Waiting

Sitting together,
Side by side
On the stairs
Bouncing knees,
Racing hearts,
Holding hands
Trying to quiet our minds
We hear chatter,
Merry sounds,
Joyful,
Waiting,
Wishing we were there,
Dreaming of what's below us

The bell rings, right at 3 o'clock.
When I get out of class, I go to the door.
No one is there.
I go to my friend and I say, "Where do you think everyone is?"
"I don't know," he says. "Usually someone is here by now."
It's 3:30pm and we're all still...
waiting.
Everyone in the school is talking on their phone, trying to see if someone is coming.
I go to the cafeteria to buy something.

Waiting… in… an… airport…

What is worse then waiting?
He sits and waits,
For the snow to cease falling,
So he can journey to far away places.

What is there to do?
Nothing of any interest of course…
He may sit and watch the magical flakes float on
Or he may create his own inspired dream if he sleeps.

He might lose himself to the repetitive beat of music,

What do I Wait For?

By Kaylah Sharpe
Rice Memorial High School, Grade 9

Every year I wait.
I wait for warm, cozy fires;
for a blanket of snow on the cold ground outside.
For songs of joy and merriment to fill the air,
like rushing water filling lakes during a flood.
A tree adorned with colorful decorations.
Lights twinkling cheerfully on the mantle.
I wait to see children outside running up a hill,
carrying their bright-colored sled with them.
The smiles they wear when they go down the steep hill,
accompanied by many screams of delight.
The making of a snowman,
dressed in a furry, wool hat and a matching scarf.
I wait to put on my best clothes and go to church.
At the mass, a small manger set up in front of the altar.
Wise men, shepherds, sheep, angels, Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.
After mass, parents hand out candy-canes;
the red and white stripes taste of peppermint.
At the house, I wait to make cookies;
sugar, chocolate chip, and gingerbread.
Hands reach for them eagerly.
I wait to set some chewy cookies aside for an expected guest.
People gradually wander upstairs to their warm beds.
Listening in bed, the clock chimes twelve times.
Slowly, people drift off to sleep,
almost like zombies;
dreaming of the next morning.
I wait to wake up early,
run downstairs excitedly, and see what I’ve been waiting for.
Presents, wrapped in red and green paper,
sitting under the beautiful tree.
Stockings hang on the fireplace,
stuffed with goodies and treats.
Everyone laughs happily,
as if the day will never end.
I wait for joy that the Christmas spirit brings.

No one likes to wait.
It can be dull, and there’s usually
something else that we could be doing.
Yet life requires waiting.
Without it, life becomes the Autobahn,
a highway of zooming people
instead of cars.
On the busy highway,
there are no traffic lights,
no stop signs,
or intersections.
The feeling of time hurrying us would be like
the minimum speed limit

Acceptance/Rejection

By Liana Johnson
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 12

Trotting
On the icy driveway
In over-sized, clunky, untied boots
Hair whipping
From the force of the wind
Head bowed
But always looking
Toward the destination.

The mailbox.
The envelope.
The letter.

Let it be today.
I arrive at the mailbox.
I stare it down.
Slowly,
Savoring the moment,
I open the door with a drawn out
Creak.

Empty.
No!
Trot back inside

To wait by the window
Rocking furiously in a chair.
It’s on my mind
Nothing else
Can’t think
My future
Determined
By letters
Of acceptance
Or rejection.

Stop rocking.
Stand up.
Out the window,
There he is
The one I’ve been
Waiting for.
The mailman.

Back into my clunky boots
Out the front door
Don’t slip!
I reach the mailbox
And remove all its contents.

Back inside, shuffling through
Bills
Magazines
Junk mail
Everything
Except my letter!

I sigh and flop dejectedly
Into a nearby chair.
Maybe it’ll come tomorrow.

