Finalist

Springwater Hill

 

In the stillness of summer

warm waves of sunlight rippled against my face—

I was the first that day to feel them.

The field waved with the breeze,

the tips of the tall grass swept my arms.

Smelling pine, I tasted sap in my mouth.

Walking through the field, I felt the milkweed pods

brush up against my legs;

miniature Pandora’s boxes, waiting to ripen.

Light shone off the creek and danced

amongst the leaves above me.

I laughed to myself. The busyness of spring was gone,

and the slow of fall was in the distance.

 

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Rebecca Miller, age 17

Decorah, Iowa

Decorah High School

Teacher: Lamy Berland