week32-09

By Fatima Nizamuddin
Albert D. Lawton School, Grade 6

"The pure land."
Tall buildings, restaurant chains, traffic jams, busy workers
Grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles
An uncle's wedding
Friends, family, fun, fantastic
Drums beating, BBQ chicken sizzling on the grill
Hot and spicy biryani served on huge platters
Hip hop music pumps through the hall
People cheer crazily
Girls dance in multicolored ghararas swinging with delight
Music, boom box, disco light
Happy, hopeful, loved.
An old, bearded man gets ready for work around 6:30 a.m.
Destitute, wrinkled, worn out
Preparing his cart with fruits, vegetables and handmade children's toys
Mangos, kiwi, bananas, apricots
Pakistan -- where I'm from
My home, my country, the place I belong.

By Mallory Charland
Albert D. Lawton Middle School, Grade 6

Slide a quarter into the slot
The machine beeps; give it all you've got
Got your eyes on your favorite prize
It's a plan, you must devise
Take the lever, push it to the right
You slam on the button, and miss, Oh! It's alright
Deposit another precious cent
The machine beeps again; only three quarters are left unspent
Maneuver carefully, you paid a large price
Your friend breathes over your shoulder just waiting to give advice
You push the button; the machine drops the crane
You miss again and begin to complain
Smartly you decide to just walk away
So you go back to your table and order a fish fillet.

By Katie Cooper
Chelsea Public School, Grade

The fog settles upon the field as the sun sinks beyond the horizon line. The darkening sky blankets the ground below with a thin layer of fronts. The creatures of the field fall into a sluggish haze as the moon begins to ascend into the sky. The nearby farmhouse flicks on its porch light, casting light upon the glimmering lawn. A young man sits on the front steps with his grandfather shucking an abundance of corn. Puffs of smoke rise into the night from the old man's pipe as they sit and talk. A large brown-and-white dog lies at their feet, patiently awaiting a slight bit of acknowledgment. The night chill sweeps over the valley and soon the porch becomes deserted.

By Grace Yu
Albert D. Lawton Middle School, Grade 6

Spring is the wolf
Padding swiftly on her paws
Warming and melting snow and frost
With her warm breath she makes flowers grow
Giving life to insects and buds.
Awakening trees from their deep slumber
Making the stream rush once again.
Her glowing eyes fixed on the woods
Letting it live for another year.
Her gray tail brushes against the branches
While she passes.
Then she drifts apart
Entering each drop of water
Seeping into every plant and tree
Giving life to the forest
And waiting to be awakened once more.

By Valaree Bedell
Waits River Valley School, Grade 8

Heights. Ever since I can remember I have had a fear of heights. More specifically, bridges. No matter where I was, or whom I may have been with, every time I went over a bridge I would shriek loudly with fear. The thought of the bridge collapsing leaving me stuck in a car, under water, always gave me the chills when I happened to think about it. Covered bridges, absolutely not! They made me cry when I went over them. Not being able to see anything but the dark, wooden walls around me made me feel like I was suffocating. Unfortunately, sometimes bridges are the only way to get from one place to another in a reasonable amount of time. I knew what I had to do. Read more »

By Jessica Young
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 9

I sit on the mattress at the foot of my bed.
I lean against my bed.
My guitar leans against my chair,
waiting patiently to be picked up.
The Titanic sits upon the 1989 SHARP TV,
which sits upon a box of summer clothes.
My blinds are all flipped down
so the world stays out.
My iPod plays quietly, just for me. Read more »

By Tori Svec
Dummerston Elementary School, Grade 6

The late afternoon sun is bright in the never-ending blue sky as I listen to the chickadees and crows call to one another like old friends.
The sprouts in the garden are already in bloom.
The afternoon heat has disappeared, making me pull on a sweater and hug my knees close for warmth. Soon the nights will be just as warm as the days,
the days that make you want to never go to sleep.
The days of summer.

