Fifth batch of entries to the poetry contest!

Here's the fifth batch of entries to the poetry contest. Check back next week for the final submissions! Read about the guidelines and the prizes here.
Don't forget to submit your poem by 4/26.

Nafeesah Haliru, age 17
BROKEN
In the deepest of tears
With a fearful heart
Uncertainty filling my mind
Bewildered I stood in reality
Searching through memories

In the darkest of nights
Running through memories of lost love
Stumbling on faults and un-answered questions
Aspen was our relationship
Blown away by the wind

Gone are the sunshine
The stars that sparkle in the darkest
Broken in silence is my heart
Flowing through confusions
Your absence taking me slowly

Cold and lonely amidst uncertainty
Shocked by the hard hit of the hands of love
Shaking in fear of lost
Without a tear I kept crying
Forever gone or forever mine?

Un-noticed days turned to nights
Still time kept walking
Passing with each second
Minutes creeping through me
At a standstill was mine

Slow have gone all the music
With my tears dancing to the melodies
Lyrics lancing my heart
Echos of your name filling my head
With an image of you I made a scene

Uncolorful nature have become
Dead are my flowers in August
In lost beauty of the earth I lived
Wishes are all I’ve got
In the silence of my memories I make a life

Ashley Rose, age 16

It hurts so much to remember the past because,

I had a parent to guide me
A mother who once loved me more than the world
That person no longer exists
I wish I didn't have to watch it drift away
I never asked to lose her love
It all just makes me scream
But I've lost my voice
I've lost my strength
Tell me,
Where can I find you?

Felicia Monique, age 41
My Mirror

It may appear that I ...
stopped turning my mirror around
stopped looking at my own face
have it all figured out
am fixed
unbroken
no longer scathed.

Truth is, I can never stop ...
seeking the reason behind the reason
seeing my faults, imperfections, and flaws
hoping for change and growth with each new breath
learning to be courageous in the moment
looking forward to each sunrise and each sunset.

I know ...
the mark has been missed
the stop sign unseen
the mind unconscious
the trust lost.

I spoke from an unhealed heart
forgot the lesson
placed unexpected expectations
turned the mirror away
seeking and seeing you
forgetting about me
my image
my face.

Today ...
my mirror is in its correct place
unblocked
without its shield
turned toward the owner's face.

Anonymous, age 21
Don’t Be Fooled

Wow, who is that girl in the picture?

She looks like the happiest person on earth

Huge smile, glittering eyes, must be

I wish I was happy

Even half as happy

It’s better than nothing, torture, and fear

And look at this one

She has so many friends

They look so close

I wish I had friends

Yeah I know people

But they just put up with me

And they don’t even really know me

Acquaintances not friends

Awww, look there she is with a guy

I wonder if it’s her boyfriend

She must have guys chasing her all the time

I wish guys liked me

A guy would never want a girl like me

I’m so lonely

There she is posing on the beach with friends

She looks so care free

I want to be free like that

But I’m trapped by my problems…

And who I am

One last photo of what appears to be the happiest girl on earth

I wish I could recognize her

“Hey you, do you know who this is?”

“Don’t be silly, that’s you…

From yesterday”

Allie Marie Birch, age 14
White Rose

My heart is gray, but it still beats with a white rose laced between my fingertips.

It wraps around my heart as the petals fall into my soul.

As the vines grow my love expands even more.

The thorns sometimes prick but I understand.

The petals whither and decay over time.

They disappear as if they weren't there.

My heart absorbed the color of the petals,

Now its pure white.

But the thorns keep pricking me.

Then I begin to bleed.

My heart turns red.

The deadly vines dissolve and die.
My heart is then alive.
All because of a little,
White Rose...