CHARM: Love by charmlitmag

LOVE

CHARM: Love

A literary and arts magazine featuring writing and art by Baltimore students

Foreword Have you ever thought about what love truly is? Love is complex, because it is developed through observation and experience. It’s almost as if the moment we are born, we are programmed to love. It is said that love is built off of experience, but love can mean anything to anyone. A known factor that has contributed to our idea of love is society. Society has changed our ideologies through media, and overall entertainment, some of which have been positively influenced. Excess perspectives can be critical when building our outlook on love, but life is not a checklist. Everyone is an expert of their individual life, and if your ideas of love have never been taught before, learn to love your insight. Being different is beautiful, being different is not a curse. Love the person that you are becoming! Oftentimes love is misinterpreted. When we think of love, we instantly think of infatuation when romantically involved with another individual. Love is not infatuation; infatuation is the effect of love. Love can be dedicated to anything: love of self, love of friend, love of a favorite hobby, love of life. In fact, love is not a single idea nor is it perfect. Our idea of what love is tends to strengthen with life experiences; however, love can be incorporated with anything for personal satisfaction or comfort. Love whatever, whoever, whenever, and do it unapologetically. The following pieces have been collectively selected by the CHARM Publications Team. We think they display loves’ ability of thriving in versatility. We hope you enjoy reading our many interpretations of “love.” —Denim Fisher, on behalf of CHARM’s Student Editorial Board

Table of Contents Fallen by Charity

The Subconscious Heart by Destiny De’Champs

Queer as Folk by Kameran Rogers

The History of Love by Chazzy

Wandering Through Self Love I by Kamaria Jones

Once in a Lifetime by Charlie Martin

I Am Loved by Dez Horvath

Dear Love by Tayanita Watson

Unrequited by Cole Djondo

Wandering Through Self Love II by Kamaria Jones

I hate you by Rania Amin

Was it Love? by Kameran Rogers

Modern Sonnet by Me’Shiah Bell

Under Water by Tayanita Watson

the little things by Anonymous

Llama Love by Shiloh Harris

Keep Walking by Charlie Martin

Happily Ever After by Rania Amin

Wandering through Self Love III by Kamaria Jones

Different Types of Love by Carter Frick

Untitled by Joshua Adler

What is Love? by Amber

I Love You Gone by Charlie Martin

Heart Broken by Shubhan Bhat

Love is More than the Romance Genre by Shawn Ware

Peace is Growth by Denim Fisher

Fallen Charity | Grade 12 Cristo Rey Jesuit High School

No love is perfect. Neither are any of us. But here on earth there are perfect people for each other. And you are for me. You compliment my colors with yours and with our brushes aligned together we paint a beautiful composition of love. In your arms I melt dramatically into your canvas. And as we fall deeper we brush away the tainted spaces with devotion. Every crevice is coated with the acknowledgement that every masterpiece has an opening. Every masterpiece is flawed. Yet still maintains a magnificence about them. You are art in true form. Unapologetically imperfect. And I know I said that perfect people do not exist. But that’s because there is no one nearly as perfect as you.

The Subconscious Heart Destiny De’Champs | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers

I don’t love you. I don’t love you like sand loves the ocean waves I don’t love you like a flower loves the sun I don’t love you like the birds love the sky and the occasional branch they set on I don’t love you like a bee loves pollen I don’t love you like a ball loves gravity But I need you Just as much As I don’t Love you.

Queer as Folk Kameran Rogers | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers

When he walks by I feel a sensation My eyes light up like Sirius I can’t decipher what makes him unique Let me not let my mind wander I will always be an Also-ran Cause at the end of the day He will choose her over me I can’t make him what he’s not I feel like a clown with a painted face All I can do is just watch from afar As he falls in love in with someone Who isn’t me I’m pleading for his attention But he’s blinded by her fake charisma Being lured in by a beautiful siren I hate her for leaving me in last place I always try to go in depth with him Showing parts of me I show to no other Yet it’s not the enough I’m not enough I’m just torturing myself Having to face the prince and cinderella Knowing there's nothing I can do or change To make him fall in love with me My love will always be unrequited All I can do is watch him shine from afar And surrender myself to isolated Which leaves me a loose leaf 3

