Maddie Gilbert

Growing up in Vermont is a unique experience and creates a very distinct personality. Vermont is a state of contrasts, simplicity, and friendly people. Having lived here all my life and having a father whose family has been here for generations, I have been able to fully experience the typical Vermont life with all its oddities and quirks. Throughout the years, I have come to appreciate the state and what it offers, especially since I traveled abroad this summer and realized that every place in the world has its unique characteristics, sentiment, and value. However, trying to put those characteristics that define Vermont into words is almost impossible, because of the intangible feel of the state. After much thinking and reflection, I have decided that a Vermonter is happily self sufficient, involved with their small community, and appreciative of nature.

Something Missing

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

There’s something missing
In your life
Although you can’t
Distinguish it
Among the many
Changes that have
Occurred within
Such a short time.
But as intangible as it is
You know something’s
Not right
So you search
And experiment
With the differences
Until finally
One day
One of the old things
Comes back
And you realize
Exactly what’s
Been missing.

There’s something missing
In your life
Although you can’t
Distinguish it
Among the many
Changes that have
Occurred within
Such a short time.
But as intangible as it is
You know something’s
Not right
So you search
And experiment
With the differences
Until finally
One day
One of the old things
Comes back
And you realize
Exactly what’s
Been missing.

The crowd is gathered
Filled with
Proud parents
Loving friends
And caring family members.
The students walk out
Some nervous
Excited
Can’t wait to leave.
The ceremony begins
And there are tears
In the eyes of
Teachers,
Parents,
Friends.
Soon it is over
And now these students
Must truly
Live by themselves
Enter the exciting world of
Jobs
College
And travel.
It is now up to them
To make their own decisions
Treat themselves well
Make their own way in life
And the people who have
Cared for them for these
Essential beginning years
Are now forced to
Let them go.

The little cottage
On the top of a bumpy dirt road
Ravaged by potholes
Surrounded by trees,
Fields, and grass
We go inside
After sledding in the cold
And enter to the smell
Of warm cookies
The two bowls of pasta
And a short, happy woman
Smiling at us.

Testing

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

SATs
Answer sheets passed out
Clammy hands nervously take them
Then the test books
Containing for many
The future of their education
With shaking hands
Filling in name, school code, age
Worried about doing something wrong
The long and tedious directions
That the teacher reads
Although everybody already knows what to do
From so much testing through the years
And finally it’s time to start.
The first section: the essay
A tense 25 minutes in which
Everybody constantly writes
No time for thinking, planning or stopping
Next section, either math or English
And another 7 sections like this follow
With a 5-minute break
And a one minute break
Just enough time to catch your thoughts and breath
Before diving back into another section
In the last sections
Focus wavers
But try to keep concentration
For these scores will influence colleges
Almost done, only a few more sections
Empty bubbles blur before tired eyes
And when everybody is done
We are finally released
And all wander
Dazed down the halls
Waiting for rides home
To eat, sleep and rest.

SATs
Answer sheets passed out
Clammy hands nervously take them
Then the test books
Containing for many
The future of their education
With shaking hands
Filling in name, school code, age
Worried about doing something wrong
The long and tedious directions
That the teacher reads
Although everybody already knows what to do
From so much testing through the years

A feeling
Intuition
That wrenches
The stomach
Clouds the brain
And it is ignored
Until a later time
When a familiar
Scene repeats itself
And then you know
The significance
Of the previous
Confusion
Restlessness
And illusion.

I’m waiting
For the moment,
That life changing instant
That time when
No longer will life
Be seen in the same way
Each second,
Minute
Hour
Lasts for eternity
Never ending
Until at last
The final decision is presented
And the anxiety
Of weeks of waiting
Has finally ended

The grass after rain
New beginnings as snow melts
The buds on trees’ limbs

A deep rich brown
That stains everything
It comes into contact with
That is slippery and squishy
And slides easily between toes
That earns complaints and ridicule
From most who live with it
But it also brings
Spring fever
The sun
Warmer weather
Longer days
And new beginnings.

Iraq
The word brings
Many images
To my head
Flashing before
My eyes.
Bombs,
Terror,
Fire,
Soldiers,
War.
But also
The people
Of this
Country torn by war
Living everyday
In fear
For their lives
Wondering if
Their house will
Still be standing tomorrow,
If their children will still be alive,
If their friends will move away,
If they will still have jobs.

El Ultimo Tiempo

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Si hubiera sabido
Que ese momento
Fue el último tiempo
Que te vería
Habría pasado un segundo
Más en ese cuarto
Para ver tu cara
Tu sonrisa
Oír tus palabras
Tu risa
Una vez más
Antes que saliera
Nunca sabiendo
Que nunca oiría
Tu voz otra vez.

