MIDDLETOWN — This is the latest in a series of Creative Expressions columns showcasing the poetic work of high school students around Lake County.
“The high school poetry phenomenon is spreading,” said Lake County Poet Laureate Richard Schmidt. “It has now jumped from Middletown High School all the way to Upper Lake High. Who knows where it is heading?”
The following poems were authored by Middletown and Upper Lake high school students.
Big Brother
He is a hero
from when I was little
I looked up to him
no one compares
His love is forever
Forever together
He is my hero
No man compares to him
He is my savior
My big brother
My hero
— Jamie Rainey, MHS senior
A Provider For Our Family
My father, always gone before dawn,
working hard
displaying resilience and brawn.
He’s a role model in life
and a leader, even in strife.
He’s a hero to me
A provider for our family,
My mother, me, and another 3.
As I end the school year
about to be a grad
I appreciate everything he’s done,
thank you Dad.
— Jon Hoogendoorn, MHS senior
Untitled
Tiring feelings start to form,
Looking to be active as a rabbit,
And yet as distracted as a baby,
Just waiting for something to fill me full of happiness as a puppy does to kids.
This feeling is building up as it wants to pour out,
Pour out tears,
Tears of relief,
Tears of sunlight to clear the fog building the construction of the figure that wants to grow,
Grow to be the clear figure of glass,
Glass to see all the problems flow.
Yet the problem with glass is how fragile it is,
Hitting the bottom leading it to tear down and collapse,
Hurting other structures with the painful fall,
Hoping to keep the others away trying not to be rebuilt to just be torn down again and again.
This is my problem with life not knowing how to accept help,
How to accept help,
So I wonder,
Wonder with curiosity,
What is my problem?
— Kenneth Raymond Hodges, ULHS junior
Just Me and My Dad
Sundays, just me and my dad
working on cars, spittin’ out bars,
living life to the fullest,
just me and my dad.
Hanging out, having fun
won’t stop until the job is done.
We come home from far away
hoping to do this another day.
Yes, we might be sad
missing out on each other’s lives
but I still hope for those days
just me and my dad.
— Mike Brewer, MHS junior
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The Creative Expressions column is a space for Lake County poets and writers to share their work with their community. Creative Expressions is supported by the Lake County Arts Council. For more information and to submit a poem or short piece of creative writing, email rvschmidt2@gmail.com.