The History of Love Chazzy | Grade 7 The New Century School

Love originated over 200 million years ago,during the Triassic and the earliest Jurassic periods. Love back then was meant for food. The word love originated from the European root which means desire. Now, love means that you like someone more than a friend. Love is a good thing and a bad thing. The ups about love some people find love and first sight others dating apps etc. The downs now people don’t ask people if they like them or if they feel the same about them because if they do or they don’t like them they will either get mad or sad with the person. Love can be a good feeling when another person feels the same you feel. Extra facts: Different variations of love Two brothers can love each other like family like how a lot of families love each other. A mother and son can love each other with affection at the same time. A cat and a dog can love each other as best friends and spend time together. Love is a strong bond between two people. When my mom lost her dad near Christmas he died in his house and she never let him go. She always says that she feels his spirit in our house and everywhere we go and I believe her. According to Christine Tran from Factinate, “When Queen Victoria of England was widowed, she was utterly convinced that her beloved Albert didn’t truly leave her. For 30 years, Victoria would hold seances to get in touch with her consort’s spirit. The queen even wanted to publish the notes on their conversations, but her secretary had to put his foot down and stop that potential PR nightmare.” 4

These two bone-chilling facts are connected. When my Grandad died my mom never thought that his spirit left us and with Queen Victoria She felt widowed about her husband and never thought that he left her and always thought that he was still in spirit.

References Tran, Christine. Factinate. “Heart-Pounding Facts About History’s Messed Up Love Stories”. Retrieved on 7 February 2022. https://www.factinate.com/things/42-heart-pounding-facts-historysmessed-love-stories/?headerimage=1 5

Wandering Through Self Love I Kamaria Jones | Grade 12 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women

Once in a Lifetime Charlie Martin | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers

I’ve never been open about my life, my feelings Taught to hide it since the day I knew how to speak Taught to shut my mouth when I wanted to talk about something Taught that no conversation was worth unraveling my appearance How do you make my world crash down, and my eyes shoot open, and fireworks shoot up, and my facade shoot down? You make me want to yell at the world about your existence Tell my friends everything I swore I wouldn’t Make empty promises I can’t keep The trait I always despised most You make me want to yell at the world about your existence. Everyone should know you’re alive You exist in the same form of matter the rest of us do, yet you remain Floating above I want everyone to know about you But I want you to myself I want them to know that I have you all to myself I think “What if?” a lot What if I stopped worrying about the way I was perceived? What if I grew the guts to live inside of me, instead of cautiously watching from the outside? What if I stopped being so selfish it ruined our chances? What if I just asked you? What if, what if, what if, what then? I’ll tell you what. More fear takes over Suddenly it’s not of us being together, it’s us leaving each other Having to put all of this behind us I can’t do that In a few short weeks, you’ve captured me Causing me to think in ways I’ve never thought before You set me free, only to put me inside a smaller cage How could you do this? 7

I Am Loved Dez Horvath | Grade 7 The New Century School

RING! The bell goes off and everyone pours out of the classroom. I head to my locker to grab my stuff, but then, push. I fall to the ground, and see a figure towering over me. “Get up, chump!” It’s Jacob. I struggle to get back up to my feet, until I’m pushed back down again. I tried dashing to the right, but that didn't work. I was pushed back down again and this time it felt like my spine cracked. I started to get sick of it. “What’s your problem? Why are you trying to hurt me? What have I done to you?” Jacob paused for a second. “Is there something wrong?” “Why do you care?” “I care because I want you to stop.” Jacob paused again. “No. I’m sorry. I have to go.” Jacob ran off. I got back up and continued getting my stuff. As I was walking down the hall of the school, I realized why Jacob was messing with me. I heard stories that Jacob's parents aren’t the nicest to them. I realized: Jacob receives no love. I arrived outside the school and saw my friend I’ve known for years waving at me. We started towards our neighborhood in silence. “Dude, I’ve got something to tell you.” “Yeah?” “I’m friends with the most popular kid in class!” They said excitedly. “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” I know, right? I’m going to be spending a lot of time with them, so I don’t think I’ll be with you much.” “Wait, what? That makes no sense. We’ll still be friends, right?” “Yeah, about that, I’m not going to be friends with you anymore.” “What? Why?” I exclaimed in confusion. “You’re not popular, are you?” “No.” “Exactly.” It became silent. My mind was racing with thoughts. 8

