Dare I stay forever Even though it will only hurt me Knowing I’m not the one for you Even though it’s all I wanna be

Id run till the end And go across the whole ocean blue All of that I’d do Just to say how much I love you

I can’t do any of that All I had now it’s gone Once with me and now you’re not It’s now our past memories I think upon

I wanted to get there To be there with you Where we could smile and be happy But that expiration date is overdue

I wanna reach your hand And never let it go But I’m far too short from the mark I’ll never reach you and I know

But I’d never let go Of the idea of us Hoping one day it would come back And all this we could discuss

So dare I stay forever Though it’ll only cause me pain Knowing me being with you Will never happen again

I don’t really like school Not because of the math and learning But because everyone in there Makes my stomach start churning

I look around and see all these groups The sports, nerds, all you can name You have quiet kids, funny kids Kids that want all the fame

We’re divided into groups based on what we like Yet I don’t fit into any one Not because I’m boring or anything Just these people ain’t my kind of fun

Everyone believes belonging is a place Where we go, who we’re with, what we do But to me it’s something different Something only comprehended by few

To me belonging isn’t a place, nor is it a person Because all of that can go away People can change and places disappear Things like these don’t always stay

To me belonging is a feeling A feeling that makes us warm We say we belong because we feel we belong It’s to this mindset we conform

We may be a part of a group Maybe we’re a part of a place But It’s the feeling of belonging And it’s this feeling we embrace

So where do I belong? Where do I feel I should be What makes me feel so warm inside The feeling that makes me feel free

There’s only one place I feel belonging to And it’s not comprehendable to a lot It’s in the silence with a book A book that saved me from going rot

This book and silence is where I belong It’s where I feel warm It’s where I can go when I’m in trouble And leave without a storm

This book and silence is my peace And the author is my favorite So anytime I get to read it You better believe I savor it

So when you try to find where you belong Don’t look for people or a place But instead go find what brings you peace What makes you happy and doesn’t make your heart race

People are slow to listen Yet dont hesitate to speak When someone says something “ bad” Words from other mouths begin to leak

No one thinks about actions Nor considers their words As soon as they don’t like it All thoughts fly over like birds

She misses those old days The days when she was a kid Not being hated nor laughed at Not judged for the things she did

Now she’s grown up Everyone’s now different They mock and torture others As if they’re hearts have a dent

She always spends an hour Trying to figure out what to wear She has to choose perfectly So others won’t shame without care

Calling her names Judging her looks Everyone around her Are joy thieving crooks

She has to eat to not be called skinny But not too much that she is body shamed Other full of hatred Acting like it’s to them that she is tamed

She has to be smart Because that’s the stereotypical way But then if she’s too smart No one wants to be her friend and walks away

She has to be filled with joy Because she doesn’t have a reason to be sad Every time something bad happened Everyone told her she should be glad

No one knows the thoughts in her head And how she cries every night No one checks on her Asking if she’s fighting the fight

For years and years She fought to her very best Little did others know She weight that was on her chest

No one knew her pain Because they never cared to ask Maybe if they did She wouldn’t wear a fake mask

Maybe if they cared They wouldn’t in tears Sitting there at her death bed Trembling in fear

Fear of what they’ve done And how they never thought about her Never even realizing That her life to them was a blur

One day everyone will realize What happens when their judging’s at peak They’ll realize they were slow to listen Yet didn’t hesitate to speak

Check up on the ones you know, you never know what they got going on

Why? Why do I hate being around people for so long And better yet why do I hate when people want to be around me? Why do I strive to run to darkness instead of the people who want to bring me light Life’s like that We twist and turn from the things we should want and instead run towards what kills us inside From lust to hate, sorrow and discomfort, we run to things that can only fulfill itself We run to things like these because there’s a hole A hole in our heart that we try to find the filling for yet never succeed But why do we run to the things that have never changed Is it because it’s appealing on the outside or is there something deeper Something reeping inside of us that makes us want it Something that tells us the lie that we will be fulfilled with it but then realize too late we were fooled Why? Why do we allow the same lies to overtake us The same lies to deceive us and blind us from the truth Nothing will fulfill that hole You can search and search and search but it’ll never be healed But I tell you this There is one man who can heal you The very man who is hated by the whole world He overcame all of these problems and through Him you can too The lies were told may be planted in us, but just as weeds are taken out by the root, so can this too.

