mk6-09

How I Discovered My Best Friend

By Mikayla St. Germain
BFA Fairfax, Grade 7

I discovered my best friend at the Champlain Valley Fair in 2005 with my mom. My mom brought her friend Stefanie who brought a girl named Alexis. We did not talk to each other at the beginning because we didn't know each other. After a while we both asked if we could go on the ride called "The Caterpillar." I thought that it was pretty cool that we both wanted to go on the same ride at the same time. We didn't want to sit with strangers and we didn't want to go by ourselves so we went together. That was the first thing that we realized that was the same about us. After we got off "The Caterpillar" it was like we had known each other for our entire lives. We were talking and laughing and telling funny stories about our parents. It turns out that we were a lot alike and a lot different at the same time. I heard that that is the foundation of a great friendship. We had a blast that day at the fair.

Once when I was at my friend Jeremy's house, we went out into the woods to cut down some trees for his dad. It was my first time cutting down a tree, and we discovered that by having both of us chop on either side of the tree, it makes the work a lot more enjoyable. We also cut much faster this way. In addition, the cutting made a rhythm by which we worked. Every time the first person made a cut, the second person added on, and then the first person would hit the wood in time to the second person's chop. That was the first time I ever cut down a tree. The feeling of seeing the big tree fall after working so long brought us both immense satisfaction in the work. We couldn't wait to start on the next one.

This is a wonderful collection of shaped poems created by a Fifth Grade Class at Mater Christi school. Check it out....

gg

A Losing Battle

By Dylan Spencer
Chelsea Public School, Grade 11

A million cars must have gone by that day. Every one of them pedal to the metal as if it were a race, and me, I was stuck at my godparents' house. My parents had gone to see my grandmother in the hospital, where she was getting chemotherapy. They had called the night before and said she was doing great and would be home in the morning. The way I figured all of those cars were headed to see her.

Sand

By Sossina Gutema
Essex Middle School, Grade 8

There once was a heart so grand
that it gave itself up to the land
by the shores of sea
it set itself free
but its soft imprint remained in the sand

Here is the shape poem by Jack, a second grade student at Burke School.

Discover

By Lucy Pappas
Renaissance School, Grade 5

Hiking over green mountains
until you can see
the gleaming lake.

Climbing through snowy passes
and paddling heavy canoes.
Making peace with the natives,
praying that they will accept the treaty.

In a deserted office, focus on math.
Even a slight distraction
and your mind goes blank.

Sailing for many days,
seasick, homesick,
But you finally can see land!

In a laboratory, feeling the sweat
drip down your forehead.
Creating a medicine that will cure
a spreading disease.

Creeping around in an echoing cave,
the sounds of your shoes,
squeaking slowly.

Samuel de Champlain,
Lewis and Clark,
Albert Einstein,
Christopher Columbus,
Sir Alexander Fleming,
Myself.

Discover things.

Birth
Moving, chatting
Step by step, walking
Running, getting faster
School, learning homework
Driving, getting their first license
College, there they go, gone away, bye
Working, choosing jobs, going to interviews
Marriage, flowers and dresses, tuxedos tradition
Their kids, buying clothes and furniture for them, cute
Then they think, “Am I getting that old?”
Retirement, nothing to do, reading, TV
You travel, everywhere, states
Thinking of hobbies. Arts
Visiting grandkids and kids
Going all over the world
Retirement homes
Visitors at “home”
In deathbed
Slowing
Death

Discovery

I am called Rowtag, which means "fire" in my language. I am a translator for the great Samuel de Champlain. I am a Wendat. The French call us "Huron" because they say our hair is bristly. Champlain discovered many things on his voyages to North America. We Wendat guided him through our culture.
We made Champlain discover many things. He likes hunting, but has much to learn. We showed him how to use everything from an animal, even the parts white men waste much after a hunt. We also taught him how to trap deer in large numbers. First, we have men beat sticks together to make much noise and drive the deer in one direction. Then, we use fences with only one hole in the middle to trap and kill them. The French say Champlain is a great explorer, but we Wendat aren't so sure. He says he discovered a lake and gave it his name, but we've known about that place for many years now. And one time, he got lost for two days in the woods.

