XPI Student Showcase
Welcome to Xpress Plugged In, our new online gallery of student expressions. Please follow the submission instructions CAREFULLY. New work will be posted every Monday.
-- Nancy Green, editor of XPI
Selections for the Week of 4/19/2010
Untitled, chalk pastel
Austin Oeth, 12th grade, St. Petersburg Catholic High School
Saint Paul's School,
Clearwater
Playing With Fire
A single candle
Flame flickering in the night
Casts eerie shadows
Wax dripping slowly
Its life almost at an end
The candle burns on
Wick almost finished
Extinguished with just one breath
Darkness engulfs all
Caroline Chowdhury, seventh grade
We'll Spend the Night at the Window
Sunshine State
Now that's what it says on every sign
Out there
When you drive around
So you believe it, right?
Never would you imagine that it could be that cold
Or that it could snow for crying out loud
What is going on?
Snow! I love snow
New snow on the ground, like a blanket
Of wool on my shoulders to keep me
Warm and cozy
Sweet, we'll spend the
Night at the window staring at the
Open skies, dreaming of
Winter
Charlotte Samson, seventh grade
The Beaches of Normandy before the Invasion
Waves crashing on sand
The drone of approaching planes
The smell of salt seas
The Beaches of Normandy during the Invasion
Skies display a void
Angered waves crash into boats
Blood stains the beaches
The Beaches of Normandy after the Invasion
Waves are heard again
Birds fly overhead once more
Sand becomes a grave
Talis Spriggs, seventh grade
Ode to Technology
Where would we be
Without technology?
No iPods or cell phones,
Not even TV!
Although those things are the first that you think,
We wouldn't have beds or even a sink.
We wouldn't have chairs,
We wouldn't have cars,
We wouldn't have rockets to shoot up to Mars!
We wouldn't have needles, we wouldn't have threads,
We wouldn't have books to put knowledge in our heads.
We wouldn't have microscopes for biology -
This is why you're so awesome, technology!
Evan S. Miller, seventh grade
Statues
They just sit there.
You ever wonder what they think about,
Watching the whole world pass by?
Birds fly over them,
People take pictures with them,
And they just stand there,
Motionless.
It would be nice to be one of them,
Not ever think of anything,
Just stand there,
And watch the world pass by.
Nicolas Fernandez, seventh grade
Green
Every tree with moving leaves
Every fruit bursting in color
Flowing ocean fields of grass
Hillsides flashing in flowers
Waters glistening with shade
Open lands with windblown turf
Mountain tips with a forest patch
Branches on a growing tree
Swaying ferns of light and dark
Facing north, the rocks of moss
Rolling waves of ocean's breeze
Turning clocks of four leaf clovers
Bouncing breath of apples blooming
Fog circling in the sun's thin shine
Green is nature's sign
Splashing the world
Sparkling in the color
Painting greens from grass to shores
Julia Weber, seventh grade
Life
I know that it's hard to love me when I misbehave
I can see the frustration in your eyes when things don't go
as planned
I know people change when you least expect them to
And I can see that life can be cruel even though you're
working so hard
to keep everything peaceful
I know that somewhere along the way you may see
It's worth it
Because
That's just
Life
Skye Lucas, seventh grade
Crash
A small oyster sits on the shore
Of an island
You can only find during high tide.
And as I watch,
Little waves crash
Into the oyster.
The clear salty water
Rubs quickly onto the sand
And then gently rolls back into itself.
So softly,
So faintly,
You can only hear it if you're listening for it.
And then, moments later,
Another small wave of crystal salty ocean water
Crashes into the oyster
And then rolls back into itself,
So it can crash again.
Tyler Berning, eighth grade
What Lies Beyond the Sunset
Just beyond the sunset
Someone waits for me
Just beyond the sunset
Lies my destiny
Just beyond the sunset
Waits someone so fair
Just beyond the sunset
All alone they wait there
Their hair is golden
The color of sand
Their eyes sparkle in the night
Like diamonds in your hand
Just beyond the sunset
Lies a home for me
Where the world is peaceful
Like a paradise should be
Just beyond the sunset
Someday is where you'll find me
Victoria Reed, eighth grade
Where I Belong ...
The waves roll in to greet me
Kiss my feet and pull away
I sit
Where the waves are calm
And all I feel is the warmth of the water beneath me
White foam at the tips
Waves carry in shells
And whisk away the old ones
A never-ending cycle
I pick one up
The sun is warming every part of me
And I return it to the ocean
Where it belongs
I turn my face toward the sun
And breathe in deeply
The air is heavy with salt and heat
Radiating against my neck
I breathe in again
The sounds and smells
Overwhelming my senses
I close my eyes
My souls is at ease
The day has come and gone
But I do not want to leave
This place of seamless perfection
Where the sounds are sublime
And the world remains still
Where love and peace
Surpass hate and anger
And I can be me
With no judgment
And no questions
This is where
I belong
Yana Athanasiou, eighth grade
Chubby the Orca, oil pastel
Cheri Lotfi, fifth grade, Indian Rocks Christian School, Largo