People say life is short so make the most of it Go party and adventure and do everything in a short bit But why? Why experience everything when you can live for what you love? Why cover all the things you enjoy with a glove A glove that is made of all of these things that you don’t find the same enjoyment in A glove that’ll throw all your memories in a bin How can you be filled with things you barely know Why not go enjoy the things that bring you to a glow Late nights, car rides, times with the ones you love Why not put the things we know above Above the rest of the “fun” they claim To some, not to all, that “fun” is pretty lame So whilst others may say “ life is short make the most of it” I will begin to say, “ life is short, so find to you what’ll fit”

June 26, 2025 The sound of the tv wakes me up. It’s seven in the morning. My off day is already ruined by having to get up early now. I look at the tv to see the news reporter, Sharon Westwood, giving breaking news. What’s so important that it has to wake me up so early? I don’t hear much of it, just snip its of her voice. I look up once again and see some sort of red circle, almost like a forbidden sign. I clear my vision, put my glasses on. I look towards the screen to see that meat is being forbidden from being eaten. What? This can’t be real. How could this possibly be allowed? I get ready for the day thinking this is a bunch of baloney, but as soon as I step outside I begin to realize that this wasn’t the case. People everywhere were eating plant based meals. Veggie sandwich, spaghetti without meatballs, and as I walk to work I see my favorite steakhouse, Jerry lions, throwing out tons of meat. This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. I walk into work and find Luke, who’s just as confused as I am. We talk for a little before we clock into work. Lunch comes around and I get mine out. I hadn’t realized how serious this whole no meat thing was, next thing I know I’m in the bosses office. Apparently all bosses were told to fire those who eat meat. So now not only am I forbidden to eat the only thing that makes food good, but I’m also out of a job. Without my job I couldn’t possibly live in the city. I go on Zillow and start looking for houses till I found something that sparked an idea in my head. Maybe I didn’t have to get rid of meat, I mean how could I get in trouble if no one can find me?

August 7, 2060 It’s been thirty five years since the banning of meat, but that hasn’t stopped me from eating what I want. See weeks after the banning, I had found a place over in the south, has around 3-5 acres of land, all the room you could ask for. That gave me an idea. I purchase the land and right away get to work. Within a year i had a whole farm. Tons and tons of buildings in order to store animals and food, as well and houses for me and two of my friends. Each morning was filled with a smile and the smell of the freshly cut grass and crops. The sounds of animals as well as the wind flowing through the open fields, listening to the crops sway back and forward. This was the perfect life. Who needed to live a high paying job in order to be happy when? This was my life, and I was happy with it. Each day I’d feed my animals and make sure they were nice and healthy. Then Id take care of the crops, making sure they were getting fed and growing as they should. At the end of the day I finish off a hard day of work by eating some of the amazing food we have grown ourselves at the barn. The best part of all of this, no body will ever know. I opened my own shop to sell tools and crops, just so I can make money to keep my land. But the meat and animals were all for me. te

