There's a Certain Time of Year

There's a certain time of year,
Between Winter and Spring,
That hangs, like a shroud
Over the face of newcoming.

Cold cores it gives us;
An ache one can't see,
The internal chill
we wish would leave us be.

None can learn its cure,
'Tis an un defeatable foe,-
An unshakable feeling
Of monumentous woe.

When it comes, the whole earth pauses,
And birds cease in their flight;
When it goes, it's like the broad expanse,
Of a chilly Winter night.



Inspired by Emily Dickinson's "There's a Certain Slant of Light"

Though I Heard the Teacher...

Though I heard the teacher,

I didn't necessarily listen.

The grammar rules and parts of speech were laid out infront of me,

The flow charts and diagrams explaining proper plot development were too.

The teacher lectured and captivated everyone while I sat in the hard, uncomfortable chair.

Soon I felt restless and bored.

I rose and slipped out the door,

into the outdoors and up into the branches of a tree,

where I opened my book and began to read.



Inspired by Walt Whitman's "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer"

The Sea

Follow me, into the Sea.
Its salt and foam invite us.
The waves rise up to great newcomers,
inviting all, young and old, to play.
The warm water absorbs the light like a sponge;
it reflects the suns rays like a mirror.
Follow me, into the Sea.
Though it holds great strength,
it only means to gain a friend.
So many ships and so many explorers,
have traversed it's murky depths.
Feel free to inquire about it's stories,
it's hidden mysteries, so numerous.
Don't hesitate, just dive right in!
The Sea will accept anyone and everyone,
all who seek new life.
Though it all looks so similar on the surface,
underneath is like a separate universe,
filled with the souls of thousands.

Let us meet the multitude,
and their home, the Sea.
With its constant fluctuations,
and unfathomable, everlasting wonders.



Inspired by Mary Oliver's "The Sunflowers"

