"Pintler Falls"

“Pintler Falls” Water roars down Over the rocks. Mist splashes my face. A good, long hike Has taken us to this beautiful place Where the bears come To quench their thirst. The trees’ roots are jumbled Over the ground. You better not trip, Or you’ll find yourself Headfirst in the boggy mud.

"Moose"

“Moose”

Gangly legs.

Small tufts of hair.

Their ears move

Independent of each other

Thus great hearing.

It turns to look at me.

I snap the picture.

It turns its large head back to the tree

With not a care in the world.

What a peculiar creature.

"Autumn"

"Autumn"
Two faces painted.
One girl.
One boy.
They sit in unison.
Side by side,
The pumpkins lay,
A vivid bright orange
Amongst the hay.
These enchanting smiles
Bring joy to what is fall.

Kayla

I.
I was a replacement child;
Born to fill the void.
The times of sadness
Were no more.
Born in a mountainous region,
My birth brought joy to all.
The room was full of smiles,
And my grandfather was proud all the while.
He stood;
Grinning from ear to ear
As he always would
Whenever he was proud of me.

II.
I’m looking through the glass
At the world around me.
A river runs through the backyard.
The Canadian geese fill the air
With their shrill honks.
The moose stand in the middle
With their noses in the air.
They turn their massive heads
To eat the lush, green
Of the willows.
Serenity.
My home.

III.
A friend.
A teacher.
A mentor:
My sister.
A guardian.
A saint.
A blessing:
My sister.
Trusting.
Honest.
Beautiful:
My sister.


IV.
My favorite pastime:
Tennis.
Rain or shine,
You can find me on the nearest court.
Backhand.
Forehand.
Volley.
Lob.
The Wilson drifts over the net.
Into the back corner.
Victory.


V.
My bestest friend.
She’s a fighter.
A winner.
We grew up together.
We share the same mind;
The same thoughts.
Her troubles are my troubles.
If she is in pain,
I am in pain.
Her family is my family.
My family is her family.
We are sisters.

VI.
I love basketball.
The ball spins through the air;
A rainbow of sorts.
It hits the backboard.
Circles.
Endless.
All eyes fixated on the perfect ring.
Goes in.
A loud gasp
And the crowd cheers.

VII.
My grandfather’s house:
A children’s playground.
A big yellow slide
That never ends.
An old, rusting swing set against the shed
Reminds me of younger days.
The hammock, now destroyed,
Was once new
And the center of everyone’s attention.
Caught in a web,
We all giggled with joy.

VIII.
I feel like an only child.
My sister has left the house.
We were once so close,
But now she is far away.
She has a new life
With new opportunities.
The one she lives now
Is a world different than mine
With glassy skyscrapers
And heavy traffick,
But I do love my Montana.

IX.
Some might say
They love the sunshine.
I do,
However I prefer the rain.
The rain is good for lots of things:
Dancing.
Singing.
Playing basketball
(One of my favorite things to do).
It washes away yesterday
And leaves the promise
Of a tomorrow.
A new day.
Cleansed.
Fresh.
Free.

X.
Fill your cup with paint.
Any color.
You choose.
Become your character.
Absorb that color.
You are now a different person.
When you are on stage,
You are not yourself.
I love these funny anecdotes
That we must do
Before we perform
In a play.

The Dream

The rain was a torrential downpour.
It woke her from her dreamless sleep.
She got up to explore
But fell back asleep.

Her dream consisted of imaginary things:
Mystical unicorns, elves, and dragons,
Beautiful birds with red-tipped wings.
She would be sad when she awakened.

She woke up all too soon.
She wished she would have never woken up.
She felt as if someone had taken a pin to her balloon
And then it blew up.

She hoped she would dream of that place again,
But she didn’t know when.

Summer

The rays of the sun shine down upon my head.
I let out a sight of contentment.
The sunburn on my arm is blood red
And vibrant.

I wade into the shallow water
And let it surround me.
In the distance I can see a sleek, brown otter
Crawling towards the shade of the great, green tree.

The ants tickle my toes,
And I flick them away.
A day like this helps me to forget my woes
And keep them at bay.

The sky turns to pink and purple with the sunset.
A day like this is something I won’t forget.

Mental Tennis

My head is spinning.
I’ve worked so hard.
Right now I’m winning,
But I always play the mental card.

I focus my eyes on the yellow ball.
It’s coming fast.
There is no time to stall,
And I don’t want to be surpassed.

I take a deep breath in and out.
The air is fresh and cool.
My opponent is worn-out.
This time I didn’t have to play the fool.

I fill with accomplishment as I hit the final blow.
I put a smile on my face and everybody can see that I am aglow.