As I walk to my from door I see a package. I didn’t order anything so it couldn’t be mine. Maybe the mail man mistook it for someone else. I look on the package and it has a note saying, “ take this, I don’t care what you do with it but take this cursed item.” There was no signature. I take the box inside. I grab a knife and a bowl just in case something jumps out. I slowly cut the box open, no sign of life, no telling what it is. I peak through the crack of the box, and inside it’s dark, but I can make out an outline. I open the box up rapidly, ripping out all the foam and cardboard until I can see the item. Only this is not an ordinary item. I turn away, feeling my mouth fill with vomit as I get ready to throw up. Why the hell would someone send me that!!!!! I slowly look back to the box as my stomach is still wrenching. My hands shaking, body tightening, heart beating as rapid as a sprinter in a track race, beating once every millisecond. I look into the box and see the pale, cut up, dented, deformed head of my classmate, Issac. Missing an eye, half it’s teeth, and nose cut out, I stare in disbelief and star struck in what I’m looking at. I look next to the head, and there lies something just as bad as the head. The blood, and the missing eye, poked into the end of the knife the murdered one of my dearest friends. How has this happened? Who would do this? I hear a knock on the door. Who is this terrorizer?? Should I answer? No I should call the cops. I pick up my phone, but before I can hit dial the power goes out, disconnecting me from all data and internet. Damnit. I look to go hide, but then my phone rings… . What? How is that even possible? I decline the call. Without a breath it rings again. I answer this time, praying that it’s not what I think. I hear screaming, and slashing. It’s a recorded message, and I know what it is. I hear the scream, the horrid, deep scream of my friend as he gets repeatedly stabbed for over a minute, each stab causing the loss of more blood. I can hear Issac’s voice get scratchy, soft, and then silent. I hear the breathing of the murderer, and when the call ends I catch the sound of a door opening. Shit, the back door. I run to my room and hide. I listen for his footsteps, he gets closer. I watch the door to my room slowly open and… no one’s there. What? I stay where I’m at, and when the man jumps at me out of nowhere I…

I look at the man lying on the floor. I walk to him. Pale like Issac. I pick up the knife, which now has a new persons blood on it. I call the cops as soon as the power comes on and when they arrive I tell them the whole story.

They inform me that the man that had killed Issac was at the top of the most wanted at the police stations world wide. No man has killed as many people as he has. And yet here I was, his blood at my hands.

This is about a community who comes to abide with one another due to their environment

I lay in the chartreuse grass on the summer afternoon, admiring the view and sound of nature. The sun over my head, the tall grass with countless amounts of spiky, painful stickers. The green trees that hold the life of birds and insects, and the rivers the flow rapidly, carrying away the fish and trash. I look around at the people of my community. The blithe kids with their indulgent parents, teens playing sports with friends, and the young adults trying to convince their kids to put on some sort of sun screen or bug spray. Everywhere you look there are families bonding with each other, joining with other families and making new friends. Cookouts, picnics, campfires and more. Sometimes it’s abstruse for me to comprehend just how amazing of an environment and community this is. The new people go to ask the veterans of this town and they prattle about just every little thing about the place they love. This placid home of ours is what brings us all together, and as I observe around me the people and nature, I can tell that this is the perfect place to live. I watch the people abide with one another and when the firework show starts, everyone finds a spot, with strangers and family, and watches in amazement as bright lights go off in the sky, making loud booms and creating ecstatic smiles on all faces. This is our land, and this… this place is our home.

This is gonna be a flashback that a guy has of his last relationship fyi.

“Don’t let go of my hand!!” I tell her, panicking as she hangs from the ledge. I look over to see the man slowly approach. He smiles, in a mischievous smile, and mumbles,” you can only save one”, and shows a live video of my family. My heart drops. I’ve been so foolish of trying to save my girlfriend that I haven’t been trying to protect my family. I look down to my Lydia, who looks at me with the look that I hate to see because I know she’s thinking something I won’t like. She looks me in the eyes and tells me,” Hayden, you have to let go.” I tell her, “ No I can’t do that, I’ll figure it out, trust me, it’ll all be ok.” She stops me mid sentence, “ Hayden, it’ll be ok, just let go. I know you are in fear, I can smell it. But please, for me, for your family, let go of my hand.” I grab her hand tight in denial,” it’s not fear, it’s she future. I’m not ready for o move on yet, not now. We’ve come so far and I can’t let this end now”, I insisted. “Hayden… let go.” A tear rushes down my face as I realize that I have to let go, no matter how much I don’t want to. “ I love you so much, I love you more than anything in this world,” I tell her. “I know.” I let go, and watch as the woman that I love with all my heart slowly disappears into the darkness.