9

I made a bracelet.
It was for you.
You saw it today.
Did you know it was for you, to keep me from saying what I need to?
Did you recognize the blue and red?
Remember, you told me that.
Remember that night?
Please listen, because she won't.
I was doing things left and right for her, out of my way.
She didn't remember my name an hour later.
I'm trying to make friends with her for you, you know.
It's not like she did anything wrong, not to me.
So I'm being fair.
I hope.
But I'm feeling used.
So I made a bracelet.
It was for you.
But I'm going to wear it.
I need it more than you.

And I promised.
I promised I wouldn't cry for you.
You don't know how many times I've almost broken it.
But I promised.

Ice
like the words on your lips
cutting threw me like glass
shredding my heart
icicles on every word
like acid
burning me
tearing me into a million pieces
leaving no traces of warmth
Ice
as cold as your heart
as cold as your words
as cold as a knife
like ice

Your acidic love
burns the silver
of my tongue,
and all I see
is red and gold.

Metallic, nearly;
copper blood -
how could something
so lovely
be so cruel?

Your acidic love
burns the silver
of my tongue,
and all I see
is red and gold.

Fluorescent drops
fall from the ceiling;
looks like we've
got another leak
(you knew I was weak).

Your acidic love
burns the silver
of my tongue,
and all I see
is red and gold.

Clear-shot leaves
fall, browned husks
crumbling with
too much weight
put upon them.

Your acidic love
burns the silver
of my tongue,
and all I see
is red and gold.

Wintry flakes
fall on my tongue
after hiding so long
from acidic love
(the sun).

Which way
Am I meant to turn,
When heaven is
Locked and
My body is limp?

When I have
Forgotten to
Say my prayers?
Am I forgiven?

Will I cease
Existence?
What is my

Punishment?

Judgment day
They tell me.

I don't believe
in

Judgment day.

Because I don't
have secrets
From the wind.

The sun is my heart.

I bury my thoughts
In the grass.

I am already opened
And

Earth
Doesn't judge.

When someone changes that much, they have no right to turn on the person who's been with them the whole time.
That would be me.

We're walking down the path. Not next to each other, of course, God forbid. Anything to keep from being seen 'with' me.
So I get to stare at the back of your calves the whole time.
(Not that I mind.)
(It's just that now that you lost all that weight, the muscles that I always knew were there are now actually visible.)
(See, I wasn't making it up.)

You're kicking a rock, big soccer champ that you are.
Dribbling it back and forth and showing off. Just in case anyone's watching your leg muscles rippling.
(Apart from me.)

Because obviously I'm not the only one to notice.
Generally, when you lose 20+ pounds over the summer, at exercise camp, you do attract some attention the next semester.
I should have realized that. I kick myself and pretend no one saw me almost trip.

TALK TO ME, LOSER.
(No offense.)

Silence. I apologized, didn't I?

LOOK AT ME, I want to scream.
I WAS YOUR FRIEND FIRST. SINCE FOURTH GRADE. REMEMBER?
Remember?
Remember me?

Silence.

Here's a rhetorical question:
Do you know?

Discovering Lake Champlain

By Maria Burt
Fair Haven Union High School, Grade 9

Vermont’s history is full of discoveries. Throughout time, people have discovered slate, granite, marble, maple, arrowheads, fossils and, if we look back far enough, we even have evidence of the discovery of our largest body of water, Lake Champlain. The saying holds true, you can find anything if you just dig deep enough.
The best way to explain the discovery of Lake Champlain is to elucidate some things about the person who discovered it. After all, the lake is named after him. Do you know who I’m talking about? If you said Samuel De Champlain, you are absolutely correct.

