By Chloe Bortnick 20 June 2025 I expected my senior year to be filled with lasts. My last school dances, the last school break, the last day of class, and eventually the last day in my hometown. What no one could have prepared me for was the development of something brand new: a friendship that, … Continue reading It’s Only Temporary
My Shadow
By Matthew Spence Day 1 I think it began this morning, though I can’t be sure. Time doesn’t seem to move in the same way anymore. I woke up late, rushed through my morning routine. Nothing unusual—except the mirror. I don’t know what it was about the way I looked at myself today, but something … Continue reading My Shadow
Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Koihime Musō’s Mountain Debacle
By Andrew Nickerson In the annals of military tactics and strategy, there have been many great names who’ve put their philosophies/views on paper for future generations. However, none have had as great an impact or as long-lasting an influence as Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, a 2,000+ year old treatise that’s still … Continue reading Sun Tzu and Entertainment: Koihime Musō’s Mountain Debacle
This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
By Mike DC Current From NPC: The Bard of Aztaeron Josh, Zelda, Rory, and Jackson didn’t feel like the Four Warriors of Prophecy. They felt like four baristas starting a LARP campaign. Their mood shifted when they ran past the Carbonwood City gate. They each got a notification: Leaving Carbonwood Safe Zone. Good luck! A … Continue reading This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race
Against All Stars
By Aykut Tufekli No more solitude to you, since I’m hereWith all my care that you will feelLook at the sky, all those starsNever will it shine as bright as your eyesNo words could tell the beauty of your heartIt must be hard to be both cute and smartThrough every dream, through near or farYou’ll … Continue reading Against All Stars
Gratitude
By Anonymous Like the sun that greets the dawn,Your words brought light when hope was gone.A gentle breeze, a steady flame,You made joy dance when I heard my name.Your poem flew like wings of grace,Took me to a peaceful place.By rivers calm and forests wide,I felt your kindness at my side.So here I send my … Continue reading Gratitude
September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “An Evening in the Park” by Carissa Coane
Like torches held aloft, a patchwork of copper and gold treesdapple the terrain. Merciless, a sudden gust sweeps through,stripping the boughs,sending a storm of color whirling to the ground. A lone jogger slows to a walk,bewitched by the dried leaves’ crunch beneath his every step.Children kick through mounds of fallen foliage —scarves trailing, breath visible,voices … Continue reading September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “An Evening in the Park” by Carissa Coane
September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “Autumn Vibes” by Mary Bone
Autumn declares her glory withvibrant hues.The view is spectacular for a while.The trees are clothed for a time.The next season won’t be so gentle,when cold air blows in and stripsthe beauty away leaving a stark reality.Winter’s breath will soon arrive. Mary Bone has been writing poetry and short stories since childhood. Some of her poems … Continue reading September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “Autumn Vibes” by Mary Bone
September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “Autumnal Demise” by Emer McDermott
A soft hum came over autumn,beneath my feet patchwork was being complete. The wind rustled to knit the leaves together.Amber, gold, and green.The sky sighed out pristine clouds,soft velvet puffsagainst the cornflower blue.Tender September sung a symphony, and the morning mist danced, softening the distancebetween you and me. Rain ricocheted against my windscreenlike cathartic calligraphy, … Continue reading September Autumn Competition Poetry Co-Winner: “Autumnal Demise” by Emer McDermott
The Fairy of Sunlit Fields
By Elanur Williams She dances in sunlit fieldswhere the air smells of honey and earth,her laughter carried on the breezeamid the distant hum of bees.Her wings a shimmer, hair tangled with flowers,rose and lavender entwined. In her eyes, the summer sky:a thousand blue and infinite dreams.And as day meets dusk, she rests by a stream, … Continue reading The Fairy of Sunlit Fields
Academy of the Heart And Mind 