Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; (802) 324-9538.
Ours
Isla Segal, 14, Woodstock
There are vintage-looking posters in the windows,
and they’re probably not old,
but I’d almost believe you
if you said they were.
They’re next to organic candles
from the raspberry farm down the road.
Each window gets a wreath
hanging that covers
almost the whole window,
with lights and red berries and wet snow
covering it.
And there’s tall grass planted in the pots out front –
it looks somehow alive,
defying winter.
The store hours are printed on one side of the glass door,
and scrap paper is taped to the other side
with a Sharpie-written note,
and I already know it still says something
about shortened hours due to a Christmas tree light malfunction
(something like that).
It’s our general store,
with the gas pump out front and
ice cream stains on creaking floorboards:
It’s ours.