Hi, I'm Riley Matthews, daughter of Cory and Topanga Matthews. I love to write poetry and songs. One thing that I love to write about the most is what goes through my mind. One of my poems is called My Reflection. Here, I'll let you take a look.
In another world, another life,
There is another me.
She maybe as sharp as a knife,
But I will never see.
She thinks that I'm her reflection,
And I think the same thing.
She thinks that I'm perfection,
While I think she's nothing.
Her world, to me, is all pretend,
While she thinks the same thing about me.
Hopefully, she has a lot of friends,
While I'm just plain and gloomy.
I talk to her everyday
But she never replies, she only listens.
She talks to me, but on the same day,
When the sun shines, she glistens.
She's smart and sweet and shines like the sun
her beauty is found inside, not out.
She's cool, she's nice, she's a lot of fun.
She's wonderful and great, all without a doubt.
She thinks of me as just herself
When I am just...well, me.
The mirror is the barrier between her and myself,
For she is just my reflection, and that she'll always be.
I know I will never be a famous poet, but I still dream about it. The only person that I ever write about is my crush, Lucas, but I would never dare to show the poem I wrote about him to anyone. It's locked up in my poetry notebook, the one Lucas bought me for my birthday. Anyway, I'm on my way to school alone because Maya is sick today. But as soon as I enter the subway, I see a familiar pair of green eyes. It's Lucas. So, I quickly put away my notebook and walked up to him casually.
"Hey, Riles," he said with his million dollar smile. "Where's Maya?" he asked me with his sparkling eyes.
"She's sick today," I replied while getting lost in his emerald green gaze. Soon, I heard a familiar voice call out my name.
"There's my brunette dollie," said Crazy Hat. She sat down on the bench like she did everyday. "So, where's my blonde dollie?"
"She's sick today, Crazy Hat," I replied. "Well, I've got to get to school."
"Bye, my dollie! Do good in school," she said as Officer Copper came up and started talking to her.
"Well, here's our train," Lucas said as his green eyes met my brown eyes.
"Okay," I said as he stepped aside to let me get on the train first. What an amazing guy! Soon, we arrived at the subway stop that was close to our school. So, Lucas and I got off of the train and walked into school. We had Literature first, so we went to our lockers and got out our books. Mr. Ethridge was in front of the class writing on the chalkboard. It read Write your own poem with at least 14 or more lines and turn it in when you finish.
"I can't write poetry," one of the students said.
"Neither can I," said another student. Soon, the whole class started talking, and Lucas and I were sitting beside each other, so we started our own conversation.
"So, what are you writing your poem about?" Lucas asked me. He had already written a title on his paper.
"Um, I guess my reflection," I said. I had already written the poem, so all I had to do was write it down on another piece of paper.
"Cool," Lucas said. "I have an idea! How about after we finish our poems, we look at each other's poems?"
"Okay, that's a good idea," I said. So we started writing our poems. Soon, we were finished and I gave my poem to Lucas, and he gave me his. His poem was good. Here, I let you take a peek at it.
Special to Me
Lucas Friar
I hardly ever get in trouble,
I'm not one to do wrong.
When a friend calls, I'm on the double,
To see what's going on.
If a friend's in need, I'll be there
To comfort and hold them.
I'll let them know that I care,
And I'll let them know that they're a gem.
One friend, I know, is very special,
She's nice and sweet and smart.
I know that she is very gentle,
And I've loved her from the start.
When she reads this, I hope that she feels the way I do.
Here's to you! Riley Matthews, I love you!
When I finished reading it, I looked at Lucas, who was staring at me with a smile. I smiled back, knowing that he felt the same way.
"So, Riley, what did you think of my poem?" he asked me with an innocent face, but deep down inside, I knew that he was fully guilty of making me blush in class.
"I loved it! And I love you, too," I said. He smiled when I told him that I loved him. "What did you think of my poem?"
"I loved it! Why did you decide to write about your reflection in the mirror?" he asked me with a smile.
"It was just a thought that I had, so I jotted it down before I forgot about it," I answered. Soon, the teacher came by and picked up our poems. Lucas had written a poem to turn in, so he kept the poem that he wrote about him loving me. Soon, the bell rang and it was time for History with my father. Great!
When we walked into my father's classroom, Lucas and I saw Farkle talking to back of the class Brenda. So, we just sat down and started talking.
"So, have you ever written about someone besides yourself?" Lucas asked me. My father didn't notice that Lucas and I were talking, but someone did. Missy Bradford: the bulldozer in the pink sweater.
"Yeah, I do," I said. Then, the bell rang and class started. So, Lucas and I stopped talking and took out our History books.
Ten minutes had passed since dad had started the lesson. All he was talking about was what treason was, and I already knew about it, so I took out my poetry notebook and started writing. Here's the poem I wrote since I was bored.
History Class
Riley Matthews
I'm writing this for no specific reason,
Just because I'm bored.
My father, right now, is teaching about treason,
And everyone's attention is straight forward.
Lucas is listening to my father,
But he's also looking at me.
I hate that I'm such a bother,
But the truth is I'll sometimes be.
Farkle is waiting for his time to teach,
And he's starting to get mad.
Sarah is drawing a picture of the beach,
And Darby just looks sad.
Brenda is writing notes to Farkle,
But she's still listening to the teacher.
The reflection of the sun in the window is starting to sparkle,
And the sound of high schoolers sounds like creatures.
Now, my dad is watching me,
So I guess I have to go,
But I'll be back, wait and see,
This, I truly know.
-Riley E. Matthews, 2015
"Riley, please stay after class," dad told me. I just nodded my head. Thirty minutes had passed, and class was finally over.
"Riley, you weren't paying attention," dad said. "Why were you not listening?"
"Dad, I already know about treason. Dad, I'm going to be late for Geometry if I don't hurry," I said.
"Go," he said as his students for third period came flooding through the door. I rushed to Geometry as fast as could. As soon as I sat down, the bell rang. Lucas looked at me with a concerned look.
"I'm okay," I mouthed to him. He just nodded. Thankfully, Geometry didn't last long, so Lucas and I walked together to our lockers and went to Study Hall with Mrs. Hamilton, the librarian. We took our seats and we started talking again.