#BirdvilleVoices
vol. 3, edition: 5 April 2019
Welcome to #BirdvilleVoices Digital Literary Magazine!
This digital literary magazine is a compilation of writings from the budding PAP middle school authors around the district. Please enjoy their insights, humor, and writer's craft.
6th Grade
Oliver R- Watauga Middle School
There is one thing in this middle school
that is the definition of untamed.
The hallways are a beast.
The jaws made of the many children swallow you whole
and spit you out at the other side.
The clouds and cliques are enough to send you running.
The adrenaline pumping through your veins
and your mind inquiring on whether or not
you're going to need the nurse after this.
This mindset might seem very pessimistic,
but to me, the halls are a life or death situation.
As soon as I get to class,
its sweet relief,
like taking a bath after a three-week campout.
It wasn't always like this.
At the beginning of school,
everybody in 6th grade was in the same cloud,
they all were new and very lost.
I was speed walking to class,
despite the thirty-pound backpack strapped to me.
“Where are you going?”s and “Are you lost?”s
were all I heard every day
from the teachers in the hallways.
Now there are groups gossiping
about their crushes and other people
by the bathrooms of all places,
kids fighting
and bashing against the walls
in the seventh and eighth-grade halls,
couples kissing in dark corners,
where they think they are unseen,
and many other things that you wouldn’t see
in elementary schools.
These days, to avoid this mess,
I hug the walls.
I literally get up against the wall and scoot,
avoiding everyone.
The hallways may be some people’s favorite place to make out,
roughhouse, and “spill tea”(gossip) as kids put it,
but it makes the hallways the way they are
and that's a problem that needs to be solved;
that would be quite the miracle!
Jennifer C- Haltom Middle School
True Friendship
A true friendship is when your friends respect you, are friendly and kind, and do not get jealous. Some of my friends that are true friends are Luis, Georgina, Alex, Jeanelle, and Noemi, just to name a few, though I have many more true friends. They not only make me feel loved, but are nice and respectful.
One way you know you have a true friendship is if your friend respects you. There are many ways to show respect, including not talking behind another’s back, not starting or continuing rumors, being grateful for each other, and not trying to control or manipulate each other. My friends are very respectful, and our respect is mutual.
Secondly, another way to know a friendship is true, is by simply being friendly to each other. For example, saying “hi” to each other, having fun handshakes, showing respect, and appreciating them. Being friendly is important as it shows that friends care about each other.
Finally, true friends are defined by how they treat each other. By respecting and appreciating each other, sharing memories, letting each other vent, and not judging, true friendships are made. My group of friends all trust each other and are nice to everyone.
Having a true friendship teachers you many life lessons. Everyone knows who is a real friend and who is not. In my opinion, true friendships are hard to find, but when you find one, it pays off because you have good people you can trust in your life.
Kaitlynn H - North Richland Middle School
Pug
She looks up at you with her big brown eyes
Her face asks you, “What’s wrong?” as you slide down to the ground to join her
She waddles over to you on her old, arthritic legs
The two of you are a pair of beings beside each other, both hurting
One emotionally, one physically
She’s such a loving, gentle dog
As she licks up your tears
As she snuggles up next to you
And as she listens to you blubber your problems to her
It seems as if she understands
When she grunts,
It sounds as if she is comforting you
As she lies her head in your lap,
It seems as if she is telling you,
“It’s ok.”
“It’ll be alright.”
To think she is just a little pug is wrong
Because she isn’t just some pug
Because she is much more than just that
She is happiness and love itself.
Genesis M - Watauga Middle School
A hard-working woman.
3 Kids and a husband,
24/7 with no rest.
Fights and arguments.
Tears, lots of tears shed.
Having to care for a family of 5 isn't easy.
Days are long and weeks are LONGER.
I never know how she handles all the stress, bills, and tantrums.
She's always is happy and bubbly.
A smile is always on her face,
even in the darkest times in life.
