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HMX Writer Summer 2023

Isabella Phan

"Imagine you are hiking through the beautiful, humid forests of Madagascar. Then, all of a sudden, a piece of bark from the mossy tree trunk starts to move! You have spotted the almost invisible mossy leaf-tailed gecko. Well done! You deserve a gold star!"

Read more from Andrew Kelly's "Where’d That Gecko Go?"

Sophie Chiaravalle

"People believe that Howard Taft, the U.S. President, went to a baseball game, and in the middle of the 7th inning, he got uncomfortable because of the rough wooden seats, so he stood up and stretched. Everyone else stood up in respect because they thought that he was leaving."

From Timmy Grimes' "The Seventh Inning Stretch"

just so you know

I took the last

red white and blue

sprinkled doughnut and

I know you

wanted it for

lunch but it

was so good

looking I couldn’t

Stop myself.

Alexander Deda

Artist: Harper Morgan

"Matthew, inside that clean shirt he always wears, inside the throat that's clear to talk but not to sing, inside that eighty-pound body of a boy, with his lightning brain that can figure out a math question in seconds. In what part of the heart, in that caged chest that protects all his grief feelings from coming out, inside that body that reaches only to his middle-school-cousin's shoulder?"

From Arceli Lopez-Diaz's imitation

The Ballet Dancer

Imitation of "The Snow Man," by Wallace Stevens

One must have a mind of ballet

To appreciate the toil and tears

Of the intense training;

And have been exhausted a long time

To admire the pointe shoes with rosin stains;

The lights in the distance remains

Of the rehearsal days; and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the blasting symphony

In the sound of pointe shoes hitting the marley,

Which is the sound of the stage

Full of the same music I hear every day

That is singing in the same exotic stage

For the watcher, who listens in the wing,

Can see the ballerina spin

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

Charlotte Thomas

Artist: Sloan Irwin

When the men come along,

Nobody will dare

to tell me,

“This just isn’t for girls”

From Christina Von Albertini Mason's imitation "I Too, Sing, America"

I, too, sing America.

I am the delicate sister.

They send me to work in the kitchen

They see me as a dishwasher and as nothing else

From Lucia Macias' poem

Artist: Adja Toure

Everybody wants them to score a goal.

Warming up for the game is what they need.

Running the ball down the field with control.

Players run down the field with intense speed.

A player, a foul - it ends with a glare.

Read the rest of David Lopez - Juarez's sonnet

"As I approach the building with legs of fear.

Endlessly thinking of the books, tests, and knots that are near.

I take a deep breath and try to calm down,

Paste on a smile, and make sure to avoid a frown."

From Liv Nazar's poem about the first day of school

Artist: Sofia Gogoleva

Nature Burning

Waves crash on the shore

Bird calls mix with howling wind

The beach turned to storm.

The warning bird call

Animals sprint to safety

Lightning strikes the trees

A storm in nature

Sends everything up in flames

Creatures flee the fire.

Lucy Girling

Artist: Anna Pedersen

"He got up and ran. Ran as fast as he could. Not taking a second to look back... He watched in horror as Romek and his father went down. Seconds later, the gas came. People started to choke. They were drowning on dry land."

From Luke Roman's "Aleksander Abram"

Aurelia Apfaltrer and Cosette Ammon

"Henry III stopped swimming and started thinking. His thoughts drifted to the vastness of the ocean and the small probability of getting home. If a small fish got lost in mist that went five miles all around, Henry III thought, will the small fish ever make it out? And if the small fish does get out, what if he is still too far from home? He could get killed or starve if no one finds him! Henry III started to feel dizzy by his own thoughts... He spent three more days in the mist, until he could bear it no longer. The hunger, the loneliness, and his weak fins – it was just too much. So he let himself slip into unconsciousness and slowly fell down the valley, touching the low seabed a minute later with a small thud.

From Katerina Stoichkov's "The Fish That Fears Water"

The Nerd

Imitation of “The Snow Man” by, Wallace Stevens

One must have a mind of education

To view the books and calculators

Of the teacher-crusted halls;

And have been smart for a lengthy age

To behold the speechless shagged with the bigmouth

The dumb in the distant glamor

Of the sunshine beaming onto the book.

No misery when reading the book

Ever so quiet in the classroom

Which is the sound of the page flip

Full of the same thwip

That is the same bare sound

For the listener, who listens in the corner

And, nothing he, considers

Diddly that is not there and the diddly that is

Julian Winter-Hamaoui

Artist: Katerina Papadopoulou

"Tim then notices that the whole block is outside, staring at the house. Then, it happens again. BOOM! After the dust clears, the ruins of another house appear."

From Ethan Lew's story

Shine

The world shines in every way,

Yet not everyone sees it.

The grass shines

But others see a boring shade of green.

People can adventure and find new discoveries.

But people can also just ignore the meaning.

All people do is see how they look to others,

except everything shines.

All you have to do is look . . .

Willem Geise

Artist: Frances Currie

"My mum makes me my best self because she has this effect on me that makes me want to do things productively or just be a nicer human being. She makes me the happiest version of myself. I always know that she believes in me and wants the best for me and I want that for her as well. Whenever we are hanging out, we are always laughing and having a good time. She is one of my favorite people to spend time with."

From Maeve Secker-Walker's Rotary Contest Winning Submission

"I don’t know when this will get to you, MJ, but I just wanted to say, if you hear this message, and I'm still missing, I’m probably dead. But I don’t want you to stop looking for me. I am about to go out to sea, and I wanted you to have something to remember me by in case I get lost out at sea. I've left things for you to find me in the… by the… in the... I love you.”

