Christine completed this anthology in ninth grade, beginning it immediately after writing "Utopia's Haiku." Several of these poems have been published in literary magazines and journals, including Teen Ink magazine, an arts and literature magazine for middle and high school that competitively considers submissions from across the country. Teen Ink's founder, John Meyer, said that Christine was in the top 1% of the magazine's contributors in the history of the magazine, and later extended her the opportunity of exclusively interviewing First Lady Laura Bush on her efforts in literacy education. Christine's interview and article about the experience appeared in the magazine's 2007 issue. 

“Turquoise Tights”
It’s Monday
Silver shirt
Billowing black skirt
Always black
Her spectrum’s slim, anorexic
It’s her mood maybe
Owls and stars


Today’s Tuesday
Turquoise tights
Tattered ones
Holes allow a peek of her flesh
White legs
Cadaverous almost 
But she’s not dead
Just distanced, isolated

Welcome Wednesday
Chocolate chemise
Leather boots with glitter laces
She used nail polish so they’d shine
Because she never has and something needs to in her life

Then Thursday
With cat eyes smeared purple
Purple’s her color
In between blue and red
Between weak and strong
That’s what she is
She thinks
She’s not sure
She never is
Hey, Friday now
A leather jacket
Studs here and there
The metal kind
Her face is reflected to the world
Just her face, though
Everything else is chambered
She likes it that way
It’s better she says
Secrets are better
Black is better


“Red and Frail”
The blind birch with blackened leaves garbing salamander limbs
Limbs red and frail
Frail as a blind birch
Bits of bark weaving through the pores of the wind
Wind blue and mighty
Howling in and out of bear blood
Smeared across the blind birch
Red and frail
Red and frail


“Burning heart”
At the birth of cockcrow he’s set for sea
On a treacherous voyage without me
O! The regret madly boils through my veins
And how I agonize over these pains
It’s as if the bird has been plucked from the tree
As if the flower has been torn from the bee
What would happen if he did not return?
I believe my heart would very well burn


“With Rocks and Sticks”
He collects beetles
Or so he claims
He’s morbid
That’s what the neighbors say
He’s sick
That’s what the mothers warn
All of them once had lives
The beetles I mean
He pummels them with rocks and stabs them with sticks
Impaling them
He collects beetles
Or so he claims


“Our Sky”
Our sky is a tapestry of skin
Bleeding with mountain scrapes
Bruised by waves of geese
Earth’s ceiling of sin


“Aubergine”
Pearls and leather in the closet
A reflection from the lamp
It’s stained
Stained burgundy
No, deeper than burgundy
Almost plum
Aubergine
That’s a French word
Eggplant
That’s what it means
Like a dove means peace
Or blood means war
Like that
Like Aubergine


“The Ol’ Hill”
The ebony backdrop falls across the never-ending sky
And all the streams of golden light die
Stars dance across this mural searching for their place
Adjacent to the moon’s face
As I continue to marvel
I pull the blankets closer to shield the evening chill
And gaze at this scene from the Ol’ Hill.


“Naked and Grey”
Needles split by the weight of a foot
A foot naked and grey
For what is grey is naked
Branches stir
Coo-Coo
A cooing shoots through the woods
Feathers rustle
One is lost
Coo 
Another coo slips from a slender beak
Black beads for eyes
Indian black
Indian beads
Indian eyes
The foot decides to advance
This determines his manhood
Feathers! Feathers are lost! Feathers!
Wings beat with war drums
Clubs strike the hide
Kill the bird
Ancestor’s shadows
Father’s warrior paint
Kill the bird
Win the tribe
Earn the bear’s respect
It flies away
Bird no more
Bird no more
This determines his manhood


“Kingdom of Sterility”
Our suffocated world is caked in cement
Every future child fails to repent
Saplings punch through the earth
Entering a kingdom of sterility
Nevermore shall nature give birth


“Pinned to a Cork”
Please don’t remove me from your mind
As you would an insect with crisped wings
Let the sink swallow the pesticide
But not me!
Dear Lord! Not me!
I wish not to be pinned to a cork

Cement me to your wall of thoughts
For I’d be flattered to be a mere brick
But build memories with someone else  


