless body. My world has gone where I cannot
 follow. Seamless symphonies broke. Death is softer than
 rain, harsher than fire, no eyes to see it, no hands
 to feel it. It is unbearably peaceful, horribly calm. I
 watch as life continues.
 
 Today I lived, my soul was full of joy as
 it rose from my skipping form. I have finally entered
 life. Cacophony turns to lullaby. Life is harsher
 than the sea, softer than the sun, all heads
 look down at concrete, all hands in pockets. It is
 beautiful chaos, lovely disorder. I stand by as
 death takes its toll.
 
 Today, as usual. I dress, eat, sit in the
 car. School arrives, work handed out, scratchy pencil marks.
 Lunch. I sit in the car, I am home. Again I pick up
 the pencil. Again. I lay it on paper. This time wondrous colors
 flow through gray graphite, sparks fly from letters.
 The picture I paint, my words paint, is passionate,
 eerie, discomforting, joyful, this is truly living.
 Pencil back in the case,
 case in my back pocket,
 just another usual
 Tomorrow.
 
 Mina Mayer, 6th Grade
 Jacoby Creek School, Humboldt
 Megan Day and Karen Simmons, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 Silence
 
 A box sitting in a corner
 
 Silence is a color of white
 Nothing there
 White is soft
 not loud like bombs
 but silence like air
 going past you
 in a blink of an eye
 That is how soft silence is
 
 Soft times quiet
 
 S x Q = silence
 
 Silence comes from the sky
 then into your heart
 
 Tanak Chum, 5th Grade
 Pacific Union School, Humboldt
 Cherie Paul, Classroom Teacher
 Daryl Ngee Chinn, Poet-Teacher
 This poem appears in PARTING THE FUTURE, 2011 Statewide Anthology
 
 

 Poems
 
 thoughts in my head
 come together and form
 rhythm and rhyme
 silence and noise
 clashing together
 to make an awkward
 song.
 
 Nadya Verick, 4th Grade
 Skyfish School, Humboldt
 Mark Jensen and Ella Early, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 My Heart
 
 a heart is something that
 can love but would really
 rather not my heart
 squeals and snorts pulls and tramples
 to get away from love my
 heart is an angry horse
 a wild thing
 
 Devon Garlick, 3rd Grade
 Fieldbrook School, Humboldt
 Rene McBride and Cheryl Valley, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 This poem appears in PARTING THE FUTURE, 2011 Statewide Anthology
 
 
 

 Dream the Dreams of Music-Makers
 
 Right here, right now, I’m making a difference
 By putting this pencil to paper, I’m shouting my defiance
 to the world
 Ages come and ages gone
 My voice has been ignored
 Catalogued and “duly-noted”
 Filed under stereotype
 But these words cannot be ignored
 A blind man sees and understands
 He smiles my smile and dances to a song heard
 around the world, as it spins right round like a record
 These are the words and I am the composer
 Tall enough at last to see over the music stand
 I will slough my ignorant label
 I will reach out to touch the flame and share it
 with the world
 I will join the dance someday, but
 Right here, Right now
 I’m too busy writing this poem
 
 Dakota Heveron, 9th Grade
 Redwood Writing Project, Humboldt
 Classroom Teachers Dan Zev Levinson and Megan Day
 This poem appears in PARTING THE FUTURE, 2011 Statewide Anthology
 
 

 
 The Inner Space Between the Mind and Soul
 
 To understand me you would have to look deep.
 Deeper and deeper, past my dark eyes
 and plain face.
 Past my simple smile and forgettable
 personality.
 Past all of these physical characteristics
 lies the deep inner space of the soul.
 
 To the East of this inner world is a forest of Dreams,
 where trees stretch as high as my hopes.
 Pools of ideas swirl below,
 full to the brim with stories waiting to be written.
 The canopy is heavy with dew,
 each drop a steady word waiting to be heard.
 A peaceful place of deep thinking.
 
 To the South is a desert of Fear,
 a frigid world with no hope in sight.
 The sand of despair itches at the soles
 like shards of glass.
 The cold wind of rejection bites at the skin,
 and howls in the ear.
 Weakening the spirit and killing the mind.
 
 To the West is a place of Anger,
 where the heat of bitterness boils over.
 Dark pent-up feelings of pain
 spew out like corrosive lava searing all as it seeps.
 The earth is covered with the Ash of innocence.
 An unhealthy world of hate,
 where all seeds of forgiveness are burned to Dust.
 
