Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12- to 18-year-olds. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org and 802-324-9538.
Long before the Fourth of July, you begin to hear them outside your window as the twilight hours come to a close: zip, pop, bang! The small fireworks shows of Memorial Day and home graduation parties let us know that summer is in full swing, and it’s here to stay awhile. This week’s featured poet, Natalie Perry of Thetford Center, embraces the joys of a warm-weather fête in a full swing of its own, capped at the end of the eve by a fireworks display at the water’s edge.
After
Natalie Perry, 16, Thetford Center
I can’t think about before or now, but after,
after all the moaning and groaning,
after all the cleaning, weeding and mowing,
after we cook, grill and bake,
after we cut, tape and decorate,
after the hair, makeup and sunscreen —
that’s when the fun will finally begin.
Car after car pulls into the driveway,
out come aunts, uncles, even my little cousin Jay Jay.
Flashy, light-up necklaces, and hats with big flags,
small, little taffies in small zippy bags.
So many variations of red, white and blue,
even Aunt Marry in her red, polka dot dress —
you’d swear she was a toadstool.
After the hugging, the chatting, and gifts,
after the snacking, the munching, and sips,
I see the biggest tray get set on the table,
the colors screaming green and red –
I think it’s a watermelon!
But it’s Becky’s famous Cinnamon Bubble Bread.
After slipping and sliding,
and the occasional bleeding and crying,
my mother says it’s finally time
to head on down to the shoreline,
where we whisper and mingle, in the pitch black,
where the littles are scared of what’s about to attack.
After we settle and wait,
after we look up with strength,
we see the smallest streak of color shoot to the sky,
and wait so effortlessly for the loudest bang of our lives.
After closing and clenching,
making myself small,
I look out into the sky to the most beautiful thing in the world:
a swirl of lights, and bright colors at that,
and the oohing and ahhing as everyone sat…
After waiting,
after watching,
after smiling so big,
I erupt from a nap, not realizing what I did.
After snoring, drooling and kicking my feet,
I awake, relaxed; it was all a dream.
Trying to remember, feeling the lurk,
I can only ask myself,
What’s a firework?
Read the story on VTDigger here: Young Writers Project: ‘After’.