Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School

a thousand words swimming

but which one to choose

this time my head is spinning

which words should I use

faster, faster, faster

my brain begins to whirl

because no one can define their own special moment

to anyone else in the world

Promises are one thing in life you can hardly keep

they slip between your fingers 

they slide around your feet

you can't see them be broken

but you can see when your secrets' been spoken

even though they promised, 

they made a promise they couldn't keep.

Sometimes it just seems pointless

This whole mess of a world we're thrown into,

It seems stupid, like a waste of time

There are so many of us, so many humans,

That have all done so much

Invented transportation, technology, electricity

What could one person, like us, ever have to offer to this gigantic world we call home

Sometimes it just seems painful

Like we're put here to suffer

Heartbreak, loss of a loved one, terror clouds our minds

Of all the bad things that could happen

And that have happened Read more »

When ever something seems happy or beautiful

it almost seems too happy, or too beautiful

and you start to question it.

and if something stays beautiful for to long

without any obstacles to over come,

without any lessons to learn

then your just stuck 

traveling on a road without speed bumps,

which guide you through your journey

and once you travel that road for too long

you forget where your going, because those little markers in the track

that you need to remember your way, are gone

and the road is never ending

because you never get to your real destination

your stuck in a land of too's and amazing's and perfect's

and to be stuck there is selfish

to the one person's that matters the most...

yourself

Am I not enough 

for even my self

is this thirst for perfection

bad for my health

do I push myself past

the point of return

just so that I can be the best

there's never a high enough grade on a test

I find a flaw in everything I do

and push myself harder 

comparing my grades to you

I never rest and give myself a tap on the back

there is always one thing that I lack

it's patience, it's persistence, it's time, it's rest,

it's focus, it's skill, it's punctuality, it's zest!

When there is a day that I will finally give myself a break

is when there is a test containing no hint of a mistake

and that my friend will also be the day that I die

pressure will have built up so much

that my head will take a fly

up in the air it will go

with a pop and a hiss my head will explode

When we think too hard 

we end up taking two steps back 

instead of two steps forward. 

And that is why I ran.

My muscles moved instinctively

In a pattern that they know all too well

and everything was black

other than the colors in the sky

and that is why I didn't hear you call my name

and that is why I kept running

I didn't have to explain this to myself

this was one of the only things that I didn't have to explain

to myself

and that is why I won't stop running

because your always moving two steps forward when you run

whichever way you look at it.

A tale of a girl who lived quite long ago

in a little city, with red bloodied snow

In a little house she lived underground

wondering when she could go ouside

when she didn't have to hide

This girl often wrote to a friend

although no letter did ever send

they were all kept in a little book

under her bed in a small hallowed nook

Often she had to quiet for they would come

her heart would beat, thump, thump, thump

she would hold her breath her hands gone numb

as they stole her family one by one

she imagined going away one day

to France, or Italy who could say

that's why being quiet was the key

if they don't hear there is nothing to see

she wanted to help, she really did

but she was so young she was just a kid

she tried so hard, tried to fight

she left us with a kindling light

I come home from school with white snowflakes in my hair

I take the mail out of the mailbox as usual and check it for letters addressed to me. Nothing. 

Still checking the mail, I come to the front door.

That's when I see it, the package that you sent

Every thought in my head leaves out my ear and all I can think of is happiness

I grab the package in my free hand and rush into the house

Taking the scissors from the drawer I rip the package open

I sort through the wrapping until I find it

You promised you'd send it.

You did send it

I take it in my hand and hold it up to the light 

The light glows through it and suddenly a pattern looking like an aurora appears on the dark wall across from me

I admire its beauty, 

I look at the pattern on the wall and smile. I start to dissect it with my eyes, organizing colors, arranging gaps of white, and then suddenly as if magic I can make out shapes, no letters

I squint to read them 

"I remembered"

The wall says

You remembered, I say to myself

 The Good, the Bad, and the Gullible

“You are an idiot!” I yelled at Tom Gladys. I slammed my science book down hard on my desk, both for emphasis and to vent frustration. “You told me that Derek wanted to meet me at the park at five o’clock last night, but he never showed. And when I called his house afterward, his mother told me that he’s been home sick for the last two days with pneumonia!”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tom replied. He started to whistle and looked at the sky, using the universal way of feigning innocence.

