Spring 2008

Spring 2008

Laurel Leaves is the annual publication of the creative class at Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi. It features the original poems, short stories, essays, drawings, photographs, and painting of CHS students and faculty.

Laurel Leaves Staff:

Sheri Fleming

Danielle Cross

Amber Nelson

Tre Taylor

Mrs. Nancy Dent, Editor in Chief

Bored

By: Nic Patrick

As I look up at this pale, white ceiling,

I can’t help but to wonder why I have this feeling

Of guilt, hurt, shame, and defeat

And why tests and trials always beat upon me.

As I look out the window

I try my best

To do all my work

And get out of ISS.

Autumn

Like a delicious freshly baked orange pumpkin pie.

Like the sound of princesses and pirates squealing

with laughter on a cool Halloween.

Like a long yellow and black bus loaded with smiling

children anxiously waiting for the first day of

school.

Like sound of whistling wind blowing against the thin

weak branches of an oak tree.

Like standing outside on a chilly Friday evening

screaming at the top of your lungs at a football

game.

- - - Danielle Cross

Detention

By: Nic Patrick

As I sit in my desk

In detention

I can’t help but to wonder

Why I crave the attention

Of the finest girl I saw

Who, in my opinion, has no flaw?

I don’t know her name

And doubt she knows mine

So I sit here and think

A Poem,Inspired by humanity,

The world will spin

All will be well

Even if it were dying

And no one else can tell

The world will live in sin

Their loyalty was felled

Because inside we’re empty

All that’s left are shells

The world will be betrayed

As the people kill its cells

Just like a march of death

All I hear are bells

The world will stop

The stars all tell

Everyone is dying

And no one here can tell.

- - -Sam Nonnemacher

Will Love You Always

By: Nic Patrick

No one can love me like you do.

I always feel better when I’m around you.

When I’m sad,

You make me smile;

Even after I’ve been down for a while.

When I’m down,

You help me up;

Like a mother,

Mending her child’s cut.

But when my life runs out of its days,

I want you to know that

I will love you always.

Here and Now

Tomorrow will soon be yesterday,

And today will then be gone.

So do not gaze upon the past,

Or stare toward the dawn.

But see all that lies beneath your feet,

And what lies before your face.

For life is in the here and now,

And today is a gift of grace.

- - - John Rodgers

Shameful Love

Have you ever been deeply in love?

When you cared for no-one more but God shove

Have you lain awake wishing he was there and seized every moment that you two could shove?

Have you ever prayed just to see his smile?

And would you give your life to see him happy, if only for a little while

Do you become frightened of the thought him no longer being around

And become ecstatic when you hear his powerful voice sound

Do you pray for him more than you pray for yourself?

And would you put before him no-one else

Do you look into his eyes and feel his pain

And do you realize that through knowing him there is so much to gain

When you see him do you put your head down in shame

Because you love him so much without knowing his name

-Cartrell Smith

The Right One

By: Nic Patrick

Is she the right one?

She look like the right one, she acts like the right one,

She sounds like the right one,

She smiles like the right one, She even sings like the right one,

But the true question is

Is she the right one?

I Watch You Go

I watch you go

I see you leave

You will see me again

I start to cry

Not wanting you to leave

You say you will write

I say I will reply

I ask you to be careful

You say I will keep you going

Not to see you tell the

Not to hear your voice till then

What will I do?

You are a true friend

And I hate to see you go

You have good cause to teach

To serve our great nation

Yet what will I do

If you go off to fight

To go to war

Where your life is at stake

No matter what

I want to know

I’m proud of you

I’m Proud of what you do

- - -Melissa Dyess

I am

By: Nic Patrick

I am a confused man who thinks he is in love.

I don’t know for sure if I’m in love or not.

I wonder if I will ever find the right one.

I lay in bed each night; thinking about her for countless hours.

I’ve searched for the right one for years.

I thought I found her at one point in time, but I guess I didn’t.

I am a confused man who thinks he is in love.

I know I love her, but I can’t explain why.

I hear people say that she isn’t the one for me.

I ask them why, but I get no reason as if they were just a mere fragment of my imagination.

I think about her 24/7.

I want to be with her.

I dream we would get married and live happily ever after.

I am a confused man who thinks he is in love.

I ramble if she likes me as much as I do her.

I am too shy to have a serious conversation with her.

I wish that she would feel the same way about me.

I hope that maybe one day we would be together.

I am a confused man who thinks he is in love.

Peace of Art

There is more to life than fantasy.

We must explore both body and brain

Working out makes us healthy, but

I struggle to exercise my mind.

But I work a little each day,

To make myself a better person.

I struggle with school. And work.

And negativity.

I mostly struggle

With making and keeping friends.

I don’t understand me, all the time.

Many people don’t try to understand me.

I live my life in animation.

Drawing helps me express myself.

Peaceful life, as in Heaven or the

Zen of Japan

Escape all of me except my art.

In art, I can be me.

