Emily Fariel

Grandparents

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

I may have never known you
You never knew me.
Although
I am reminded of your life
Everywhere I look.
Your
Paintings,
Books.
All reminders of
You
Your remarkable life.
If only you had stayed
One more year.
At least I would have met you
You would have met me.
Or maybe even longer
Than that one year
And I could have learned
Just how you did it.
Maybe someday.

I never knew
that here
a place so near
to there

The fog
hangs
in
silence

surrounding me
and gliding over my skin

leaving tiny beads of moisture
clinging for their life
for if they fall
they will lose their individuality
and join the puddle below my feet

a deep breath
really is
a breath of fresh air
not
an air freshener
of just chemicals

and for a moment
I forget
that I'm
in the middle of
New York City

Double Lives

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

The family

They wake up as farmers
And do the morning chores
While others
Are still asleep
Then they all go off
To lead their double lives

She

Goes to school
A student
Comes home
A farmer
As she feeds the sheep

Her mother

Goes to work
A nurse
Comes home
A farmer
While she delivers a lamb

Her father

Goes to work
A teacher
Comes home
A farmer
When he milks the cows

The family

Earning enough
To get by
With their jobs
And the small profit
From the farm

But they could not make it
If not for
Their double lives

The reality
Of many small-farm owners
Today

Mud

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

Squish, squish,
I hear
As my bare feet
Imprint the spongy mud.

Squish, squish,
I see
As my toes slowly sink down,
every step I take.

Squish, squish,
I feel
As I shiver.
The slimy, cold mud
Enveloping my feet,
the closer I get to the water.

Squish, squish,
I smell
Leftover iron
From years of dumping waste

The Backyard of a Farm

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

A backyard is not just grass.
It’s the place where I rode my bike and the chain came off.
Where my sister and I played hide and seek, in the surrounding woods.
Where our garden grew most of the vegetables we ate.
Where we picked wild strawberries, and attempted to make jam.

Mistakes

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

Oops… made a mistake.
Colored outside the line.
Oops.
Spelled a word wrong.
Oops…
Every little mistake,
Adds up,
Makes us imperfect,
and human.

Rain

By Emily Fariel
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

Rain.
Keeping me awake all night.
Must only be two in the morning.
Looking out the window from my second floor bedroom,
but it's too late.
My parents still asleep,
In the room next to mine.
The whole town still asleep.
I hear a sound,
and my house welcomes the water.

Stress.
The weight on your shoulders,
A force holding you back.
You have so much work to do,
The game depends on you.
The stress of it all is burdening
The feeling that you can’t move an inch.
You have to finish the job,
But you can’t.
It’s too stressful.