She raised me even with all the trouble making I did,
She puts up with my laugh everyday.
She gives each of my siblings attention.
With 3 kids it seems impossible.
"When you put your mind to something, nothing is impossible",
she always says to me.
I wish she knew how much I appreciate what she does.
"Te quiero mija" , she says...
Me too mom.
Me too.......
Lizeth H - Haltom Middle School
Friendship
Have you ever thought of that one friend who always has your back? I define true friendship as friends that are honest with each other, always have each other's backs, and nothing can come between the friendship.
I think a major way that a friendship is true is that friends are honest with each other whether good or bad because it shows trust. Trusting one another is a factor of how honesty affects friendships, especially true friendships.
Another way to know if a friendship is true is when friends have each other’s backs. For example, if a friend is having a hard time, they help their friend out and help them to see the positive of their problems.
A true friendship could also be knowing and doing things that can show that nothing can come between your friendship. Friends don’t let friends do bad things or join bad groups. They will not let rumors get between them.
Showing that you have a true friendship is knowing that your friends will always have your back, your friend is honest, and nothing will come between your friendship. I am happy to say I have two true friends, who I believe will be my life-long friends.
Cunell B - North Richland Middle School
Trouble
Trouble. I hear that word alot , from teachers, elderly people, ma, and pops. I'm always in trouble and I’ve dug a hole so far in the ground for myself, that every time an incident happens, the dirt just closes on the hole to bury me alive. I don’t think Im’a troubled kid to be honest, but my opinion doesn’t matter when everyone in the world thinks I am trouble. Trouble…. I wish the word never existed.
Steven B - North Ridge Middle School
Individual Work Gets the Job Done
I've won 6 awards for being one of the top or best in my division of bowling without the help of my team, because they’ve always let me down, or physically weren’t there. Working individually has always been my thing, and I do better when I don’t have other people in my group that I have to put up with. Also I don’t have to deal with others messing me up, or altering our work without permission. While working in a group you don’t have to worry about arguments, there is no one to distract with their thoughts that aren’t even close to what your thoughts are, and you can show off how smart you are without people wanting to copy you.
Arguments are a big thing that you can avoid when you choose to work by yourself. If you decide to work alone arguments are only within yourself, but in a group it is very possible to have an argument that is loud, disrupting, and get many people furious. While you’re alone arguments are silent if you have them, and the only possible argument you can have is going to be over a question or an answer. Your internal fights over the answer will be very brief, but when you’re around others they can last up to a lifetime if it is a really horrible dispute. Having a feud with someone is also going to make people think differently about you and they would think you are some very impolite person that no one wants to be around. Sometimes people are there to get you riled up so you start yelling and getting in a quarrel with them or someone else. Getting in a big argument with someone can be avoided as long as you choose to work alone, and not in a group of people.
Another thing is that when you decide to work independently there is no one who can distract you with themselves, or their completely wrong thoughts. Once you’re around people in your group you want to talk with them which can get you in some very big trouble, and it gets you off topic of what you are working on. They sometimes want to chat when you’re trying to work with the group, and that can be very distracting to you when you are trying to work. While you are alone there are also no distractions around you, because you can move easily without having to wait on the group to get away from whatever it distracting you. Also having annoying, or distracting ideas from the group can be avoided by working solo. Their thoughts can be distracting too, because you have to deal with some ideas that aren’t even close to what your thinking is, or what the actual answer is supposed to be. Having silly, or weird out of the blue ideas is a thing you don’t have to deal anything with the topic your working on can be the most distracting of them all, but that can be gotten rid of too. In all by choosing to work solo without anyone else is the right choice, so you don’t have to deal with big distractions.
