Santa Barbara High School Sonnets
English 111 Class Writes Positive Poems While Housebound
Although brick-and-mortar classrooms are off-limits, the scholastic structure continues with students and teachers meeting virtually. Learning, discussion, and homework assignments are still part of life, but perspectives have changed as young people adapt to the current reality, and that shift is showing up as a theme in their work. For example, Santa Barbara High School English teacher Aura Greig gave her Dual Enrollment SBCC English 111 class a sonnet writing assignment, which resulted in thoughtful, expressive, rhythmic poems whose topics were informed by the pandemic and the constraints it has wrought. For many, it was the first poem they’d ever written. Printed below are four that stood out.
Reevaluate
At dawn, I awake and feel empowered
Life changes direction from up to down
But I must fight and not be a coward
I continue to fight and avoid frowns
Hardship brings both the best and worst in souls
Barren streets are no excuse to crumble
Go with the flow and engage cruise control
Find peace through heart or mind and stay humble
When life throws a swift curveball, learn and grow
Say thank you for the opportunity
Make the best of it and learn to let go
Remember no one has immunity
Let go of the ego and find self-bliss
Find gratitude and avoid the abyss
—Pablo Hsu
Pablo Hsu has a passion for both riding motocross and the business world. He hopes to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s Business Administration path and find that proper work/personal balance. Ultimately, he plans to work alongside his older brother, Sasha, as they tackle real estate development and investment as a career. He is quarantining with Vadim, his father. During difficult times, he finds solace in his motocross shop; servicing bike engines and repairing helps him tune things out.
The Flores of My Gardín Are Flourishing
Flores of my gardín are flourishing
on the top of a grassy steep loma.
Flowers of many colors are painting
the garden with color and aroma.
There are herbs and citruses that dozes
So flores are always in the spotlight.
There’s gladiolus, hydrangeas, roses,
snapdragons and fuchsia overexcite.
They bloom in summer and seem abiding
when the autumn comes to wither and leap
away. They’re as beautiful as the spring
in bloom after an everlasting sleep.
The abejas tend to nuestro jardín
Y están tanbonitas hastael fin.
—Lourdes Dorado
Lourdes Dorado plans on attending Santa Barbara City College and will transfer to a university to ultimately major in Spanish. She spends her time in quarantine with her family while she brushes up on both baking and cooking skills. Clearly, based on the subject of this poem, she is also slowing down and enjoying the beauties of her family garden.
Alone Together
The four Lambes, united safely at home
Making the most of our time together
Searching for new talents to call our own,
Whilst recording it with ink and feather.
Crafting puzzles of places far away,
Reminiscing of times that were quite free.
Hoping normalcy will resume someday,
Where we can go about our lives carefree.
Our lives are fast, we haven’t learned to stop.
All has changed, life in a new form of town.
Newer priorities rise to the top,
We wait patiently as the states shut down.
Blessed to have more than we need to survive.
We know staying at home is saving lives.
—Connor Lambe
Connor Lambe is wrapping up his senior year of high school online. He plans on attending either the University of the Pacific or Oregon State University, both of which have offered him the opportunity to play soccer at the D1 level. Juggling sports and school is always a challenge, but Connor has proven to be a multifaceted talent. He loves writing and hopes to pursue areas related to journalism. He’s staying home with his parents and Owen, his older brother who is an alum of SBHS and is finishing his college semester virtually as well.
She Waits for No One
She pleaded her case to an eye turned blind
Alas, she proclaimed, “enough is enough!”
“Is harmony too much to ask?” she pined
Weathered the storm till the task posed too tough
Innocence governed; dancing from her womb
Utopia collapsed, mayhem begun
Greed turned to lust, they danced to their tombs
With woe she exclaimed, “What more could I’ve done?”
For mercy they wept, “mother oh mother!”
Too much too late, succumbing to their fate
Omniscience ensued, now they discovered
Time stops for no one, no more could she wait
Juxtaposed to a society failed
Onward she had carried, her grace prevailed
—Henry Haber
While Henry Haber is currently a senior at SBHS, he transferred as a freshman from Oak Grove School in Ojai, where his mother still resides as a result of his parents’ divorce. Upon seeking to expand upon his creative passion via the medium of cinematography and directing, Henry has been accepted to attend NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Throughout high school, he has honed his creative interests as well as athletic interests by leading the varsity volleyball team as the setter, as well as immersing himself in the brotherhood offered via the varsity football team. In the years ahead, he hopes to advance his passion of storytelling and seeking new ways of giving back.
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