 To the North is a land of Joy,
 where the memories of yesterday thrive.
 Thunder and lightning fill the sky,
 inspiring the mind.
 Pure snow falls in great,
 white, innocent heaps.
 The suns rays shine through frozen icicles,
 a reminder of the Innocence.
 
 And finally filling in the leftover space is the Sea of Thought,
 that reaches every corner of the inner world.
 The surface is covered with whatever
 comes to mind,
 each wave a sudden epiphany.
 Below the rolling surface
 is a current of emotion.
 All flowing together and forming one.
 Deeper still lies the depths of the subconscious mind,
 filled with things even the mind itself is unaware of.
 Hidden thoughts of times of happiness
 and age-old scars that never fully healed.
 This is a very complicated place.
 It is the Place where the Mind and Heart meet.
 
 Abigail Geist, 10th Grade
 Alder Grove Charter School, Humboldt
 Marian Baker, Homeschool Teacher
 Julie Hochfeld, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Don’t Forget that Behind
 
 Don’t forget that behind an adult’s smile
 there is pain.
 Don’t forget that behind a child’s smile
 there is sheer joy.
 Don’t forget that on the other side
 of an adult’s yelling
 there is a need to protect.
 Don’t forget about how children
 don’t always have it easy.
 We have it tough, too.
 Don’t forget about a child’s need to belong
 and an adult’s need to be loved.
 
 Stella Moore, 6th Grade
 Coastal Grove Charter School, Humboldt
 Jenny Rushby, Classroom Teacher
 Julie Hochfeld, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 My Heart's Diary
 
 My heart's diary
 the key I have to find
 to open my heart
 to find all my secrets
 ones I don’t even know
 to find all my feelings
 
 My heart's seas
 the ones I haven't sailed
 the deep and ferocious ones
 so unpredictable
 
 My heart's forests
 the ones dark and gloomy
 moist and cold
 the ones I haven't explored
 the ones I haven't found
 all the mythical creatures
 
 My heart's land
 the land so far and bare
 so wet and snowy
 the lands
 I haven't even found out about
 
 My heart's world
 
 Kyra Myers, 4th Grade
 Coastal Grove Charter School, Humboldt
 Marjorie Berscht, Classroom Teacher
 Julie Hochfeld, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Slowly
 
 As I slowly walk toward the sun, consumed,
 Dreams dance before my mind open wide,
 Seeking the warmth of consuming love.
 
 People stare at the blank pages of their lives,
 Flashing colors stream before their eyes,
 As I slowly walk toward the sun, consumed.
 
 Stepping, stepping on ice cold snow,
 Burning feet scream from the sharp sting below.
 Seeking the warmth of consuming love.
 
 Heartbreak beats into pieces on the floor,
 Puzzles sweeping away in the wind,
 As I slowly walk toward the sun, consumed.
 
 Tears drop, drop down from an elegant face,
 As I walk toward the sun, consumed,
 Seeking the warmth of consuming love.
 
 Natalie Luken, 10th Grade
 Alder Grove Charter School , Humboldt
 Julie Hochfeld, Homeschool Teacher and Poet-Teacher
 

 
 The Wind Is at My Back (a mirror sonnet)
 
 The wind is at my back
 as I turn to walk away
 you probably feel deserted.
 Well, I feel betrayed.
 You made me a promise
 and then you walked away.
 I thought I was important.
 
 I thought I was important
 and then you walked away.
 You made me a promise.
 Well, I feel betrayed.
 You probably feel deserted
 as I turn to walk away.
 The wind is at my back.
 
 India Allen, 7th Grade
 Coastal Grove Charter School, Humboldt
 Shana Langer, Classroom Teacher
 Julie Hochfeld, Poet-Teacher
 This poem appears in TURNING INTO STARS, 2012 Statewide Anthology
 
 

 
 I Cry (inspired by the Civil Rights Movement)
 
 I cry for the people getting beaten on the streets
 I cry for the mothers missing their children
 I cry for the breaths that were never taken
 I cry for the little girls who were bombed
 I cry for the people getting sent to the back of the bus
 I cry for the kids with smoke in their eyes
 I cry for my husband who was murdered
 I cry for freedom
 I cry
 
