Juleen Mallari

Juleen Mallari is in 8th grade, currently attending Fernando Rivera Intermediate School. She enjoys writing poetry because it’s a vessel to pour out her thoughts and emotions through beautifully sculpted words and rhymes. Like many forms of art, Juleen enjoys how poetry can connect and impact others. On top of writing poetry, she also loves to journal, play piano, sing, read, and bake. At school, she is a member of School Site Council and Student Government. Juleen also volunteers at Glad Tidings Church, teaching 3-5 year olds, being a part of the worship team, or even doing tech.

Poem on Belonging

A PAUSE

You never know it’s your last
Until it’s all gone
and you realize you were moving too fast
Our focus is always on what’s ahead,
so we often forget
to think about the “now” of the moment

No one could’ve imagined
that in the blink of an eye
The people you love, 
The places you cherish, 
And the feeling of freedom
could just be taken away

We lived lives going 100 miles an hour
Devoured by stress and exhaustion
So for over a year,
time just stopped…

It felt like everything ticked slower
a pace we learned to adapt to
We began to pay attention to what truly mattered, 
Hoping together for the better

But now we’re going back to our old ways
Accelerating and bracing for fast paced days
Yet we cannot forget the long days in our homes,
pondering the highs and lows of life
Sometimes a pause is all it takes

Copyright © 2022 Juleen Mallari. Used with permission of the author.