In a Grove
In a Grove 2006 A Journal of Poetry and Art Lakefield College School Featuring the winners of LCS Writes! Sponsored by The Grove Society
LCS Writes! Winners Poetry Grades 11/12 1st
Liza Shelley, "Deliverance of a Corrupted World"
2nd
Nick Pullen, "Footprints"
3rd
Felicia Ross, "The Talking Game"
Grades 9/10 1st
Emma West, "Clarity"
2nd Stephanie Hodgins, "Falling in Time" 3rd
April Corner, "Reflection"
Short Stories Grades 11/12 1st
Ward Weber, "Pride"
2nd
Bianca Bell, "Silhouette of an Angel"
3rd
Chris Jones, "Me and the Moon"
Grades 9/10 1st
Karine Gauthier, "Angels"
2nd Miles Rees-Spear, "Sums"
Grades 7/8 1st
1. Beatrice Chan, "Awash"
2nd 2. Iain Mackenzie, "The Bear" Prose selections not published due to space restrictions. Please see page 36 for artists’ names.
Deliverance of a Corrupted World By Liza Shelley I sit in a room with flower printed drapes Yet the windows I see have shattered around me This Picasso original hangs on what I see As a decaying wall of mud I'm trapped in by this white picket fence But what I feel encompass me is the barbed wire covered in vines As they all drift off to their millionaire banquets I see the beggars at my doorstep The roof collapses before my eyes As I witness the construction of your new country home This world I have before me Is a life you'll never know Take a step outside your mansion To this life, you'll never know
1st Place, Grades 11/12
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Footprints By Nick Pullen There is a field Which the falling snow has made perfect, It is white, pure, whole. Humans walk across the field. They dirty it, make it unclean, Their footprints find the sodden mud beneath, And spoil perfection.
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The sun comes out, The snow melts, The humans are punished, Perfection is gone. But the footprints, Where humans once tread Living lives of joy and sorrow, Remain for a few sordid hours longer. The snow lingers in them as dirty ice, A pygmy testament to what once was, But then they too are gone, And the field waits for the snow to come again.
2nd Place, Grades 11/12
The Talking Game By Felicia Ross Oh, We Talk Dull Talk Small Talk Lifeless Talk. A Despairing Attempt To Grasp The Flawless Harmony We Once Shared That Now Resembles Only Some Sort of Dream. So We Gossip About Others, Thank Goodness For At Least One Topic Besides The Particulars Of His Adventures. Oh Lifeless Talk Small Talk Dull Talk We Talk.
3rd Place, Grades 11/12
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The Consuming Darkness by Gregory Soltermann Tonight the air is cold shivering down my spine into the depths of my mind my light is going out there's nothing left ahead or behind my world is shrinking into a vision of you and me and now it's calm calmer then a heartbeat that flatlines for that one true moment I await your voice to hear those three words I love you but alas they were never heard lost into a sea of nothingness along with my heart I'm now empty inside nothing but a shell of broken heartedness you slowly walk into the distance farther and farther until the darkness has consumed you and now there is nothing but a dream of what could have been and you and a me and us and now I too await the darkness to consume me
Honourable Mention, Grades 11/12
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Angels By Connie Xu A baby dropped from heaven God send two angels to take care of her Angels reach out their wings Protect the baby from wind, frost, rain and snow One day Her eyes flicker the spark of dreams She flies away from the angels on her wings Searching for her own world Love goes across distance 6
No matter in lonely night Or tough journeys My angels Always come to visit in my dreams My world Is a world under their wings Angels keep on telling fairy tales in heaven But my angels will eventually turn into mote Candles wave out the rays In my heart the light will always be on Because it is all the warmth and power in my life
Honourable Mention, Grades 11/12
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The Curse By Scott Seabrooke Jack Meringue: He's Eccentric, Good looking, and Blue. His Mother was Yellow. His Father was Green. This triangular Anomaly left our hero Blue. Jack is old enough to know a thing or two. For centuries the Meringue have been poor. It started With Jack's Nth Grandfather Jack. Nth Jack was much like our current Jack. He spoke with an accent and wore funny hats: 8
Apart from these cultural changes old jack, Was just as equal a Gent to Jack-Jack. Old Jack however, wandered into some misfortune; As you must have already guessed? A Gypsy woman fell in Love with Old Jack. She longed for his requited emotions. Old Jack Loved already, Loved a lovable girl, Her name was Tierra. For this love of Tierra a curse was cast on Old Jack. This leaves us with Jack-Jack. Jack Meringue: He's Eccentric, Good looking, and Blue. Jack works for a man named Bill. Bill Morrison: He's odd, squat, and Red.