“Lark”
The vineyard was her coven
Blackened in winter
Violent come spring
Hair creeping to twiggish knees
 Sticks at her feet
Thorns for her crown
Curls concealing spirited eyes
A silhouette crying peace and war between two worlds
Her hem always brushed her ankles
Shoes leather and black
Never lead
For she was free
Free to sacrifice herself to the wind
The wind, where her name was blown out East
Where mountains scrape the sky
Where gongs moan
And jasmine is a scent near
Lark
Just Lark



“A Tree”
A tree wrapped in the mist of yesterday
Yesterday gone
Yesterday beautiful
Yesterday no more
Veins spiraling its body
Roots seeped in blood
His blood
Her blood
Their blood
Blood no more



"Cry"
Gemstones in his hand
A mass of brown flesh wrinkled by the sun
For he's always faced the light
The light streaming from above
Where dark is dark
And none is none
Cry, child, cry
Don't be afraid tonight
The moon still croons


“Feeding Pigeons”
See the man feeding pigeons in the park
How his world seems to be painted in gray
All his thoughts must be cold and dark
Alas! He prays for the precious day
When someone will take a seat beside him
Among the weeds on the flaking green bench
Yet the visions are mundane and dim
Thoughts of rejection come with a painful stench
He tosses crumbs to bantam birds
Poppy seeds sprinkling the grass
Muttering his hopeful words
His yearnings a colossal mass
The days slip past without good-byes
Disbelief stinging his eyes


“Blossoming”
Gullies tear through Motherland
Through the trees, fire, and sand
In this carved earth we will stay
Reveling in this day so gay
Willows will shade us from all
From the sprite’s enticing call
And the serpent’s sundering tongue
Angel’s breath will fill my lung

Blossoming are my eyes and ears
Finally am I seeing after all these years
That the grass is green and the sky blue
But nothing compares to the fair entangling you


“Watch Your Young”
Gentle Mother, watch your young
Bathed in chastity are their thoughts
The hymn of of maturity will soon be sung
And they shall flee from childhood’s chains
Into the jungle they’ll be thrust
Where lions and tigers will prey upon their gentle ways
Learning to adapt is what they must
Before they’re victims of their naiveté


"Fire"
Blackened sparrow
Eyes shriveled
Feathers dusted
Feathers dusted
Curled feet
Crisped flesh
Can you smell the ashes?
What fire brings
What man sings


“Iron Gnawing”
There is a steel cawing
From the heart of the glen
And an iron gnawing
At my intuition
Enslaved by the elm are you
Tangled in knots of lies, crippled branches of blossoms
Yet there’s little I can do
For you put it upon yourself


“The Hawk’s Eye”
Mountain tops shed their tears
Crying for lost children
Their echoes soak the sky
With paint so fresh
The only listener being the hawk’s eye


"Blue and Red"
 Iron skeleton
Of a city blue and red
Eiffel tower
Four hooves so grand
Honeysuckle 'round its wires
Bars of pride
Laid by man
The poet inside us all
The singer, the dreamer
The bicycle rider
All dancing on cobblestone
Can you feel the breeze?
Or is it too real?


“For the New Arrival”
On this day of your birth
We wish you everlasting mirth
May God grant you the ripest fruits of life
So you needn’t sip from the goblet of strife
Let the calendar’s gifts be full-fledged dreams
And let the world be only what it seems


“Clouded”
O! Clouded sky how
You stretch my world of fire
Wrapping me in rain


"Velvet"
 Velvet clinging to my skin
Violence is always a sin
That's why fabrics so gentle
So soft
So tame
Line my closet
Line my skin
Because violence is always a sin
Blood no more
Blood no more
No more, my love


“Bred by Fire”
A dove bred by fire
Amidst the hungry briar
Mercy comes in raindrops
Raindrops
Raindrops
Yet the sun’s still serene
More than it’s ever been
How can the pastures yield green
If love will never be seen?