Why would they just not be my friend anymore? This doesn’t seem like them. Have I done something wrong? The friend I’ve known forever has just randomly left me because I’m not popular! Tears started flowing from my eyes, dripping down my cheeks. Why am I crying? I felt so many emotions at one time. I was so mad, but also crying for some reason. I don't know why I am sad about not being friends with them anymore, because obviously they aren’t a good friend if they chose popularity over real friendship. I realized that they fake love. I suddenly just ran. I ran, ran, ran, and ran. As fast as I could, like a rabbit running for its life through a forest being chased down by prey. Once I arrived at my house, I swiftly went in and upstairs to my room. I threw my backpack to the floor, jumped onto my bed, and curled up into a ball. I kept shaking and crying. I couldn’t stop. They tricked me! That stupid idiot tricked me! They never actually were my friend, they just used me! I was filled with rage, so much that I couldn’t control myself and I got up and kicked my backpack across the room. The door slowly squeaked open. “Honey? Are you okay in there?” My mom asked. I just sniffled. “Can I come in?” “Sure, I guess.” I wiped away my tears. She walked over to my bed and sat down. She put her hand on my back. “Something you want to tell me?” There was a pause. I just sat there. Blank. In a void. “I lost my friend to popularity.” “Well then they weren’t a good friend any-” “I know, mom!” I started crying again. “Shh, it's okay,” she thought for a second, “Do you want to be alone?” She guessed. I nodded. She kissed my cheek and walked out of the room. I sat there and just thought. Doing nothing except thinking. I thought back through everything, and then I realized, with a grin on my face: I am loved.

Dear Love Tayanita Watson | Grade 12 Baltimore City College

Dear love, You terrify me. The gravestone inside my chest Thumps when you smile with Jagged edges and knives in your mouth. I am caught between your teeth While strips of my skin dangle From the ends of your claws. You seemed like a scavenger, from a distance. As if you’d let sorrow poison me before Consuming my heart after it had stilled. But you’re the one who has dug out my organs And made me a shell. My bones are toothpicks For you to pick out the leftover ‘I love you’s. My dying words were a love confession: I love you. I love you. I loved you. I only stopped when you tore out my tongue. No one found the body that you fractured, Or the ripped pieces of cloth floating on the wind. How does one report a killer when there is no victim? The last memory I have of myself Is the reflection in your bead-black eyes. Dear love, You are a monster. 10

Unrequited Cole Djondo | Grade 12 Baltimore City College

I love you more than the sun loves the moon Than Romeo and Juliet Than the universe and its planets Than day loves night Than misery loves company I love you so deeply I wait for this fever to break I wait for this love to fade To release its grip Yet it stays Forced to grow up too quick Forced to grow in concrete I love you more than the sun loves the moon But our timing is running out like the sun’s

Wandering Through Self Love II Kamaria Jones | Grade 12 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women 12

I Hate You Rania Amin | Grade 9 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women

I hate you I hate seeing your face I hate when you comfort me I hate when you're sad I hate when you hate me I hate it when you smile I hate running around with you I hate myself for trusting you I hate talking to you I hate when I lie I hate when we lie I hate that we're enemies I hate that I love you

Was it Love? Kameran Rogers | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle

I don’t think it was love. You were like the air I breathed it ended up being carbon I thought I needed your body to touch to hold and caress. I like your soft hair. Your funny sometimes but you didn’t treat me the way you treated her It's a shame that I’m finally realizing you weren’t the one for me. My person is still out there but it's not their time yet. I still need to figure out how to love myself before I can love somebody else. I don’t think it was love. But you taught me a lesson I never would've learned if I never had met you. I can finally have some fresh air.

Modern Sonnet Me'Shiah Bell | Grade 12 Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

Like an angel missing a wing, I can’t help but to imagine what life could have been. Perfect girl. Perfect family. Godly upbringing. Tainted heart. I always tried so desperately to fill the role they set for me because I knew they wouldn’t treat colors too kindly in a world filled with only black and white. I wore the mask to try and get by, but deep down, I knew it never felt right. So I let go. I let everything fall into place. I let myself fall into her arms. I let the sunset fill me with the warmth I had been yearning for. And I know that everything will be okay.

