In A Grove 2006

In a Grove

A Journal of Poetry and Art

Lakefield College School

Featuring the winners of LCS Writes!

Sponsored by The Grove Society

In a Grove 2006

Grades 11/121st Liza Shelley, "Deliverance of a Corrupted World"

2nd Nick Pullen, "Footprints"

3rd Felicia Ross, "The Talking Game"

Grades 9/101st Emma West, "Clarity"

2nd Stephanie Hodgins, "Falling in Time"

3rd April Corner, "Reflection"

Grades 11/121st Ward Weber, "Pride"

2nd Bianca Bell, "Silhouette of an Angel"

3rd Chris Jones, "Me and the Moon"

Grades 9/101st Karine Gauthier, "Angels"

2nd Miles Rees-Spear, "Sums"

Grades 7/81st 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.

Poetry

LCS Writes! Winners

Short Stories

1

By Liza Shelley

I sit in a room with flower printed drapesYet the windows I see have shattered around meThis Picasso original hangs on what I seeAs a decaying wall of mudI'm trapped in by this white picket fenceBut what I feel encompass me is the barbed wire covered in vinesAs they all drift off to their millionaire banquetsI see the beggars at my doorstepThe roof collapses before my eyesAs I witness the construction of your new country homeThis world I have before meIs a life you'll never knowTake a step outside your mansionTo this life, you'll never know

1st Place, Grades 11/12

Deliverance of a Corrupted World

2

By Nick Pullen

There is a fieldWhich 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.

The sun comes out,The snow melts, The humans are punished, Perfection is gone.

But the footprints,Where humans once treadLiving 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

Footprints

3

By Felicia Ross

Oh,We TalkDull TalkSmall TalkLifeless Talk.

ADespairing AttemptTo Grasp The FlawlessHarmony We Once SharedThat Now ResemblesOnly Some Sort of Dream.

SoWe Gossip About Others,Thank Goodness ForAt Least One TopicBesides The ParticularsOf His Adventures.

OhLifeless TalkSmall TalkDull TalkWe Talk.

3rd Place, Grades 11/12

The Talking Game

4

5

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

The Consuming Darkness

6

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

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


Angels

7

8

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:

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 works for a man named Bill.

Bill Morrison: He's odd, squat, and Red.

The Curse

9

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 Happy, Dirt Poor, and had a

Grandfather who an old Gypsy loved.


10

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.

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.


Lament for a Globe

11

12

By Emma West

The sun shines down on planet EarthIlluminating death and birthThe stars splay out across the skyWith light that fades as time flies by

The light hides them from us belowTill night can come and they can glowTelling stories of time and spaceAnd the history of the human race

The stars stare down at us down hereThey marvel at our love and fearThe moon, the king of night time skies,Mourns the need to say good-bye

It moves west as east dawn breaksThe sun shows mountains, hills and lakesThe shroud of darkness, lift once moreAs tears of rain to earth they pour

The clouds, they weep, for loss of loveThe sun breaks through from high aboveAnd warms the earth on which we treadWelcoming new, mourning dead

1st Place, Grades 9/10

Clarity

13

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

Falling in Time

14

15

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

Reflection

16

17

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 groanShe 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?

Bullies

18

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

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

Dangers

19

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

Right Decision

20

21

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.

When Doves Cry

22

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

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?

Lost Cause

23

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

Some September

24

25

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!

Count the Clock

26

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 déjà vu

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

27

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

28

29

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

Winter's Promise

30

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

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

Hanging on

31

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

Hidden

32

33

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…

Do You Remember ...

34

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.

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…

Time

35

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.

My forever

36

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

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

Artwork

37

4391 County Rd 29, Lakefield, ON K0L 2H0

www.lakefieldcs.on.ca

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In A Grove 2006