From pen to paper: submissions from student literary artists

I never thought this could happen to me

Just an ordinary day I never thought this could be

I knew better than to go with him

but I did it on a whim

    When he started to take advantage of me all I could do was scream

    This all had to be a dream

    never knew this could be

    never knew this could happen to me

He seemed so nice

I just didn't know his heart was full of ice

After raping me he took my life

He had killed me with a knife

    I was four-teen when I was no more

    But it opened up another door

    The door to heaven

    when I could go back to when I was eleven

I watch the people who remember the daughter I used to be

But as I look down they don't know that I can see

Everything will be meaningless

if my family stays a mess

    They never found the retched neighbor

    Even though they were looking in my fathers favor

    Now my family is so broken

    And my mother has started smokin'

Without me there to keep us together

They float away like a feather

When they finally got some closer

My mom didn't have to act like a poser

    Now my family has no fright

    Because their future is so bright

- Maranda Carlson is a freshman majoring in film.