Under Water Tayanita Watson | Grade 12 Baltimore City College

I love you. The phrase stutters up my throat, digging its soles into the grooves of my tongue. I sometimes forget how sharp it is. It carries the glass shards of broken mirrors that dared to reflect my skin, my hair, my eyes. I swallow it down, let my tongue become the waves that every word drowns beneath. I imagine that ‘I love you’ never grows breathless, filling up with air until it floats, saves itself. Sometimes, I hope it does. I hope it latches onto the waves, and crawls out of the cage of my lips. I hope I’m forced to spill my love onto the floor until the water drowns me too.

the little things Anonymous | Grade 7 The New Century School It's late, 1:03 am, and I can’t seem to fall asleep. I quietly roll out of bed, and start to go do my normal routine. Make some mac & cheese and binge some netflix, but for whatever reason, I don’t feel like it. I suddenly feel an urge to leave the house, to be outside. I grab my bike, and I go. Feet pedaling so hard it feels like they aren’t attached to me, I don’t even know where I’m going, but I just go, I don’t need to know. The cold bites me, the winds against me. The streetlights are the only thing I can see, they glow in the night. I end up in front of my bestfriends door. I pull out my phone, I call him, I let it ring, and I feel like the world is going to swallow me whole. Open up, Bite, Chomp, Refuse to let me go. The phone keeps ringing. Until finally, I hear a sleepy voice. “What the heck bro? I was sound asleep, you woke me up!” I hear them say. “Hello? Can you hear me?” I say nothing. All the sudden the phone call disappears, 17

and it’s replaced with a facetime request. I click the green button, breathing heavy. “Wait- why are you outside? Bro it's freezing out there, how are you not frozen?” “What's going on? Are you ok?” I flipped the camera so that it’s facing his door, and in a flash, the blink of an eye, we were no longer on a call, and they were standing right in front of me. I was being dragged inside, through the red door that shines in the darkness. “Are you ok?” They say again. We sit down in front of the fire, Crackling, Burning, I wish I could be in it. “Mom,” I managed to say. That's all he needs to hear, for him to reach over, and hug me. Premade hot chocolate is placed in front of me, it smells like sugar in a mug and he sits down next to me, and watches the fire burn. “So... you never told me what happened to your mom,” he whispers. “My mom left me when I was 11. One day I came back home and she was gone.” I still have the note she left me, buried under my T-Shirts. Some of the ink has rubbed off and smudged, but I can still read it, I'll come visit. The promises, she made, and broke. The promises I’ll never get back. All those nights spent, 18

laying on my floor. All those tears shed, behind closed doors. The letter you left, it’s still in my drawer. Smudges over your words, like an ink war. My head is swirling, I can’t do this anymore. “She said she would come visit. I haven’t seen her since she left,” I said, wearily. At that, he reached over to grab my hand, “Bro, that was deep.” I smiled. I laid my head down on a pillow, on top of his lap, and looked him in the eyes. “Hey, I want you to know I’m always here for you.” He squeezed my hand again. “And I assume you're staying here tonight,” he joked. “Yea I am. But really, thanks.” I finally am able to go to sleep, knowing people are here for me. I finally can close my eyes, knowing that he will be there, when I wake up. Finally ready, to let go of the past. The little things lead to big things. The little things, lead to big events, lead to friendships, lead to love. The little things, lead to everything. 19

Llama Love Shiloh Harris | Grade 6 Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School

Keep Walking Charlie Martin | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers I watched you sling your bag onto your back Turn around and wave And then walk out of the gymnasium Double doors Not hostile or rude Not final or crushing Ignorant and unknowing Non-reciprocating and unrequited It’s not your fault I never told you anything I barely admitted it to myself I wish it was, though I wish it was more natural I wish it was more normal I wish we saw each other every day I wish I knew you better Wishing and wishing I could talk to you Staring out my window into the urban sky Wishing I could see a star Wishing I could wish upon a star I’m not a hopeless romantic I swear But I’ve never met anyone like you I’ve never met anyone who walks out of the door like you do.

