Welcome to the Young Poet’s Corner!
Here, we share poems from students at Leaside High School, either members of the school’s Young Writers Club or students in the school’s Writers Craft classes. These poems offer insights into some of the issues that occupy young people and showcase their evolving creativity. We thank Lauren Elizabeth Simmons, Assistant Curriculum Leader for Anti-Oppressive Education, Student Voice, Leadership and Engagement at Leaside High, for inspiring and helping to showcase young talent.
“our lady of perpetual motion”
ask me where my place of worship is and I’ll tell you
it’s where everyone moves in syncopation
where conversation dims to a low hum
and everything goes to static
heads nodding to the same unspoken rhythm
as people stumble side to side
guessed it yet? I’ll keep going:
buttons pressed and cords pulled
tiny mechanical beeps as people enter and exit
hydraulic sounds and the rumbling purr of an engine that’s bigger than you are
we pray to the gods of who-knows-where we are,
pausing every few minutes, every few blocks,
singing homilies and hymns to the tune
of headphones leaking sound
no one is on their knees,
there’s no room: people sit and people stand
and people lean
and the leader of the congregation
changes places every few hours
have you figured it out yet?
you’d better have, you’re off at the next stop.
— Emma Whittington
Emma Whittington is a Grade 12 student at Leaside High School, who took Writers Craft in first semester.