Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers and artists, which has been based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for 12- to 18-year-olds. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org and 802-324-9538.
If you’re not an avid skier or boarder, winter is, for many of us, the glummest of the seasons: the gray slush, the dreary skies, the biting chill… But there are always those little perks we miss as soon as spring blooms her blooms and begs us to bring out our wellies: those perfect winter sunsets. This week’s featured poet, Gretchen Wertlieb of South Burlington, is just losing faith when the colors painted in the sky bring a new kind of hope to the solemnity of the day.
Winter sunsets
Gretchen Wertlieb, 15, South Burlington
I used to love the snow and ice,
the dark and stormy winter nights.
December’s magic, festive glow
now seems many years ago.
I crave the warmth of summer’s kiss.
Let sunlight bring me back to bliss.
But seasons change and so do I,
so I try my best to just get by.
I used to revel in the cold,
thought it’d be this way till I got old.
I fear I’ve lost my icy touch,
snow now piling up a bit too much.
The winter wonderland is gone,
the barren lands go on and on.
I try to breathe but at every chance,
I see the coming avalanche.
I go for a walk, cold on my own,
head bowed through the wind and my hands nearly frozen.
Through the dark, icy air, I force myself to look up,
and finally realize it might be enough.
The sun is now setting and the sky is bright pink.
The snow-dusted pines seem to sparkle and wink.
The smallest of things can untangle the snare.
These things can bring hope, although they are rare.
So whenever you feel like the storm is forever,
a winter sunset can make it a little bit better.