No one likes to wait.
It can be dull, and there’s usually
something else that we could be doing.
Yet life requires waiting.
Without it, life becomes the Autobahn,
a highway of zooming people
instead of cars.
On the busy highway,
there are no traffic lights,
no stop signs,
or intersections.
The feeling of time hurrying us would be like
the minimum speed limit

Waiting for the Wii
By William Fretwell

next day shipping sometimes feels like the most gratifying thing that civilization has ever offered

Waiting.
Watching, listening, waiting
Wanting, wishing, waiting
One moment, never ending
Seconds drag, and time slows
To the speed of the universe
I wait, for knowing
I hope, for this eternity of warped time to come to close
To find out, what I want to know

As the day drags on
As the hours begin to pass
Waiting for something to happen
Boredom, I begin to surpass

Sitting here my mind begins to wander
My time I slowly squander
I hope and wait in anticipation
For something to bring me out of this damnation

All is quite all is still
I feel as if the world is coming to an end
Slowly falling apart beneath my feet

Watching People Wait

By Heather Sheltra
Rice Memorial High School, Grade 9

People sit around waiting for life to happen,
Life happens whether or not you’re waiting for it,
Live life like there won’t be a tomorrow,
Don’t sit around waiting for the life you want to lead.
Living, Living, Living

People feel the need for life to move faster.
Time can’t be fast enough
The mall and the airport are full of people waiting for something or other.
Sitting, heart beating, wishing for time to move faster.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.

A father and a daughter sit outside the clothing store as mom shops,
The girl jumps around impatiently awaiting for her mothers return.
The father checks his watch, surely feeling late for something.
They attempt to busy themselves in some sort of entertainment.
Waiting, waiting, waiting

The plane leaves in an hour,
The people wait impatiently to go on their vacation to some place warm.
The kids try to entertain themselves by playing cards.
The parents sit, bored out of their minds.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.

The family sits down to dinner, when they call upstairs to the daughter.
She refuses to come; she sits by the phone, waiting for him to call.
Hours go by, finally the phone rings and the telemarketer begins.
She sits waiting and waiting, when the phone rings and she picks it up and hears his voice.
Waiting, waiting, waiting.

The elderly man sits on the bench across from the cemetery.
A little boy asks him “Why do you sit here everyday for hours on end?”
He replied “I am waiting for my turn to die so I can be next to my wife again.”
The little boy says “Sir why would you waste your time waiting, when you could enjoy life?”
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

People sit around waiting for life to happen,
Life happens whether or not you’re waiting for it,
Live life like there won’t be a tomorrow,
Don’t sit around waiting for the life you want to lead.

Waiting

By Jake Robinson
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 12

Always waiting
for the next event
never living
for the moment.

So much is missed
time goes by
waiting for nothing
future is a lie.

Life is now
truth is here
to get where your going
you have to steer.

I can’t sleep at night. He’s all I think about. I’ve been waiting, for him to say he’ll give me another chance. Just waiting for him to say he wants me back, and that he missed me.
I’m lying here in bed, all teary eyed thinking about all our great memories. I miss him, his smile, and his funny laugh.
Every time I see him, a smile appears automatically on my face.

Waiting. I am waiting for something to appear to take me out of this endless crossroad. Go home? Or just wait? I can't believe it all started with that burglary at my house.
"Wake up you filthy old hag!” screamed the burglar to my grandma who was staying wtih me over the weekend because of Christmas. " Give me anything of value!"
"Please. I have nothing of value."

Waiting

By Briana Spangler
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

I sit here waiting in this mislabeled room,
Foul smells of sickness and medicine hover all around me.
I hold it in tightly and silently but the longer I wait the more impatient I get.
Dim greenish fluorescent lights hover above me making a noise I can just barely hear.
And then I wait,
Much,
Much,
Longer.
Longer than I have ever waited before in my life,
Longer than I have ever been taught to wait before.
This room is very spacious,
But all the time I wait,
The walls close further in around me,
Creating suffocation around me that I have never known.
I think,
That if I must be here much longer,
In this miserable room,

I will surely lose my sanity,
Waiting.

Waiting

I wish I
could melt the depression,
That has coiled itself,
Around your heart,
Be the satisfaction you need,
Instead of cold metal
Prying open your skin.