            “How could you do this to me?” I cried, continuing my rant. “You know that I’ve wanted to go out with him for over a month.”

            He smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, Aleah. It’s just that it’s so much fun to play tricks on you. You’re so…gullible!” Read more »

After their fight, I'm already gone

My eyes are too blurred to see in front of me

My bare feet are too numb to feel the road anymore.

The sun is going down across the corn fields

I ignore their calls, pushing myself onward.

Soon I stop with exhaustion, they catch up

I'm lifted into my father's arms,

and he carries me home.

After a cup of milk, and a kiss goodnight,

I'm in my bed, fast asleep.

My father is downstairs on the couch,

not knowing whether to cry or celebrate.

I don't know yet, but my mother has left

just when the sun goes down in the west.

You know what I'm talking about, you've heard it all before

the screaming the yelling the daily tantrums, oh the horror!

They cry and they scream, when they don't get what they want,

when you do the same your looked way down upon

Muture, Muture, is all your parents say,

couldn't there just be a day when muture didn't come out to play

if your an only child, you should thank your lucky stars

because you'd probably die if you saw what I saw

but anyway, when your older I guess you may appreciate them

someone to talk to and lend a helping hand

They could potentially warm you about upcoming things

and bring you your papers when you are sick

but you know, those are thoughts, they're probably not true

but you do know your siblings best, so humor me, could this perfect life possibly include you?

A crumpled ball of paper

left to rot on the ground

that's what you think I am

that's why you think I'll drown

The little pink princess, lost without her crown

alone and scared, with no one around.

well I took those rubies and sold them to the king,

he took me in out of pity,

and now I have all the crowns,

that you could never win.

Let us open up our life books,

and hold them in the air

my pages are white and perfect

your pages are yellowed with tears

I hold my head up hight

the tears you couldn't get

my eyes are dry,

I shake your hand as me make a deal,

but it's you that's going to repeal.

Now you're down, on your knees,

won't you look me in the eye,

surrender your sword to me,

and now, all there's left to say,

is goodbye.

You hold a key in your hand

Close your fingers

Feel the cool metal

Close your eyes

Imagine the door

What lies behind it

You want to know

But you stop yourself

The key is a secret

So you open your eyes

The metal has been warmed by your heat

Open your fingers

Imagine the exit

You want to know where it goes

You walk to the door

You fit the key in the lock

And open the door into your true life

Now you are

whole

  Read more »

I read poems on YWP that are perfectly beautiful, but it looks like people dash them off in a single morning. To write a story or a poem or even a haiku for me takes from multiple days to multiple months. Am I that much of a perfectionist? It takes me a while to edit and revise my work lots of times, and go back and reread it, fix the flow, and it never sounds quite good enough to me. I have to have multiple saved drafts, each slightly different, because often I end up just going back to the original version anyways. I never thought about it until now. Read more »

A choice, made in an instant. Permanent.
Unretractable, like a bullet. There is no going back.
Defined, set in stone.
That is what a decision is.
But, what if its wrong?

Vermont.
The crisp scent of pine needles mixed with the vast canvas of evergreens before me astounds all who look on. We know, that this place is our home, and we know that there is no other place like this.
Known for maple syrup and sugaring, yes. But come here, delve deeper into this land, and you will learn much about our virtues and values, and what we see, in the little ol' Green Mountain State.

Vermont.
The crisp scent of pine needles mixed with the vast canvas of evergreens before me astounds all who look on. We know, that this place is our home, and we know that there is no other place like this.
Known for maple syrup and sugaring, yes. But come here, delve deeper into this land, and you will learn much about our virtues and values, and what we see, in the little ol' Green Mountain State.

