best07-08

The Beach

By Hillary Laggis
Hazen Union High School, Grade 10

My impulses are the waves
Coming and going without warning.
I don’t try to be happy
It comes naturally.
Everything - the salty air, the sound, the sand -
Is natural.
Life and living is effortless.
I simply follow the sun, and move with the tides.
The freedom surrounds me
It’s the wind in my hair, the sand between my toes, and the sun that kisses my cheeks.
Never have I felt more content and at ease with my life.
I look to my right, and see his brown hair move slightly in the breeze.
His fingers slip gently between mine
And the sunset is reflected in his eyes.
It’s a rare occasion when the desire for life to be different leaves me entirely -
There is nothing I can think to change.
I breathe in -
A smile spreads slowly across my face
And I know it’s unlikely to leave until summer fades away and I am forced to depart the constant bliss I’ve grown accustomed to.

Fantasies

By Hannah Reichel
Dummerston Middle School, Grade 7

You and me
Our hands entwined

Have picked dandelions
Spoken of who is kind
Have danced in the fields
To the songs in our head
Have traveled all over
Fought over bread
Have cried all night
Into puddles of fear
Have chuckled long hours
Have worried of something so near
Have dreamed up fantasies
And built our own kingdom
Have read books of adventure
Basked in freedom
Have chased the ladybugs
That were holed up for winter
Have made up songs
Held races to see who's the best sprinter
Have hurt each other's feelings
Then made it up
Have dreamt of being ladies
Wished for a pup.

So much fun we've had
You and me
I don't think it a shame
That you're imaginary!

She Stands There

By Shannon Moriarity
Benson Village School, Grade 8

She stands there
Words spilling from her mouth
Creating a pool of lies around her.
Drowning anyone who gets too close
Making them believe
Every word she speaks
Every lie she tells.
They fall for her trap
Fall for her lies.
She stands there
A pen in hand
As she scribbles out the truth
With words of her own.
The paper’s tacked to the wall
For everyone to see
For everyone to believe
That the real truth is fake.
That’s she right
We’re wrong.
When it’s the other way around.
She stands there
Taping over our mouths
So we can’t speak
So we can’t prove her wrong.
Our screams are silenced
To just a whisper behind the door.
She stands there
Blocking us from getting through.
A barrier keeping out the truth
Forcing us into the shadows
Into the corner.
She stands there
Pushing us off the cliff.
And we keep falling
Farther and farther.
Until we crash far below her.
Defeated.

Awkward Love

By Rebecca White
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

I sit here swinging
My feet back
And forth over the
Concrete barrier.

The sweating summer air
Kissing my tanned
Hot skin.

As the fireflies buzz by
In a bright flurry
Of translucent wings.

Zipping past my knees
As I throw dandelion petals
Into the deep river water.

The contrast of the thoughtful
Wise water
And
The anxious passionate
Air
Seems to mix at the surface
Pooling my emotions
At its face.

I hear the crunch of sandals
On twigs as
I move my hair behind
My ears.

The noise gets closer
And I turn
Around To see
Him.

Mathew is standing over me
smiling.

His hands in his pockets
Trying to look casual.
His blond hair is shaggier than
During school months.
He has sun freckles on his nose
Like a little wingspan
Over his cheeks.
“Hey.”

“Hey.”

He sits beside me looking
Out over the river.

He looks at me and smiles again.

Luna

By Katherine Scalia
Green Mountain Valley School, Grade 10

Luna…
was my
brother's first
word. It must
have been the
Spanish nanny
who would point at
the dimpled fluorescent
sphere lighting up the sky
and brightly say, “Look
little Nicolás! They hung
it there for you! It shines
that big for you!...
la luna, la luna,
shines like that
for you…”
Luna…

Experience severe
vertigo
as the lights of
a million city streets
drift up through
the 22nd story window and
surround you
and make you dream of a
camera,
knowing that it
could never do it
justice.

Experience severe
temptation
as you go out into
the streets,
avoiding the
anxious mothers as they
try to rope their
precious darlings in,
and save them from
the glory of the night.

Experience severe
amazement
as you walk alone
by all the bars,
thundering music into
the sweet, foggy air,
and expelling the clipping
of high-heels
and the shouts for
"just one more"
into the darkness.

Experience severe
pyromania
as you trip through downtown
and watch as the women
hold out cigarettes
for men in crumpled suits
and boys in baseball
hats
as the the glowing butts
are stubbed out
under fishnet stockings
before they can overpower the
scent of
perfume.

Experience severity
as you wander
from sidewalk to sidewalk,
ignoring the reflection
in the store windows
from the dawning
sun
and rambling away
towards the
night.

She wakes up one morning to the usual scent of coffee and uncurls her small frame from the twisted sheets she tries (but fails) to keep so neat. As she wanders downstairs she pictures the woman from the other night. Her memory reveals itself as a small smile on her face until she enters the kitchen where her lover has made her coffee as usual. She feels a pang as she studies her lover’s familiar face.
Her lover hands her a cup of coffee and the newspaper and she kisses her lover in return before retreating to the table to continue waking up.
------
Later in the day, at work, she receives a call from the woman. She tries to fend-off the call, but the woman is so persistent that she has to pick up the phone eventually.
The woman wants to see her again. When are you free?
Never. I can't. I'm sorry.
The woman wonders what has happened. What has changed.

