week35-08

What is Life?

By Bizzy Gow
Richmond Middle School, Grade 7

Life is love.
Life is hope.
Life is peace.
Life is greatness.
Life is a chance to experience.
Life is cool.
Life is strong.
Life is everything.
Life brings people together.
Life is believing.
Life is just simply life.
Nothing else; it simply is
Life!

Cliffs

By Julie Curran
Main Street Middle School, Grade 7

Facing the past
Never see the light
Tremble in the darkness
Of an everlasting night.

Slowly moving forward
But never turning 'round
Until you back up
Into what was never found.

As you fall you hear
All the voices you ignored
Telling you what would happen-
But now it's just a blur.

Hitting ground so hard
Will soon make you see
What happens
When you replace the hole where hope should be.

Prom

By Sierra Hutt
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Soft black heels
Night black tux
A blue, flowered dress
And a matching tie
A couple together
For over a year
Entering their prom
Arm in arm
Swaying to the music
Of their high school song

Prom Night

By Melissa Werle
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Jitters before
Who to ask?
Will they say yes?
Flip-flops in their tummies.
Dresses, dresses!
Pink, purple, blue, yellow.
Make sure everything’s perfect!
Shoes, flowers, jewels.
Where will we go before, after?
Bright lights everywhere
Waiting for darkness
Then they can dance.
Ready to go now!
Dark limos for glamour.
Feeling so special, so important
Ready for the night.

Who Will it Be?

By Heidi Keller
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Prom night, the perfect night
I planned down to the "T"
The center of attention
Everyone focused on me

Sparkling dress
Jewelry in matching hues
Limo and friends
Pedicured feet in designer shoes

Only one thing missing…
Who will be my date?
Everyone’s taken
Is it too late?

But luckily for me,
My dream date is free
But will I have the courage
Or end up with Humphrey?

Finally here’s my moment
I approach him in the hall
He looks so gosh darn fine
Oh, that wonderful Paul

But then the worst thing happens
My footing slips
And I tumble and collide
Into Paul’s perfect hip

So now here I am at the prom
In my perfect gown
It's actually not so bad…
That Humphrey sure can get down

That Bittersweet Feeling

By Allyson Paquette
Rochester High School, Grade 10

Standing
Shoulder to shoulder
Trying to keep our heads up high.

People
We don’t know half of
Come out to bid us goodbye.

Music
Begins to play
I count the beats in my head.

Walking
The endless aisle
Keeping an eye on my target.

Sun
Beats down on us
I wish there was a breeze.

Sitting
White chairs in rows
I try to pick someone out of the crowd.

Smiling
As I receive my diploma
Then head back to my place.

Walking
Again, yet not the same
A new direction of life upon us.

Hugs
From friends, family, strangers alike
A pile of cards in my hand.

Tears
Pour down my cheeks
Will I see you all again?

Friends
Since we were born
We can’t bear the thought of leaving.

Shouts
Of mixed feelings, as we the class of 2010, graduate from Rochester High School on that hot, humid day in June.

I like to think

By Karlie Kauffeld
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 11

It seems like only yesterday
that we were driving through town
to see the latest movie
going out to eat
taking on the 17-scoop ice cream
playing in the fountain on the common
making earrings
making friends
making wishes
gossiping
complaining
crying
laughing
smiling
loving.
And now
you're leaving.
Your time has come
this part of your life is over.
I fall into the chunk of memories
labeled,
"high school past times."
I am trying to be OK with that
but you know I'll miss you.
Nothing will be the same.
different gossiping, different complaining and crying.
Different laughing, smiling and story telling.
but I like to think
that I helped you get through
those teenage years that our parents
have grown to dread.
I like to think
that I've helped shape who you are today
in that silly gown
shaking hands
hugging family
I like to think

This Isn't Supposed to Make you Cry

By Maria Burt
Castleton Village School, Grade 8

The kind of merriment my friends and I had was unthinkable. We laughed until we cried. I know we’re getting ready to go to off into the world and we’re just about ready for graduation, but I’ll never forget these last years. The secrets we shared, the laughs we laughed, the tears we cried, the things we saw, and the friendships that were made stronger.
Soon, we’ll go our separate ways. I don’t want this to come to an end, but it has to. We’ve never been closer, but it’s hard to think that I may never see some of my closest friends ever again. We’ll get through this year and hopefully stay in touch. Maybe we won’t be this close anymore, but we still have each other somewhere in our hearts.

Graduation '10

By Noellen Neisner
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Let’s think for a moment: the first day of second grade. The most exciting part of that day was how your hair looked or what shirt you were wearing. It didn’t matter how you got to school that day. There’s a saying I have heard that says, “It isn’t where you are going, but how you get there.”

Let’s think for a moment. How did you get here today? You might have driven, walked, ridden a bike, or hitched a ride. But, how did you really get here today? Was it a nice, calm ride with a few jokes from the front seat of the car? Was it through fear of the 15-year-old behind the wheel, their first time taking other people’s lives into their hands? Was it unbearable because of the music that your parents were playing? Or, was it serene, just biking along the side of the road, looking at the road beneath you?

The Prom

By Kate McGovern
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

High heels, lovely dress
Limousine and perfect date
Night to remember

The Night

By Julie Boyd
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

Cameras flashing, you feel like a celebrity
Tonight it’s all about you
One last picture, says your mother
You smile and brush a piece of hair out of your face
The boy on your arm sneaks in a kiss
Memories you’ll never forget
A night of simple pleasure
Fabulous, glamorous, prom

Four Years

By Bridget Iverson
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 9

It wasn't an end so much as
a moving on.

The plastic chairs in the gym used to fit her
in fifth grade but now
her knees stuck up too high

and the plastic surface
clung to the fabric of her skirt.

The principle congratulated the music award winners.
She stared at the foam balls caught in the ceiling fans
and heard years-old PE classes
echo in the applause around her.

She wasn't sad to leave.

In high school she could
maybe start better than she did
when she was ten,
better now that she had four more years
of life.

Four years of homework
and teachers
and purple-carpeted floors with
bits of crumbs the janitors never caught.
Four years of walking the halls
with friends, and sometimes
walking alone and wishing someone was with her.

Four years of possibilities
that were never quite possible
for her.

Four years of life.

Four years she was leaving
behind.

Graduation

By Liam Mckinley
Rochester High School, Grade 10

Years and years, shoved into mere minutes

Where everything matters

No words left unsaid

Nothing left untouched

And the responsibilities taken

You’ve left me stumbling and tripping down memory lane

Your eyes filled with all the laughter and tears

Growing and finding each other at the right times

And at the wrong times

Learning to stop caring

And start smiling

Smile no matter what

Why should it be any other way?

Frowns just make no sense to me all of a sudden

So thank you.

And now,

Welcome to graduation...