general

The Journal
Aliza Amsden

July 24, 1982
I was sitting at my desk listening to the rain steadily tap on the roof. We had a big house but because of the amount of people in the house I had to stay on the “top floor.” That is what my mom called it to try and make me feel better but we all knew it was the attic. I hated the attic with all its spider webs and bugs. But on a day like today in a week like this week the attic was my favorite room. It was cozy when it is raining because it is such a small place, and also a place where I can get away from my crazy family members.
Jessica

Hi my name is Jessica and all I would like to say is…
“Jess get down here right now,” my mom screamed up the stairs. “Your family came to visit you and what do you do? Go hide in your room. Jessica Anne Isabel Landth come down here right now.
“Mom please stop yelling at me I’m coming”
“I don’t hear footsteps up there.”
My mother was the kind of person who was very and I mean very strict but still had the average snotty teenager in her. She had to have everything in order but was definitely a brat. She liked talking back to me and my brothers and sisters when she knew that we were mad at her but were trying to be nice.
“Jess, why are you up in your room again? Your family loves you and wants to spend time with you. Besides you never get to see them so it is nice to have them here.”
“I know mom but cousin Laura Jean made me mad, and I needed time to calm down and write in my journal.”
This seemed to satisfy my mom probably because she was a writer. She started making me keep a journal when I first learned how to write but now I enjoy writing in it.
“Okay, well then I understand but you really should come and visit with your family.”
“Fine I will come down but we all need to find away to stop fighting because it really gets on my nerves when my cousins yell at me.

***

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yoda
spark plug
kiwi
juanman
shmoe
scootie
how in the world did they get these names, your guess is as good as mine

The Keyboard Song

Click Clack
Sounds the keyboard
As you type rapidly
Like the constant sound of a jackhammer
A kind of loud noise
But also soothing
Click Clack
The keys say
It is their gentle song
Like the sound leaves make in the wind
They make it every time you type
They sing all day long
Click Clack

A Poem to Togo the Dog

From the distant Anchorage
To the Alaskan Nome
This is about a dog
Who deserves more than just a poem.

The dog went by the name of Togo
He was the smallest husky of them all
Weighing only 48 pounds
He was just too small.

But the day when Togo proved himself
And Leonhard Seppala put him in the lead
Little Togo was proud

Fall

I see that tree every day
And it is barer in my dismay.
Its leaves are ruby red
It is covered with a leave bed.

Fall is coming
When fall is gone it will snow
And when it snows the tree will not have leaves,
Just a naked trunk waiting for spring.

By Megan Wooster
Benson Village School, Grade 8
I wish…
I wish I could fly,
Feel the wind flow,
Flow through my blonde hair
As I leisurely glide,
Glide in and out of the clouds,
My heart skips,
Skips a beat as I adventurously drop,
Drop a few exciting feet,
Feet, I then gain to rise,
Rise, higher above the clouds,
Clouds, - I now soar,

By Sarah Levine
Grammar School, Grade 7

A rose, like the beauty of her, dew drops sprinkled helter-skelter by the long, skinny, porcelain-delicate fingers of Mother Earth. A ray of pure-gold sunlight dappling and dousing a filed in a haze of dancing fire made by the autumn's prized pleasures. A life thrust, but gently, onto this earth, gazing steadily at past, present, and future, not afraid, not backing down. A cascade of shimmering stars begging to be glanced at, to be looked upon, and clasped into the very core of our hearts. A love burning so passionately that nothing can swift it away, never imagining harm. And then, a smile, so fleetingly brief that one cannot be sure it was there, cannot be sure if the happiness was a dream, or a feeling that escaped and won't return.

Vermont
Matt Schultz
Brattleboro Area Middle School, Grade 8

I really like Vermont
Even though it's not very hot
There are a lot of pine trees
And some come in threes

It's very cold
And kinda old
There's a lake monster
But no lobster

It's white in the winter
And sometimes you'll get a splinter
In the summer it is green

Snow
McKenzie Bover
Brattleboro Area Middle School, Grade 7

As the snow falls to the ground,
I wipe off my frosty window,
To see the thin sheet of white,
It thumps to the trees so lightly,
It makes a decent ending on my front lawn.

When it falls from the sky,
It turns the earth to a wonderland
And it chills the air so fast,

Disappointment
Lizz Benton
Brattleboro Area Middle School, Grade 7

Disappointment sets in
When there are no more hugs or kisses
When there's less talking
When it stops completely

Disappointment takes over
When there's no more laughter
When anger builds up
Overpowering the love
Not changing it to hate

Cherry Hill Road
Jesse Woodcock
Brattleboro Area Middle School, Grade 8

Dark before light,
Moon before night,
Certain things I see
Up on Cherry Hill Road.

Cookies after tea,
Flowers after bees,
Simple things I see
Up on Cherry Hill Road.

Whip the cream,
Balance the beam,
Lively things I see
Up on Cherry Hill Road.

'Under God' stays
By Cheri Murphy
Rutland Middle School, Grade 8

Dear Editor,
My name is Cheri and I am writing about whether should we remove the words “under God” from the pledge of allegiance and my answer is, no we should NOT remove the words “under God” from the pledge.

'Under God' Goes
By Kelsey Soto
Rutland Middle School, Grade 8

Dear Editor,

I feel that “under God” should be removed from the pledge of allegiance. I believe that it totally goes against the Constitution. I found that this is very rude to people who don’t believe in God.

Lost
By Amber Boyce
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 7

I put my notebook out in front of me
Opening to a fresh page
I put my pencil down on the paper
Then I realize I have lost my idea.
What a magnificent story it would have made
But I can’t remember any of that beautifully original story

Present
By Maddie Smith
Richmond Middle School, Grade 7

You always think about the future
and what your past was like,

Do you ever think about the present?
About what’s going on right here.