week37-08

Again. . . None

By Casey Hayes
Rutland High School, Grade 12

I wish you could see
The look on your face at this precise moment.
The way those blue eyes sparkle.
And your lashes seem to be taking a nap.
You're only half-smiling
'Cause you're not entirely sure
How to handle me.
[Or this situation.]
I'm sorry I'm a disaster.
[I never meant to drag you down with me.]

When I

By Caitlyn Reilly
Dover Elementary School, Grade 6

When I walk I move
When I speak I talk
When I sleep I'm still
And when I think I'm changing the world

In Love

By Kelsey M. LeBlanc
Proctor High School, Grade 9

She’s with him
So much in love.
They’re so perfect
Walking down the hall.
Hand in hand and smiling.
She has always longed for someone
Like him, nice, sweet, kind, handsome.
Someone to protect her when she is hurt
Someone to talk to when she’s alone
Someone to make her day so much better
just by smiling.
He’s everything to her.
She’s so in love.

He’s taken her heart, it’s his now.
To do what he pleases, except break.
She trusts him, admires him, and adores him.
She’s in love.
They’re meant to be, she knows it.
He’s all she can think about, talk about, and dream about.
She can’t stand being away from him.
She wants to be in his arms once more.
She’s so in love.

They kiss goodbye and butterflies dance in her stomach.
It hurts to be away but she can’t wait for her dreams
Which will be filled with thoughts of him.
She’s so in love and can’t help it.

Love's Toys

By Daniel Wyman
Montpelier High School, Grade 12

They are the sweetly doomed
Young lovers, holding hands.
a ring on Her finger, His innocent gift.
She loves it, She loves him, loves the look in his eyes.
He loves Her, He holds Her, but soon come the lies.

That ring loses luster
That look in His eyes
Has dimmed as the shine of their innocence dies.
She loves him, She holds Him, but deep in Her mind
She doubts Him, He wanders, but love tells no lies.

She knows that they’re destined
This damned, sweet two.
He thinks that he loves her
If only He knew.
She loves him, She thinks, oh where is Her ring?
He’s noticed, He’s hurting, oh look at His eyes.

He finds her old ring
Of all places here:
The back seat, a friend’s car
Does confirm fear.
She loves him, not Him, not her ring-bearer boy.
He hates her, He hates him, love treats us as toys.

The Board

By Sawyer Brooks
Richmond Middle School, Grade 7

I was on the beach
Having a good old time
With the water all around me
Splashing everywhere
I was here
When it happened
They were all digging
Digging a hole
A big hole
I thought nothing of it
Paid it no attention
I went swimming
I got out
When I went over to look at the hole
It was done
The kids had laid a board across it
They were walking across it
Having fun
I asked of I could try it
They said that I could
So I went up to it
Got on the board
I was half way
At the deepest point
When it happened
The board began to wobble
It shook
I was loosing my balance
I fell
Everything slowed down
My leg scraped along the rough
Edge of the board.
My leg,
Cut from the edge of the board
Was gushing blood
From my hip
To just below my knee,
It hurt.
I cried out in pain
I washed it out in the salty water
Of the sea
In which
I had been playing in not even ten minutes
Before.
But it happened

The Rain

By Scott Messer
Benson Village School, Grade 7

It comes from the sky,
Sometimes frozen, sometimes not.
Softly pattering on the leaves and ground,
Making pretty ringing sounds.
It floods rivers and ditches,
Making potholes in the road.
Giving life to all things,
Hidden beneath the clouds.
Animals drink from rivers,
And people use underground springs.
We call it many names,
But our favorite one is rain.

Bad Dream

By Addison LaRock
Richmond Middle School, Grade 7

The dense clouds
Black as the night sky
Rumbling
Like a washing machine.
Then, through the wind
Out of nowhere a witch,
Ugly as a rat
Came and started to chase me and shouted
“Come here, my pretty!”
By that time I had already started to run for my life!
Too bad this wasn’t the 100m because I was sprinting
As fast as Justin Gaitlin, the Olympian!
Then,
KABOOM!
My heart was pounding as hard as my brother’s fist!
“I have woken up,” I told myself!