Happily Ever After Rania Amin | Grade 9 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women

Riding on a hippogriff while the sun sets Being a first year student exited of what house you're going to be in Being a famous pop star secretly falling in love with a boy Being able to talk to animals Dancing around listening to classic musical in the rain Going on midnight trips to 7-Eleven Sneaking around a castle Enemies to lovers Getting roses made of Lego Reading a book while drinking tea New discoveries Shy feelings Heartfelt confessions Going on little coffee dates Living in an castle having balls every week Buying a small cottage to live happily ever after in Sleeping in the same bed then accidentally wake up cuddling Studying in a library in london Playing with their hair while reading Crying in their arms Binge watching romance movies with them Living in New York City, going out and partying every night Becoming a famous power duo Falling in love

Wandering Through Self Love III Kamaria Jones | Grade 12 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women 23

Different Types of Love Carter Frick | Grade 8 The New Century School Love is an unconditional thing and it's hard to define. It's a hard thing to understand. There are many different ways you can feel love, you can feel love for family, or friends, or also lovers like girlfriends and wives. Love is a strong emotion; it can be stronger than any other emotion at times. You can feel it for sports or a certain subject in school, you can feel it for anything it’s not controlled. Like I love sports you may love school. It’s different in every person, everybody has a different sense of love. You can have a love for a place you can also have a love for a person like family, friends, and lovers. Loving a person as a girlfriend or boyfriend is the most common type of love. A loving family is also very common. It also is common to love a pet-like family member. In the next few paragraphs, I will tell you about the different types of love. There's a first time everyone experiences love like in a family or owning a pet. That's the most important love you can experience because it introduces the concept of love. It’s like the first loving community where everyone cares for each other and you have a bond with these people that you won’t have with anyone else. You grow up being loved and you learn from these people how to love other people outside of your family. One other very important type of love is having a girlfriend or boyfriend. This usually happens in your teenage years and you learn a lot from these relationships. Romantic love is a love that will grow inside you that you have for a person and when you have this kind of love for a person you can't imagine a life with anybody else. But it also brings stress and headaches. It's not always great, sometimes it ends in the way you thought it would. The lesson in all of this is that love can be good and bad like having love for family and friends is mostly good and having romantic love for someone can be good and bad. You can love anybody you want. Love doesn’t have boundaries. I think that’s the most important thing anybody can hear. Love is important in everybody’s life. 24

Untitled Joshua Adler | Grade 5 Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School

Love in a Poem, Love is something that we all have, Even if we are cold-hearted, mean or evil, It’s something that we all desire, Like it or not it’s there, We have as a hug or kiss, Or just something that we own, We can find it everywhere, In our backyard or in our home, It comes in a pet, a dog or cat or more, We get it from our friends, And give it to our family, And even the other way around, When we have love, You have love, And we send good vibes around, And that is why I love, love, But my question is do you? This is a sculpture of a bookshelf filled with books, the bookshelf symbolizes my love for reading that is why on top of it there is the word: Love.

What is Love? Amber | Grade 8 Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School

Love—an intense feeling of deep affection, a great interest and pleasure in something, a feeling of warm, personal attachment? What is love? Overwhelming distress? A crushing sensation in the middle of your chest? The cause of eternal suffering? Is love supposed to keep you up, crying at night? Or is love supposed to be the reason you smile? Some days it seems as if love is transient, other days it feels eternal. Do you plan a future with the person you love? Or do you cherish the moment and let time go by without having a second guess or doubt? Is the person you love supposed to ridicule or criticize you? Or are they supposed to gently guide you towards success. Love is such a confusing, yet beautiful thing. Sometimes it’s mutual, sometimes it’s unrequited. The average human being craves validation. Whether it’s validation from your partner, boss, family or friend. Sometimes all we want is for our loved one to say, “I’m proud of you.” When that energy isn’t reciprocated, it can be so heartbreaking. Not feeling loved by the person you love the most is a very difficult thing to deal with, but that’s why you have to ask yourself “What is love?” Love isn’t a one-sided thing. Love is a bilateral thing. If you do not feel equally loved by your loved one, it’s just an obsession. You don’t deserve an obsession. You don’t deserve the confusion or insecurities that come with it either. Ask yourself if it’s worth it. The time that you spend crying over a person who doesn’t love you could be spent enjoying time with a person who’s in love with you. You could mean everything to someone, you just have to find that person. You’ll never find your true match if you’re still obsessing over the same person that’ll never love you.

I Love You Gone Charlie Martin | Grade 8 Commodore John Rodgers

I love you Not because you bought me nice things Not because you made all those promises (you failed to keep) Not because you were interesting and fresh I love you Despite all the hate Despite all the pain Despite all the stupid lies I love you But for one reason, And one reason only I love you because I lost you You introduced me to a version of myself I never knew was there New musical artists and new ideas You gave them all to me, you allowed me to share You showed me what I was capable of Feeling emotions deeply and channeling them Into something better You did this. You broke my heart, But I refused to cry And that’s all thanks to you. Picking myself up off the floor and moving on, right? I love you. But I don’t want you back. I love you, But I wouldn’t if I still had you.

