Editor's note: This poem was a finalist in the the 2021 Gaithersburg Festival Youth Poetry Contest.
The Rain of Today
The sputter of raindropson the steel...
The Porch
Reddish-Brown are the screws buried beneath the porch
Remnants torn down long ago, replaced by hard work
Built on the backs of the strong
Stood on...
Words I Write
are words you read.Do my words bring you warmthlike sun on shoulders? Exhilarationlike riding a motor bike fast?Laughing childrenwho make you laugh?
Poems...
Indian River
I had no idea
when I threw the mangrove seed,
wishing for brighter days,
clouds prowled over the mainland.
Perhaps my offering failed,
perhaps nothing could be done.
But...
2 teens in sundresses pushing a stolen shopping cart into the Bow River
time’s a runny egg yolk
always on brown toast
honey & oats
medieval peasant teachings...
spend your time
and heal thyself
then the world
waning such limited time
our warming gift
small hands pressed into clay
art but a reflection
the way they once moved
--and grasped
T....
Bellevue Library
I remember this library as hiddenin trees, perched on the hillside,pierced by birdsong.
I looked out from the second floorto see the oak trees,...
Brussel Sprouts in the Pandemic
As we kneelin this galaxyof lost stars,
the imprintof our handsin the earth
remains.The virus is spreading,and yet
we plantedBrussel sproutsyesterday—
and mustard greens.And...
Metamorphosis
No one asks the caterpillar.Survival has selected her destinylong before she swallowsher first lush, trembling leaf--sending her, impelling herto commit herselfwillingly,even eagerlyto the tiny...
A Heart-Shaped Amulet
Gazing upon the houses and fields of my kingdomI can see my grandmother outside a cottage –around her neck a heart-shaped amulet.Behind...
How Soon Is Now?
Christmassomewhere in Dixie
a young mothernurses her baby
listening to anythingbut The Smiths
while geekstry to figure out
her nameher location
Students shotthe footage
yet thered hat
that...
Fenwick Island
I wish you were here,for you would understandhow the confident starscan move this nightto companionable pity,unwholesome as it is,how the imperishable seamasquerades its...