 Eilish McNulty, 8th Grade
 Coastal Grove Charter School, Humboldt
 Carlotta Clark, Classroom Teacher
 Julie Hochfeld, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 if it makes you less sad
 
 you’ve been in
 this pit of depression
 for weeks you’re
 
 down, i know but
 we care about you.
 we don’t want to
 see you like this.
 i kid you not
 
 Dear, i know
 this is hard & you’re
 tempted
 he left so you’re
 leaving yourself scars
 but i can relate
 i also feel quite alone
 
 i’m banging on your
 door,
 i hear nothing.
 you won’t let me in
 
 you’re lying on the
 ground. but you aren’t
 breathing,
 you woke up the
 next day
 but, don’t take life
 so seriously, be strong
 you can pull through this
 
 Cassie Spencer, 9th Grade
 Eel River Community School, Humboldt
 Felicia Doherty, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 This poem appears in TURNING INTO STARS, 2012 Statewide Anthology
 
 

 They Say
 
 When you are here, they whisper,
 when you are gone they talk,
 when you are here they take
 no notice but when you are gone
 they grieve. When you are here
 they make their decision but when
 you are gone they take a second
 thought. But now is too late or that’s
 what they say.
 
 David Alec James Hansen, 7th Grade
 Cuddeback School, Humboldt
 Cori Borges, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 never alive in life
 
 try to breathe can’t
 listen to the
 wind can’t
 smell the flowers
 can’t
 
 try to walk can’t
 
 see the sun can’t
 
 I’m dead alone
 
 thinking of my old life
 
 I’m a zombie dead
 and alone eating hope
 
 Charlotte Mead, 7th Grade
 Blue Lake School, Humboldt
 Ann Lawlor, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 non-ode
 
 Rock
 I un-ode you
 go back to the river
 rumble yourself round
 be weathered smooth
 w/ all your conformity
 
 Kieran Cook, 10th Grade
 Probation Environmental Preservation Project, Humboldt
 Marty Casillas, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 The Sea of Free
 
 You got the eye. Love has been
 catching you. The sun follows you
 with kindness. Darkness can't get
 in. Wondrous things.
 
 l love you, brother.
 
 Samantha Bowen, 4th Grade
 Redway School, Humboldt
 Kurt Stoffel, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 Here
 
 Where I come from
 here you know it
 I know it
 it’s not Mars the
 moon the sun it’s
 here you come from here
 too I don’t want to
 live anywhere else but
 here where the trees are
 green the sky is blue
 where cows graze and
 birds chirp my home my
 state my place
 
 Heather Zingaro, 5th Grade
 Eagle Prairie Elementary School, Humboldt
 Teresa Miguel, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 The Tree on Top of Mt. Everest
 
  The long stretches of
 paved roads. Simply lead to
 the unpaved ones.
  Curving, spiraling,
 twisting. The stars align for
 you and you only.
  The best thing
 I could say for you has
 already been said.
  Like a cliché
 it is. Now I need you
 to drop the book.
  Leave the house
 twisting, melting.
  Nonsense I tell
 you. Like the crusades.
  Fighting over a
 ruined city? Killing millions?
 If there was television
 it would simply be a tv war
 like the tv wars
 that have happened.
  Nonsense. The
 roof is in your ears. Leave.
 Before the lemons fall from
 the cactus.
 
 Amy Myrick, 8th Grade
 Monument Middle School, Humboldt
 Denise LoMiglio, Classroom Teacher/GATE Coordinator
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 

 
 blue sky green grass
 
 the sky is blue
 the grass is green
 butterflies' wings are
 soft silk. Dogs
 bark cats meow and they
 never ever stop. Babies
 cry mom cooks dad
 watches football
 teenagers scream
 when they don't
 get stuff they
 want but I'm so
 perfect the way
 I'm.
 
 Amyia Murry, 5th Grade
 Peninsula School, Humboldt
 Linda Stewart & Catherine Arnold, Classroom Teachers
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher
 
 

 
 Darkness
 
 Darkness, darkness, skies are black,
 owls are screeching, giant bats. People are
 screaming, leaves aflutter, fire is burning.
 Like the moon shine. The water glistens
 like the moon. The rocks click, chitter and chatter
 just like the animals blither and blather. Darkness
 Darkness Darkness.
 
 Orion Magpie, 6th Grade
 Skyfish School, Humboldt
 Mark Jensen, Classroom Teacher
 Dan Zev Levinson, Poet-Teacher