Stargazing

by Susanna Keilig

As I lay

my head down

I feel my mind

ignite.

Wondering like a small child,

Pondering

as if I’ve grown.

On the cool, pillow grass

with the warmth of my heart

time

feels

slow.

Earth spinning

at her

own pace.

I can feel her moving

breathing

so silent

yet so LOUD.

The night is a concert

a choir of peeping

forever chirping

my mind

is churning.

Bright stars

ILLUMINATE

to speckle my eyes.

The dark is a vagueness,

a beauty

disguise.

Out in the open,

yet nothing to fear.

A safety is with me…

loneliness

will never

appear.

Grampy

by Susanna Keilig

Nothing,

yet everything

is known between us.

Everything,

yet nothing

creates our memories.

On a cozy couch

supported by pillows

and one another.

Leafing through

the change of time.

Delicate, yellowing paper;

your life,

therefore a part of mine,

seen through your foggy eyes.

That sweet aroma;

Dust of gathered years

Comfort of the now

Questions for the future

Everything is changing.

A warm embrace

within our hearts

where love’s strength does not weaken,

like your frail figure,

and where memories

can never

fade away.

Tree Climbing

by Jodi Hibbard

Looking up I see a canopy of leaves unscathed by fall's sudden arrival. It is the last green tree in the yard-- the last glimpse of summer. It is calling me.

A strong branch, smooth with the maples bark, looms just over my head. I can reach it if I jump. The perfect climbing tee. The bark is young, soft, and easy on the hands. The leaves become translucent as the morning sun shines through.

The toes of my shoes make crumbling sounds as they drag against the sturdy trunk-- my arms pulling me ever upward. The ground is only feet away, but already the tree is pouring life in through my skin, caressing my hair with late-budding sprigs as I escalate.

The smell of sweet moisture from the shimmering leaves fills my nostrils with scented tendrils. They release the dew they are holding as I knock them aside with eager head and shoulders. Chills and goose bumps creep down my neck, back, and arms as the cold droplets tremble down my spine.

The wind blows. I am soaring. The leaves are my wings, outstretched and ruffling as I am carried from the earth. I am free. I refuse to look down at the cold earth where I am hostage to gravity. The wind licks my face.

Pure, untainted happiness swells in my fast-pounding heart. And then, in the last gust of wind, a single red leaf from my shady green wings drops into my lap. It is fall.

Hiking

The woods seclude me from the rest of the world. I’m on my own with nobody else in sight, just nature, and only nature. I’m not alone though. The sounds of nature give me a welcoming feeling. I’m part of nature for the duration of the hike. There are no roads, buildings, or any type of infrastructure. There is only a dirt path, leading me through the wild and finally to my destination, the top of the mountain.

The hike starts out from a parking lot next to a highly traveled road. Humans are present, but before going too far, evidence of people does not exist, and cars can no longer be heard. There is only one dirt path, and that’s all. This is when I start to experience the presence of nature. At first nature has to adjust to my presence. The squirrels scatter away as I walk towards them, and scurry up atop the trees. The birds silence their chirping simultaneously. Nature is hiding and watching, as an outsider is near, but it isn’t long before Nature continues what it was doing. Now I am accepted by Nature and can continue on my journey.

On my continuation of the hike, Nature presents me with a number of pleasures. The birds form a band together, chirping with different pitches and tones. A calm flow of the streams gives a relaxing tone to my ears. They apply the music as I trek. The plethora of plants and trees provide me with a variety of different scents. The scents seem to mix together, giving a fresh air that makes it feel as if breathing is easier. It is when I get to the larger boulders that you know you are getting closer and closer to the top. Climbing up the rocks gives a bit of an exercise, but not an excruciating one. Once I get to the end of the tree line I know I am there, but I don’t want to rush because I want to experience every bit of Nature possible.

At the top of the mountain the reward is spectacular. The views are incredible and I feel as if I’m on top of the world. I can see for miles and miles. It’s as if I’m everywhere at once. You can see thousands of lakes and rivers blending in with the red, yellow, and orange colors of the fall. The view makes me feel as if I could stay there on the top forever, but I know I must continue down to the base of the mountain before nightfall. And as I descend I carry with me a feeling of satisfaction like no other.