By Karlie Kauffeld
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 12

Duncan is not my best friend.
All the lovely quotes about dog being man's best friend are wrong.
All the greeting cards, children's stories, and classic movies deceive.
Sometimes, something comes in between.
Sometimes, a dog forgets who feeds him.
He forgets who scratches his belly.
He forgets who catches his paws and dances with him around a room.
A chicken can change the world.
A chicken can come between a girl and her dog.
A tiny rubber chicken, whose legs were bitten off upon first encounter.
A tiny rubber chicken stole the love of my doofus dog.
Duncan brings his squeaky, legless chicken everywhere,
and forgets to bring me.

By Danny Cavan
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

I’m sick of the cold,
I’m sick of the snow.
I want sun,
I want spring.
So Mother Nature please bring spring!

By Rebecca Williams
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

Best day ever
Imaginations going wild
Radical days
The great presents
Having fun all around
Day dreaming all day
After all the presents
You have some cake.
So sweet iced cake.

By Nichole Simonds
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

Buds are in session.
Elephants eat green grass.
I like being green.
Now we have green grass.
I love being green.
Now we have green leaves.
Green, green, green.

Grass is green.
Roses with green leaves.
Elephants love green grass.
Elephants with green paint on them
Nice being green. Read more »

By Noel Hurka
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

"There’s nothing to fear but fear itself"
I was at school and I herd odd noises coming from the room next to mine. That’s the room everyone says not to go into. I thought to myself “I’ll go into the room to see if there’s anything in there." Read more »

By Katey Weeks
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

Every Saturday, I bowl on a league. My team is called the “Dallas Cowboys.” I bowl with Michael, Francis, and Justin. Guess what my highest score is? 144. My lowest score? 80. My average is 101. I have been bowling since I was 3 years old. I love bowling because it is so much fun and I get to see my friends.

By Natasha Forrest
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

Lately my head is filled with things I don’t want to hear. People yelling things in my ear that I don’t care about. If only I could make all the unimportant things go in one ear and come out the other. My life would be so perfect. There would be no gossip, no secrets, and no problems.

By Bernadette Higgs
Clarendon Elementary School, Grade 5

She's got a major attitude. She acts like a queen, yet I own her. And guess what, she is my dog!!!

I wish it would stop
The bullying is starting
I wish it would stop
Calling me names
I cannot repeat
I wish it would stop
Pushing the table
Towards my chest
I wish it would stop
People avoiding me
I wish it would stop
Talking about me
Behind my back
I wish it would stop
Regretting me being
Their project partner
I wish it would stop
The boys being rude
I wish it would stop
Throwing stuff around
When teachers aren’t near Read more »

By Brad Maxfield
Lebanon High School, Grade 12

Although he may not be meretricious
His tranquil shot has made his future quite auspicious
Cutting down the nets was a result of being ambitious
The taste of a national championship is very delicious

The epitome of a jump shot, quick as a gazelle
This lethal combination’s the bane of his defenders, bringing them hell
Perfect touch, perfect rotation
Watching Ray shoot puts you in a sense of sedation Read more »

By Laura Brown
Lebanon High School, Grade 12

Standing on the deck at the top of the dune
I was hoping that the end of the week wouldn’t come too soon
As the salty breeze blew across my face
I realized this feeling would never be replaced
I walked down the stairs and stepped onto the sand
I picked it up and the grains fell through my hand
My feet were getting hot as I walked up to the shore
I didn’t have to wait for this moment anymore
My toes touched the water and I looked to the sky Read more »

By Marco Tumminia
Benson Village School, Grade 8

I have a thought
A devious thought
Something that will
Make this April Fools Day
The funniest one yet
My scheme unravels
In my head
The faucet…
The look on his face…
I chuckle to myself
Confident it will work
The only thing left
Is to put my thoughts
To action
I creep upstairs Read more »

If courage was a color
it would be bright red,
red as a crayola crayon,
as a cardinal,
as a child’s balloon.
If courage was a taste
it would be a jalapeño pepper,
hot and spicy.
It has the power to take down,
whoever dares challenge it.
Confident and ready,
for whatever comes its way.
If courage was a smell
it would be freshly cut grass.
If courage was a sound
it would be a lion’s roar,
strong and powerful.