“Cut!” yelled the director. My heart dropped and I screamed inside. What was I doing wrong this time? “Chelsea, you need to act surprised when they all come to you. Play the part, feel the part, and BE the part! Let’s try this again. And… action!”
Action was the one word to describe my life. I’m playing Hanna Hudson in the new TV show, My Life As Hanna. I was running around Hollywood meeting directors, agents, and famous stars. I was walking down the red carpet, and waking up at 4:00 in the morning to start filming the show. Read more »

Elder stories.
Wise insights,from those who
roamed the earth before us.
From those who, lived through
different wars, different
revolutioins, different
treatment.
Among those,
we find our heritige.
Among those, we
realize, the elders before us,
were once us.
And among those, we realize,
that one day, they will be gone,
and so will we.

Once upon a time, there was a chicken named PJ short for purple jumper. He was almost eight years old. PJ lived on a farm next to a road. He always dreamed of crossing the road. When he was a little chick he ran through the fence and was running toward the road but the farmer stopped him, scooped him up and put him in the barn. The farmer said, “Don't you be crossing the road or we'll be having chicken for dinner.” Read more »

I will not wear an advertisement.
I refuse.

Everywhere I go I see pretty people
with pretty faces
and pretty hair
everywhere I go
I see pretty people
and Abercrombie and Fitch
and Aeropostale
and Hollister
and Ralph Lauren
and brands, brands, brands
telling me I'm not good enough
if I don't agree to
walk like the pretty people
wearing an advertisement
telling me to buy, buy, buy
well what if I don't want to?
What if I'm fine with my
sweaters and tanks
my lowly blue-jeans and my tees?
What if I don't feel like
I have to look like
everybody
else
in
the
world Read more »

The Porcupine an Owl + a Squirrel Read more »

Brian was only 12 when the environmentalists overcame their underground walls. Everyone he knew had fled the city, but he was asleep when it happened. He woke up and looked out the window. There was a huge crater where the main gate would be. He panicked, looking for his family, he couldn’t find them. The walls that had protected the homeland were what kept it preserved, and kept the underground creatures out. On the streets there were mud trails where the trucks had escorted the people out. He stepped outside and decided to explore the crater. Read more »

I am a detective, and an accomplished one at that. I have done many cases, such as cases that consist solely of finding a customer’s lost cat, and cases involving criminal feats such as murdering, blackmail, and fraud. But there is a particular case that I must share with the world. This specific case is one that particularly strikes me as deceiving. So listen, and let me tell the story of the case on Hogan Terrace. Read more »

“Go,” I said. The street race started, we weaved in and out of traffic. One of the other cars is crash I hear the car hit another car in the back bumper. “There is the finish line,” I said. We won $20,000, into my pocket. All of a sudden all I hear is the siren of the 5-0.
* * *
My name is Big Cat well that is what my friends call me. I am 26 years old I have always wanted to street race and now I have the car to do that. I live in California. I have blond hair. Read more »

Even after I landed the Ollie from filenes onto the cement, I was still thinking about that crack, the crack in the ground between filenes and the bank wall, it was just sitting there, taunting me, just telling me to jump it. I had gotten hurt on it before and I had landed tricks with it there before, but now I had to jump it. I never thought I would, and most importantly I wasn't trying really hard to when I did, but it still happened. Read more »

There's something about January snow
that makes everything seem silent and still
with quiet,
sleepy anticipation like the
small intake of breath
right before a kiss
There's that second
when the cold hits you
and your feet sink down a few inches
and you feel like
something amazing
is about to happen.
The monochromatic landscape
stretches out
farther than your eyes can reach
and it curls into every corner
until the comfort settles in
with its simple,
loving manner.
The steely-clouded sky softens
as it hugs the ground
and they melt into each other Read more »

i'm lying in my bed under my favorite soft blanket wearing completely out-of-season and overly festive christmas-themed pajama pants and my eeyore shirt. it's 11:58 at night and it's raining like crazy outside but it's warm in here. i kick the blanket off my left knee and turn over. i'm listening to the first harry potter on tape but it's almost drowned out by the rain. i'm getting a little too warm, so i peel the blanket off and walk over to the window where my earrings hang on the screen. Read more »