Football

by Frankie Bean

The coffee table that was once empty, with nothing but a remote, is now covered with all the tasty pleasures one could ask for. My personal favorite is the stringy, perfectly, deep fried mozzarella sticks. The smell coming from the kitchen is a grease bath, with the sizzling that makes your stomach growl. When your mommy puts them on a plate with paper towels to prepare them for you, and once you receive the goodness from you mother, you dive in. The mozzarella sticks give you a grease residue, bread crumbs, and juice all over your hands, making it so you cannot touch anything else without making a mess. You would try to grab the remote and your hands would be so greasy that the remote would slip right out of your hands. When they are all gone, the only thing that is left is the plate, and the plate covered with grease saturated napkins. After you finish just the mozzarella sticks you feel gross, especially after looking at plate afterwards, but that is only the beginning. That is only one of the many things on this coffee table load with all the food a teenager loves. Included on that table are Doritos, potato skins, potato chips and dip, chicken fingers, and carbonated kid’s candy called soda. To go along with all this food is a guy’s best friend. This makes for an even better day kicking back with your buds.

One of the best parts is cheering against your friends, rooting for the team they hate. Jumping up on the couches, high fiving each other, yelling; there is no better way to bond with your friends. Luckily that happens every Sunday during football season.

Lazy Morning

by Frankie Bean

I wake up to the scent of mind-boggling, crunchy bacon. Of course it is one of those days when your plan is to sleep in, but for whatever reason the smell of food cooking on an early morning awakens me instantly. I head down stairs to see what feast is awaiting me. Sadly, I find out that Mom had just barely put it in the oven. At this point there is no way I can head back up to bed; I am now starving. I can barely sit still my stomach is growling so much. I am wide awake and just need the fuel to move my body. I manage to get my body to the Lazy Boy that is in our family room, which just happens to be right next to the kitchen, so I can hear and smell everything.

I finally sit down and it is one of those bitter cold fall mornings, where there is frost on the windows. I house is nippy, and you have to bundle up. I’m still in my pajamas, but that is not nearly enough. I make my way to my room to snatch my comforter.

Now that I am all settled up in my blanket, and can tolerate the crisp fall morning, I turn on the TV. Of course the television is set up on my sister’s little, stupid cartoons. However, I try to look at the guide to get it to Sports center, but, my lids have the yucky feeling where there are blurry, blocky, sections so I cannot really see. My eye boogies make it so I can only open my eyes a quarter of the way.

Right when I get to the fascinating story I wanted to watch on Sports center, my mommy calls for me to tell me that the breakfast is done. Since that was my whole reason to rise on this early morning, I leap up to go grab my plate. Within minutes the food had disappeared off my plate, so clean it looked as if I licked it clean.

There is something about eating too much and having a full stomach that just makes you get that drained, wheezy, and have-the-urge-to-inch-back-into-my-bed-feeling. However, I want to finish my Sports center episode, so I kick back in the Lazy Boy. Next thing I know I am sound asleep. My lazy morning turns into a very lazy day.

by Chantelle

There's a brown ship floating in the water near shore.

There are holes in it, it's being shot at. Tons of bullets are flying through the wood.

I'm running to the boat screaming. There's something I want inside but I don't know what it is.

The boat is in shallow water. I'm trudging through it as fast as I can.

I'm on the boat, people are crying and running.Who are these people? I don't know them.

I'm searching the rooms, dodging the bullets, not finding what I'm looking for.

This ship is a mess.

I'm leaning, sliding to the left and everything on the ship is too. I run outside. We're sinking and the left side is going under.

I'm screaming.

The wateris shallow, and I know I can jump off and walk to shore.

But I don't.

Why am I scared?

I'm going to die on this boat.

Everything is gone.

No screaming people.

No bullets flying past my head.

No sinking ship.

Just me and three people, floating in the water.

We're all alive.

There are two guys.

I wonder who they are?

There's a girl.

I recognize her.

I say something. I didn't even hear what I said.

One guy grabs my hair.

Pushes me under the water.

I'm struggling.

He's screaming at the girl.

He says he won't let me up, until she says he can.

I can't breathe.

I'm choking, swallowing huge gulps of water.

She puts her head in the water and tells me she's sorry.

I try to ask what she is sorry for, but I can't talk.

I talk with my eyes.

She understands.

She tells me she can't let him take me out of the water.

He screams.

This is the last chance.

Now or never.

I beg her to let me live.

She shakes her head and floats to the surface.

I'm awake. Sweating. My heart is racing and I'm breathing heavy. I eventually make it out of bed. I go on with myday, thinking about my nightmare. When night comes again, I fall asleep...

I'm on a brown ship.

Bulletts are flying past my head.

It's sinking,

now everything is gone.

It's just me and three people floating in the water.

Everyone is alive but me.