An Ode to English Class

“Help Me, Ms. Oliver”

I need someone to facilitate my writing

I myself cannot make my writing exhaustive

I do not want to fill my writing with extraneous information

I need the assistance of a fanatic writer

I myself cannot make my writing exhaustive

I want my writing to be fruitful with information

I need the assistance of a fanatic writer

I am futile without aid

I want my writing to be fruitful with information

I will heed to any teacher who assists me

I am futile without aid

I am in a grave state

---Kathryn Heisig, Grade 10

“The Semicolon”

The bulging dot on top,

Its bottom curving,

Its purpose sep-ar-at-ing,

The semicolon interjects,

In the middle

Of the sentence—

For the purpose

Of the separation—

Of the independent clauses.

---Kathryn Heisig, Grade 10

Butterflies:

Emilie Hughes, Grade 9

“Pure Imagination"

Pages turn, spines crack,

I walk down the aisles

And scan the stacks.

Who should I choose this time?

A mystery, horror, romance, comedy?

Each another life, another world,

Just for me.

Smells of coffee, ink, and paper,

Like a blanket, embraces me in its comforting scent.

Pull one out, feel the crisp new pages,

Full of new adventures, full of new friends;

Maybe a warlock, or a knight, or a dragon?

Austen, Poe, Bronte, or Verne.

Endless possibilities.

A million new places to visit.

I smile and open the cover.

Pure imagination.

---Tristan Poindexter, Grade 10

“Caesar’s Toga Blowing in the Wind”

The blood seeping through to stain the white cloth,

His eyes peering into the eyes of Brutus,

Caesar died--

In the senate,

In the hands of traitors,

Through the heart,

From 23 stab wounds,

For his ambition.

---Paige Crocker, Grade 10

"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat."

---Edgar Allan Poe