Short Story

Rachel Snider
Ms. Bumgardner
Honors English III
3 December 2012

You Have to Love Life

She spent all week working at the office. She spent all her weekends working at home. Though Elizabeth Parker found working as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) mundane and rather vapid, she appreciated the fiscal reward it provided her with and she prided herself in doing a thorough job. Whenever she allowed herself a little free time, her three best friends, Hayley, Ann, and Marley, were quick to invite her out so have some fun. They often went to see movies, wander the beach, or attend local concerts and other events.
Hayley was the most whimsical of the bunch. She had majored in visual art in college and now worked as a graphic designer for her study just on the edge of town. She knew from a young age that art was her calling, and was happy that she had been able to find an occupation that suited her perfectly. Her artistic talent was also always expressed through her dress. Hayley could always be counted on to be outfitted in a combination of well coordinated patterns and textures, and was always easy to pick out of a crowd. Her long, wavy blonde hair was also a distinguishing trait, as she often dyed the ends in bright colors such as blue, red, or purple. Her bubbly attitude instantly made her a favorite with almost everyone she met, and it was very rare for her to ever be spotted with a frown. Luckily for her friends, her happiness was contagious, so whenever the four of them got together everyone's abdominals benefitted from the almost non-stop laughing.
Ann is the type of girl who is good at any sport she tries. She could almost always be found in a t-shirt and Norts1 during the summer. She knew almost everyone in town, and they knew her, from her nearly daily runs in, out, and around town. Ann had played soccer, among other sports, all her life and she still played on a pick-up team lovingly nick-named the Purple Cheetahs (because all the girls wore purple cheetah print for games). She has an equally strong love for running. As previously mentioned, she ran almost everyday; her favorite race distance is a half marathon, as they are not too short yet not too long. All the endorphins keep her in a nearly constant mood of happiness.
Marley found her happiness in playing music. She could play several instruments including guitar, piano, drums (kit and hand drums), violin, bass (electric and upright), flute, and french horn; she could figure songs out by ear on basically any other instrument offered to her as well. Her father and mother were both musically inclined, so naturally she came to love music as well. Her all time favorite band is The Beatles, but Tame Impala comes in as a close second. She is usually the one to know about local concerts being played that the girls all go to for fun sometimes. Marley also looked like an absolute musician. She wore lots of scarfs and plaid and large, thick rimmed glasses. She knew most if not all of the musicians in town, and had helped some get their start by teaching lessons. This, along with playing gigs for various events with a variety of people and working at a music store downtown, was how Marley made a living and happily spent most of her time.
On a Friday night after a week jam-packed with dealing with other families' taxes, Elizabeth went home to get a head start on next week's work. She flopped down in her comfy nest chair to rest for just a minute before she cracked open the laptop. A few seconds after she closed her eyes however her phone began to ring. She reached over and grabbed her cell phone off of the glass coffee table that occupied most of what was considered the living room side of her two room apartment. The caller id read “Marleyisthebestestintheworld;” Marley had gone through her phone again and put cutesie names for the people she knew.
“Hello?” Elizabeth answered. She was met with a barrage of multiple voices on the other end that she identified as Hayley's, Marley's, and Ann's. “Hold up I can't hear what you're saying!” she attempted to interject.
Someone hissed “Shhhhh” on the other end and then Marley said, “Were coming to pick you up, Rayland Baxter's playing downtown tonight!”
“I don't think I can,” Elizabeth began, “I've got a lot of work to...”
“Too late!” Marley interrupted, “We're already here!” True enough, a second later Elizabeth could here them running down the hall to her apartment and then spilling in through her door. It was a cacophony of Hello's and bear hugs for Elizabeth as everyone filed in and onto the couch.
“So are you ready to go?” asked Hayley. “He starts at seven thirty, so we can grab a bite to eat and then head on over.”
“I don't know guys, I've got a lot of things to do to get ahead on my work,” Elizabeth said. “Maybe next weekend or something.”
“Aww come on Liz,” Ann complained, “You always have work to do. Life's about more than just working. Work, work, work, that's all is is with you.”
“Is not,” Elizabeth rebuked.
“Is too,” the others said in unison.
“Okay maybe sometimes,” Elizabeth gave in. “Yea I guess I'm ready to go. Let me grab a sweater.”
It was a chorus of Yay's and Huzzah's as everyone stood to go.
At Ann's suggestion, they all rode bikes whenever they went somewhere and didn't have to carry much. So Elizabeth had pulled hers off the wall where it hung when not in use, and they all biked the few miles to the center of town. Rayland Baxter, a folkish guitar player, was as amazing as ever and all of the girls had a great time. Elizabeth was cajoled into spending the night at Hayley's house on the river with everyone after the show.
While there, when Elizabeth fell asleep on the couch almost immediately from being exhausted from her full week's work, the other three girls got together plotted an expedition that they believed would help Elizabeth relax and have some true fun.
Elizabeth woke up the next morning to a warmth that felt like sunbeams falling on her, and a subtle rocking like she was in a crib. She breathed in a satisfied breath and imagined herself on a boat. Ironically, she could almost remember something about seeing a boat last night, but she decided that it must have been part of a dream. At the sound of a seagull overhead her eyes flew open and she sat up. She looked around and found she was outside on a real boat tied to a dock.
“Good morning,” she heard Ann say. She looked over and Ann had her wet hair in a loose bun and fresh clothes on; Elizabeth gathered that she had just returned from an early morning run.
“Where in the world are we,” Elizabeth demanded, although the marina they were in was familiar to her. She had been to the island they were now docked on many times as Ann's family had a beach house there where the girls would sometimes spend the weekend.
“It's been decided that you need a vacation,” Hayley said coming from the small room in the bottom of the boat.
They told her their plan; they were going to stay for a long weekend of fun and relaxation, with no worrying about work or any other stressful things.
The first thing they decided to do after unpacking their clothes at Ann's house (Hayley had gone to Elizabeth's apartment and collected some clothes for her for the week) was to go bike riding to the grocery store to get supplies. They stuffed the food into backpacks and delivered them back to the house. After that they decided to go to lunch at their favorite bistro.
As they were looking out over the water and enjoying some sandwiches and soup, they discussed their plan for the next few days. Tonight they would have a sing along with Marley teaching everyone how to play some songs. In the morning they would go on a small run and then bike around the island with Ann setting the pace. While on the ride they planned to stop at all of the cool beach accesses and docks. That night they would have a card-playing book-reading night because they all loved to read and had been taught how to play bridge at a summer camp they all went to. Monday morning they would get up early and paint the sunrise from the shore which overlooked a marsh. Hayley had brought some water colors for everyone and was going to show them some easy yet effective techniques that could make anyone feel like a true artist.
After all of their adventures had been carried out, they settled in for their last night on the island. Also from their summer camp, they had learned a closing called Thorns and Roses, where everyone told one thing they loved about the trip, the rose, and one struggle that they had overcome, the thorn. They decided to do that tonight to formally close out the magnificent weekend.
When it came time for Elizabeth to share her rose and thorn she said, “my thorn was realizing that I shouldn't allow work to rule my entire life. It's important and I know that, but equally as important is friendship, fun, and knowing peace. My rose has many petals. The first is getting to spend such a perfect vacation with the greatest friends in the whole wide world. All the rest consist of every single adventure we had this weekend. Thank you guys so much for teaching me about myself; I'm a musician, an athlete, and an artist, everyone is if they'll just let themselves be free and connect with their friends, their family, and nature.” When she finished, everyone looked around and saw the tears in each other's eyes. When they realized that they had truly helped Elizabeth find the truth about happiness, everyone started laughing and crying at the same time. It was such an emotionally conflicting, yet liberating moment, one that they would all carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Guitar

Guitar

wooden, hollow

strumming, singing, resonating

music, consolation, uplifting, relationships

ringing, stringing, shredding,

heavy, beautiful

instrument

A Day in the Life

Seven AM, time to get up,
seven AM, try to avoid the bombs.

There's heavy traffic on the road to school,
there's heavy fighting on the road to the airport.

A car ran out of gas this morning, causing frustration,
a car bomb exploded this morning, causing more commotion.

I run around the track like coach tells me to,
they run from the air raids like instinct tells them to.

As I attempt to do my homework,
they attempt to recreate their government.

It is dangerous to read newspapers.



Inspired by Margaret Atwood's "It is Dangerous to Read Newspapers"