Passages of Promise

By Buffy Hamilton

This anthology is a collection of original writing by the SOAR Creative Writers of Chesatee Academy in the War Eagle Writing Studio, Spring 2017. Pieces of writing include poetry, short stories, memoirs, book chapters and longer works of fiction, song lyrics, and play scripts. Works are written by students in 6, 7, and 8 in Ms. Buffy Hamilton's SOAR Creative Writing class.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Buffy Hamilton
• Release date: Mar 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370344925

Buffy Hamilton

I am an 8th grade Language Arts teacher at Chestatee Academy in Gainesville, Georgia with 27 years of experience in public education; I am passionate about creating meaningful learning experiences for learners of all ages. My interests include literacy learning experiences, participatory learning and culture, ethnographic studies, and writing literacies. I especially love writing instruction and embrace a studio/workshop approach to teaching literacy skills with young people.In addition, I’m a 2011 Library Journal Mover and Shaker who loves dogs, shopping, running, music, and poetry. In addition to blogging here, I have previously blogged for DMLcentral.My career path began with 20 years of service to the Cherokee County School District as an English teacher, technology specialist, and school librarian. I moved to Cleveland, Ohio in January 2013 to serve as the Learning Strategist for the Cleveland Public Library. When my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in late June 2013, I returned home to Georgia and resumed my career in Georgia public schools. Since 2013, I’ve served as a media specialist at Norcross High and Chattahoochee High, an 11th and 12th Language Arts teacher at Lanier High, and a Title I Writing teacher at Chestatee Academy. My heart truly lies in being a literacy educator and working in the classroom with students.

Book preview

Crayons by Grayson Bennett

People are like crayons.

Lined up in a box.

People always choose the sharpest.

The ones that work the best.

People also choose the dual ones.

They think they still work.

But people never choose the broken crayons.

Even though broken crayons still work...

*****

Piano by Grayson Bennett

Life is like a piano.

And you are the song.

Throughout life there is joy.

The white keys that play along.

Yet there's still sadness.

The black keys that play on their own.

Yet life is like a piano.

And you play the song.

*****

Dream by Grayson Bennett

You ask me what my dream was.

You ask if it was good.

I sit in silence without an answer.

You think I misunderstood.

You ask the same question.

Was it good was it bad.

I lift my head from my desk.

And reply to what you asked.

Dreams don’t come easy.

But nightmares always do.

They're just the other side of you.

That is longing to be free.

Because everyone's nightmares are just.

The dreams they know they won’t SEE.

*****

Weird by Grayson Bennett

We are all a little weird.

But that's life.

We find someone whose weirdness.

That complements our lives.

We talk, laugh and have fun together.

We know it alright.

Because we're all a little weird.

But that’s life.

*****

Day Dreamer by Grayson Bennett

As sun shines you close your eyes.

And dream away the day.

You raise your head to the sky.

Each and every day.

You imagine worlds and place.

That lie far away.

You imagine monsters and people.

Battles you could have won.

*****

My Secret by Drew Bowelle

His blue eyes,

His untamed hair

His crooked smile,

His contagious laugh,

His ability to make me smile

His- voice,

His presents,

But,

He’s a boy,

That only lives in my imagination.

*****

Feathers by Drew Bowelle

I am friends with the wind,

It never lets me down,

And if I am feeling low

She sweeps me off my feet,

I get to see many things,

I travel the world,

I must say,

It’s great being a feather.

*****

Me by Drew Bowelle

Who are you to judge me,

My hair,

My voice,

My appearance,

Or how I act,

Who are you to pick on my friends,

Their hair,

Their voice,

Their appearance,

Or how they act,

Who are you to start rumors,

About me

About my friends

About my family

Who are you to assume that you know everything about me.

*****

Blue by Kinsley Cash

Blue is the color of a cool spring day,

Blue is a beautiful swan gliding in the lake.

Blue is the color of coolness and Beauty

There are blue lakes awaiting someone or something to come to it,

Blue feels like a cool breeze running through the trees.

Blue is the color of peacefulness, yet so many believe that blue is the color of sadness.

Blue should be a peaceful experience, not a broken heart's lament.

Blue feels like an ocean of calmness awaiting anyone who is willing to embrace it.

Blue is the mistreated color of the spectrum, people claiming to know what it means, yet having no idea.

Blue should feel like the cool breeze that holds a child's kite in the air, but sounds like heavy rain pouring on a windowsill to those who don’t understand it. That is not what I imagine though. Blue to me taste like blueberries for a delicious picnic.

*****

The Worst Feeling in the World by Hadley Culpepper

The worst feeling in the world

Is knowing that you tried as hard as you could

But yet,

It still wasn’t good enough.

The worst feeling in the world,

Is being sad

Because you are a disappointment

To everyone

You are a burden

To your family

To your friends

To the world

My sister asked me

What is sad?

On the day that

The little blue bird died

I told her,

"Sad is when you realize

You are not as important to someone

As you thought you were."

Since she was so young

She did not understand

So she smiled instead

And patted my head

And went to bury the little blue bird

That she held dead in her hands

The worst feeling in the world

Is anger

That you cannot control

No matter how hard you try

The tension rising in the air

It fuels you

And the words you spit from your mouth

They sting the ones around you

Words are like knives

Cutting deep into your skin

You can take them out

But they will leave scars

And still,

Taking them out brings pain

But so

Does leaving them in

The worst feeling in the world,

Is fear,

Because when you are afraid,

You cannot think

You cannot act

And you cannot step up

You have to watch

But you can’t help

You have to stand there

Unmoving

As the ones you love

Are destroyed

Whether it’s with words

Or with knives

What’s the difference?

