Savannah Chasteen - Charleston Southern University

I welcomed You.

I provided You with

shelter,

food,

safety.

Star Zuniga - University of the Incarnate Word

Shuffling through the bushes, fumbling through the long thick branches of oak, with roots

deep in the depths of the ancient soil.

You’re lost deep in the body of the woods.

Destiny Moreno - University of the Incarnate Word

Today, I was okay, I smiled at your pictures and spoke to the air as if you were here. Shortly after, I got a knock on my door; it was my dear friend grief. It jumps down my throat, forcing its way down, and when I try to spit it up, all that comes out is, “Cancer took you away, and I’m sad,” and back down goes grief.

Chase Odell - University of the Incarnate Word

You began as a mere name,

Entering one ear and exiting the other.

As time passed, that name gained depth,

Becoming a vessel for my feelings towards you—

Lauren Ortiz - University of the Incarnate Word

Do you see this weight I carry,

the invisible armor I wear,

the scars hidden behind this plastered smile?