The Impressionist
Masterman's Home for Creative Literary Work
a mix of he, she, & me
By Sap
she doesn't hold him back
she doesn't tell him to brush it off
she doesn't urge him to hide away
she doesn't control him anymore.
he lives with no bounds
clear and firm with his identity
but what happens when he wants to be called…
well, he?
what if he wants everyone to know that he is he?
what happens to him when she senses this hesitation?
when she wants to take back control?
what if instead, they start competing for it?
now, it's no longer a conflict between he and she
but rather, a mix of he and she
​
she has a reputation to uphold, she says
she needs to succeed with herself
he needs to be himself, he argues
he is not her anymore
and you need to let her go.
so then, she does.
he and she cry
she cries for the memories she has
for the instances that'll never happen again
but, he cries for the future he'll have
and for how happy he'll be
and maybe, just maybe
for the hope that they can work together
work together to develop from she,
he,
to me.
a part of me
feels like
we shouldn’t wait
until the very last day
the very last second
the very last moment
to say our goodbyes.
why wait until the final week
of school to tell teachers you appreciate them
to laugh
about memories you’ve shared
to say goodbye?
shouldn’t we be doing that
00:00
By Sap
now?
presence is something
many of us
forget to enjoy
to be grateful for
until it’s too late.
this is why we live with regrets
because we don’t take advantage of the current moment
at the end
of the day
isn’t a life well-lived
a life that’s rid of regrets?
Remembering You
By Talia Katz
I remember that winter.
Buried deep into the earth and packed in by layers of snow,
I felt the numbness creeping into my fingertips.
I remember how there were no trees.
And I remember the soft spring that came after.
How I slowly melted and a sprout started to grow,
its branches yearned for the sun.
I leaned into it while its arms were still too fragile to hold me.
I remember summer.
How the wind carried my body until I thought I was weightless -
But I wasn't.
I never was at all.
I remember autumn,
dusk being swept away by night.
How I thought the leaves would change color,
but they simply fell bare as they wailed through the trees.
I remember everything.
every place I have searched,
every door I have opened,
thinking I would find myself,
but all I saw was a ghost.
All I saw was you,
and the shell of your body;
A warzone -
just like mine.
My Favorite Person
By Joyce Jimenez
My favorite person is not my favorite because I am his.
He is my favorite because I know what he would do during a zombie apocalypse.
My favorite person’s lips fit into the shape of my lips.
When I'm with him everything seems to glow and time just seems to flow,
sometimes too fast.
My favorite person is not my favorite because he loves me too.
He's my favorite even when he tries to explain he's allergic to bees.
He will always figure out a way to me,
Even if there were no instructions.
My favorite person is not my favorite because he says the right things.
He is my favorite because his kindness and patience, even with me, light up my heart
And everyone around us could see, but that never mattered, because it was never really news.
Whenever I feel inspired by my favorite person I write,
and little does he know that he is my favorite because he is my muse.
​The mere thought of abandonment makes me quake
My worst fear, but, my fate.
I wanted to scream that I loved him
But it was too late.
My heart has been smashed and shattered
By the same person who caressed it for as long as I can remember
Maybe
We were never meant to be.
Together, nor apart.
And yet I let him past the walls that guarded me
Gave him full access to
Every
Part
Of
Me
And I fell asleep every day with the insurance of his warm embrace
Closed my eyes and the sight of him would stay bright in my mind
Let my sweaters and my sleeves soak in the scent of him
The unending depth of his magnificent and wondrous love fascinating
Every
Part
Of
Me
Undoubtedly
I know in my heart that for him I will do anything.
I know in my mind that when a pasture has too many rough patches
You abandon it. You stop trying to make it grow and leave it out there to die.
I felt his love leaving
Like a hand attempting to fish out something that’s stuck,
Stuck in
Every
Part
Of
Me
Because every time he touched me, new seeds would be thrown in the pasture
Hoping they would make it to flowers,
Flowers that haven’t grown.
If he abandons he will abandon
Every
Damn
Part
Of
Me
It will be my worst fear. My fate.
I love him, I love him, I love him with
Every Part Of Me,
But maybe it’s too late.
Every Part Of Me
By Isabelle Trieu
“You don't know how little you matter until you're all alone”
When the world around you fades, and you're left on your own,
The weight of the silence as it becomes dense. Crushing your soul,
As you realize you're just a small part of a bigger plot .