By Eli Kravitz
Crossett Brook Middle School, Grade 8

If embarrassment was a color
it would be light pink,
pink as rosy cheeks,
as blooming flowers,
as icing on a cake.
If embarrassment was a taste
it would be lemon,
sour and unsatisfying.
If embarrassment was a smell,
it would be a cooking onion.
If embarrassment was a sound
it would be kids teasing,
relentless and non-stopping,
until you want to run away forever. Read more »

By Haley Spittle
Crossett Brook Middle School, Grade 8

If joy was a color it would be the
brightest blue, blue as the ocean
as blue as the sky.
If joy was a taste it would be fresh,
juicy watermelon on a hot summer day,
under the baking sun.
If joy was a smell it would be fresh flowers
blooming in the spring garden.
If joy was a sound it would be laughter
between many friends.

By Katie Broughall
Lebanon High School, Grade 12

I’ve made a big decision,
I’m going to get a tattoo.
I call the artist,
Make an appointment,
And wait for the day to come.
It’s finally here,
3 o’clock, Friday the 11th.
I walk in slowly,
My friend has to push me.
I’m scared.
I sit down on the chair, Read more »

By Rachel Baginski
Charlotte Central School, Grade 7

I can sense
his eyes somewhere
He better not be lost, I told him not to do that dare
I can't see anything, the foggy air is too dense

I am walking in the marshland
trying to persuade him to come out
for he has run off to pout
There! I see a little hand Read more »

By Adam Turner
Albert D. Lawton School, Grade 7

Each time I open up my drawer my head phones are in knots.
I think to myself, how do I make a knot not knot?
The next day I put my headphones away as perfect as can be,
But find when I take them out,
The knot fairy had come and tangled them up again!

How do you make a knot not knot?
It’s one of those mysteries of the world,
Why knots occur in everything
From headphones to necklaces to Christmas tree lights.

Oh, knots! Read more »

By Kennah McMahon
Essex High School, Grade 11

I'm staring at
3x3 inch yellow paper trails
lying on my bedroom floor,
lightly blowing in the breeze
of my space heater.
They're picking themselves up
one by one and re sticking only inches away
from where they began.
Lines from poems, phone numbers,
book titles, and chord names...
they've mixed themselves up
to the point where I know
they are all there,
I just don't know where. Read more »

By Kennah McMahon
Essex High School, Grade 11

Dear Baby,
I’m a teenage sister who’s decided to keep you, after turning down partial-birth apathy. The problem is: I’ve got no idea how to raise you. I’m too young to be a mother, and too old to be a new older sister. I’m seventeen years old, and in a month I’ll be holding you in my arms, a mirror in my lap, and watching my future sleep on my shoulder like my dormant college plans and unconscious intentions.

I’m only going to live in this stage of my life until May 9th, until you are pushed into history out of a warm, secluded, safe womb. Then, I’ll make a conscious effort; I’ll start trying to connect with this family again. I want you to fix us. I want to hand you to all the lonely people I know, and say, “Here, take this one-way love that will not hurt you.” Maybe you can fix those hearts I kicked off the counter, and watched crack on the floor. Hurting people is the only habit that no one warned you is harmful. Read more »

By Maria Burt
Fair Haven Union High School, Grade 9

Somewhere in the world, a life is ending.
Crumbling like a stonewall, tumbling like a tumbleweed, crashing like a hijacked plane into the twin towers.

Somewhere in the world a new life is starting.
Blooming like a flower, flying like a bird, swaying in the wind.

Somewhere in the world, a love is coming to a crashing halt.
As if someone jumped out from behind a bush holding a stop sign for a car headed straight toward them at full speed. Read more »

By Eli Goldman
Browns River Middle School, Grade 5

In March …
Snow goes, warm wind blows
Rain showers, new flowers
Mud comes, wet bums
The thaw’s here, away goes the snow gear
Ground starts to show, the grass begins to grow
Spring skiing, wet human being
Sap flows, snow goes Read more »

By Jenna Rickson
Essex High School, Grade 11

Why can't my mind wrap
around that it's not her,
but a demon hidden
somewhere deep

I know she can't
help it when her fists
begin to fly or when
you become the target
in the battle of battles
one you can never win
a battle that leaves bruises
on my skin
and gashes Read more »