Moon Catcher

The meadow is sacred
To the deer nibbling weeds
In the dew-drop cold of dawn,
Wandering in twilight’s shadows,
Silent as the far-flung stars
Of other worlds.
It is a golden place
In sun-flooded springs,
And an empty place
In silver winters.
It is the capturer of moonlight
And the captive of the wood.
It is a pause in the fiddler’s song,
The seconds between waves
Breaking on the shore.

Holly Kuestner, age 14
Bothell, Washington
Lakeside Middle School (Seattle)
Teacher: Alicia Hokanson
(2003 Teacher of the Year)