Not having a group, and working single is great, so that you can be all smart without having anyone being tempted to copy off you, or actually copying off your assignment. Being in a group there’s always that one person who wants to copy off the intelligent person's paper and succeeded, but they truly did nothing to help out. Being smart is easy to show off when you’re alone, because you don’t have other’s ideas and thoughts in the answers. Copying is at a very low percentage when you don’t have to worry about looking out for all the members in the group to make sure that none of them are trying to copy off your paper. Also having no one to easily copy off your paper, you don’t have to help out those who never even asked for help. They just went ahead and decide to copy off the brilliant person’s paper. Most times being the one intelligent one I have had to deal with all the people wanting help, and wasting your time, because while I’m giving help their copying off my paper, and they never learn how to do the task on their own. Being alone is a very effective way to avoid being the brilliant one who’s being copied off of, to the one who is showing off how smart they are on their own.
Working solo gets the job done, and you don’t have to be anxious about getting in a quarrel, having others easily take you off track with themselves, or their thoughts, and your talent can shine without anyone duplicating your work. With all these benefits, and advantages you should know by now that working alone beats any other kind of work you can think of. Also rethink the quote “ players win games, but teams win championships” because many people win championships individually like pro-bowling, the best bowler in the world doesn’t have a team. In all being alone gets the job done and does much more than that to help you out in life.
7th GRADE
Alyssa D - Smithfield Middle School
Light Bulb
I am an old light bulb
Flickering on and off
Used
I have my moments of light
Bright, happy, and carefree
Dying of laughter
Just like the sun
The smile on my face will never go out
Or so you thought
All of a sudden, the light goes out
Darkness
Eerie, sorrowful, isolation
Cold
Thank God
You don´t always see this side
Because when one light goes out
So do the others
Ever so slowly, the dark bulb falls
Clash!
Glass shatters
Make sure you get away in time
Because one of my shards
Just might stab you in the back
Yet, all of a sudden
The power comes back on
...
Alondra C - Watauga Middle School
My future and the future of this world
I think of all my friends and if I'll still know them
Change is a scary thing
Good or bad
Things can change in a matter of minutes, months, even years
No matter how hard I try, things won't be the same as they are today
Ever
We might not even live to see the next day
Some of us might not be so lucky to perish at an old age
Some of us might die from freak accidents or illnesses
We are wasting our lives today by spending our time on the internet
Waiting for a new post, new like, just desperate for attention
We can't live in the now because this planet might not survive due to pollution, global warming, and hateful crimes
We are waiting for a change, but we won't do anything to pursue that
Change is a unnerving thing that happens to all
We just have to make sure that the change is going in the right direction
Gia M - North Oaks Middle School
If she only
What if she never decided to be early to school,
then she would have never caught a glimpse.
What if she never forgot her homework,
then she never would have strolled back down the hall.
What she never listened to the rumors,
then she would have never thought about it.
What if she never overheard them,
then she would have never changed her mind.
What if she knew the truth,
then she would have never gave up.
What if she had more confidence,
then she would have been with him.
What if she told him from the start,
then she would have known how he felt.
If she only was late, if only she didn’t forget her homework.
If only she didn’t listen, if only she didn’t overhear them.
If only she knew the truth, if only she had more confidence.
If only she didn’t misunderstand the feelings he held.
Paulina D - Watauga Middle School
Memories are proof of living. The mental pictures of moments when we experience the unforgettable. We see as far as our eyes take us, but feel endless emotions. Nothing more to it, not the regular try hard attempt of being deep with a twelve year old girl like myself. Yet, as easy as it is, what happens when it’s all...forgotten?
Forgetting the feeling of the moment, almost denying its existence. A dream that feels so real, that you can’t tell if it really happened or not. Forgetting seems that scary. The USB card to your couple days left at home “by accident”.
I can’t grasp the thought of losing these little souvenirs I’ve accumulated for my whole life. It’s impossible to think about the little grains falling out of my hands, falling to the other millions of thoughts.
Yet, there’s so many times when I would like to just forget. It burdens to remember. But does just losing knowledge of my embarrassment make anything better?
