The country is such a beautiful sight,
Especially in the dark night.
The streets are lit up by all the street lights but there is something odd.
It leads to a large light,
Light from buildings.
Everywhere is crowded too, unlike the country with a beauty for a view.
There is to many creatures that look clean, unlike...
Our little muddy mouse.
Who love all the dirt and the smell of the grass.
WAIT
The grass is gone and it smells like trash.
The city is crazy and crowded, and whats all the pavement,
What happened to the fun dirt roads.
The little muddy mouse hears something...
"Sorry we don't trail here"
WHATTTT thinks the little muddy mouse.
Trailing is the best part of the country why wouldn't they want it here.
The city is different and big and our little friend feels like a pig.
He feels out of place.
He doesn't like the lights and the people. 

 Amaya judge 12 years old, Essex Junction 

                                                       

The city light flashing bright,

Billboard after Billboard, 

On the highway tonight, 

I feel like running free but it's not the same as the country yard, 

It does not have the tall lanky rooster singing  in the dawn daylight, 

But for some reason I find the mystic of the night better than the

Beautiful sunrise, I smell the different cultures of food everywhere 

I go, I see the growing utopia around at all hours of the night, I hear 

The community as I drive by,

But I fear the dark alleyways I see in the night they look like  a black hole 

That feeds off of your depression it sees your darkest fear or your darkest thoughts  

That I might not escape if I go in because I might look “normal” on the outside

Smoke in the air making it hard to breath,

cars in the road so close you can't walk between them,

buildings squeezed together holding hundreds,

horns honking constantly,

voices yelling making it hard to hear the person next to you, 

sirens buzzing almost every second,

boats getting boarded by thousands,

taxis being waved down, beating rush hour,

dark gas covering the bright blue sky,  

shoe’s on cobble pounding almost in sink,

chimneys puffing so much smoke there is almost no chimney to be seen,

salesman in the hot sun pushing their product. 

This is the city.
 

I hear knocking at my door as im reading,
 "Come in" I yell.
"Hi Lilly, we have some news for you...we are moving to the city!" Mom says as she and dad walk in my room.
"WHAT!" I shrieked. "I cant leave my friends and my school and everything"
"Come on Lilly it will be fun, you will get a fresh new start!" Her dad exclaimed.
Later in the car: 
"Almost there!​" Mom and dad said cheerfully.
How could they be so happy? They didnt even have any friends or family in the city. She had always heard that the city was loud and messy with the building smushed together.
We stopped at a hotel and grabbed our stuff, after LOTS of trips we had all our stuff in our room.
"Why dont you go explore Lilly?" Mom suggested,"We can unpack everything."
"Okay, thank you Mom" I said.