The Kingdoms
Let me begin with this:
I want to live happily with both
sides, but I clearly cannot.
The war has begun and there will not
be peace; I am old enough to know this.
The East kingdom has declared independence
from the West.
I am the prince.
My territory borders the two
kingdoms, and they both ask me to join them.
Now I consider my heart and nothing
else.
While the West may be wealthier and
stronger, I do love the East too.
Yet, my heart tells me the West has
a place in there as well.
Do I abandon my past loyalties?
Do I break the promises I have made?
Where will I be happy?
These questions do not help.
They leave me viciously between a rock and a
hard place.
But the rock has turned to magma,
and the hard place is only ice.
The fighting begins and I am left
out of it.
I must decide before it is too late.
by Will M., Grade 9
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| artwork by Emily W., Grade 9 |
A Journey I Must Find
My lifelong achievement was to tell a tale.
I yearned to tell my future all about the
past,
My life dedicated to a journey.
But I remained unsatisfied with the unknown
facts.
A journey I must find.
A simply complex mysterious item.
What truly is a journey?
Must I go and leave for some preposterous
adventure,
Out of the place I call home?
A journey I must find.
Is it the escape of ideas?
The thoughts and feelings within myself?
Or is it the exploration of such
unidentifiable entities inside my head?
Some things I did not know.
A journey I must find.
Are the answers about this journey in a book
Somewhere on a discarded shelf?
Will I run out of precious time to carry out
my voyage?
Must I find this expedition?
This journey I must find.
As I live and dream and think,
Possibilities bloom from seeds of ideas.
I have not gone to travel far and wide,
I simply dwelled on my vast curiosity.
Is this the journey I had to find?
In the future I tell this tale,
For it is one I reflect back upon.
Why should I search for a journey,
When the journey indeed was my searching?
My journey I had found.
by Katie H., Grade 9
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| artwork by Blair B., Grade 9 Celestial Nightmare The cosmos daunts me, Its fiery stars ablaze, Speckling the somber sky. In a celestial nightmare; It’s been eleven years now, And my trip is coming to an end. That’d I’d be back in no time, But asteroids and meteors Have left me helpless and hopeless, Without shuttle nor oxygen tank To keep me alive. Home with my daughter, To eat cereal and watch Lousy cartoons with her On Saturday mornings. All I want is to see her face. Releases its last molecules Of precious air-- Deep breath in, Hold. I see my daughters face, Her speckled cheeks, Glistening green eyes, Her warm smile. Her sweet, innocent laugh Rings through my ears and Disappears into the endless void. I attempt to call back, Screaming and crying And tearing at my throat Making no sound. And my body grow frail, It’s all over now. Lift off my bulky helmet, And drift into the flames Of a nearby star. by Madison C., Grade 9 |
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| artwork by Bailey S., Grade 8 |
Fully Present
From hearing to listening,
In distracted mindsets to deep corners of thought,
Closing out others to engaging in conversation,
One only improves by being fully present.
A state of confusion or the lack of interest,
Morphing to curiosity and wonder.
What is unknown must be explored,
It can only expose new light.
And just the help of a single story telling,
one that has lost grasp of the common interest,
May only provide new insight to those who are lost,
For this means the world to the one who listens.
Those who only hear must fail,
as they lose opportunities to grow upon the unfamiliar information.
When they are forced such a story
but do not devote themselves to processing what is being told to them,
one more chance to bloom suddenly disappears.
Just when the loss of interest takes over,
take a moment to listen and absorb.
Not a disadvantage within a mile when spending time on letting the words digest,
the realization of the message's importance will resonate within.
Internalize what is being fed to the soul,
appreciate every bit of knowledge and wait,
until the next time advice is desperately needed.
It will be the most helpful spoonful one has ever eaten.
Sitting there staring does a person no good,
as the details slip right past one's fingertips.
All of the difference is made with focus and attentiveness,
One will be able to catch it before all has escaped.
Be there with everyone and everything else,
and only there,
not off in the distance ignoring the environment,
Surrounding one's very body providing such comfort.
Do not hear them. Instead listen.
by Carley K., Grade 8
This month's recipe is for Chocolate Truffles. Enjoy!
