Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards 2010, National Gold Key
Intense rays of sun
Scald the tops of our heads
As we sit in a haphazard circle
On bubble gum covered concrete
I stare at the grimy trashcan in front of me
And notice the patch of grass
Two feet to my right
I gaze longingly at the lush lawn and shady sycamore tree
Only a couple of yards away
I wonder why we sit here day after day
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
We flock to the trashcan
Atop the red stairs
Like senseless sheep
Summoned by the lunch bell
Thirty minutes suffered in beating sunshine
Heat radiates up from the unsanitary cement
My eyes squint
My brow sweats
My frustration mounts
An advocate for change
I make my case for a new lunch spot
“Let’s give the grass under the shady tree a chance”
Yet unbendable friends complain of potentially wet bottoms
And stubbornly hold their ground
Huddled in a circle
Sack lunches scattered about
They refuse to break free of
Their comfort zone
It’s a paradox to me
How this concrete “comfort zone”
Could be so
Uncomfortable
Obstinacy is perplexing
Though a cool, grassy location
Lies uninhabited
Mere steps away
They will not budge
It is their daily ritual
Prized territory
Hard, dead ground
Hot, burning sun
Security blanket
Their monotonous existence
Fear of the unfamiliar
Feeds their doubts
Kills their willingness
To give change a chance
Noticing my apparent annoyance
As I ponder human nature
A friend says sheepishly
“What can I say, we are creatures of habit!”
Disinclined to part from peers
I forfeit my campaign for now
And trudge defeated
To the trash can
Again and again
A school year slips by
Summer comes to a close
The first day of school arrives
Whispers of CHANGE blow
Through the autumn air
As I give rise to a hope
A new day has donned
An opportunity to start afresh
And claim a new lunch spot
I boldly enter the quad
My smile fades
Hope dissolves
As I glimpse my friends
Encamped by the trashcan
Atop the red stairs