January/February 2014

I must have been only six at the time, my sister, Poppy, two I must have wondered why Poppy decided to look at the parked cars in the parking lot rather than walk the Stone Arch Bridge. My mom must have stayed behind with Poppy, leaving only my dad, my aunt, and myself to see it fall. We must have walked for a little while, because it happened around the middle of the bridge. It must have been humid that summer, because my feet must have been a little slippery, a little sweaty. I must have stepped up on the brick wall below the handrail and rested my feet between the rail and the bricks. I must have stared up at Saint Anthony Falls in awe and must have heard an ice cream truck calling me. I must have stepped down from that ledge, felt my shoe slide off, and watched it tumble down, an orange falling into a faucet stream, the river. And I must have stretched my hand out, a “No!” from me, a sad yes lingering in my brain. I must have looked at my feet that night, rough and callused from a day without my right shoe. And someone down in Louisiana must have seen an orange Croc oat by on the Mississippi, a bucket full of mystery, and wondered. Isaac Walsh, 10 Minneapolis, Minnesota

Nothing ever stays the same Family going, Never coming back Tears fall Goodbyes made Why won’t the world stop spinning? Sorrow, joy Blended into one Leaving, For a better place Why can’t we go as well? Tears dry Life moves on Events fade Time blurs Were they ever here at all? A memory A smile A place Smacks me hard Like colliding with a wall. Tears wet my pillow again, Freed by fresh pain. I will never forget completely, Though nothing stays the same. Elisabeth Martin, 13 Dunlap, Illinois