It’s rambling... a lot of rambling. I go on and on about this because, what is there to remember when we’ll end up forgetting?
When everyone else has that memory, do you deny it? Move on?
Or live in fear?
Ryan P - North Ridge Middle School
Nature and the Rebels
The world is a never-ending cycle.
Trees arise from their brethrens’ last breaths
Vines slither up to unknown heights, replacing the old with the new
A salmon lays eggs, only to meet the jaws of death
The world is a never-ending cycle.
To this action, one species does not abide.
Blessed with mind, cursed with greed-
Greed which kills, greed which takes
Bringing ruin to all, leaving only a pile of unwanted weeds
Forging their dominance through others’ blood red lake
Writ with quills stained with death’s mark, history calls to be repeated once again
Can this species ever truly change?
James V - Smithfield Middle School
I am Captain America
I am strong and courageous
I wonder how many years I`ve been asleep
I hear erie screams from my past
I see my lost comrades and best friend
I wanted superhuman powers
I am strong and courageous
I pretend to believe I’m still in my past
I feel a deep passion from my youth
I touch my shield and remember my purpose
I worry for the well-being of my friends
I cry when Bucky dies
I am strong and courageous
I understand that the Avengers need me
I say that the world is full of some wicked and extraordinary people
I dream about the past and peace between bad and good
I try to make the world a better place
I hope for no more violence and to be free
I am strong and courageous
I am Captain America
8th GRADE
Raif O - North Richland Middle School
How Much Do I Love You?
How much do I love you?
I couldn’t possibly explain,
not to your tiny feline brain.
I wonder, do you love me too?
When I first saw you I knew,
That I’d love you forever
and I’d leave you never,
for without you, I’d be blue.
Your soft fur makes me happy,
your little purr is from heaven,
your nine lives down to seven,
Your little cuddles make me happy.
Without you, my life would be blue
And I hope that you love me too
Mattison G - Watauga Middle School
Receipt
Ask yourself this.
When the glass shatters,
and the walls crumble to dust.
Who in this world,
Can we trust?
certainly not ourselves,
Or the man on the street.
Not emotions, nor actions,
Do we ask for a receipt ?
A receipt to prove nothing,
A receipt for broken hearts.
Just one lonely human,
Trying to find their heart.
If you open, you close.
If you close, you perish .
At this point in reality ,
There’s nothing to cherish.
Sierra K - North Oaks Middle School
Listen to the wind that calls your name
Even though you are not here by my side
The letters I’ve written many times
Over and over but no response came back
The letters were my messengers
Tell the truth in words pure as a lamb but strong as steel
Which then disappears in silence in the wind
But my love is always there,you are in a flooded place
Of flowers and sunlight and no rain to be found
Gold and silver all around but don’t forget the love shared
The things life took were far too painful to bear
But our love is always bound
I will never let go of the grief and sorrow
Till my battle is done and I have won
To see you in heaven
So wait till I come home
Isabella O - Smithfield Middle School
Drowning
Jump into the ocean
Splash against the waves.
Don’t go too far out,
Or your lungs will begin to cave.
The waves are strangling me!
Can’t get back to the taunting shore.
Arms flailing, feet kicking,
Grasping for signs of the ocean floor.
Looking up I saw the sun
Giving it’s condolence.
Then everything went black and red.
No reason to struggle now, don’t run.
You caught a glimpse of your mother
Standing alongside your dad.
They motioned you to come towards them,
The three of you would finally be together.
Everything felt peaceful
Everything seemed clear.
Everything was washed away,
Every thought, every fear.
Maybe it was too soon,
Maybe the time wasn’t right.
Perhaps
Joslyn F - North Oaks Middle School
New Orleans
In the festivity of New Orleans, the British king looks upon his city in accomplishment. He was the one who took over the throne of New Orleans. He took over with no mercy upon his enemies.
His family legacy grows more powerful than ever, almost unstoppable. No one could take him down especially with his beautiful daughter by his side.
