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.
The days are still long; still leave us sun-tired and sweaty on an afternoon spent outdoors — but with the night, now, comes the need for a jacket and hat too. Fall is upon us, and “the world is colder than before,” observes this week’s featured poet, Sela Morgenstein Fuerst of South Burlington. As the Vermont leaves begin to change, drop and swirl at our feet, remember to listen for the songs of the season as intently as she does.
Autumnal
Sela Morgenstein Fuerst, 11, South Burlington
The world is colder than before:
north winds exhaling dragons’ breath across the valley and
my doorstep where I wait for the bus (bumblebee against concrete),
rubbing my hands together and
feeling my cheeks redden before the whispering chill, brighter
than cherries but who could ever claim to take brightness
away from the parade of ball gowns up and down my street.
Fire
enveloping the sidewalk but I don’t shudder as I breathe in deep,
the smoky air crisp in my mouth, rolling on my tongue,
like apples and honey thickening my words as these breadcrumbs
(sorrow)
and rocks
(forgiveness)
tumble into the dark waters of Champlain,
splashing water into the face of the sun who cannot begin
to shine yellower than the goldenrod by the side of the highway,
nor the sky bluer than the asters cushioning me as I begin to freefall.
Catching cirrus clouds in my cupped hands, peering
down at this cracked sidewalk, pretending this puddle is the sky
and that the nights are velvet
pricked through with bloody needles,
embroidering a silver-lining moon and the jack-o’-lanterns
watching with glowing grins.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Young Writers Project: ‘Autumnal’.