i won't let go
of everything
Pa told us to keep the ache, to bury it, / to never let it go.
I learned that apologies come / after the table is cleared
"The only way to attain wisdom is to leave home."
Simon hated the swan, but Mom loved it, and so he tried to love it too.
Back and forth all day she flits /
and through the hole in their house she fits / not just each different thing she brings /but herself too, making sure each thing / is put in its proper place inside / until she's finally satisfied.
"She has a name. She had a family. She has a will of her own. I want you to remember that. Be careful. Be kind. And always remember that she is as much a person as you are.”
At the back of the boxcar, something small and almost human crouched in the dimness. The creature wasn’t in a cage. Whenever Henry’s father locked this animal behind bars, it screeched so loudly that Henry begged for it to be let out.
Not all cold things are lifeless,
dear reader.
Not all that listens is silent.
The moment I saw Artie Ranberg, I knew there was something special about him. Fresh off the bus for my first day at Traverse City High, he stood at the front of a queue of upperclassmen, shaking hands and welcoming all of us freshmen to our new...