Calling of the Animals

The people of Zaire stand on the hills
Calling throughout the land for all creatures to gather.
Under the hot sun,
.
they call for the lion who crouches in the blades of grass,
the elephant who walks forever on the dusty plain,
the ostrich who races against the wind,
the leopard who eats his game in a wrinkled old tree.

Looking from the top of the hills,
the animals looked like a thousand pebbles
being blown towards the hills by a strong gust of wind.

At dusk, the gathering is complete.
The family of all living creatures is reunited.

My Little Weed

Night before, crystal beads fell from the sky,
tapping on my bedroom window.
Dirty white pillowcases hung from the sky to dry.

I thought of my little green weed shivering
under the tap of crystal beads,
Death waiting to see what the future may bring.

Blinding pale, white, crooked sashes
fell from the sky.
The shadow of sleep finally conquered my woes and worry.

Next morning, a rising ball of fire rose to see me wake.
I slipped on shocking orange boots and walked out
to see how my little weed fared
after the terrible and angry storm.

To my surprise, in my wimpy and dried up weed's place,
there stood a healthy and stocky, moonlight pale rose,
delicate drops resting on
its blooming petals.

Deandra Tan, age 10

Deandra lives in New York City and attends Fifth grade. In her free time, she loves to read, draw, scooter and play Gameboy. She also enjoys Kung Fu martial arts, which she recently began studying. She often wishes she had a sister or a dog, but setlles for having a light gray gerbil named Cuddles.

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