Te habría preguntado
Sobre tu vida

A role model
Is someone
Who holds a special place
In one’s life
And heart
A friend who
Is always there
By your side
Through times
When you feel like giving up
And times
When you’re bursting with happiness
Who always listens
To hopes, dreams, wishes
And frustrations, complaints, thoughts
Offering advice and support
Without criticizing
Who shares about their life

The debate over this concept
Rattles my brain
As I try to take in
Everything people believe
And try to sort through
Their ideas
To reach a
Conclusion of my own.
I don’t know what to think
Does it exist?
To what extent?
Is it the natural
Cycle of the Earth?
Is it natural progression
Aided by humans?
I don’t know
And there are so many
Conflicting views

Cheating
I don’t understand
The people who think
Cheating is the answer
That they won’t be caught
That it’s ethical
And morally correct
To take credit
For others’ work
Who labored for hours
Over a paper
Only to have it taken
By someone who
Was too lazy
To do it themselves.

Walking through the snow
Puffs of white flying
With every step taken.

Dog comes running
Bounding with endless energy
Over the top of the snow banks.

Finally reaching the hill
Where you make a path
For sledding.

Running to get a good start,
Flying down the hill,
And hitting a snowbank.

The sled is far away
As you’ve flopped off while it kept going

In my backyard

My sister, friends and I

Fly down the hill

Only a thin sheet of plastic

Separating us

From the snow crystals

Flying by beneath us.

Each winter

During the first snow storm

This is the scene

That dominates our

Backyard.

From the time we were young

We’ve spent hours

Of cold winter days,

And hours

Of humid summer weather

They’re even,
Neck and neck.
Arms in sync
With every stroke
Sending up a spray
Of water.
Each one
Taking only a few
Gasping breaths
And trying to pull
With as much force
As they can.
“This is what I’ve been training for”
They both tell themselves
And try to pull just a little more,
Kick just a little harder.
For this is the moment
Where they can shine

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

As I get out
Of the pool
People surround
Me.
And my friend
Hugs
Me
While teammates
Smile at
Me
And
Offer
Congratulations.

Rain

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Water falling down
Crisp and clear like the spring day
Jewels resting on leaves.

Three roommates
Living together.
From three different states,
Sharing new ideas.

Three roommates
Helping each other,
Through the long days,
And late nights.

Three roommates
Relying on each other
For support
In this new experience.

Three roommates
Turning to each other
When they’re lost,
When they think they can’t go on.

Three roommates
Eating meals together,

Alone in the world.
An orphan, works all his life.
Tough from life’s cruelty.

Stress

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

The stress and pressure.
From teachers,
From parents,
From myself.

It pushes down.
Down, hard on my chest,
Until the work’s done,
Until I’ve done my best.

It never stops,
As soon as something
Ends, another
Starts.

There’s no break.
From when I get home the first night,
Through the year

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10
Sigh of relief, the school day’s done.
Reach the blue car outside,
Sling my backpack into the trunk
And with it all the stress
Lifts off my shoulders.

And we drive,
It’s not too far
To the place
Where I can forget about life
And let my mind slow down.
We pull in,
And eagerly get out of the car.
The wall of chlorine hits us
As soon as we approach
The door.

It’s a familiar scene,
That greets me every day,
After school.
That’s reliable and consistent,
Siempre.

As we enter,
Time slows.
And my mind unwinds,
Takes a break,
From racing all day long.
Through that test,
Through the essay
And research.

But now I’m where I belong.
In this building
That provides stability
And comfort
Siempre.

It’s there,
After the worst day.
It’s there,
After the stress,
It’s there, never changing.

And now we’re inside,
Hit by a heat wave.

Walking through the snow
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
The layer of ice on top
Glimmering in the path ahead.

The sun shines down through a hole in the clouds
Its rays sending diamonds of light
Blinding.
Shield your eyes with your hand.

Freckled face is numb,
Hands clench inside the glove to keep warm.
Wet hair frozen,
Eyelashes covered with snowflakes.

Keep walking, almost there,

Tiptoe up the stairs
At once, icy hand grabs foot
Everything goes black.

By Maddie Gilbert
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

She looked at the girl, me
Standing behind the starting blocks,
Staring at the tiled pool deck,
Eyes locked on the ground.

Goggles strapped tightly around her head
Concentrating on the churning water of other swimmers in front of her.
Arms crossed over her chest,
Standing calmly, waiting.

What’s going on in her head?

In this box
Of blemished Cherry wood
She put her first things and accomplishments.

Her first shoes,
Her first pair of mittens.
And her first letter from a friend.

Her first necklace,
Her first postcard,
And her first sketches.

Now she sits on the coarse wood floor
With the box, many years unopened
The items spread around her, a sketch held tenderly in her hands.

As I pull on the cold brass doorknob, I step forward and enter a warm room full of people cheerily talking with my dad. I shiver from the cold outside as my grandmother embraces me in a warm hug. Soon, my grandmother, dad, and I are joined by my grandfather, who wanders over to us from the metal chair in which he was sitting.