“Golden Grape”
We dance into the wind
To the voice of a chanting drum
Then pluck a golden grape from the tree ancient and dying
Bathing in our joys all the while
And wonder why they’re all so glum
Why they’re all so glum


“Wild Tribe”
 Mirrors of Sunday
Of Sunday before
Longing for the wild tribe
Of Sunday before



“Evolved”
Pastel waves of my chronicle
Am a creature nautical sculpted
For the swarthiness of the sea?
No, there’s a serum that dwells
Chiming with Heaven’s bells
Griffins above impale me with their song
I’ve evolved into the bird within me
My thoughts are plumed, so let me be
Tomorrow
I shall  seduce the skies for my own


“Gelatin Molds”
The soul of a bird free
Is not confined to gelatin molds
But splatters in the kitchen
Like cookie dough
On the blender
On the counter
On the microwave
Everywhere



“Kiwi Grove”
Kiwis clipped from trees
Tropical gems spirits gave
Jewels of nectar


“Stay Near”
Through all I’ve seen and done
You are truly the one
My dear
Stay near
You enchant the sun
And everyone
Grand and mere
Stay here
For all the Heavens may become unsewn
I shall be all alone
If you flee away from me


“Answer”
Answer darkness
Answer light
My time is waning 
With Aurora’s flight
For I’ve but one purpose true
To nurture morning’s sweetling dew
Is this all she has given me or have I a sibling destiny?
Need I become a forest child, mothered by the fleeting wild?
Do I belong to the drifting clouds
Fostered by angels in virgin shrouds?
Only when I know can I be content
Answer darkness
Answer light
My time is waning 
With aurora’s flight


“Pebbles”
God breathed the cosmos into Nothing’s womb
Stars lingering on each molecule
A flask of dust was broken
Smearing across the Heavens
Leaking into a garland of life
Fire was a Holocaust
Suffocating the land
Puncturing her lungs
Which evolved into pebbles
Pebbles that longed to be more
Pebbles that yearned to taste poison
They scampered into the blue flame’s tongue
charred by the murderer’s touch
Purity abandoned them to this world’s mercy
But there was none
For trees and birds only offer persecution
Their glass eyes glistened with new passion
And a rash of evil infested their bodies
Demons were born
Earth was torn
Into the Age of Water
The hungry flood arrived
Then all was none
All was none
Welcome to the rising sun
Where birds of fire sing
Their song of welcoming
and happiness comes in currents


“Wild Eyes"
Cars scraped ‘cross the pavement
Melting with the summer heat that entwines defunct cities
Yet he basked in the sickening sun to escape everyone
His shades concealed wild eyes
And his tangles hair was a galaxy of emotion
Expression was his essence
The guitar screamed with fury
Deeper than the Indian jungle
Their eyes shimmered with awe
The crow gave a curios caw
But they could not comprehend
It was a sweet song of sorrow
With no hope for tomorrow
Only yesterday
When he plucked the final note
Handcuffs greeted him
His cell whispered, 'Hello,' and heart let out a bellow
Cars scraped ‘cross the pavement
Melting with the summer heat
That entwines defunct cities
Yet the sickening sun burned alone


“Mysterious Prince”
Through a dark forest, life’s path winds
A stranger melted in the wood
Emerges with a word that binds
His hood peeled back, his face revealed
Foreign and cold no longer
With a humble motion he sealed
The wax that formed treasured trust
Enchantment was his foster child
Clinging like the Creator to dust
Silence stewed with the vegetables in his pot
Shattered by the roar of the spoon
Avoid his strong gaze she could not
Embrace they did
For a human face was welcome
And for his stay she did bid
Suddenly a curtain of smoke came
Engulfing this mysterious prince
Greeted by loneliness was the dame
Farewell waltzed too quickly
Too quickly for her heart


“Then Came Man”
Melting in a world alone
Iced with a morbid tone
Darkness consumes all
The only sound being the owl’s call
For she remembers
She remembers forests with emerald arms
Land wild, touching farms
Brooks that merrily sang
Velvet skies where stars would hang
Then came man
Then came man


“Desire Remains”
This arching tree
Of berries ripe and red
Shares memories with me
Days that have died with winter
Eaten by time
Wise men have said that desire remains
Despite what we have
I still feel
I still want
But all has abandoned me
I’m the only berry in this very tree
Ripe and red
Ripe and red