Bill hates Jack-Jack. Jack builds gadgets and nicks-knacks. Bill loves a girl named Teresa. Jack and Teresa have been Loving each other for months. Teresa very much loves Jack: For Jack is Eccentric, Good looking, and Blue. Jack very much loves Teresa: For Teresa is Beautiful, energetic, and Gold. Jack and Teresa look very beautiful together: They are Blue and Gold, and this looks very regal. Bill is angry with Jack. Jack gets what his heart desires. Bill does not. Bill Morrison: He's odd, squat, and red. Red and Gold look very bad together. Jack Meringue: He's Eccentric, Good looking, and Blue. Jack Meringue: He's Happy, Dirt Poor, and had a Grandfather who an old Gypsy loved. Honourable Mention, Grades 11/12
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Lament for a Globe By Brooke Harvey What ever happened to the soft green grass? I vaguely recall it under my feet. The crowded roads have become the earth's cast. Our signatures, the garbage on the street. What ever happened to open spaces? Our farms bought-out by rich corporate hoes. 10
I see greed and desire in their faces, "No problem, I'll step on all of your toes." What ever happened to the clear, blue sea? Oceans demolished by chemical spills. Planes invented; fly away, just for tea. Though flying is not as sweet when it kills. Upon the Earth, the world has left its mark; Its people took the light and made it dark. Honourable Mention, Grades 11/12
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Clarity By Emma West The sun shines down on planet Earth Illuminating death and birth The stars splay out across the sky With light that fades as time flies by The light hides them from us below Till night can come and they can glow Telling stories of time and space And the history of the human race 12
The stars stare down at us down here They marvel at our love and fear The moon, the king of night time skies, Mourns the need to say good-bye It moves west as east dawn breaks The sun shows mountains, hills and lakes The shroud of darkness, lift once more As tears of rain to earth they pour The clouds, they weep, for loss of love The sun breaks through from high above And warms the earth on which we tread Welcoming new, mourning dead 1st Place, Grades 9/10
Falling in Time By Stephanie Hodgins The old man waits for the train until he realizes it already came. He sold his luck for a couple of bucks and is now flat out broke in love. He waits with a parcel and a cane and puts a hat on, yielding from the rain. He crosses the street to the coffee shop while waiting for the rain to stop. He didn't have money to buy a thing with his hope hanging by a string. He observed the people walking past the window with his intentions fading fast. His eyes felt heavy because of lack of sleeping. He knew his promises to her he wasn't keeping. He said he'd never leave. In their dance he let her take the lead. Their feet moving from side to side when he had nothing left to hide. He checked his left wrist; with a broken watch and an hour hand which did not move. He struggled through the sea of people when his foot caught a groove. He stumbled to the ground when no one motioned to even help him upright. He wondered how these people sleep at night. Or maybe he was as invisible to them as he seemed to himself. He left his memory tucked up on the shelf. He left his money, his home, and himself behind to wonder what it was like to just fall in time. This was a necessary step to becoming less of what he had always hated. With his thoughts and his worries eliminated. He proclaimed, "I'm sorry but it's for the best." She cried, "So you really are like the rest." He apologized for the things she heard and he left without another word. The old man waits for the train, another hour until it came. 2nd Place, Grades 9/10
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Reflection By April Corner When you look in the mirror Who do you see How do you feel Where do you go for comfort Why do you want to cry What do we do to make ourselves hate what we see when we look in the mirror 3rd Place, Grades 9/10
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Bullies By Stephanie Worsfold We always walked in the school gates together, Even when our lives consisted of glitter, glue, party dresses, and feathers. I noticed her becoming quiet at lunch and recess, But I thought she might have just got a bad mark on a test. The silence continued throughout the week, Even though she denied it I saw the tears on her cheek. Then it hit me what was going on, Those bullies from eighth wouldn't leave her alone. "What should I do?" I always whispered to myself, How could I stop it; how could I help? I kept thinking of the time Mrs. Bloomwood warned us about bullies causing fears, But at eleven a girl should not have to waste her tears. I wanted to help, but she might get mad. I didn't want to be nosey, that would've made her even more sad. Why couldn't we go back to the times of dolls and my pink party dress, But when we became older our lives were a mess. The very next morning she wasn't at the gate, And when I saw those bullies I felt a strong hate. I was sitting in math when the phone call chimed. My worksheet was blank-as blank as my mind. Our teacher hated being interrupted, and as she let out a groan She left the room to pick up her phone. When she came back in she was gasping and shaking her head, Then with tears in her eyes she quietly told me how my best friend was dead. I loved my friend; she was like a sister, I dreaded how much I was going to miss her. Bullies stole her confidence from her at school, So she took her own life (that was, in her eyes, way too uncool.) Now as I stand here alone at the gate, I'm thinking to myself why do bullies bully if they only receive hate?