They both are murderers in the end.

The worst feeling in the world

Is hate

Such a strong word

That hate is

I hate you!

The child screams

As he slams his door

Shaking the house

He does not understand

What it truly means

I hate you!

The girl cries

Running from the house

Down the street in the pouring rain

She is beginning to understand

What hate

Really means

To her

I hate you.

The man says

Pushing her down the stairs

The silence ringing in the air

He doesn’t know what his words meant

To her

But she understands

And it stings

The worst feeling in the world

Is disappointment

Or even being one

Because it is a form of loss

You come home,

Expecting to see your mother

And her smiling face

To greet you from school

Instead

There’s a note on the counter

Sorry dear, I’ll be home late today. Happy birthday!

It reads.

This is the tenth year

She hasn’t said it in person

And it’s the same note

From last year

She didn’t even bother to write a new one

You come to school,

Expecting to see your friends

Saving a seat for you

In homeroom

But instead

A new girl

A prettier one

A better one

Sits there in your place

They look up

And the color drains from their faces

Because they realize that

They’d ‘forgotten’ about you

You go home

Into your room

And you lock your door

And you do not come out

The worst feeling in the world

Is knowing that no matter how hard you try

That you will never be as good

As the world wants you to be

*****

Pressure Game by Hadley Culpepper

I love the person I’ve become

Because I have fought to become her

Still, I can’t focus,

And though my body is still puzzled about what to do,

And though I’m trembling,

I can’t stop, even if I try to control myself.

Although neither sun nor moon are on my side,

I’ve got no choice but to try.

Those were the words I muttered to myself.

Those were the words that kept me going.

The odds aren’t on my side, but running away would be gutless.

Even if I can’t see the future, even if I can’t mend my past,

I’ll just have to win it over with courage.

Need to keep distance from the target as I hold myself back.

All that’s needed for victory is the pride to win.

The commitment that you hold in your heart is what gives you that strength.

Will we celebrate with the wine of victory?

Or will we end up kissing their feet in defeat?

There are two outcomes to everything.

And it is not always your fault that might lead to an outcome.

I want to control destiny.

I need to seize the golden opportunity with my hands.

So I’ll finish it up with my best poker face,

And drag them into a world of illusions.

I’ll find my way out of this endless pressure game,

And leap over the borderline of honor.

But what’ll I need to sacrifice to make it happen?

What is the one thing I don’t want to let go?

*****

Anything by Hadley Culpepper

I am a fragment

Of all the people

In this population

In this community

I breathe, I live.

But I am afraid I do not matter

I feel like,

I’m just sort of

here.

I’m not doing anything

I’m not participating

I’m not important

But I exist

Don’t ever ask me,

What do you live for?

Because I’ll answer,

I just kinda exist.

I don’t live for anything.

I have no purpose.

I am useless.

I am a pawn.

All my friends,

They go out and do things,

With their other friends,

And their best friends

They go out,

With their lovers,

With their family,

With their friends,

And they have fun

It feels like

I’m just this sort of

Mildly entertaining thing

That people take in interest in

Every little once in awhile

But I know

That they wouldn’t really care

If I was gone

Really.

I exist

But,

I don’t really mean anything.

*****

With Her by Brenda Franco

With her, the sky is blue.

With her, the words are true.

With her, I feel perfect.

But how do I feel perfect, next to her?

This thing, I think I've experienced before.

But our thing is different, like nothing before.

Comfortable and loving when I'm with her.

This is how we are.

With her, my eyes sparkle.

The spark between us glows.

In the wind, our hair blows,

and her hands,

were mine to hold.

Next to her,

I feel at peace.

She truly is a masterpiece.

Never would I have thought, that she would be the one I wanted.

Never would I have thought, that she would be my happiness.

Never would I have ever thought, that she would be my last chance.

Because this thing I feel,

Because this thing I see,

Because this thing I've touched,

Just can't be a thing I can easily let go.

*****

It Won’t Leave by Brenda Franco

It doesn't wait for you to catch your breath.

It doesn't care that you're in front of dozens of people and that you can't stand public places.

It doesn't matter if your friends are trying to calm you down.

It just won’t stop.

It doesn't give you a warning of when it's coming.

You think you're fine, until it knocks on your door.

And when it enters, there's no way in getting it out.

It´s with you when you wake up and walk around your house.

It´s with you when you walk down the hallway and when you talk to your friends.

It won’t go even if you scream.

You can cry and shout and yell, but it will never ever leave.

You try medicine, but nothing works.

You're stuck with this thing called anxiety, and it makes you into a person you don't want to be.

It's the reason why you can't go out.

It's the reason you're always afraid to make a move.

It's the reason you stress over every little thing.

It's the reason why you sit on that chair and don´t have the ability to even move.

It's the reason why you can never bring yourself to smile.

It's the reason why you pull at your hair, and you're still surprised that you haven't gone bald yet.

To you, it's complete torture.

To others, it's just another excuse as to why you can't present to the front of the class.

People say to get over it.

You´ve been trying your whole life.

But it just won't leave.

No matter how hard you try.

It won't let you breathe.

*****

Brutal Days (a Persona Poem) by Trey Garrett

While the school bell rang

Students were running, falling,

and jumping everywhere.

Just trying to get to their classrooms,

I thought that a hurricane came

In with students and teachers.

A powerful storm of kids just destroying everything

around them while running, and then

all came to a rest.

*****

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