This past fall, high school students in our Creative Writing workshop explored the themes of identity, resilience, and passion through poetry. Led by teaching artist Jesse Bliss, students published a chapbook entitled, “What Risen Phoenixes Look Like: For Our Generation.”

Co-edited by creative writing student Karenth O., this chapbook contains poignant observations and deeply felt poetry that lyrically reflects the lives of young people. We are proud to present select poems from “What Risen Phoenixes Look Like” below!

Marvelous You
By Marrah M.

Life is filled with marvelous things
Marvelous people, animals, and creative beings
When you walk into the world for the first time
You are welcomed and also unwelcomed
You come into a marvelous world with new and unique ideas
By being in this new world, it will sometimes give you fears
Why is this marvelous world filled with discrimination?
With people who support you and people
who want to drain your determination
It’s not worth their efforts
To try to take a marvelous idea and then
turn it into something not so marvelous
When you too have something
marvelous that you wouldn’t want
anyone taking away from you
Your marvelousness is a part of you and
something to share with the world
But not for others to steal and to make theirs
Take pride in the marvelous things you can do
For marvelous things will happen

Rise Up
By Elayna M.

If you think you can stay there, In that
emptiness, So vast and so dark and so deep,
Then you are a fool to your own mind; If you
think you can give up on everything you have
ever done, On everything you have worked
for, On everyone who has ever been there for
you, Then you are an ignorant fool to your
own heart; If you think saying those things has
convinced others to accept what is to come,
Then you are a naïve fool to your own mouth;
Rise Up Rise Up from this emptiness, Rise Up
from this vast, dark, deep trance, Rise Up
from this loneliness you are in, Rise Up from
this deep undisturbed chasm of sorrow, Rise
Up from this now, as you hear these words
echo through the night, This may not be the
easiest thing to do, but you will need to do it
soon, I know you can do it, And if you can’t
do this for yourself, Do it for the trees, Do it
for the air, Do it for the sun, Do it for the stars,
Do it for the moon; Just do it. You will feel
better. Trust me. I did it. And if I didn’t, this
piece would not exist

Read “What Risen Phoenixes Look Like” here.