Running, waiting to be found

By Amber Brooks
Rivendell Academy, Grade 9

The crisp air bit at my cheeks, and my shirt clung to me as I ran through the woods. I pushed the hair off my forehead and kept sprinting through the forest. I leaped over dead logs and broken branches, yearning for my hiding place; I stopped quickly. My eyes scanned the area and my ears started ringing from the piercing silence. A twig snapped. I whipped my head around and found myself catching my breath. I dashed and tore through the trees and came to a halt by a large oak. I leaned my back against the rough bark and closed my eyes, listening. I could hear leaves falling, trees creaking, and the steps of my sister's feet. A smile wavered on my face and a giggle bubbled in my throat.
"Ready or not...here I come," she laughed, and it shook the trees. The leaves rustled underneath me as I waited to be found.

Discovery of Us

By Emily Mulvihill
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 9

It started out as something unexpected
This relationship we shared.

But then I discovered you
That night that we lay together
That night that was forever
And I felt your breath as mine.
It was that night that I discovered you.

My heartbeat racing
Against the clock
The fevered whispers
Beneath the stars

Our eyes met
As we lay together
Breath catching in our throats
It was then that I saw you
That I discovered you
And realized
How much I loved you.

Did you like me?
Did you ever like me?
Were you just taking pity on me?
Do I matter to you?
Could you forget my face?
Do you want to forget my face?
Do you like her?
Have you always liked her?
Did that mean anything?
Were you planning on seeing me?
Are you actually my friend?
Did you lie to me?
Can I trust you?
Why did you do it?
Was is for you or for her?
Who's idea was it?
Was I supposed to see?
Did it "just happen"?
Does anything I say matter to you?
Why won't you tell me off?
Did you know?
Did you want to know?
If I bug you, why won't you tell me?
Are you honest with me?
Are you really not innocent?
Do I matter?
Are you still my friend?

She paints the sky black
And dots it with stars
She bottles her feelings
And keeps them in jars
She paints the world,
Splatters it blue
She'd break down
If you knew what she knew
The stars still twinkle
And she won't cry
She'll just look up
To her star dotted sky.

Fell the rosewood ashes
Pick us up, where we lie
The world is heavy on our shoulders
Until the day we die

Fell the comrades quietly
Into deep brown Earth
Resting there
Until the time of rebirth

Fell the melody of our tears
The poison seeping into our blood
Killing us softly
Your lies staining us with mud

Fell the memories of heaven
Our life has turned to the dark abyss
Quiet cries resort to desperate lies
Our world has gone amiss

Fell the Hand of Sorrow
Save our selves from this place
Take it a little easy on us now
Create a better tomorrow
For we have fell the Hand of Sorrow

Friendship
Honest,
Trustworthy,
Acquaintances
Helpful,
Caring,
Companions
Dependable,
Responsible,
Two people
Cooperative,
Respectful,
Associates
Supportive,
Sympathetic,
Connected People,
Close,
Dependable,
Inhabitants
True Friends

I am an abnormal girl. I'm not like any other girls in my school. I've spent about a week looking for someone who seems fairly close to me personality wise, but no matter how hard I try I can't find anyone. Why? I still don't have a clue, but maybe it's because of the way I act. I am usually timid around new people, or around groups of people, but when I am with my friends it's like this switch flips, and I'm turned into me. I am always hyper. I'm usually always saying something, or laughing. I talk about the most random things, I make really weird noisese, I am loud, I'm fairly pycho.In other words I'm an outgoing person. I'm not athletic because I don't like to sweat, and I HATE gym with a passion! I'm in orchestra and I play with as much energy as I can, but I play really soft when I don't know the song. I am usually really happy. I laugh at my friends and they laugh at me because I do a lot of things that are funny.

I was falling
You seemed to soar
When you reached
Down to save me
I realized you were the savior
In my dreams
But you took my heart
And left me empty
Your promises were false
Now all I see is the smile
When you ripped me apart
I was fooled from the start
You never wanted me
You just wanted to play God
To mess with my fragile heart
Because of you my trust is shattered
And now my darling
All I see is your smile
When you ripped me apart
You were my angel of deception

The happy
Wide eyed innocence
Smiling Faces
Rosy cheeks
And button noses
They aren't real
Only a cover up
For the pain we feel
and the happiness
We want