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Dangers By Lindsay Joseph The storm is coming the sky is dark From far away a lonely bark The birds keep flying high above A single cry of forgotten love The only thing that's in my mind Is a time when life was simple and kind But that is gone and night has come 18
The storm has started, the hatred's begun And from the hearts of terrorized souls Comes screams of fear, from down below The beating never seems to stop The trees continue to sway and rock And finally the dawn arrives Then out comes one... a soul survived To tell a tale of grief and woe To those who just might soon follow In hopes one day we all shall see The dangers in our world to be
Right Decision By Rhiannon Barlow Could it have been the right decision then For me to tell you my terrible past? Or do your dark eyes just cloud my vision Making me feel like this pleasure would last? Our future had seemed to be so unsure. I never knew what was to come about And what our relationship could endure But you kept saying ‘you did not want out.’ With those four words I could trust you with this, A secret that kept me awake for years. I told you and you just gave me a kiss And said you'll fight away all of my fears. With your kindness I knew I cared for you And from that moment I vowed to stay true
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When Doves Cry By Sameen Ahmed The endless perfection of her endless flight Unique to the color within Flew itself with her penetrating light Changing the darkness from all sin. The endless perfection of her endless flight Was only trying to make peace begin. She brings serenity with her wings Fluttering with feathers white as frost She guides the way as she sings Yet we continue to be lost. She brings serenity with her wings But we continue to disregard her cost. Ignoring her presence in this world Yet she watches with each intense eye Flying away, with her feathers all furled From achieving nothing from every try. Ignoring her presence in this world Finally understanding why doves cry.
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Lost Cause By Alex Trowbridge Breathe in That taste That smell You've been here before Listen That sound It's loud It hurts It makes you feel alone Watch 22
This scene has played over This doesn't surprise you Scream Now all is dark Now you feel You hear the front door slam You hear yelling Some one calls for help You're told their on their way You're asked, Why do you do this to yourself?
Some September By Martha Ramsay Days still sun kissed with warmth Can't hide what has arrived. Moonlit evenings begin to crunch beneath your feet. Fall sneaks up behind us, masked in summer's fading heat, Tapping you on the shoulder saying 'all the fun must end' But you knew all along. There was no doubt that fall would come and steal you away, But still we wish we had just one more day To curl up in comfort beneath summer's stars. You kiss goodbye the lush, the green And shut out what you know you've seen The yellow, orange, the gold, the red Silently reminding you of all you should have said. Fall blows in, and you? You've fallen head over heels for summer‌ The frost filled freshness proves It's become too cold to lie beneath the summer stars. I wake to familiar summer sunshine, but feel the foreign autumn chill Peeling out from under covers: getting up against my will. Rolling back into routine regimes, Letting go of summer seems Impossible. For I'm still wound tight To summer sunlight And moonlit nights under the stars
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Count the Clock By Kim Vincent The grass glistens with the melting snow, Sixty seconds in a minute, Sixty minutes in an hour, Twenty-four hours in a day, Three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, Every second - every minute - every hour - every day - every year, Comes and goes away. Many people live their life by putting off things and planning to do them later But who knows what'll happen tomorrow, What if you look back on your life, And realize that each goal and thing you wanted to achieve you never got around to doing, You put them off as each day went by. But with the passing of every second - every minute - every hour - every day, Your life got closer to the end of its last day. If tomorrow was your last day would you look back and be able to say, That your life was satisfying to the highest extent, Or would you end up saying it was nothing you would have come to expect. If you live life each day to the fullest you possible can, Wouldn't you be satisfied? If anything altered with your plan. Don't plan for the future, Don't push things back day-by-day, Don't leave things to chance. Live each day as if it were your last. The now is all that counts. Just remember to live every second - every minute - every day - every year!
