She’s not the type that jumps off swings But clings to the rusty chains and Drags her feet in the wood chips to stop, Squealing when I tease her by Twisting close on my swing I watch her dismount and Step gingerly away: I pump my legs and lean Backwards way way Way back so far my long hair sweeps The ground and I look Behind me and the world’s upside down Down down, or am I upside down Then swinging up-up-up again and swooping Downwards almost crashing To earth but I don’t, I just swing up-up-up Again and I can see nothing but The sky above me and the chains Go slack and I am weightless for one Lifting second, not sitting in the swing but on Sky then forwards backwards Forwards it’s all the same, just Glorious movement, twirling and Tumbling around and a Round, side side over–watch The poles!–and Circling again and again. dizzy dizzy dizzy then I Realize the only thing preventing me From flying is the chains so I JUMP, leaving the unimportant Swing behind in one soft blurred instant, Jumping off swing and into sky, Just sky and soaring Off into air, only air Around me, lifting me up-up-up And I wonder, is this flying? Nothingness becomes Everything around me air is All I am Touching Then ground is here, under me, And I am running, one foot then The next, helpless to stop, can’t Stop, just running. I Stagger, head still, but World spinning. She tells me I’m Crazy, but I know better, She is the crazy one-not jumping off swings Denying herself that air-feeling The instant when you lift off The swing and just lift, rise- You haven’t fallen yet, you’re Going up-up-up and being Dizzy doesn’t matter You are all Air And sun in your eyes and Life becomes nothing but Simple happiness. Nicole Guenther, 12Vancouver, Washington
Poetry-Reflections
Ode to Marbles
I love the sound of marbles scattered on the worn wooden floor, like children running away in a game of hide-and-seek. I love the sight of white marbles, blue marbles, green marbles, black, new marbles, old marbles, iridescent marbles, with glass-ribboned swirls, dancing round and round. I love the feel of marbles, cool, smooth, rolling freely in my palm, like smooth-sided stars that light up the worn world. Max Mendelsohn,12Weston, Massachusetts
Neverland
There might be no Neverland, No heaven, no after. Only cold Earth. There might be nothing— Yet isn’t that something? So pretend today will last forever. And fly now, soar, Gravity only exists If you believe in it. Fly with sunbeams Tangled in your glowing hair And fly with moonbeams Softening your face And fly on the back of Pegasus. Fly close to the sun, And don’t be burned, Fly to the moon, And leave your handprint Denting it for who knows how long. Bring me with you When you go, Lifting gently from This battered planet. We will skim the galaxies Like tadpoles in a puddle Or young eagles Weightless For the first time. We will fly past Where all the maps and pictures show To un-named universes Where we will orbit Other suns And we will Never Land. Nicole Guenther, 12Vancouver, Washington