You don't know how much you matter until your all alone
Until you're hit with a “r u ok?” and your truth comes to light,
Fading away like the notes of a forgotten song.
You don't know how much you've been taking for granted
Until the things you once had are no longer granted,
The people who stood by you, the love that you shared, isn’t reciprocated
leaving you feeling scared. craving validation.
You don't know how little you matter until your all alone
Until you're forced to face your own doubts,
The dreams that you buried deep inside.
hot pink
By Casie-Elle Saint-Pierre
hot pink think
hot pink
hot drink
a BOLD tone
a stand ALONE
don’t know why
i’m feeling high
but ain’t OVER
till it’s over
and BABY,
i'm going SOLAR
How do I say Goodbye?By Magna
Improper farewells,
Happen to set,
Bridges ablaze.
Rotted timber and eroded walls,
Aflame and charred and fall.
A summer past,
A lifetime ago,
Yet the sting,
Still spiking into my skin,
Grazing needles digging in.
​
For moments in the morning,
Or deep into the night,
I am amnesic,
Forgetful of this prolonged pain,
Alive and at peace all the same.
​
For times near dawn,
Or alone post dusk,
Life lived by sword,
By anger and by tears,
Built on regret and fear.
To antique people of wavering memory,
To faded faces who had been kind to me,
To an old self I no longer recognize,
To friends that I had long left behind,
How do I say goodbye?
Route 40 Rambling
By Alca Traz
Final drops of day drain from the sky
The first chords sound in my ears
From the cords
I blink myself away from existence
Resign into observance
Red light
Pills in his pocket
Shopping bag on her arm
And I am small
See everything and nothing
No longer myself
I become each passenger
And no one
Meditative disassociation
Peacefully conformist
The bus lurches
I float
7:36
Eastbound
A Rewrite of Our Story
By Jenna Makuen
Is the hardest part over?
I guess I’ll never know, cause it’s a rainstorm for a month now and for all I know you’ve let go.
I’ve been slowly untying all the knots of the regret you made me feel,
After promising all that you got, I'm embarrassed I believed that it was real.
I’ve set up the scene,
I’ve looked through the pages,
Of what it could be in a scenario where you stayed with me.
The words would be lengthy,
The paper so thin,
Cause our history is too broken to tape back up again.
The acknowledgements short cause we’d have no one to thank,
Except you who came to his senses before being too late.
The intro, we hang tight just for a moment,
While we review what we did so wrong the first time, how open we’d be,
I'd be so proud of you for finally letting go and being honest with me.
In chapter one, you would kiss me and tell me you’re sorry,
If you ever came across as wanting me for just my body.
I’ll tell you it's alright, just don’t do it again,
And you’d nod your head in agreement as I say…
I’ve been with a lot of boys,
None to sweet and they used me after guiding me to places I dreamed of,
Kind of funny, right?
But for some reason, you lead me to a paradise I never thought existed,
So I took your hand unlike the other ones that I resisted.
​
Chapter 2, we’d travel through mazes together,
Jump across bridges, swim in lakes, together forever.
I’d feel my cheeks turn red with every passing moment, smiling so hard my mouth would be sore,
What a devotion.
​
Chapter 3, we would be
Rethinking everything you wanted us to become.
You’d get as close as you were that day in your car and you’d let the words slide down onto the tip of your tongue.
Instead, you’d pause and say, “never mind, this isn’t what I want,”
And we’d hug and dry our tears, I’m glad you pushed away your fears.
I hope you know...
​
I’d never laugh at your emotions, and I wouldn’t tell your crazy friends of your vulnerability that they will never possess.
We’d go up to my living room and clear enough dancing space, and I’d cry again, you’d wipe my tears, like you did on our first date.
Chapter 4 would roll around, the end of the story,
We made it work and still somehow ended up happy.
But no, the ending means the ending,
So I pull away my face from the book of our lives, cause rewriting the story doesn’t make up for your lies.
There’s no point, you take up too much space in my mind.
Broken hearts never get repaired, I should’ve known that this time.
Now the rain is letting up,
the sidewalks are drying,
It’s obvious to everyone that I have been trying to sit and write a song,
And never end up crying,
Over a boy who made up his mind.