Epiphany

By Maggie Sullivan
Milton High School, Grade 10

She said,
"I know who you are.
I know who you are,
And let me tell you,
I am one of those people, too.
I have felt that feeling
That familiar
Heart-racing, stomach-clenching, anxiety-provoking feeling.
And it's all just an awful cycle
You don't want people to think you're weak.
But you're not
You're definitely not weak.
Stay strong,
You've got to stay strong."

And in that moment
Of former despair
Talking with my history teacher
Through the hallway of surpassing faces
I realized that I AM strong
I'm stronger than I could ever imagine
And all these ups and downs
And good and bad
Have made me this much stronger.
I am strong enough
To put these words on paper
To let the world know how I feel
To let the world know
It's over
I'm happy again.

Things are going to be okay.

No matter what happens,
If we rise or if we fall
Or if we laugh or cry
At least we'll all be in it together

Found

By Maggie Kinzel
Montpelier High School, Grade 10

Does discovery itself actually go looking for the discoverer? The idea spins inside my head. To me, the best things in life are found by accident. Discovery isn’t planned, it just happens; and that’s what makes it so magical.

I found a girl who changed my world. She was everything like me, and completely different from me at the same time. She understood me in every sense of the word. I found myself clinging to the small details that pieced together her extraordinary character: the way her auburn hair seemed to have a mind of its own, sticking out in every direction; the way she dressed, a beautiful disaster of prints and plaids painted on her like a canvas. Her eyes seemed to pour out emotion from inside of her, and changed colors in the sunlight. But truly the thing I loved best about her was that no matter how awful of a day I might’ve had, she still knew how to put a smile on my face.

The Search

By Lindsay Smith
Hartford Memorial Middle School, Grade 8

I need it
Must have it
I’ll die without it
You hear
Me
I’m losing
My life
I need it
In my arms
It saves me
From death and destruction
Help me to find it
I just have one problem
I haven’t discovered it
yet

There once was a child named Lou
He lived in Kalamazoo
He found a big rock
Embedded in his sock
Then a cow walked past and said "moo!"

Discovering Him

By Ashley M. Knight
Oxbow High School, Grade 12

It was the first day of school and my intentions were to get used to my new surroundings. Everything was new and I had no clue where anything was. People were passing in every direction. Everybody was talking and I couldn’t hear much. Then I saw a friend and walked over to her. I greeted her and by her reaction I could tell she was excited to see me. For the next five minutes she showed me around a little bit and then brought me to another section of the building where my all day classes took place.

Sea Lion

By Morgan Hill
Woodstock Union High School, Grade 10

As usual
I search for sea glass
On this
Beach
As usual
I let my tangled hair
Flow
Free
As usual
I wear no shoes
Or socks
And why would I

As usual
The birds softly
Scream
As usual
My sea glass it
Gleams
But today I found
Not just sea glass
But
You
I wonder why today
You are here
I wonder why
You came so close
So close
I could almost
Touch your nose
I stare
For a while
But you swim away
I wonder why
You came here today
I would follow you
But why should I

Discovery of Us

By Emily Mulvihill
Mount Mansfield Union High School, Grade 9

It started out as something unexpected
This relationship we shared.

But then I discovered you
That night that we lay together
That night that was forever
And I felt your breath as mine.
It was that night that I discovered you.

My heartbeat racing
Against the clock
The fevered whispers
Beneath the stars

Our eyes met
As we lay together
Breath catching in our throats
It was then that I saw you
That I discovered you
And realized
How much I loved you.

New

By Taylor Trombley
Lamoille Union Middle School, Grade 8

Quiet and shy. Collected on the outside, torn apart on the inside. When he left I found something new. A good bad new. A keep to yourself no one cares new. Intriguing but scary new. A lonely sleepless new. I didn't know what to do. The long nights and early mornings just sitting with the new. New confused. Frustrated, Angry new.

