Compassion Swells

Names, gossip, frustration.

Swirl, consume, and destroy.

Recognition, repentance, forgiveness

Bring satisfaction, hope and joy.

Anger Swells

Defective, fake, pathetic.
Idiotic, vain, obtuse.
Your presence sickens my body.
You truly have no use.

Jackie and the Zaps

Jackie heard the yelps of the other sprites outside his cherry tree. He sighed as he thought about the fun they were having out at the Pekinbo’s pond. Jake and Jasper, his brothers, had already gone down to play with the other boys. They were going to play another game of Zigilo.

The point of Zigilo was to hold your breath and swim all the way down to the bottom of the pond. Once you we there, you had to grab hold of one of three objects and swim it all the way up to the shore. The objects were a great big purple ball, a tiny little stick with a circle at the end, and a glass jar full of brown and yellow gunk. Once all three objects were found, the blower had to swim out from the middle of the pond. They dunked the stick in the jar of gunk and blew a bubble all the way around the purple ball. Once the blower blew the bubble around the ball, the team won!  

Zigilo was Jackie’s favorite. Jackie was a little clumsy, so he couldn’t swim as fast as the bigger boys. He also couldn’t blow very hard without getting dizzy, but that never stopped him from laughing with joy every time he played. He had more fun playing Zigilo that anyone else in Gonkzville.

  He wanted to go out and play with his pals, but , he knew it was more important to study for his flight test. Every year, the elder sprites came all the way from the Cove in Lilly’s Valley to test the young sprites. Once you were seven and three quarters, you could take the test to win your wings. The scariest thought was of not getting your wings. You only had one chance, and not everyone was guaranteed to pass.

The very best wings were called zaps, because they lit up every time they flapped. They were given to the one young sprite that worked the hardest and showed the elders that they were ready to accept the responsibility that comes with having wings. There were other wings for everybody else that proved that they were ready, but secretly everyone wanted the zaps. Nobody wanted those zaps more than Jackie.

His daddy told him that if he worked hard, he could do anything. Jackie didn’t always believe that since he was clumsy and got dizzy so easily. Still, he decided to work hard and study as much as he could for his test. His brothers teased him sometimes for studying so much. They told him to have more fun and to forget about boring things like books and learning. It hurt Jackie to hear those mean things from his brothers, who he really loved, but all he wanted was to prove them wrong.

The day of the test finally came. Jackie was so nervous that couldn’t stop his hands from shaking! At first he refused to get out of bed because his tummy hurt. Jasper spent the morning jumping from branch to branch showing his family how he would zoom through the air once he got his wings. Jake kept talking about how beautiful his new zaps were going to be. That just made Jackie feel even sicker. After another pep talk from their daddy, the boys left for the field.

 What awaited them was a shocking sight. There were big bright signs everywhere. Adult sprites were flying and flipping in the sky to the applause of baby sprites on the ground. Beautiful jewels were jetting through the air as a band bigger than the town of Gonkzville played a victory march. The sights and sounds of the arena made Jackie’s eyes grow wide and his head grow dizzy.

The first part of the test was on concepts. The young sprites had to answer all kinds of questions about the proper signals to make to other flying sprites, how to land correctly, and where Fleezles, who had been known in the past to snack on little sprites, were commonly found. Many of the sprites looked worried. Jake never stopped sweating. Jasper just stared at the leaf he was supposed to write his answers on. Meanwhile, Jackie happily jotted down his answers. Most of the questions he had seen before, thanks to his constant preparation.

The young sprites had to wait for the entries to be graded. It took all morning. The list with everyone’s name that had passed was eventually posted on the big oak tree just after lunchtime. If your name wasn’t on the list, you couldn’t take the actions part of the test, were the elders gave you a set of wings, and you had to fly through an obstacle course.

Jackie couldn’t remember breathing as he looked for his name. He couldn’t find it anywhere! Right as he started to give up hope, his daddy picked him up and showed Jackie his name near the top of the list. Jackie’s heart started to beat again.  Only, the sad part was that Jasper’s name wasn’t on the list. He didn’t pass, which meant he was never going to get his wings. Jackie wanted to say something to make him feel better, but right at that time, the elders gathered all the young sprites for the next part of the test.

The obstacle course that year was the hardest course ever. Besides it being the first time any of them had ever had wings, they had to fly through small gaps, avoid swinging vines, and navigate through a black tunnel. Time after time, the young sprites failed. Some got lost in the tunnel, others couldn’t aim to get through the tiny gaps. Some, like Jake, couldn’t even get off the ground.

Finally it came to be Jackie’s turn. The new wings felt cold against his back. He started getting dizzy. Then, he remembered his daddy’s wise words. He had worked hard! Why couldn’t he do it! The only thing standing in his way was himself. With that, he leapt through the air, and then the wings took over. He twisted and tumbled, he glided and glew. He made it the entire way through the obstacle course without making one single mistake. His ears tingled from the roaring crowd’s mark of approval.

