Book of Faces

Amelia Krug

You're a petite cup of tea:

Green and grassy,

Tiny with hints of sassy;

Leaves picked from secret trails

Of unaffected terrain;

Leaves laced with the winter sun rays,

So bright like you and Nick Ray,

Way over my head

On most matters.

You'd shatter trivia nights

If the subjects were right

(Bikes and plant life).

You've taken responsibility

For humanity,

studied our effects;

Textbooks devoured.

Your footprint is small

In more ways than one.

Funny too you are,

With your nerdy puns.

We shared a nest

For a small slice of time.

Uptown funked us up,

But we're still fine.

Whatever you kids are doing these days,

Whispering to plants or selling caps on Ebay,

I hope you're better than okay.

That your snow white world

Is more happy than grumpy

(or sneezy).

If it's freezing,

I know you can take it.

Your heart's so warm,

Even outside you can make it.

No need to be elusive

Like the rare plants you study;

Drop me a message sometime

Lost buddy!

Amanda Montgomery

I see you Amanda,

Getting live in Oaklandia,

Blades cutting off your strands,

To get back to the roots.

Roots still alive, though you're far from home.

Who would have thought you would become

A teacher like your mama?

-The one who taught me how to use a comma.

(I'm sorry, Mrs. Montgomery. I'm trying!)

One life to another,

A daughter absorbs her mother,

But miraculously,

With a symphony of your own frequencies,

You entered new territories;

Flowing faster in the river than the water itself,

Finding islands of personality that you want to dwell.

We've circled 26 times around the sun;

Started out walking and now starting to run;

Controlling experiences;

Emanating more love;

Not allowing the bullshit into our cups.

I hope you're channeling hyphy-

At least do it for me.

Dive into the Bay like a biscuit in tea.

Strong, loved and sweet,

Don't let the Wild West taint you.

I know you're living the dream,

So don't let nobody wake you!

(That double negative is just for style Mrs. Montgomery!)

Amanda Rose Kievet

Dear Amanda

And your camera,

So glamorous with your panoramas.

Here's some love from old Thailand,

Your photos make me want to hand ya.

New spaces, new light,

High quality reaches a new height,

Start anew, do, pursue, breakthrough,

Images elevating our minds.

Crafting graphics like campfires,

Deep in the woods, awaking the wild.

Traveling child,

You caught the dream,

Woke up with movement in your bloodstream.

You're not wasting your uniqueness;

You're not losing any time.

Seeds are proving to be trees;

Wheels uncover admired sides.

Maybe you tried hard not to listen,

But echoes couldn't be ignored.

Maybe you had the choice to sleep in,

But adventure asked you to ride for more.

Rookery:
1. a breeding place or colony of gregarious birds or animals, as penguins and seals.

2. 524 E Main St. Madison, WI; 2011-20.. Was it 12?; rotating occupants including, but not limited to: Amanda Hilgart, Chase Fritz, Brian Hedberg, Collin Schwantes and Lucas Benford.

It was affordable housing in the middle of the city,

You could still sense the tenants past.

A spiraling staircase made the place look pretty,

Pity you all moved out so fast.

I wasn't even on the lease back then,

But always found myself at the Rook.

I bet you've moved on up with your husband and all;

Ya'll are too cute for college nooks.

I still remember the time I opened up the fridge and saw a packet of uncooked bear,

The bear you shot with your bare hands. Fierce women like you are rare.

Game of Thrones was coming to life within the Rookery's tall, cold walls.

I recall serving raw meat to our friends and only some were actually appalled.

But out of the folks around the world I've met, you seem to a special connection,

To the flying, the crawling, waddling and squawking survivors of natural selection.

The affection you show with your studies, even clothes, your jobs and outdoor hobbies,

It's infectious, it gets my urban mind restless to spend some time with the birds and the bees.

Literally (please).

So I've got to hope you're taking care of yourself, doing things you love to do.

But if you forget or maybe you get upset, go outside and let you be you!

Aly Miller

A soul that's pure like real vanilla,

Brooklyn had to go and steal her.

Complexion white like good Tequila.

If she promises, believe her;

She puts to action her ideas.

A new CSA site leader,

Community activist figure,

She's always part of something bigger.

Her garden's probably a No-Tiller.

Tired of kale as a box filler.

But her smile's a painkiller,

And her grams don't need a filter.

Found a peace that comes from in her;

A dream architect and builder.

Knows the farms that produced her dinner,

Even through the dead of winter.

She's so chill it'll give you shivers.

Aly Miller, you ain't no beginner.

In the race from farm to table,

Lady, please, you're a winner.

Allie Svigos

I don't know how to pronounce your new name.

You're a Brandtner girl, that'll stay the same.

The family of blondes living down the street,

With the father who used to clean my teeth.

Yours was a funny house on Halloween,

The only toothbrush I got while trick-or-treating.

Memories are fleeting, but some fluff sticks.

Dressing up as beanie babies was a neighborhood hit.

And the lemonade stands down on the corner;

We'd make a killing even charging a quarter.

And I sorta wish we were still living those days:

Golf-carting to the pool and all the cards we would play.

When's the last time we had "Dinner Club?"

Playing James Bond in your basement was always something I loved.

We were too scared to watch the Exorcist at night.

I loved you and Molly, but you would always fight.

And now, we're selling the house; St. Andrews days are through.

I hope you know, that I already miss you!

Allie Ontiveros

To Allie,

The camera was a member of the family.

She'd film herself watching TV,

With our cat named Freddy.

Sometimes she'd leave the room with the record button on,

Minutes of video taping while she was gone.

We'd film our own commercials and pageant shows,

Or "Behind the Music" with celebs like Fat Joe.

She was a ham for the camera,

And a little bit cheesy.

That's how she likes her sandwiches 'cause they were so easy.

And Hot chocolate:

She's chock-full of it.

You'll never meet a skinnier chick on her diet.

Occasionally she'd watch an exercise video,

But from the couch, all while eating Cheetos.

She's always been afraid of the wind,

Scared to blow away,

With that skinny frame,

A light breeze would make her sway.

Against these odds,

She's made her home the Windy City.

She's too locked down to roam,

'Cause now she's got a kitty.

Allie Cat has a way with four-legged friends.

I sorta think she prefers felines over men.

But she's got a big heart, it's bursting out of her chest;

I know her future partner will never be stressed,

'Cause I feel blessed,

Whenever she's around.

When I'm a mess,

She always calms me down.

And on the nights the O's are all together,

She mediates the brawls and makes us remember

That nothing really matters and to be kind.

Sometimes she sits back; I wonder what's on her mind.

Let's rewind to the 90's like she rewound the VCRs,

The days of N64 and driving the Barbie car.

"I'm tired," she says. "Will you carry me?"

But she hasn't been the baby of the fam since she was three.

Our mom used to give us clothes to look good,

But she'd rather chill in a plush robe with a hood.

And what does she need to get dressed up for?

Aside from going to shows, she rarely makes it out the door.

I'm sure,

She doesn't know what FOMO is.

She could sleep all day, just mindin her own biz.

She'll watch the same movie 15 times.

"Dunstin Checks In"... she can recite all the lines.

Her life moves in circles just like her hoop.

I remember when we used to work out at Group-

That summer, I took her to her first festival.

Now she's caught in that net just like a basketball.

Al, how does D-Rose look from court-side seats?

This lucky girl watches the Bulls from their feet.

A red-headed princess like Ariel,

A ginger flower-child at the festivals.

My little sis, my forever friend,

Will become a cat lady in the end.

Love you Al, thanks for all the laughs,

And for coming to see me in the world's other half.

Friday, June 10, 2016