Heart Broken Shubhan Bhat | Grade 12 Baltimore Polytechnic Institute

My heart beats after meeting a girl But it shatters like glass, But matter of fact there's only me in this world Disgusted by my reflection, I only question about change Should I be with a women or be independent with clout and fame A half of men are in debt from the lack of love I give y'all a reality check, from the fact thereof You die alone (a loan) in this world, you have to pay the price Of a broken heart, go left, cuz there's no other way to make it right Been heart broken before I got some great advice That’ll change your life cuz women out here can’t be nice Its awful how your partners cost you, better listen and learn I was nice with a women but get this in return The pain’s expensive, is there a way to repair from the damages? Better be prepared of where your partner’s be scandalous Or be self-driven, cuz when we crash, we wonder where the mechanics is? I’m a boss of my own game now, a monopoly manager We were on the same boat, it was gigantic like the titanic But once we hit our icebergs our relationship sunk I thought I women was believing in me, but she was testing my emotions, cheating on me, trying to make things up Treating me like paper, tryna spend some time just to save me Until I realize she was already having a baby I must take into account my heart, just to be safe I put it in a vault, but I ain't talking about a bank Looking at her new boy, I sit there and ask Our relationship’s a bad report card we'll be failing class 28

Give an F or recieve one Learning best from my teachers I’ve been preaching to the choir, learned a lesson, burned my essence cuz the drama that unfolded put my soul under fire All these ruminations of bad communication got me hating myself on the fact I should do better, or her manipulation is too clever It’s either break a leg to audition just to act right Or get your heart smoked up cuz love can be gaslight I don’t love it, keep your heart on ice that made me cold blooded A reptile got a style of a crocodile And if your hearts on ice that will make you colder It’s ironic at the end, she won’t skate you over It might be a rink or a ring she taking cuz we fighting and boxing over a women who ain’t stopping, she just buy us over like its shopping Gotten way outta line like geometry things that changed me Love triangle bent outta shape like it’s isosceles and scalene And I know taking that loss it hurtful But you got to shorten your radius, other words keep a smaller circle Cuz at the end maybe your family loves you You gotta work on your own but you gotta stay humble

Love is More than the Romance Genre Shawn Ware | Grade 9 Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women

When people think about love they often reference Pyramus and Thisbe, Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” Or Beauty and the Beast But isn’t love much more than the media we consume, How can we trap such a complex thing into such a tiny bubble, Love can be described as actions Or a feeling A feeling that pushes you to pursue whatever you desire, To keep moving as you drown in quicksand, It’s like finding that missing sauce to your recipe and being thrilled with completion Awful actions under the guise of “love” is celebrated within the Romance genre, Such as: Snow White being much younger than Prince Florian when they met, Or that the only solution to saving Sleeping Beauty was for Prince Phillip to kiss her while she was unconscious And how it’s normalized for characters like Joe Goldberg to stalk their potential love interests and learn their schedules in hopes of “accidentally” bumping into them The Romance genre tends to constantly portray one type of love, But in reality there’s several types of love That aren’t always the traditionally white, Heterosexual realationships that we see in movies and are taught to wish for

Yet love is what poets struggle to comprehend Because love is seen as a “wholesome” and “sweet” thing, That can bring you great tragedy or make you feel alone, I’m surrounded by love and I am loved Yet I’m lacking the “love” that movies value and praise, Or that moment where I imagine that I’m Cinderella, As I ballroom dance around the house with a twinkle in my eye Recounting the lovely moments where I’ve finally met my prince, However I don’t imagine that I’m Cinderella And there is no prince Because love is more than the romantic movies, plays and sonnets that we reference

Peace is Growth Denim Fisher | Grade 10 Pikesville High School

Time is precious But here I am thinking of you Surrender your day To see the good in all I do Hypocritical of me to declare you as selfish When I was selfish to the girl that didn’t deserve what you put her through I too, took advantage of time Yet, that same girl has since found peace Your commitment was never guaranteed So, I decided to unlearn what you taught me I remember what was true The fantasies will no longer diminish the truth The apology took me by surprise I remember your intentions wrapped in lies No longer will I need your attention In fact, I will no longer question your rendition of love But I will ask this, How does it feel to see me prosper?

