Editor’s note: The Feb. 20 column by Chicago Tribute columnist Mary Schmich, “Waxing poetic on days of cold” served as the inspiration for this page. The Beacon provided copies of …
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Editor’s note: The Feb. 20 column by Chicago Tribute columnist Mary Schmich, “Waxing poetic on days of cold” served as the inspiration for this page. The Beacon provided copies of the column to Darlene Netco, department chair of English for Toll Gate and Winman, and she shared it with students. Here are selected submissions. When informed high school students would be writing odes and winter poems, Schmich wrote in an email: “I’m delighted you’re doing this.”
WINTER IN THE
SMALLEST STATE
Sarah Hackworth, Grade 11
The winter sunsets are the ones
With the most brilliant colors
Watercolor paint smears
Of blues, reds, pinks, purples and yellows
Christmas wreaths rest on front doors
Until mid-February, the final remnants
Of holiday cheer, and Christmas lights
Are up in gorgeous displays
For weeks upon weeks
People discuss family trips to La Salette,
Often bearing the cold
Just to see the Festival of Lights
In Attleboro, to feel the warmth of the holidays
Pierce their hearts despite the cold
Teenagers start shoveling businesses,
Traveling up and down the streets,
Knocking on doors in all of their winter garb,
Than plan trips to Toll Gate with their friends
To sled before the sparkling snow melts
The principal of Moses Brown
Makes a parody of “Let It Go”
To announce that school was closed,
And every major snowstorm
Gets compared to the Blizzard of ’78
I-95 gets backed up constantly,
And all that can be heard inside cars
Is sand and salt being kicked up off the pavement
Plows run at all hours of the day and night,
And sidewalks are treacherous
Despite what we all say,
We Rhode Islanders love our winters
We may complain all through them,
But we miss winter once summer rolls around,
And some of our best moments of the year
Are drinking hot coffee with our loved ones
And watching snow fall
ODE TO WINTER
IN RHYMING COUPLETS
10th Grade Honors (Period 5)
When a blizzard is said to be ahead
People will go crazy for Wonder Bread
Sharp skates hit the ice on the frozen pond
Kids dance around each with a special bond
Snowflakes sink in slow motion to the ground
The outside world is silent, no real sound
The snow’s cold can get to the best of us
Ice crystals fall to us like asbestos
It could be 10 degrees below zero
But some iced coffee could be my hero
By the fireplace we spent the very cold night
It was much better than getting frostbite
Snow is falling slowly from the gray sky,
Bears crawl quickly to shelter looking shy
Going to the store to buy some spray paint
Spraying spring onto the snow till we faint
Take a breath and your lungs fill with ice
Black sheets cloak the ground, which will not suffice
The winter snow can be soft and mellow
As long as you don’t eat it when it’s yellow
Snowflakes are unique, different shapes and sizes,
When you look up, snow will fall in your eyes
As we go soaring through the white fluffy snow
Down the hill we go through the snow
Sensation goes, as does society
Water into ice and man’s misery
The big snowflakes were falling to the ground
In the snow my lost mittens were then found
TWO SHOVELS IN
Caroline Waggoner, Grade 11
Out on the driveway
The snow falls slowly down
Pretty, it looks,
But then it sticks to the ground
My dad bundles up
And starts the snow blower
He wants some help
And looks to me and my brother
Ugh. I don’t want to
I need a way out, and excuse,
But then my dad says
“You have arms, so put ’em to use!”
I grab a shovel
And start digging away
Maybe I’m dramatic
But I’d just like to say:
Snow, though a beauty,
Is annoying and tough
Only two shovels in
And I’ve had quite enough!
UNTITLED
Cary Fields, Grade 11
Winter in Warwick, oh what a blast
Everyone always comparing it to the past
So much snow on the ground, eh mate?
People saying as much snowfall as ’78
So many days bored in my house
Not being able to go about
All the roads icy and wet
Just makes me very upset
Can’t go out, why? Because of the snow
So now I’m stuck at home watching some dumb show
Can’t wait ’til spring, actually summer, even better
Playing sports and not listening to the icicles go “titter tatter”
2015 already has started as a weird year ’cause of this
So much snow in February, why not just a light mist?
I walk outside and I feel like I’m inhaling frost
My hands so cold I can hardly even toss
I try to drive my car but the steering wheel feels like ice
Lots of times I’m so cold I feel immobilized
ICE IS LIFE
Nolan O’Brien, Grade 11
Winter brings back so many
Good memories from being on
The ice, with friends I’ve made
And relationships I have made
From the past hockey seasons,
And the new ones to come
Hockey has been in my life
For my entire life,
I started on a backyard rink,
I have played on frozen ponds,
And now I mostly play indoors,
But whenever I see ice,
It reminds me of my past,
Because ice to me,
Is my entire life
S.A.D.
Mitchell Marotto, Grade 11
Man turns blue, so I ask what ails him
Iced roads slicker than a used car salesman
Mounds of white flakes heavy on his shoulders
Not dandruff, snow. Tell me when it’s over
My head, frostbitten in and out
One more storm and I might move south
SHOVELING GOOD
Lavin McGarry, Mrs. Bozigian
Snow piling high
You know how I feel
Snow falling from the sky, you know how I feel
Flurry wind drifting on by
You know how I feel
It’s a snow day
It’s a cold day
It’s a gray day
For me
And I’m shoveling good
Freezing every sea
You know how I feel
Not a lake flowing fluently
You know how I feel
Snow falling off the trees
You know how I feel
It’s a snow day
It’s a cold day
It’s a gray day
For me
And I’m shoveling good
THIS YEAR’S WINTER
Shania Vincent, Grade 9
This year’s winter, snow
Snowflakes falling to the ground,
Beautiful snowflakes lightly and
Gently perfect ones, but blizzards
Come, snowflakes fall fast and clumpy
Stick together, not a pretty sight
To see, We wish and we pray for it
To go away, for the beautiful, perfect
Snowflakes to come back for us to see
WINTER FUN
Meghan Ferns, Grade 12
Looking out my window to see the glistening snow
Excitement in my brothers’ faces, they’re ready to go
Laughing and sledding down our steep driveway
Dad wanted us inside but we wanted to stay
Nose went numb from how bitter it was
Getting excited for spring to come
Hot chocolate with whipped cream how it sounds so nice
Although I wish we could go right back out to the ice
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