POETRY

They line up in caps and gowns, a soft parade down familiar halls, each step returning them to a classroom that never left them. Teachers wait with knowing smiles, walls still painted the same colors, floors remembering exactly where they grew up. I stand at the edge of the line, tassel brushing my cheek, searching for a doorway that could claim me. But my childhood is scattered four playgrounds, two countries, pledge of allegiance in different languages. I learned two alphab

This article was sent to us by Ella Q., a 10th grader Army Brat stationed in Virginia. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military teens? Visit our guest contribution  page to find out how you can submit to Bloom! I am not like you. I have not lived confined. I have moved eight times. This is how I grow. Born in camo. To the sound of gunshots. My dad has slept on worse things than cots. Sometimes, I am hollow. I smile and laugh just like you. While waiting to say

This article was sent to us by Loralie H., a 9th grader Army brat stationed in Oklahoma. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military teens? Visit our guest contribution  page to find out how you can submit to Bloom! I finally found it! My niche, my group, my clique, My team. This is my place  These are my people And just now when I’ve found it all We got orders… Three more months  Three more months in the place I love with my whole heart  I want to stay right here 

Summer, how joyous you are to others, How warm and comforting I hear you are. Getting everyone so ecstatic to see you around the corner with the promise of a break. So why have you always skipped me? Summer, why don’t you give me the light of day? You give me no warmth, no comfort, no place to rest. Everyone else welcomes you like a long-lost friend, and I see you like any other day of the week, nothing special, nothing kind. I’ll never be excited for your arrival, not when

I am from cold, harsh winters and frostbit toes I am from roaring waterfalls where you snack on warm apple cider donuts and lick the sugar from your lips I am from a home where deer run in the backyard where there are faces in trees I am from nights filled playing hide and seek with friends When we were younger and times were simpler   I am from quaint coastal towns Filled with mansions from an era long before mine I am from sailboat rides and Subway sandwiches From a time wh

I will be packing boxes like I always have, but this time the road won't lead to another base. It leads to a future I chose. Senior year feels like standing on a front porch that was never really mine, but somehow, I grew up here anyway. I’ve learned to make friends fast, to smile even when the map says “start over,” to carry home in my own two hands because it was never just a place. Now college waits like a brand-new assignment, but for once, I’m not the new kid by default,

The shock of leaving, again Saying goodbye to my “not so close” friends, again Packing up my nicer clothes and beaten-up furniture, again...

As Autumn approaches and the cool air blows in, I Break down the boxes my sweaters lived in Collages on my wall show the people I've been...

They ask me where I’m from—real sweet, Like it’s a place I clearly know. But moving every year on repeat Means roots don’t get a chance...

Falling asleep, I always ask what house I’ll be in. Tonight, I find myself in a childhood kitchen. Tonight, I wish for a restaurant and...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., a ninth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Hannah M., a 12th grader stationed in Pennsylvania. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

We packed our lives in cardboard dreams, side by side, a roaming team. Through cities bright and towns unknown, you were the closest...

Me leading Delta company! Left! Left! Left right! Right! Right left! My first sergeant’s voice filled my ears - The cadence ringing...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

A seed is planted, roots must roam, Each soil it finds becomes a home. Through winds of change, it learns to sway, A blooming life in...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

Cardboard suffuses My empty wooden dollhouse Voices echoing Weaving to a fuller place A home none of us have known A jumble of life Is...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

This article was sent to us by Natalie S., an eighth grader stationed in Texas. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

Every year, a brand new school starts, Holding onto memories, but leaving parts. Faces change, the names unknown, In every place, a new...

A new school year begins today, With corridors both old and strange, New faces fill the crowded hall, As schedules shift and friendships...

I am rather insignificant, and not very impressive. Not like the orchidaceae, or even the bright helianthus. But I grow. And grow, and...

Sixteen summers have come and gone, making me the girl I am today. I believe Belly Conklin said it best: "Summer was what mattered. My...

I am a military brat. Which entails leaving and likely losing friends on a three-year basis. This was a challenge that I was ready to...

Summers of adventure, summers of change, A MilKid's life, always in range. Summers of exploration, of discovering new places, meeting new...

Today, I am thankful for you, sitting behind me in calc class our impromptu rendezvous-- Today, for the first time, you mentioned middle...

a child of the military's stride moved often with homes far and wide through empathy's light their heart learned to fight and find where...

I haven't seen your favorite hat since the day you moved away. The tires on our bikes went flat the day you moved away. I remember...

A drawing to one is a reminder of the chores one must do later. The drawing looked like a pile of laundry on a teenage boy’s floor,...

There’re boxes around, Nothing can be found. Where’s my dresser? Where’s my TV? Where’s everything That belongs to me? The neighbors - I...

I sit here and think up in my room Of all the places where I have bloomed The friends I had in different places I can think distinctly of...

This poem was sent to us by Iona P., a college freshman stationed in Virginia. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

In the nights of happiness and cheer Hold your loved ones near Embrace friends with bonds so strong Fill the room with laughter, a...

TDY. Temporary duty. Just a few weeks - that’s not too long, right? He won’t miss too much, right? Maybe. Maybe it won’t be too bad....

"Saturday, December 18th: Strike!!! Remember, only selfish jerks skip the strike! Let's get the stage nice and clean and ready for the...

Say goodbye I’ll definitely come back, I’ll try. 500 miles far, Only by car. We call every day, Until one night, there is just no way....

This article was sent to us by Elly M., a grown-up Army brat stationed at the Royal Air Force Wattisham in Suffolk, England. Do you have...

Home. Never have I ever had the luxury to call a place such a name. Through countries and cities. I search and I search For nothing to...

we interrupt kick this dream kick for a brief kick announcement: your little sister, still talking with 'ar's that make her sound like...

Where am I from? A question I continuously ponder. Is it where I was born? Is it where I’ve lived the longest? Is it where my family...

Time is ticking ticking ticking The two year timer stared when the plane landed every second getting closer to 0:00 ticking ticking...

This poem was sent to us by Addie Z., a 12th grader stationed in the United States. Do you have a story to share with your fellow...

I leave homes like shedding skins, and sometimes when I tell people I lived in Germany, I think it's wrong to say 'I,' because it wasn't...

This poem was sent to us by Michaela M., a ninth grader stationed in Hawaii. Do you have a story to share with your fellow military...

almost forgotten Home it looked so terribly unfamiliar tile floors and white walls like photos had not lined them I have come back for a...