That was until, his greatest friend became a foe and made himself a monster that could take down the British king and his family. His foe failed resulting in his death by the danish king and his brother. Little did the British king know, his adoptive son had became the same monster to take down the person he looked up to as a father. The son managed to take down the danish king and his legacy.
The son should’ve known better though because 5 years later the British king’s legacy came back to life again. The family wanted to avenge their brother so they attacked the son’s army to retrieve their brother. They murdered and destroyed everything in their path.
They retrieve the British king and they leave the city of New Orleans. The son tells the family to never return. The danish king and his family legacy could never be stopped unfortunately. For they would return and take over the city once again.
However, the British king’s daughter grew older and more powerful. She wanted to take back the city for her father and the rest of her family. Her family however, wanted her to do it the right way and not end it in a blood bath. The princess did just that and she was able to take her city and bring peace and harmony. Unfortunately, the son was very angry so he went to confront her. He laid his eyes on her and realized she was different from her family and let her live.
However, a dark sorceress came upon the city and took over the princess’s body. She grew violent and a group of people who disliked her family came after her. The leader of the group tried to take her life but instead, the princess’s mother made the leader take her life and she then died. The British king was devastated he lost his queen. He did not want his daughter’s sorrow to destroy her soul or the city so his sister cast a spell that took the sorceress out of his daughter’s body. She put the sorceress in her brother and the British king took his own life to save his daughter and the city. The princess was in sorrow but she vowed to do right by her parents name and make the city better and protect its beauty with her life. New Orleans will become the strongest city in the land and the princess would make sure of it.
John H - Watauga Middle School
A Bit About Mountains
Audience: (Laughing from last joke)
Comedian: (Smiling and giggling a little) But seriously, seriously, what’s the deal with rocks, am I right?
Audience: (Confused laughter)
Comedian: I mean, they break down over time, all the way down to sand and soil, from MOUNTAINS. MOUNTAINS. Imagine that. You go from being one of the largest things in the world to some crap that gets in between your toes and on the bottom of your shoes.
Mountains: I’M the boss here. You’re all beloooooow me. Haha, this is great!
Audience: (Giggles)
Comedian: (Impersonating TMZ or ET) And tonight, the latest story on a mountain falling from fame and glory, to a measly pile of rocks.
Pile of Rocks: (In a squeaky, high pitched voice) I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’m a mountain, a mountain I tell you! You’re below me below (Begins being blown away) meeeeeeeee!
Audience: (Hysterical laughter)
Comedian: Goodnight everybody! (Walks off stage)
Hope H - North Richland Middle School
The Struggles of Life
The struggles of everyday life can be
challenging, but we still push through, always.
Even if life throws a curveball your way,
you will make it through, one day at a time.
The real struggle is staying positive,
even if it is difficult to do.
Peer pressure also
We have to stay strong in these very hard times,
even though there are extremely bad crimes
happening all around us. You will push through
to the next chapter of your life, no
matter how difficult it may seem at
the moment, you will look back and say, “Whoa,”
because the struggles of life are worth it.
McKenzie A - Smithfield Middle School
I am.
I am here, yet I am not.
I am awake, yet I am asleep.
Everything I do doesn’t exist. My routine makes me a robot.
I am always doing something, yet I am doing nothing.
I am a sponge; I absorb information, yet I don’t feel sentient.
I am paying attention, yet I am unfocused.
I am sensitive, yet I feel nothing.
Everyone’s voices are mixing, and I can’t understand them.
They are a vast cloud of noise.
I am eternally confused, and internally dying.
My days are running together.
It is a Tuesday, but it feels like Monday or Friday;
They are all the same.
I am stuck in a cycle of events,
an endless process of people, work, sleep, repeat.
I am numb, yet I am aching.
I am dreaming, yet I am in reality.
My existence is a dream, yet I am real.
I am everything,
yet I am nothing.