From Soukenya Tounkara's "Lost At Sea"

The one who opens the cage and let’s you free

Dulling the knives

Stitching the wounds

Healing the soul

Giving a shoulder to lean on

Read more of Colby Anderson's Best Friend

Artist: Eiley Vasquez

"[Bernard] Moitessier was a very eco-conscious sailor, who cared about preserving wildlife and the ocean. Lots of the things he observed fifty years ago in the book are extremely relevant today. He writes that humans are simply blindly following one another to climate disaster, and says, for the human race to prevent this, we must make radical changes to our treatment of the environment, what he calls a “suicide tack” in a sailing term. When I hike with my family or sail on the Long Island Sound, I really appreciate the beauty of our planet and it makes me sad that we are continuing to destroy it."

From Jack Noonan's winning Rotary Contest Submission

Isabella Zacchino

Artist: Eiley Vasquez

"My mom has a childhood story unlike any other. She was born in Poland in 1976. She lived part of her childhood there, but during that time, Poland was under communist oppression, and the country was not in great shape. There was something called martial law, which meant that people had little freedom, and there were tanks on the streets. My mom’s family did not like this so they tried to leave. The only problem was that people weren’t allowed to leave."

From Lucian Keefe's Rotary Club winning submission

I run up to my room,

and curl up in my bed.

I read a great book,

with pillows under my head.

The rain calms me,

like the smell of lavender.

I want to stay awake,

but decide not to bother.

So I drift off,

into my dreams.

This is what happens,

when the weather doesn’t turn out,

The way it seems.

Sun,

can turn to rain,

in a flash.

From Sonya Prozes' poem

Elijah Jaber

Imagine life as a book.

Yours starting hard or easy.

You are a butterfly!

As soft as a leaf.

You start out small.

And you end up tall!

Nothing could stop you,

Nothing at all.

Nobody, not a soul,

Has dared to dig into your hole.

Blowing down the fire in town

Is like removing the hate and all our frowns.

Hurt and pain are all the same,

Just to hurt us once again.

Kayla Garcia

Artist: Meagan Jones

"I feel I am my best self when I am patient, unassuming, cheerful, focused, hardworking and easygoing. My friends bring out that person and I am very grateful for that... In order to keep busy [during the pandemic], we made up a game ... Snail shells... became our currency. We would use our shells to buy sea glass from each other. Carefully walking the small shore looking for “valuable” seaglass was deeply relaxing. When one of us found a rare colored piece, it was so exciting... [F]inding all that sea glass inspired me to create art projects including a necklace with a purple sea glass charm."

From Sigal Cutler's winning Rotary contest submission

Never Trust A Mirror

Never trust a mirror

For a mirror always lies

It makes you think that all you are worth

Is seen from the outside

It only shows the skin

That holds the cuts, scars, and lies

Never trust a mirror

For it doesn’t see you in your brightest moments

It doesn’t see when you’re only being you

It doesn’t show you what the world truly sees

Only pierces a fake image into your eyes

It doesn’t capture your true smile

Or the affection people give to you

Never trust a mirror

For it cannot represent you

Secrets and tricks that lie within

Cannot define you

Your reflection cannot tell you

Everything people see

Never trust a mirror

For it only shows your skin

And if you think that it dedicates your worth

It's time you looked within

Eloise Barr

Sophie Chiaravalle

"If someone who knew absolutely nothing about autism saw that advertisement, they would believe that autism really does “ruin lives,” and the next time that person was around someone with autism, they would treat him or her very differently than they would if they hadn’t watched that advertisement. They might stay far away from the person, as if the autistic person had a contagious and fatal disease. Or they might treat the autistic person like they’re on their deathbed, with their mind and body slowly degenerating, when there’s nothing wrong with them at all. Either way, there was no positive or helpful outcome from that advert, and it increases the negative connotation surrounding autism."

From Giuliana Schrenker "Autism Speaks: Harmful or Helpful?"

It’s Almost Summer!

I know when it starts to get cool

it's almost time to leave school.

I can’t wait for this time every year,

and when it comes I begin to cheer.

I always know summer is in reach

when I hear people start talking about going to the beach.

I know it’s so soon when it’s almost June.

I can’t wait to go to the pool

although I’m still in school.

I know it’s a bummer

how much I want it to be summer.

Nicholas Arena

Artist: Maya Marshik

"For some people, vinegar is used to cook. If you were stung by a box jellyfish then you would use vinegar too."

From Ben Urrutia's "Vinegar Meets Jellyfish"

"Have you ever wondered why tennis players have to wear white at Wimbledon? The reason that they wear white is that the dress code was made in the late 1800’s. Back then, sweat stains that the players made in their clothes were considered improper, and the only way to disguise them was to wear white."

From Matthew Roger's "White Wimbledon"

Music is cool,

The sounds sound so unique.

Like they’re woven together, thread and spool.

Waving down and up.

So many instruments and voices.

And some by skill and some by luck,

They end up

With the sound of music.

From Morgan Gaswirth's "Music Sounds"

Isabella Berman

“I Too” by, Langston Hughes Imitation Poem

I, too, am human.

I am the silenced voice.

I keep myself hidden,

And wear a mask of smiles.

But I grow

And keep trying

And learn from my past self

Tomorrow,

I won’t be hidden.

I’ll won’t have to wear that mask of smiles

I won’t dare

Stay silent

Then.

Besides,

They’ll see how confident I am

And be ashamed.

I, too, am human.

Anonymous

Artist: Matteo Polizzi

Summertime Serotonin

Summer.

School’s out,

So put away that pout!

No need to doubt

That summer feeling

That’s been creeping.

There’s the sun!

Who’s having some fun?

So go for a run,

Because now you know that summer has begun!

Adrian Rodrigues

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Loraine McCurdy-Little

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