Poetry Samples
-Sorry, Not Sorry-
I’m sorry I called you a name,
But you deserved it.
You were probably hoping I would take it back,
But I don’t want to because it’s true.
But I do apologize because it may have been hurtful,
But it felt good for me.
-“Paul Revere”- Abigail King (10th grade)
The
morning
sun calmly
arises up
from its deep slumber.
Bright and early it will
stretch, sending burst of color.
Inching up from the tree tops it
awakens the world with one small touch.
With one peak of the sun’s vivid colors,
the sky will explode with hundreds of
illuminating, precious light.
God knew what he was doing
when he blessed us with the
most beautiful gifts.
Such as the small
but mighty
morning
light.
-“Big Mama Perm”- Leslie Brooke Porch (12th grade)
Free Verse
The chair looked like a chair
Four legs and a back
It was wood
It was definitely a chair
It was not suspicious at all
It ironically sat and stared at me with its beady chair eyes
Wait, it wasn’t a chair
It was a small couch
No doubt about it
Definitely a couch
I think it was a couch
A one-seater couch
Also known as a chair
-“John Doe”- Nate Jacobsen (12th grade)
Blank verse
You don’t listen to anything I
Say
I just want you to hear my words
You use people for their money
Why?
Because you refuse to do work
People try to help you a lot
But
No, you refuse all help given
-B.B. Savage (10th grade)
Acrostic
Petite monkeys upside-down.
Igloos melting when the sun came.
Cackle quietly when you sit.
Kick your brother till he stops
Leave it alone.
Even though it’s not dill, it’s good.
-“Country Girl”- Abigail Phillips (8th grade)
Free verse–
We were both young when I first saw you
When they think of me they think of you
Even though I’ve been a walking heartache
And had all but given up lately
You stand by me
And so I thank God everyday
Because God gave me you
-“Jane Doe”- Anna King (12th grade)
Short Story Sample
The Six-Eyed Leopard
-“Incognito Mode”- Georgie Summerlin (12th grade)
Booming thunder woke the young girl from a gentle slumber. Rain began to fall hard on the battered tin roof. She traced the living room for dear sweet Auntie, who she found lying on the couch, dosed off with her mouth open. The television was the only source of light in that shabby old house, which she didn’t mind. The darkness and its unknowns never seemed to trouble her, quite a paradox to the usual child’s behavior. She was often very presumptuous of that fact. Being frightened of the supernatural was foolish. Lying down, she hoped to slip away into slumber again. But just as her eyes started to feel heavy and her vision blurred: a dimmed green glow caught her eye. It was coming from the window. What could it possibly be out here, in the mountains, so dead in the night? Moving inch by inch across the room, careful not to wake her aunt. She peeped out the window, focusing to try to distinguish what it was. The one light was actually six lights arranged in pairs. How strange? There’s no way. It couldn’t be. Those stories were just folk tales from uncles attempting to scare her. This is all just an eerie and surreal dream and soon she was going to wake up, she wished. Closing and rubbing her eyes, she invited the notion that it would vanish. She then opened her eyes to something far worse. Eyes, six of them, were fixated on her. A snow leopard seven feet tall was serenely studying her through the window. It seemed as if every bit of strength was gone, and she couldn’t move at all. The leopard breathed steam into the forbiddingly frigid mountain air. She thought to wake up her auntie, panic, or run. But she was completely enthralled in its glowing eyes. The beast was curiously tranquil, the humongous lump of fear in her chest began to shrink. A preamble of respect for the creature was born. Just when she began to come to her senses, the leopard left. She stood there and pondered if the whole thing was fabricated in her imagination. The sunrise eventually broke her train of thought. An admiration and intimidation for the mythical modified her whole outlook on the dark. Each night since then, she waits for the beast to return once more.
Paragraph/Essay Sample
-“Salvatore O’Shaughnessy”- Mary Taylor Jackson (9th grade)
We all know that feeling when your mind is going everywhere, from the worst to the best possibilities. Your heart starts to race, your palms start to sweat, and you don’t want to move. It is most likely a different story for all of us, whether it be breaking something, finding out you got caught, or just being in shock. About 2 years ago, when I was 14, I had this feeling.
I got the keys to my dad’s old stick shift and ran outside. I hopped in the truck. (I figured I would take it out to the back pasture just to practice driving.) Well, I got the truck into first gear and drove down our little road to the pasture, got back there and was trying to take it out of first gear, put it into reverse gear, and back up. I was doing okay, but it still was a little rough, so, I kept practicing. I put the truck in reverse, pushed the clutch in, slowly added some gas and let off the clutch. I looked behind me and see a trailer that I am headed straight toward. My mind was telling my foot to press the brake, but my foot would not do what my mind was telling it. I looked down at my foot, it was moving but the breaks were not working! The first thing I thought was, “I’m going to die! I am going a hundred miles an hour!” I was only going 5 at the most! I was headed or should I say reversing straight towards a trailer. Then, I realize I am in a stick, so as I am pressing the clutch, I have to press the brake to stop. It is a little late… I had hit the trailer!
I was just sitting there thinking, “I’m not going to get my driver’s license until I am 20!” That’s not even the worst part. I’m going to have to sit in front of my dad and mom in very awkward silence, while my dad just stares at me with this look of “What was she thinking? How can you be that dumb?” After about 5 minutes of sitting there, just getting ready for what I’m about to see, I get out of the truck and look at the rear, but I didn’t see any damage to the trailer or the truck until I look at the taillight. It was completely busted! This might not sound that bad, but to me it was a huge deal. What would have happened if I had turned the steering wheel just a little bit? I could have put a huge dent in the tailgate.
All I could think about was how I could fix it. Should I show him what happened or hide it? Super glue can fix that. Right? I figured I would do a little bit of both. I scoured the internet trying to find the right size taillight. I found one that would work perfectly, but how could I pay for it? I took my mom’s phone and told her I was buying her a birthday gift and she couldn’t look but that just felt wrong. So, I told her what happened. She told me I had to tell my dad. Every time I was going to, he wouldn’t seem to be in a great mood, so I waited 3 days until I couldn’t wait any longer. He seemed happy. He had his friends over and I told him when they weren’t right there. He took me by surprise, he wasn’t mad. He kind of laughed. I was in tears! I felt so bad! He said, “Its scary isn’t it?” and he told me that something similar happened to him when he was younger. That made me feel so relieved.
I had put myself through 4 days of complete torture, letting my mind go everywhere, chasing that worst possibility. Maybe next time, I won’t try to hide it or fix it myself. Better yet, let’s hope there is no “next time.”
