Mt. Mansfield Union High School

Vermont Politics

By Holly Stone
Mt. Mansfield Union High School, Grade 11

Politics and food, they say,
Are the fodder of our nation
That lack of one, or both, suppose,
Could cause mental aberration.
So in a tiny, rural town
Like my beloved Jericho,
There are married to each other
In an event quite apropos.
It shows, without a doubt,
The character of our state
We get right down to the point:
With “Crackers, cake, and candidates.”

Dreaming dreams never dreamt,
Spending time never spent,
You are my idol.

Creators of our livelihood,
Creating things never that should,
Find me my flavor.

Tickers that tick our time,
Pickers that pick our dime,
How much more do I give you?

Dealers of our every kind,
Dealers of the thoughts our mind,
Do you control me?

Playing God in real,
Playing up our deal,
Am I really me?

Or are you?

On its hinges it may swing,
opening its fateful wing.
And on its side memories lurk,
Of times when I was a little twerp.
In pencils lines are drawn in wood,
Go back in time? I never could.
But recalling when i was that small,
And praying and wishing I would be tall.
On my tiptoes I would stand,
Trying to raise my mothers hand.
Trying to look that one inch taller,
I had silly wishes when i was smaller.
While reading all those wonderful lines,
from 92' through 99'
I think of how I was taller, yipee!
To think of how much things have changed
Through the seventeen years i have aged.
But to look back upon my height chart,
my mind is surely going to dart,
back to a time when i was so small
And my only wish was to be tall.

On its hinges it may swing,
opening its fateful wing.
And on its side memories lurk,
Of times when I was a little twerp.
In pencils lines are drawn in wood,
Go back in time? I never could.
But recalling when i was that small,
And praying and wishing I would be tall.
On my tiptoes I would stand,
Trying to raise my mothers hand.
Trying to look that one inch taller,
I had silly wishes when i was smaller.
While reading all those wonderful lines,
from 92' through 99'
I think of how I was taller, yipee!
To think of how much things have changed
Through the seventeen years i have aged.
But to look back upon my height chart,
my mind is surely going to dart,
back to a time when i was so small
And my only wish was to be tall.

No pile of stones
was safe from her,
She looted one every week.
And while the gardener would surely scold,
She’d still skip them in the creek.
He’d yell and call with spade in hand
But she just danced away,
And when his stones had disappeared,
He knew she’d had her way.

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

Friend…
What does that
Word even mean?

Someone you trust?
Someone you can tell things to?
Whatever the meaning,
Everyone needs at least one, why?

Know the saying
‘Best friends forever’
How long is forever?

Why do friends come and go?
But best friends are for life?

How come you
Can never have too many
Friends?

What does it mean
To have a best friend?
How can I get one?
Where can I get one?
Why do I need one?

Why do some friends
Back stab you?
Why do they turn
Against you?

They betray you why?
They must not be
A true friend then
But why?

Why do they leave you?

Grandma's Lesson

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

Waves of warm air tumbling o’er
As I step fondly through the door
A long day finally done
School has been such a bore.

Smells borne in the heavy air make
Many tired senses awake
As I inhale deeply, I know
That Grandma’s decided to bake

A batch of her favorite treat.
With conversation discreet
I am kept far away, but my
Nose knows there is something sweet

Later that night, with footsteps like thunder
I tiptoe to the jar, trying not to blunder
And incur the wrath of a grandma
Who’s just found her loot plundered.

But good fortune wouldn’t smile on me
As very soon I might live to see.
Any grandma can sense mischief in kids
And mine was no different for me

She stood in the door, looking stern
My guilty face started to burn
As I brushed the crumbs from my lips
She gave a small grin, ‘So what did you learn?’

With a smirk and a shake of my head

you lost me once
long ago in a world
that can't be forgotten

Now I hear you say
you want me back
but its too late
you can't have me back

I am lost
cold and deep in
my own corner of the world
you left me with
my heart out on my sleeve

now I hear you say
you want me back
but its too late
I don't want you back

Time and Time again
I tried to go back

Forest Green
Light Green
Yellow Green
Aqua Green
Green
Green
Green
The colour of the grass
On a warm summer day
Different shades
Different styles
Green
Green
Green
On my clothes
In my hair
On the Ground
Everywhere you find
Green
Green
Green
Leaves,
Flower stems,
Trees,
Green, it's all over the place