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 8/30/2010
Fish, mixed media
Pierce Powell, third grade, SunFlower Private School, Gulfport
St. Paul's School,
Clearwater
Her Feet
Her feet move swiftly
Like a swan gliding on the water
Her feet are rough
From years of dance
She dances until the day is gone
My sister, the ballerina
Dancing days
Dancing nights.
Tim Zollinger, eighth grade
Basketball ...
Brown ball bouncing
Running back and forth night after night
Running so hard we throw up
Running so hard my heartbeat rings in my head
My lungs grasping for air
Late nights
Early mornings
Friday nights
Saturday evenings
Broken bones
Torn muscles
And deep bruises
Running through it all
Living off adrenaline
The game frees my spirit
The party in the locker room
I'm invincible once I step on the court
A shot can make me smile
All night long
The squeaking of my shoes
The rattling of the boards
The feel of the ball
And shoes pounding on the floor
It's possible to run fast enough to leave all your worries behind
Sweat is the perfume of my accomplishment
I love the game of basketball
Brown ball bouncing
Thrown into the air
We're down by 2
With 30 seconds left
But enough to shoot
Girls running back and forth
Fighting to grab
Sometimes knocking down opponents in their quest to score
Pass, dribble, shoot into a mesh hoop
Backed by a board with bounce
The ball does not behave
Swirly swirly swirly
It slowly rotates in the net
Fans collectively hold their breath
And drops before the buzzer sounds
A long three-pointer, taken by me
Scared as the ball leaves my hands
Everyone's watching
The shot looks good
It usually does
Floating in air
One second left
The ball sails through the heavens and into the net
The shot coasts through
Cheers erupt from the crowd
I am mobbed by my coach and friends
Huge smiles appear on my teammates' faces
We all fall to the ground
And me, I'm under the pile
I can't believe myself
Neither can anyone else
We just went undefeated
Game over
And me for MVP!
Rachel Knauf, eighth grade
The Penguin Musketeers, oil pastel
Cheri Lotfi, sixth grade, Indian Rocks Christian School, Largo