wintertales06

Patrick Clark

Winter
A time for fun
1 single week off from school
freedom
outside
playing
sledding
snowball fights
kids play all day
chest deep in this cold fur blanket
bundled up so tightly
waddling
in bright colored jackets
hidden behind snow drifts
falling into little tunnels
popping up right behind you
as shadowy strangers
lurking
in these giant clouds

Molly read her piece on Vermont Public Radio earlier this year. For other examples of pieces aired on Vermont Public Radio, click here.

Trust
By Molly Ziegler
Hartford High School, Grade 11

Winter was never my favorite season. All of the inconveniences that come with the season make it hard for me to truly enjoy it, like icy roads and frostbite. Don't get me wrong, I never thought that snow was ugly. I just don't like the consequences of its beauty.

With about 150 entries for the Winter Tales prompt our student judges had a difficult, but pleasant task: Choose the ones that merited publication. There were many that deserved to be chosen. Here are some of the best. The young writers: Ashleigh Peterson, Gracey Delisle, Hannah Sylvester, Lily Feinson, Maraika Lumholdt, Sossina Gutema, Chelsea-Catherine Wait, Brandon Kieft and Kyle Davis.

Special night of skating
By Chelsea-Catherine Wait
Spaulding High School, Grade 11

I shivered as a cold blast of bitter winter wind hit me like a freight train. It was so cold. I could barely feel my toes that were jammed up together in the old hockey skates I wore. Why was I here? I stared disparagingly at the frozen pond in front of me. “Oh Keegan,” I muttered, my breath forming crisp, white patterns in the air. “Why did I let you talk me into this?”

These are some of the best responses to the prompt, Winter Tales. More will be published next week. Some of these were presented by Vermont Stage Company last week. The young writers: Emily Lyman, Meghan Cleary, Charlotte Dworshak, Basundhara Mukherjee, Mike Judkins, Carrie Harvey, Brenden Greaves, Whitney Dubie and Lacy Bortz.

Going down Cold Tree Hill
By Charlotte Dworshak
Burlington High School, Grade 10

I scrape the snow off my skis as I sit on the chair and wait. It is made of metal that has been turned white with the frigid air. I think about how cold it was last night and how the chair must have been in the middle of the night. I shiver at the thought. I look at my torn gloves and ball my hands up to keep them warm. A gust of wind comes as I protect my face by tipping it down. It is snowing in big clumps, and I try to catch one on my tongue. I do; it instantly melts like cotton candy. I stare straight at the falling snow and watch it tease me by coming straight at my goggles but never hitting them.

These are some of the best responses to the prompt, Winter Tales. More will be published next week. Some of these were presented by Vermont Stage Company last week. The young writers: Emily Lyman, Ariana McSweeney, Molly Ziegler, Carrie Harvey, Skyler Edwards, Emily Murphy, Jordan Miller.

Trusting a friend
By Molly Ziegler
Hartford High School, Grade 11

Winter was never my favorite season. All of the inconveniences that come with the season make it hard for anyone to truly enjoy it: Icy roads and frostbite alone are cause enough to dislike the snow. Don’t get me wrong, I never thought that snow was ugly. I just don’t like the consequences of its beauty.
As much as I don’t like winter, there is one thing that I despise even more: Gym class. And when the two are combined, you get a whole new kind of torture: Ice skating.