“Pagodas”
Built of blood and crushed bones
Winding down jade roads
Dragons bewitching the sand
And it curls over desolate land
Pagodas echo their moans
Oxen heaving rice loads
Pandas scream the names
Of our ancestors


“Wild Boar”
Silently picking the lock with a pin
Trying to release the warrior within
Before the armor clattered to the floor
Now it pines for a life of war
Such a morbid thirst for wild boar


“Temple of Fire” 
I breathe for you
A pilgrimage to life
I bleed for you
Never a sacrifice
 Because you're my messiah
Spawned from the shadows of Berlin
With its womb of dust and fire
 A spirit screaming of past woe
I honor you as a temple
Filled with treasures I can never know


"The Orchard of One"
Islands intersect
Another galaxy of toxins withers our lungs with baneful butterflies and Easter’s lilies
A labyrinth of neglect 
 The orchard of one where the golden apple is dimmed
And the purple leaves are eclipsed by our fingertips
Where all our morals are disappearing dust
   Another grain of sand swallowed by callowness
We parade our sympathies with the elephants and monkeys, but wrap our souls in the jungle
A jungle that we worship
Yet our egos are what truly stand before the altar
The orchard of one where the golden apple is dimmed
And the purple leaves are eclipsed


“Hands and Face”
A stab from the Jungle’s knife
And what a knife!
A knife sharpened by the beasts that plague this world
And look!
A wound of mud
Bleeding from the shadows of our dreams
Gushing with each wish spilt from our minds and souls
For those of us who still clutch our souls faithfully
How beads of failure trickle across my skin
Shall I scrape them off with contempt
Or allow them to weave into the wrinkles mapping my hands
And face
Hands and face?

A stab from the Jungle’s knife
And what a knife!
A knife sharpened by the beasts that plague this world
Look!
A garland of stars sewn through the sky
An epitaph of every man clinging to each constellation
And spiders shriek
For now we’ve rain
A rain of our sins

That pours upon us viciously
For what have we done
To our hands and face?

Hands and face?
Hands and face?



“Clanking”
Beads of tin
Clinking
Clanking
Towards the center of a funnel
Running
Rolling
Along its edge
Hoping
Trying
To slink through the narrow end
Clinking
Clanking
And missing
Clink again
Clank again
Run again
Roll again
Clinking, clanking, running, rolling, hoping, trying.....and missing
Again


"Air and Dust"
Wax poured over my lungs
My body no longer my own possession
A mere toy for earth and sky
Soil beneath me
Clouds above me
Ripened plums and lark's nests
It's all so beautiful
If only they could see it
See it for all its glory
What air
What dust
The elements of our world
Why must they be so blind?



“Willow Child”
Willow child
Sapling spawned from darkness and death
Your eyes reflect the soil
Silent but alive
Silent but alive

All cloaked in winter
Grey and dim
Even though you know it’s out of style
You brandish it
Nature’s velvet

Spring screams
But you ignore her shrieking in the moonlight

You’re silent but alive


“Yesterday’s Paper”
Crumpled on a park bench
He’s yesterday’s paper
Headlines printed on the wrinkles of his trousers
Felt hat tipped over Business
Metro
Style
Comics are tomorrow


“Turtle”
Trace the engravings of my shell
Each ring a year of wisdom more
Wrinkled eye
Wrinkled fin
Wrinkled heart and soul
Lord! How glorious is the ocean floor!

Kelp sways in and out
In and out of spinning salt
Carried by the current
A current green
A current blue
Green for fidelity
Blue for despondency
Blue and green
Blue and green
A current blue and green

Trace the engravings of my shell
Each ring a year of wisdom more
Wrinkled eye
Wrinkled fin
Wrinkled heart and soul
Lord! How glorious is the ocean floor!



"A Light of My Own"
 In my cave
So dark
So real
Spiders and mice gnawing at my mind
Thoughts infested, flesh infected
How my fingers bleed where do I stand
When no light exists?
How rocks scrape my feet
Do they hear me?
Do they hear me?
How loudly must I scream?
Perhaps I'll claw away at these stones
I'll find my own light
A light of my own