A Little Less Sure

By Liza Duchesneau
Milton High School, Grade 9

You push me off the branch,
Before I am ready.
I can tell from your smirk,
That you know I’m unsteady.
I want you to want me,
I do everything I can.
But I cannot learn to fly,
Before I can stand.

Look at you on your pedestal,
So high and mighty;
If I didn’t love you,
I would’ve pushed you off already.
A ‘boss’ like no other,
So naive and insecure;
And every time you speak,
I’m a little less sure.

Every ounce of my being
Thinks of you and me as a whole.
But I am a little less sure
That you’re the perfect mate
For my soul.

My hands move frantically,
As if to curse at the air.
You make me so mad,
That I can no longer bear…

…I can no longer bear
Your touch on my face.
But all that’s said and done,
Will not erase.

The time keeps unwinding,
As I fall from the tree.
But I know deep in my heart,
That somehow you’ll save me.

The Face of Time Past

By Emily Kulig
Rutland High School, Grade 10

The boy tried to balance the door as he opened it unsteadily for his mother and father. The mother shook her fur coat as she walked in, and the little boy took off his hat and gloves. The father brushed off his shiny new shoes.

They took a seat in one of the pews closer to the front with a scowl from the father, as their normal seat was in the back. The father knelt down to pray, and the mother and the little boy followed suit. The boy, who’s name was Jacob, finished quickly, sat back and made shapes and animals with his hands.

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!

Geta

By Bridget Iverson
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 9

The kimono-fabric straps press
cruelly into the tops of my
feet, but the wood is sanded smooth
to the point of
almost
soft.
The shoe is
wood
and fabric
and a little piece of metal on the
sole
that has no purpose except to
make a clicking noise
when I step.
The bottom is
pitted, pockmarked, marred
with the indents of
gravel
from when I wore these outside last summer.
They seem
disfigured, now;
scarred by the bite of
gravel teeth.
A tiny, complicated
geometric symbol
is carved
painstakingly
into the back of the
thick wood sole.
Am I the only one who notices
it's crooked?

I Hear, I fear, the Wide World Calling Me

By Douglas Clift
Mt. Mansfield Union High School, Grade 12

I hear, I fear, the wide world calling me
But still I feel a deep connection here
Uncertainty is all that I can see

I still remember tumbling from the tree
And hands, her hands that wiped away the tear
I hear, I fear, the wide world calling me.

I still remember bouncing on his knee
And music, music whispered in my ear
Uncertainty is all that I can see

I still remember Christmas morning glee
And wonder, wonder at the magic near
I hear, I fear, the wide world calling me

I still remember standing by the sea
And watching, watching our sun disappear
Uncertainty is all that I can see

And now, they tell me, I must turn and flee
And leave the people I have held so dear
I hear, I fear, the wide world calling me
Uncertainty is all that I can see

Dancing Colors

By Hank Collins
Rick Marcotte Central School, Grade 5

Dancing colors across the sky
complimented by the
fresh blanket of snow
on the ground.
Shades of blue, red
and purple. I see them dancing
gracefully across the sky
taunting us earth-bound beings.
Northern Lights.

Safe Place

By Theresa Glabach
Dummerston School, Grade 7

Running
Racing
Between the trees
No destination
Escaping
No danger
But fear
Of the unsaid
And the said
Two words to
Describe it
The truth.

Then
Crack
A twig snaps
I jump
Awakening
New thoughts
What ifs
And whys
And what now
No longer
Am I sure.

Still running
This time
A destination
The safe place
That has always
Eliminated
Fear
But it’s not
As I remember it.
Now rundown
Helpless
Alone.
I fix it
But it’s not
The same
Something is different
Yet still the same
In a way.

The
What ifs
And whys
And what now
Mostly leave
but still
some linger.

Running
Racing
between the trees
No destination
But I feel free
As free as
One in this
Situation
Could be.