Student Editorial Board All CHARM Publications are produced by our student editorial board, which consists of 20 middle and high school students from around Baltimore. The board is made up of two teams: Journalism and Publications. The following students were part of CHARM: Love’s publication: Me’Shiah Bell, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Shubhan Bhat, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Denim Fisher, Pikesville High School Charlie Martin, Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Ashley Morejon, Benjamin Franklin High School Zoe Muher, Francis Scott Key Elementary/Middle School Kameran Rodgers, Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle Tehle Ross, Baltimore City College Elisabeth Paulk, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Kendall Saffran, Benjamin Franklin High School Marilu Velazquez, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women Evelyn Williams, Baltimore School for the Arts

Supporters Executive Director: Whitney Birenbaum Graphic Designer: Shannon Light Hadley Partnerships Coordinator: Madison Mattison Student Editorial Board Mentor: Jonathan Veale Ad Sales: Tianna Hunt and Tayanita Watson

Acknowledgements Thanks to Shannon Light Hadley for leading the graphic design process and for sharing your expertise with our student editors. We are grateful to editor, Shubhan Bhat, for creating the cover art for this volume! Thanks to Rob Dickerson at Work Printing and Graphics for another beautiful printed publication! Thanks to all of CHARM’s staff and volunteers for supporting this publication, The CHARM Report, and other projects during the 20212022 school year: Whitney, Madison, Yifan, Em, Donte, Megan, Shantika, Jon, Annalies, and Shannon.

About CHARM CHARM: Voices of Baltimore Youth is a literary-arts organization founded on the belief that kids’ voices matter. We are on a mission to support young people as they develop as writers, and provide a platform to amplify their voices. CHARM magazine was founded by a group of teachers and their students in 2013, and has since published 11 publications that feature the poetry, fiction, essays, and artwork of over 1,000 students from more than public schools in Baltimore City. CHARM magazine is curated and produced by a dynamic student editorial board, which consists of middle and high schoolers from across Baltimore City. We also offer a host of other programming designed to support young writers and amplify student voices, including in-person and virtual workshops. Check us out at www.charmlitmag.org for more information, and follow us on social media @charmlitmag. Want to get published? Want to get involved? Want to support our work? We welcome any contribution, and your gift is tax deductible. We also offer monthly subscription options at www.patreon.com/ charmlitmag.

Shout Outs! For a $10 contribution, families, teachers, and fans can show their support of CHARM’s writers in print. These contributions go directly towards printing costs and professional development for CHARM’s student editors. Thanks for your support!

Just like a star, Kamaria was designed to shine and bring light. So, it is no surprise that she is drawn to photography. With her keen eye, she captures stories without even saying a word. We are so very proud of the young woman she has become. Congratulations, on the first of many major accomplishments. We love you. -Grandad & Grandma ~ To all published students: We at CHARM are proud of all who are published in this year’s anthology. This year features pieces with stories unlike any other, and we applaud all the young artists who put work into creating them. The CHARM editors would like to shout out every student who showed their vulnerability in their writing, artwork, photography, or poetry and we thank them for giving us the chance to publish their work. ~ To Me’Shiah, Elisabeth, Shubhan, Ashley, Tianna, Tayanita, Marilu, and Khira, Happy graduation and congratulations on a great senior year! We wish you luck in this exciting new chapter. You will always have a home at CHARM! Love, Whitney and the CHARM Team ~ To the Publications Team: Tehle, Me’Shiah, Elisabeth, Shubhan, Kam, Charlie, Zoe, Evie, Ashley, and Kendall, Thank you for working so hard to bring CHARM: Love to life, in the midst of a crazy year. We are inspired by your commitment to amplifying Baltimore’s youth voices! Whitney, Jon, and the CHARM Team

Thank You Sponsors

We believe in the importance of words, stories, and voices. We believe in Baltimore. We believe in students. We believe in CHARM.

Thank You Sponsors

Blue Pit BBQ supports CHARM and the creative youth of Baltimore!

The CHARM Report is our new journalism initiative that aims to report on and reflect on events in our city and nation while generating a space for youth to engage with the news. Check it out at www.charmlitmag.org/the-charm-report

A literary and arts magazine by Baltimore students.

LOVE I’ve never met anyone who walks out of the door like you do

CHARM: Love

Articles inside

Queer as Folk by Kameran Rogers