Discovering Myself

By Jessica Austin
Westford School, Grade 8

Waking up
Seeing the new
Wondering why
Wondering who
Guessing at old
Loving the truth
Discovering myself
In a world full of you

As the white-capped waves come rushing in,

I feel the thick salt spray against my skin.

The murky gray water is a deep dark hole,

It’s as wild as a beast whom no one can control.

The bone-chilling air swirls about,

Seeping into my skin.

I pull my jacket tight,

But freeze today I might.

The sand is wet with anger,

Icy water won’t let it be.

Fog thick as molasses settles in,

It’s winter at the sea.

Forever Under the Sun

By Stephanie Brown
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 12

Sprawled out like a cat,
With our backs to the dirt,
The sun reaches out,
Touching our skin,
We grasp the feel of summer
And hold it tight within.

It’s an unexplainable feeling,
With my head upon your chest.
It’s the one and only “us,”
And I forget about the rest.

I wish the moment will never end,
It’s burned inside my mind.
Please stay by me forever,
You’re the best I’ll ever find.

Time Rushes On

By Stephanie Brown
Leland and Gray Union High School, Grade 12

Going, going, gone.
Days and weeks flow into years,
and time keeps rushing on.

Going, going, gone.
It never, ever stops.
So much, but so little,
there never is enough,
and time keeps rushing on.

So stop and take a moment,
to breathe and look around,
because it's going, going, gone.
And time keeps rushing on.

Ode to Lake Champlain

Katie Bedell - Grade 6
Charlotte Central School

Those cold, blue waters, we call Lake Champlain
Where Champ, the lake monster, calls his home.
I'd swim there every day, if I could, trying to avoid
the zebra mussels at the bottom
When the wind picks up,
the waves come crashing to the shore,
Where I look for rocks, worn down from the water
On hot summer days, I dive off the dock into the lake
And keep my eye out for fish.
My mom tells me I'm crazy
for jumping in on a day she calls cold
I look over at New York
I wonder exactly how far across (wide??) is the lake
I watch the sun set over the Adirondacks

Whispering Princess

By Alexandra Sullivan
Champlain Valley Union High School, Grade 11

Alas, the leaves all glimmer here
the air speaks whispers, thoughts and dreams.
Her spirit wanders far and near
Astride the winds with leaves that gleam.
Wields strength, princess of gust and breeze.
the beasts that threaten emerald land
are spared if in them she can see
A glint of a benev’lent hand.
Her beauty doesn’t come from eyes
Or lips, or cheeks, or slender frame
It comes from whispers; pow’r which flies
Atop the winds with lonesome dame
Yet she knows not that someone stares
At winds that whisper through her hair.

Horses

By Danielle Rogers
Spaulding High School, Grade 12

I discovered my love of horses
When I was five
I had a book full of them
That I wore out
From turning
The pages too much.

The affection I have for equines is genuine
Because they would calm down
When they saw me.
I discovered it when I was vacationing
In Saco, Maine.
But why me?

Could it be my great connection?
Or how I make them relax,
Feel good in their stalls
And feed them treats
Or is it that a horse feels
How much I want to be with them?

The first horse was Talat
We shared a bond; he knew when I came
Only I could make him relax
Talat was black
And a Morgan breed.

I understand horses better than boys
‘cause horses are smarter than males.
A horse has never hurt me.
Men hurt me by using me
As a back-up plan.
Or “they just want to be friends.”

I'm Sorry

By D'Arcy Morrie
Lebanon High School, Grade 12

i'm sorry
the two words we don't want to hear when we lose a friend
knowing we won't hear their voice again
the next time we will see their face is in a casket
painted and looking plastic

i'm sorry
that's what the doctor said
when i looked down to see the white sheet pulled over his head
with his body lying still on the bed

i'm sorry
i never want to hear this about you
live so that one day i can say i do.