Another Kind of Leaving*
May 28, 2012
2012 Walk Award
By Judy Orvik
Another Kind of Leaving
(remembering Nancy)
We read stories about the first women adventurers
to each other in your tent above the Arctic circle,
at the end of each day’s trek.
We followed ancient caribou trails
deeper into the country while
carrying the weight of our bounty on our backs.
Mornings held the retelling close
as we picked our course carefully, listening
as wolves sang old songs from memory.
We talked of leaving this country
on a day like today between migrations
without knowing you would be the first to depart.
That plane of yours is still
stuck in the tundra somewhere.
They say your wings fell off.
I imagine the moss growing over your skeleton
softening you into an otherwise hostile terrain.
*Copyright 2012 by Judy Orvik. Placard design by Egress Studio.
Like this:
other Septembers…
September 11, 2011
September 1, 1939 ~ September 11, 2001Sinking*
July 29, 2011
2011 Walk Award
By Nina Djukic, 9th grade
*Copyright 2011 by Nina Djukic. Read the poem here: Sinking. Placard design by Egress Studio.
for Father’s Day…
June 19, 2011
2010 Merit Award
I Remember
By Luke Reinschmidt, 6th grade
I remember sitting with my great grandma bear
in P.F. Chang’s on her last birthday
the aroma of salt and soy sauce in the air
I remember standing by the window as a little kid
waving goodbye to my mom and saying I love you
in sign language
as she drove to work in the morning
I remember feeling the rush of the wind on my face
as my dad gave me a push
when I took my first pedals on a bike
my hands gripping the handlebars so tightly
my knuckles were turning white
I remember fishing in Africa with a boy named Gift
we used a bamboo chute, string, and a hook to catch
the silvery brown fish from the turquoise water
neither of us speaking each other’s languages but
communicating by a simple smile or nod of the head
I remember the excitement of facing
a towering ocean wave as I dove through it
hoping I would not get tossed or tumbled
by the strong current
Puerto Rico was fun
but that was yesterday.
*Copyright 2010 by Luke Reinschmidt. This poem appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Placard design by Egress Studio.
Vigil*
June 3, 2011
2011 Merit Award
By Jesse Kennemer, 11th grade
Vigil
For Kourtney Cadle (1993-2010)
If you had sat with your hands on your knees,
Under the peeled red shelter
Of the football grandstand,
Let your eyes close
While you took in the chorus,
Voices cracking under the weight of buckled souls,
If you had felt the mist
Of unrelenting rain,
Soak through the denim and cotton that clung to you,
Sheltering in both hands a single white candle,
Refusing to let the wind
Extinguish your flickering flame,
If you had clenched your jaw tight,
And counted the kind words you had spoken
On one hand,
Then you would have let your right arm wrap around her.
You would have felt her shaking and hoped to God
She would stay Whole.
*Copyright 2011 by Jesse Kennemer. Placard design by Egress Studio.
Like this:
quoting the poets…
February 19, 2011
“Poetry is memory become image,
and image become voice.”
Octavio Paz
I Remember*
January 25, 2011
By Luke Reinschmidt, 6th grade
2010 Merit Award
*Copyright 2010 by Luke Reinschmidt. This poem, which can also be read here, appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.
You can’t have it all…*
October 22, 2010
2009 Merit Award
By Stephanee Henderson, 11th grade
However, you can have the beautiful memory of watching
the bright, yellow sun come up after a long night of fun
with your best friends. You can have the imagination to
dream up adventurous stories to tell your playful nieces.
You can have the high pitched meow of your fluffy,
orange cat and the rambunctious playing of your small,
smelly pug. You can have love, though often it is
confusing and mysterious but all the while worth it in
the end. You can have cheesy Gordita Crunches, Fiesta
potatoes, and a medium Baja blast from taco bell at 1
in the morning. You can be grateful for make-up, the
way it paints your face & enhances you to your finest.
You can be grateful for weeping willows, their big,
beautiful way of life that brings a smile to your face,
and gives you a pang of sadness just for a second.
You can have baking lessons from your loving grandma
but all the while she is teaching you a deeper meaning
of life. You can be grateful for shampoo, the way it
cleans your silky hair and leaves a wonderful scent
after you wash it away. You can have sailboats,
experience the way they rock with the wind and waves.
You can be grateful for leaves, as they turn different
colors in autumn and then fly away from their homes
soon after. You can’t have it all; however you can be
grateful for what you do have.
*Copyright 2009 by Stephanee Henderson. This poem appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.
I Remember*
July 22, 2010
2010 Merit Award
I Remember
By Luke Reinschmidt, 6th grade
I remember sitting with my great grandma bear
in P.F. Chang’s on her last birthday
the aroma of salt and soy sauce in the air
I remember standing by the window as a little kid
waving goodbye to my mom and saying I love you
in sign language
as she drove to work in the morning
I remember feeling the rush of the wind on my face
as my dad gave me a push
when I took my first pedals on a bike
my hands gripping the handlebars so tightly
my knuckles were turning white
I remember fishing in Africa with a boy named Gift
we used a bamboo chute, string, and a hook to catch
the silvery brown fish from the turquoise water
neither of us speaking each other’s languages but
communicating by a simple smile or nod of the head
I remember the excitement of facing
a towering ocean wave as I dove through it
hoping I would not get tossed or tumbled
by the strong current
Puerto Rico was fun
but that was yesterday.
*Copyright 2010 by Luke Reinschmidt. This poem appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book!