            Jackie couldn’t remember much after that. All he remembers is standing on the stage with the elders as the presented him with his very own zaps! Butterflies tickled the inside of his tummy. He couldn’t believe that he, clumsy Jackie that gets dizzy, was awarded the zaps! He looked out at his daddy, who was beaming with pride. Then he saw Jake and Jasper standing next to him. They looked happy, but Jackie could see the dried up tears on their faces. Neither of them had received their wings. Without thinking, Jackie zoomed over to his brothers and grabbed their hands. Together they laughed as they flew to the moon. 

Forgotten Letters

Dear Mom,

                The most peculiar thing happened to me today. It started out wonderful, and then got confusing but ended up kind of sweet. It all started when I woke up this morning. The stars in their courses must have been aligned especially for me. I knew right away that it was going to be a day like no other.

You remember the little notes I have been finding in the tree that you used to hang the swing from? The one you used to push me on? In the front yard? Well today, I found another. Oh the things that blessed soul wrote to me. I knew for certain that the boy that has been writing was an angel in disguise. You remember how much I hate my freckles? Of course you do. Well my secret admirer told me just the other day that they were beauty marks. That is when I realized what love feels like.

                Anyways, he wrote me again. But this time was different. He told me that he wanted to meet me after school in the auditorium. Today! Oh mom, I don’t remember breathing all morning. I think I only caught my breath a few minutes ago. I ran right back inside and put on your white dress and my favorite blue cardigan. I fit into it now. Dad said I look like you when I wear it. I don’t believe him. But I like to image that I do. Do you remember how beautiful you used to look in that dress? I do.

                When I was walking to school, I had a scary thought. I had no idea who this boy was, but he knew me! Sure, he sounded dreamy when he wrote me, but what if he only ever wrote as a joke. And if his ears were too big? Or his laugh sounded like a monkey? Remember when we visited the zoo, just me and you? I do. The monkeys were your favorite. But I still don’t think I would want one as a boyfriend. My mind drifted as I began imagining who he might be. Maybe it was the quarter back, Elijah, or the senior class president, Matthew. It became my goal to figure out who this boy was so that I could be ready when I met him after school.

                Do you miss me, Mom? I want to talk to you. I miss the smell of your perfume before you went out. You sure went out an awful lot. Not that I minded! I’m thirteen now. Remember how you said you’d come to my party? I do. Not that I minded or anything. Dad promised to buy me a real cake this year, but he came in real late the night before. He slept right through my birthday. It’s ok though! I just spent the whole day pretending that I had presents to open. Dad does that a lot now. Come in late, I mean. He hasn’t been the same since you, well, you know.

                Like I was saying, I was just sitting in English class when Christopher Clarkback came and sat down right next to me. He has the eyes bluer than the sky. They twinkle sometimes when he smiles. And you know what?! He smiled at me today! I just knew that it had to be him that has been writing me those notes.  Right when I tried to ask him about the notes, Mr. Stover began class, so Christopher had to move back to his seat.

                Later, in the lunch line, I swear I saw Elijah McDonald wink at me. This made me kind of confused since he had a girlfriend. He was dating that brat-homecoming queen, Quinn McMary. But I suppose when true love, like what he must have had for me, blooms, no mortal man can repress it. I just simply had to wait for him to express it.

That wasn’t even the strangest part of my day. Keshon, my lab partner in biology, was acting rather suspicious today. He wouldn’t look at me directly, and spoke in very short sentences. His cheeks puffed up as red as I’ve ever seen cheeks puff when my hand bumped his arm while I was reaching for a beaker. I don’t understand boys, why wouldn’t Keshon just spit out whatever was bothering him?

                After the final bell rang, I made my way to the auditorium. My stomach began to gurgle as I tried to stay poised. Poised is a new word I learned today. Now it is one of my favorites! Well I walked into the auditorium, poised as could be, and who do you suppose was there? It wasn’t Keshon, Elijah, or Christopher. It was Charlie! That’s right, short, nerdy, Charlie! My best friend from grade school? The one I used to take baths with? We are going out this Saturday. And the weird thing? I am actually kind of looking forward to it.

Mom, did you get my last letter? I haven’t heard anything from you. In case you forgot, my address is 2911 Brookeview Lane, Gonkzville, OH, 32781. I’ll be here if you ever want to visit me or anything. Not that you have to. I know you are busy. I miss you, mom. Where are you? Anyways, I love you.

Kristy

Decisions, Decisions

Someday decisions will be easy and choices will be clear.
Mistakes will hardly matter and futures won't hold fear.

But today my heart is heavy. My mind is a swirling mess.
I need some air and space now to breathe and decompress.

I suppose this constant fretting shows that I truly care.
Otherwise I'd just give up. At least I am aware?

'Analization'

Some may say there is beauty in taking arbitrary letters and breathing significance into them.
They might claim that to take seemingly unrelated objects and weave them into symbolic meaning is enchanting.
They may even go as far as to propose that taking letters and making words, and words making sentences, and sentences making significance is somehow worthy of praise.
They could argue that making poetry is beautiful.


Beauty is having somebody to write about.