The smell of gingersnaps, apple cider, and pumpkin pie wafting through the air in delicate swirls arm-in-arm with the colorful wind. The shy sun poking through the wooden arms of a lamenting willow. Golden drops of warm sunshine strewn across the yards of piled leaves and blades of thin grass. Quietly, almost silently, the bitter wind and its long fingers pull and wrench at the crackling leaves. The sighs of schoolchildren accompanying the morning fog on the dawn of the first day. The clouds overhead as gray and lumpy as my grandma’s oatmeal. A flock of geese, united in song, fly south for the winter. Shadows trace the geese’s dark feathers against the flames of dusk. As I watch them fly the roar of the ocean drowns out my bellow: Why must you depart? A dove and a nightingale cooing along with the caws of a raven upon the calling of Hallow’s Eve. Pumpkins and jack-o’-lanterns with wicked smiles glaring at you from doorsteps. The sweet taste of pumpkin pie dancing upon your tongue. I do not know which to prefer, the beauty of contrast or the beauty of harmony. The last green leaf or the vicinity. The mountain is sighing. Autumn must be near. Kelly Dai, 12 Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Poem
When I Was Five
When I was five, I got out of school. It was the first day and I had already made friends. But none of us knew what was happening. I heard a lot of talk about crash mess fall tall. Why was everyone talking about mess fall hit hurt and tears. Fear. My mom took me home. The streets were empty. I heard fire trucks and police cars. Then my mom told me. The two towers were missing. I was five. It was September 11. Suddenly, I felt unsure. Ashok Kaul, 11 New York, New York
Back Down to Earth
The wind is in my hair as I kick with my foot The rhythm of my wheels on the cracks of the sidewalk Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump The curb is coming to meet me at the end of the block It draws closer and closer Its short drop seeming like a cliff I lean back slightly, about to go off And then it happens That sweet split-second in which I am flying, untouched by worldly problems Just flying Then, as my wheels touch down, the entire world comes back in a single gust of wind Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump Back down to earth on my skateboard Jacob Dysart, 13 Long Beach, California
The Cool Counter
Mmmm, the man on the bench says as he plunges a spoon into his mouth. Aaaah, his wife says as she pulls out a clean white spoon from her lips. The woman at the front of the line grins. A little girl to the left of me is dancing like a ballerina, with a cup in one hand and a spoon in the other. Ice is shaved into thousands of pieces. Conversations have no meaning. I hear an occasional mmmm or aaaah. Finally, it is time to make a selection. Sweet Strawberry? Wet Watermelon? Merry Margarita? Ripe Raspberry? I know, Gushing Grape. I watch the ice being poured. My lips go dry The flavors are glazed on, and my tongue nearly falls off in anticipation Finally, my cup is full, and I am bouncing like a wild kangaroo. The counter girl places it on the cool counter. I grasp my treat and dig in. My taste buds take flight. Cold ice graces my tongue, as the sweet flavors rush down my throat. The taste gets better. Before I know it, my cup is empty. Yum. Nicholas Wilsdorf, 12 Rolla, Missouri
One Night in Autumn
The wind Is blowing strongly into my face. It feels good. I close my eyes and lie back In the wet grass. It is dark out and everyone else is sleeping. Everyone but me. It’s a nice feeling, being alone Out here. Ticktock. I hear the sounds of my watch, Every second, every minute. Why does my watch have to remind Me of the time passing? It was nice to forget About time. Always people are so busy, They never have time to think About who they are And who they want to be. Am I really here, all alone, so close to my home, Yet so far? Is this a dream? Everything that happened and everything that will happen Rides away on the wind— Up, up it goes Past the moon and into infinity. Dawn creeps in on me and I quietly let myself In through the back door. I tiptoe up the stairs into my bedroom— Like a burglar in my own house. Safe in my bed again, I pretend I’m sleeping. No one will ever guess where I was that autumn night— But I will never forget it. Rhiannon Grodnik, 12 San Francisco, California
The Storm
Brilliant splashes of yellow light Spewing all corners of the earth With a radiant glow of scarlet Then darkness A shield of gray Then the rains Pounding relentlessly On the cold Damp Ground The wind Slowly growing With every passing second A clap of thunder Vibrating the water-drenched ground Then peace The storm retreats. Lincoln Hartnett, 10 Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Hanging the Laundry
Sunlight Dapples the long white laundry line. Holding the plastic basket On my sore hip I lift a battered, hand-knitted Cream-colored dishcloth And hang it on the line. A monarch butterfly flits about the yard And a daring mourning dove Tries to settle herself On the laundry line. I watch the line Swaying in the cool breeze. The sun dances across The towels And splatters them with color Like an artist’s palette Dotted with creamy-yellow paint. Hanging the last towel I step back to survey my work. Isabel Sutter, 12 Houston, Texas
I Taste the Sky
We fly like falcons over sheets of soft snow Listening to the distant kinks and grinds of steel against rails The scent of snow cools my mind And I taste the blueness of the sky Isaac Kamgar, 11 Laguna Beach, California
Ocean Memories
As the notes take me I try to remember The ocean Mom and Dad stand by me Deeper we go Jumping big waves My parents lifting me up to jump Dolphin fins out in the horizon Laughing then Longing now For the sea to sweep me Off the ocean floor As it did a few years ago If only I could go back Into childhood memories See what I did not savor enough Be there once more And I go there As I fall sound asleep And my dreams carry me back out to sea Eden A. Marish Roehr, 9 Venice, California
Mi Abuela
We sat As it rained and drenched the thirsty soil We sat And laughed and talked and drank tea Seventy-seven years apart But closer than a mother and daughter We exchanged simple words Mine so young, so naive Hers wise and old and perfect I scratched the head of her dog I dreamed The dog was my brother and she was my mother But the dream never came true She was mi abuela, my grandmother Her hands were as crinkled and dry As the books she so often gave me Her body was weak But her heart was still strong Or so I thought The day I became old I learned of how she lost her will to live of how she lay there willing death to take her I screamed and cursed the earth And my world clattered down around me Instead of laughing, now I cried Why oh why did she want to die? I cried Like the rain that covered us Seemingly so long ago. Anna Lueck, 12 Vashon, Washington
Beating the Storm
I zoom uphill Take a cautious turn onto the road Coasting downhill feels great Like jumping in the ocean No pedaling, a cool breeze Still lurking in my mind The thought of pushing the limit To go back uphill I slowly come across a steep hill My thighs burn I am going in slow motion But it is worth going up this hill For the thrill of going down the other side The cool air whips across my shirtless skin I rocket down the hill Hill by hill I pedal Until my body feels like one big wet noodle A storm cloud approaches Making it more of a challenge to get to the lake The air feels like swimming in hot water I finally reach the last hill My energy bursts Like squeezing water from a sponge I reach the lake Relief fills my body First move… JUMP IN The water is perfect Alec Zollman, 13 Strafford, New Hampshire
Cubing
He holds the cube in his hands The unbreakable puzzle, Or so they say Flexing his fingers He holds it gingerly Like a trusted friend The stopwatch beeps His fingers fly over the cube Attacking the colors Orange, green, blue, and whites Spark through the air In graceful motions, his fingers Working like bees Shift through the layers Suddenly, Out of the blue The cube emerges from his palms Like a miracle, the cube is whole once again The stopwatch beeps And the magic stops Andrew Lee, 13 DeWitt, New York