Don't worry,
cause there's always tomorrow.
Another day,
to start fresh
and new.

Don't fret,
cause they are laughing now.
In a week,
the news will be dust in the wind.

Don't cry now,
cause he never means,
what he says.
He'll apoligize,
when the morning comes again.

He'll say he loves you,
and he wants you in his arms.
He'll cuddle you
with an everlasting hug.

Tomorrow is another day,
so don't worry now.
All your troubles will go away,
if only for a while...

In the Next Life

By Amelia Seman
Essex High School, Grade 9

In the next life,
when we're not so afraid,
we'll do things
we always wanted to
but didn't dare.

We'll throw ourselves off
mossy cliffs
into deep clear pools
and swim down to the bottom
to see the colorful fish.

We'll climb huge redwood trees
all the way to the top
and lean out,
far out,
pretending to be birds.

We'll run barefoot
across grassy plains,
pounding up hills
and tumbling down
till we stop and fall down,
out of breath.

We'll play on the river
covered in ice
in the middle of the night,
our frosty breath
revealed by the moonlight
shining through the tree branches.

We'll only stop
when we can't go anymore,
and then we'll fall into our beds
and sleep,
and sleep,
and sleep.

The ink
spreading slowly over his palm

H E L P

Why stop there?
he asks himself
Soon it's everywhere
His entire hand
consumed by the word
Thanks to a Bic
and Sharpie.

It's because he wants help
for something that can't be helped

but he always dreams.

Would Have . . .

By Karlie Kauffeld
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 11

“Your Grandmother would have loved you”
they tell me
When I come dancing out of my room,
in a teal feather boa.
When I clip enormous flashy earrings
onto my tiny earlobes.
When I belt out Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog”
for my chuckling family.
When I insist that dressing up in my nice Easter dress
is, in fact, wearing a fairy skirt with spotted pink tights.
When I beg to buy a shirt
spattered with magentas and greens.
When I carry the silver, sequin-covered prom dress
into the tiny dressing room
remarking, “Gee, this does look good!”
always,
“Your Grandmother would have loved you”

A poem for her

By Ken McFadden
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 8

Here without you
My heart's been broken in two
In this endless pit of misery
It’s unbelievable
The way I feel about you
After my heart's been broken in two
I knew you were the one
The moment I saw you
I knew we could make it through
Without a doubt in my mind
Who knew we would climb so high
To the top of the sky
You and I
I never knew you could be so cruel
Those bright blue eyes
Will never look at me
The way they used to.

I looked at you
You looked at me
At that moment
I knew we were meant to be
You took my breath away
But then you turned away
When you come around
I act like a clown
You look at me
Like there’s nothing to see
I look at you with my heart in agony.

In this world I find so divine
I cannot find a place in my mind
To tell you the way I feel about you
But let me tell you
You don’t even have a clue
But that’s OK
Maybe if I look deep enough

Here without you
My hearts been broken in two
In this endless pit of misery
It’s un-believable
The way I feel about you
After my hearts been broken in two
I knew you were the one
The moment I saw you
I knew we could make it through
Without a doubt in my mind
Who knew we would climb so high
To the top of the sky
You and I
I never knew you could be so cruel
Those bright blue eyes
Will never look at me
The way they used to.

I looked at you
You looked at me
At that moment
I knew we were meant to be
You took my breathe away
But then you turned away
When you come around
I act like a clown
You look at me
Like there’s nothing to see
I look at you with my heart in agony.

In this world I find so divine
I cannot find a place in my mind
To tell you the way I feel about you
But let me tell you
You don’t even have a clue
But that’s ok
Maybe if I look deep enough
I can find a way
To let you know
The way I feel about you.
She’s just a friend
Nothing more
What more could I ask for
She has no time to lend
But thank god
I’m still her friend
She thought I was mad
So she stayed away
Until she found I was glad
There is no need to pout
Or be sad.

I just want to say
Goodbye
Because you looked at me
Like we were meant to be
But then you turned away
After you took my breath away
So goodbye
To all my dreams
And the girl I’ll never have
With those bright blue eyes
And face so sad.

I know I'm beyond your forgiveness,
I know that I've scarred you.
But, please, at least hear me out,
Listen to what I know is true.

You don't really understand,
I do love you, more than anything.
You're the first to treat me like a person,
And, in return, I destroyed your everything.

I've hurt you more than I'll ever know,
Strangled your heart and broke it, too.
Ripped the wings off the back of my angel,
Shattered the very essence that is you.

But you can't leave me, I need you!
Without you, I'll go even more insane!
You're the one person that I've ever loved,
That can pierce the madness of my brain.

You are the light to my darkness,
The beautiful angel of my life.
Being with you can bring me some peace,
Put at bay all of the pain and strife.

I can never express how sorry I am,
I wish I could take everthing back.
I want to redeem myself in your eyes,
Show you that my soul is not completely black.

I promise you, I swear to you
I'm going to make things right.
I swear that I want to make you happy,
And end, love, your eternal night.