Watching blood flow
Upon your skin
Like
Autumn
Leaves
Skittering
Across a
Frosted
Ground.
Frozen

What is waiting?
By Montana Bowman
What is waiting?
Anticipation of an event
Of a package
A response
Waiting is expectation
Of a good thing
Or bad
Waiting is being prepared
For the best
Or the worse
Waiting is being ready
For a life
Or death
Waiting is everlasting
Constant
Everyone is waiting
For something

Tap…tap…tap…
The new father anxiously taps his foot, waiting for the nurse to emerge with his new baby.
Whimper…Whimper…Whimper
The Soon-to-be-widow hides her face in her hands, waiting to hear the bad news from her husband’s surgeon
Isitfunisitweirdwhendowegettogohowlongisitcanwegonowwhatdoidowhenigetcalled

By Mary Pat Morgan
Edmunds Elementary, Grade 3

A Ride at the Fair

By Maggie Moran
Edmunds Elementary School, Grade 4

Waiting

By Maggie Moran
Edmunds Elementary School, Grade 4

Waiting

(This story takes place during my trip to Costa Rica with some friends. We are sharing a double room between the three of us. It’s my turn to share the bed)

“Yo guys I need some sleep, turn the light out.” I Exclaimed as I bury my face in the pillow.

“Hold on a sec let me unplug my camera and ipod.” Jimmy replied. “Ok I’m good. See you in the morning.”

The bare white walls
Is what I can’t stand.
The tick, tock of the perfect round clock
piercing the silence.
The heavy gray door remains locked,
Driving me crazy.
They left me here,
They said it would be best.
At precisely 12:00 a.m. every day,
a skittish man comes in.
He carries a tray,
A PB & J,
An apple,
And a small carton of milk.
He places it down,
Hands still shaking.

By Greta L.A. Zarro
Rice Memorial High School, Grade 9

As I stare at the clock,
the second hand moves a millimeter.
Time passes slowly,
when you have to wait restlessly.

My dentist appointment,
begins in an hour.
It seems like forever,
and time just doesn’t want to budge.

I really do hate going to the dentist’s.
Zzr, zzzzzz, zzrrr,
my gaping mouth wrenched apart,

By Peyton Wilson
Vermont Academy, Grade 9

I nearly feel sick, I wonder if you do too?
Your face is getting quite pale.
I notice we both jump when someone passes through
So maybe I’m hitting the head of the nail:
You and I are worried sick, huh?
The hospital smell I never liked from the start
Has never seemed so bad.

Strength
What does it mean to be strong?
He comes inside from a run with the dog and his face alight with a satisfying glow of exertion.
He looks healthy,
Yet as he downs a glass of water, his head tilted back, the light catches the lumps in his neck and I shudder.
Momentarily forgotten, the weight drops in my chest again.
Questioning is relentless and never stops.

Waiting

By Jessy Davenport
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

In a world industrialized…waiting
Waiting for time savers
Waiting for performance
Waiting for promised speed
Waiting for the guaranteed technology

Everyday…waiting
In line
In traffic
In the car
On the phone
On computers
Waiting…

In a world of speed…waiting
The perception of perfection…
Keeps us waiting all day
Fast food…too slow
Check out lines… too long
Everything available with a click.
Waiting for the world around us to keep up with our pace

Waiting for reality to stop us…
Before we make an irreversible mistake
Waiting always for proof, for a sign…
Relying on technology blindly,
And then not believing the truth,
Right in front of our eyes
When it’s not what we wanted to hear.
Waiting for the ideal situation to come our way

Our expectations are misleading.
While we wait
Maybe someday we will stop and think,
Realize,
Remove the shield…
Open our clouded eyes and see,
The origin of all this waiting,
In a world of industry, blooming technology that
Nothing is ever adequate, fast enough…
But still we wait.

The Photograph of the Man in Uniform

By Caitlin Bernard
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

This morning seems foolishly brightened by the light of the buoyant sun.
Her feet sweep the floor in a distant agony that fills every space in her soul.
She wanders to the kitchen table; dark and faceless like the tormented glass of her eyes.
This is her endless mist, her ceaseless fog that feels unreal and lost.
The photograph on the table is faded and ashen, but it’s her only inception of color in this world.
This is the hope that she holds in her damaged hands and sings softly to everyday.
She stares at the picture of the man in uniform and convinces herself that he will come back to her.
She has convinced herself to wait for the only light that has burnt out and made her heart dark.
This broken promise, her diluted injustice, her depleted fate will never become tangible and conscious in her eyes.
She has nothing left but her hopelessness, so she waits.
This faded photograph has become her own faded reality inside of a hollow soul that would give anything to be filled again.
And here she waits; waits for the unreality.

The Wait

By Julie Boyd
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Sitting
Waiting
Will this end?

Still sitting
Still waiting
Oh this is ridiculous

I've been sitting
I've been waiting
This red light is too long