Northwestern High School students evoke imagery with words
May 15—MAPLE — Emily Thompson, Hailey Gilderman and Reagan Eberhardt are sophomores at Northwestern High School. They wrote these imagist poems for Jovin Kroll's Advanced English 10 class. An imagist poem describes images with simple language and great focus.
Hawaii
By Emily Thompson
The island of the pineapple people,
trees dancing in the salty breeze,
sunshine scorching tourists' bare skin,
rolling blue waves crashing over the white sand.
Scents of sweet plumeria
and salty ocean breezes
float by.
The Byodo-in Temple,
a red building with a memorial bell,
tucked away
in the green mountain valley
welcomes visitors.
All are greeted
by black geese and orange fish,
tranquility and peace.
Today
By Hailey Gilderman
Today
the creek
has decided to
trickle
under the broken brown bridge—
barely breathing
as it brushes past
the berry brambles.
One Step
By Reagan Eberhardt
Take one step.
Toward the trees.
The breeze blows through
the beaten brush path.
Follow closer, closer to calm.
Arriving now, within the pines
They reveal a path to the water
The gurgle reaches your ears
and is a close friend that
welcomes you.
However, the path
Challenges you to traverse
the steep trail.
You accept the challenge and trudge
down to meet the water.
Now, you can rest.
And listen to the birds
And feel the breeze
Dipping your toes in the cool water
And the soft grass beneath you.
This story is part of the Telegram's efforts to showcase the work of young people in the community. For more information on those efforts, contact reporter Maria Lockwood at