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Locked up By Malik Elharram Locked up for a crime I didn't commit Standing alone without a place to sit Locked up and there's simply nothing I can do Remembering the times spent here, having dĂŠjĂ vu 26
Locked up for advising the president that his power is wrong It will grow like a flower but demolish like kong Locked up in a place where there is no law Sentenced here for life now, and it's the president's flaw Locked up because the president doesn't know what to do He thinks sentencing me to jail will help him win the war too Locked up in a country where the people have all bailed Scared of the almighty president whose power is soon to fail
Locked up and I cannot escape The president's army is filled with many of thousands of men, who are apes Locked up with men who kill, crush and that's what they're good at The president has too much power, he is falling face flat Locked up as I see country after country getting dominated Now all of civilization is gone all for a president the people hadn't nominated Locked up and I can almost break free The president's army is killing their own and there's no one to guard me I'm no longer locked up because I broke free I grabbed the president's arm and said to him briefly You see power will overcome any man who wants to be free
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Winter's Promise By Cassi Hammett Outside the window blackness stares back at me And the air, Seeping through the cracks of the frame Bite away at my naked flesh The wind is calm Tired from the excursion of this afternoon's storm In a distance a light shines down on the road that leads me to you Last night a storm brewed inside us too A resemblance of what we have become Ice forms on the frozen ground Covering traces of last night's miserable rain And I can't help but long to cover myself with you From this bedside view I can look onto the road Leading me back to the beginning And just as fall had done for us Winter too, holds many promises Soon it will be morning A fresh snowfall And another day Subsiding this coldness with you
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Hanging on By Nicole O'Donoghue You'll be okay It's written all over When the day is done The moon is yours to discover Still in the night Not like any other Showing you the way 30
With compassion like no other Watch it You can't hang on for long The star-studded night is gone and you'll see the sun rising Pinks and purples burst like a song It will be there through the day Whether you're right or wrong And when night comes again It always takes a bow You can cry, happy or sad. But you'll be fine, the day has showed you how
Hidden By Adrienne Miller We are just by ourselves Ourselves are the only ones To hear our cries Of hurt and betrayals How come we cannot be Ourselves when they are around? How come we do not Cry out in protest when they are around? We are scared they say That ourselves will be found And we shall be known Or unknown and always empty As I stand here in the dark I know what it's like To have nothing left inside of you Not even your own heart I want to tell you what its like to be this way I have nothing left With which to cry out About being myself
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Do You Remember ... By Karine Gauthier Do you remember… Those hot, long summer days Where we could be free and forgetful Running down a paved street Or golden sandy beach Hand in hand we smiled I remember… Do you remember… The day we met Dark eyes and shadows Bright smile and innocence What a pair we must have made Hand in hand we stood I remember… Do you remember… The crashing of the waves As they one after the other hit the shore As we lazed on the warm sand Without a care in the world Hand in hand we were I remember… Do you remember… The day we had to say goodbye With tears in our eyes I remember…
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Time By Matt Sharpe It controls everything, twisting its cruel malice around us with haste. It is the unknown, what we all can tell, but don't know how it was set. The people who make it don't want it, the people that buy it don't use it, and the people that use it don't know that they're using it. It's the thing that makes people lose track, and the thing that everybody is constantly aware of, the thing that makes people stress out. 34
It is the things that make everything good and bad happen. All accidents depends on it, and many people blame it for their misfortune. Sometimes people say that a certain activity takes too much of it and many good things don't seem to take enough of it. It is crucial, and to coordinate anything it requires special attention. It occurs in everything. We live our lives according to its schedule, but it has the same one everyday, and sometimes we just find it hard to follow. It cannot be destroyed, and you cannot move through it, and you can never have enough of it. It is a continuous cycle that occurs differently around the world. Our bodies know when to do things because of it. What is it? Only time will tell‌
My forever By Caylea Foster I step out into the bitter winter, aware only of what lay ahead. My fingers are numb from the cold, my skin tingling from the icy breeze enveloping my body. My breath's become laboured and short, my lungs sting, I can taste blood. I cough inadvertently, trying to shake the hopelessness of my journey. Suddenly the freezing wind subsides, and the sun peeks out from behind dark, foreboding clouds. I look up into the sky and smile, continuing my forever.
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Artwork Front Cover: Alex McEwen Inside Cover: Hannah Anglesey Opposite “LCS Writes! Winners”: Sameen Ahmed Opposite “Deliverance of a Corrupted World”: Shi Tang p4:
Alex McEwen
p7:
Elsa Barreto
p11: Emily Sale 36
p14: Eirene Kaklamanakis p16: Shi Tang p20: Elsa Barreto p24: Jason Church p28: Cassi Hammett p32: Rosalea Terry p37 (L-R): Carter Stamm, Kevin Bark, Stephen Park Alex Gaysek, Angela Mellows, Rakesh Rajdev Mike Kim, David He, Omar Syed Back Cover: Mary Armstrong Photographs of Artwork: Jeff Kloosterman
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