July/August 2020

SEARCHING FOR BOW AND ARROWS

Because I wanted to feel like an Amazon I asked my father to build me a bow with arrows. We went to the nearby woods that overlook Forest Beach in the village of South Chatham. My father, sister, and I followed A wavy uphill path to the clearing Where we found young oak trees With pointy, strong branches. We sawed off three branches That looked like they would suffice. We carved them and sanded them, And we bent them till they could sing. By the time we had finished tying the string, The evening chill had descended. We shot our arrows into the darkening sky Where the stars scampered like red foxes. Tatiana Rebecca Shrayer, 13Brookline, Massachusetts

THE WILD CIRCUS

The unspeakable juggler on a unicycle tamed the lion. The cunning lion tamer flipped and turned on the trapeze bar. The lively trapeze artist rode on the unicycle and juggled. The creepy clown lifted strongman’s weights. The sweaty strongman tried to scare kids with his silly costume. The vicious tiger who jumped through the fire hoop sat in the cage with the hungry lion. The next day the circus was not looking so good. Not at all. The tiger and lion were now rats. The trapeze and strong man became slobbery pigs and all they wanted to do was eat. The tightrope walker and juggler on the unicycle transformed to white sheets. With a pop and a rumble, the creepy clown and lion tamer became pesky flies buzzing around. An awful day for the circus indeed. Somehow the next day everything was back to normal. Somehow. Analise Braddock, 9Katonah, New York