Originally published in La Plaza Press

By AVA AVILA, MEILANI BAUTISTA, CHARLIZE HALIM, SAANYA SHRIVASTAV, LAURA MASSIE, CHRISTINA ORTEGA, JACOB BENNETT, and LUCY VALENCIA

La Catrina was feeling some pressure, 
Worry lines criss crossed her bones, 
An email that came down from corporate, 
Was laden with menacing tones,
“Your numbers were down in September, 
October’s not looking much better,
Now the Day of the Dead is approaching,
And people should be a lot deader!”
La catrina slunk off to the bathroom,
Had a panic attack in the stall,
That’s where she worried herself to death,
And so, reached her goal after all.

Ava Avila

La Catrina and Ava Avila. (Courtesy of Ava Avila)

He ran throughout the fish market
Shouting “¡Ayudame!”
For on his head, eating his hair
Was a giant manta ray
As panic chased him to the piers
Where the sea would crash and bark
He leapt down and found himself
In the mouth of an angry shark

Meilani Bautista



There once was a girl named Larra Pauline. 
She was very afraid of the color green. 
She walked outside to play with friends but she saw something she never seen. 
Afraid of the color she ran to the mall,
but later that day she died from a great fall. 
On the day of the dead she visited her family. 
She even ate a lot of skull candy. 
When she had to go back, 
she said goodbye, 
still very sad that she had to die.  

Charlize Halim

Larra Lacificar. (Courtesy of Larra Lacificar)

The Romans they claimed to be
Going about the world to search
Led them to the shore of the sea
Where the Greeks were perched
Percy Jackson sipping a cup of tea
When he drowned them as they lurched
Like they were a flea

Saanya Shrivastav



When he was angry
Luke wanted to teach a lesson
Went to percy on a beach
They walk in one direction
But Luke was in the ocean
And Percy went home
So Luke was killed

Saanya Shrivastav





No One Is Going to Graduate
Math is dead. 
The teacher knows that. 
He teaches y=mx+b that scare the students like skulls. 

Death is here. 
The students are becoming skinnier.
The students do not pass their test. 
The teacher dug their tombs, and now no one is going to graduate. 

Laura Massie

The dead is here. (Courtesy of Laura Massie)

LA CALAVERA
La calavera does not have hair
La calavera does not eat pears
¿La calavera lives where?

She lives in the dark shadows
Where the clouds are very big
La calavera likes to dig?

La calavera digs a big hole
La calavera who makes a fall
Oh no! Oh no! Where did she go?

The dirt covers her up
Where did the calavera go?
Nowhere to be found
Long lost the calavera

Cristina Ortega



His name is Jacob
He surfed quickly
Far away from death.

Jacob Bennett

Flower of the Dead. (JOCOB BENNET/ La Plaza photo)

You were a crazy one Jacob,
Always enjoyed putting up a fight 
and breaking everything in the house
you fought with so much might.  

Your brothers were battered
but you were flattered.
It was all out of love though
and fun too

The little silly attitude
made your family have gratitude.
They loved you 
always and forever.

 Lucy Valencia