- - - Joseph Upton

Through the Good

Through the good

Through the bad

He is there

Through the roughest times

He knows you can handle it

As it gets harder

He sends people your way

Like deacons

Like family

Like friends

To help you stay strong

To pray for you

To pray with you

In the highest peaks

In the low clips

Of your Christian walk

He is there

He sends you the weak to strength

When you are at

The saddest place

In life

No matter what

He is there

You feel his presence

He is there

You feel all alone

He is there

To put is simple,

Through everything

He is there

-Melissa Dyes

Missippy Blues

I’ve got a crazy Daddy.

He brought me here from Japan,

I’ve got a crazy Daddy

He brought me here from Japan

He thought he was doing good,

But he’s a crazzzzzzy man.

I’ve got ‘em,

I’ve got the CHS Bluesss,

Oh, my crazy family.

Got me singing the Missippy Blues.

My momma done gone crazy,

From hanging round my dad.

My momma done gone crazy,

From hanging round my dad.

She works me too hard….

Trying to make them A’s and B’s.

I’ve got ‘em,

I’ve got the CHS Bluesss,

Oh, my crazy, crazy family,

Got me singing the Missippy Blues!

My sister’s all the way crazy,

As a bedbug in June

My baby sister’s crazy,

As a bedbug in June.

My sister is all the way crazy

She’ll be in CHS way too soon…..

I’ve got ‘em,

I’ve got the CHS Bluesss,

Oh, my crazy, crazy family,

Got me singing the Clinton High School Blues!

- - Joseph Upton

Rifle

Standing tall in the corner of the room

The rifle awaits anticipating activity

Polished perfectly radiating patriotism

The rifle sparkles like the stars.

Unknown to most are the paths

The rifle walks, a silent march.

Fearing war, dreading separation

The rifle responds to war’s demands

Duty called, duty pursued, duty fulfilled

The rifle returns hailed a hero.

Silhouetted in the corner of the room

The rifle is silent freedom.

- - - Hollis Bennett

I love the way

I love the way you look at me

And the way you steal my breath

I love it when you’re with me

And the way you hold me close

I love the way your hand fits in mine

And the way you make me feel

I love the way you caress my face

And the way your touch remains

I love the way you say my name

And the way you care so much

I love the way you want me near

And the way you’re always there

But most of all

I love you for being you

-Melissa Dyess-

If I Were in Charge of the World

(an ode to Judith Viorst)

If I were in charge of the world, I’d cancel

Monday mornings, boiled okra, and people who tailgate.

If I were in charge of the world,

There’d be perfectly cooked steaks in the cafteria each day, laundry that would wash and dry itself, and a free Disney vacation for everyone.

If I were in charge of the world,

You wouldn’t have smelly sneakers,

You wouldn’t have busy bodies and gossips,

You wouldn’t have sadness,

You wouldn’t even have muggy hot July days.

If I were in charge of the world,

I would live on a cruise ship, eat without gaining a singlepound, read a book a day,

And a person who sometimes leaves the lights on, and who hates to eat rutabaga,

Would still be allowed to be

In charge of the world!

Nancy Dent

Cinquain

War

Black, Gray

Burning, Destroying, Killing

Death comes too soon

Demise

Diamante

Ally

Loyal, Dependable

Trusted, Devoted, Dedicated

Friend, Companion, Foe, Antagonist

Hated, Despised, Loathed

Evil, Disloyal

Enemy - - - Hollis Bennett

The Box of Love

(Remembrance Poem)

This, is the gift that I’m giving you,

Is a gift that you’ve given me, too.

It’s been given to others all over the earth,

For many give hugs and kisses and give babies birth.

Do you know what it is? No? Well, just think about it.

If you want to listen, you have a long time to sit.

You’ve given it to me, (maybe not in this form).

You gave it to me on the day I was born.

You gave me life, and you gave me this, too,

But I don’t receive it when you make me feel blue.

Momma, you give it when you support and encourage me,

And at night when you sing “Count All Your Phalanges.”

Daddy, you give it to me in one form or another,

Like when you make feel as if I weren’t a bother.

Guess it yet? No? How ‘bout going a little bit further?

Let me tell you about the Great Herder.

God’s the Great Herder, now that you know.

He gave us this gift a long time ago.

Do you say that Christmas is here because of Jesus?

Well, actually, it’s here because of us.

God gave us this gift in the form of a baby,

The Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary.

He gave us this gift to set us all free,

And when He died on the cross at Calvary.

Even if you know what the gift you hold, listen to a story, I heard long ago.

There once was a girl, perhaps seven or more.

She lived in a small home. Her family was poor.

They celebrated Christmas every single year.

At this time of joy, each of them was filled with cheer.

The mother and father gave their daugher gifts,

Even though in the family budget it created rifts.

But this Christmas was different; it held a lot more,

And none of them was ready for what lay in store.

This time, it was the girl who gave a gift to her parents,

It wasn’t jewels or money to help pay the rent.

It wasn’t anything expensive, yet it was valuable.

But you won’t find out what it was ‘til the end of this fable.

That Christmas morning dawned bright and cold.

There was plenty of ice and snow to behold.

The sun came up on the family opening gifts

And happy faces in spite of the rifts.

All styed like this, so happy and pleasant,

Until the daughter gave to her parents her present.

The adults opened it together, smiles on their faces,

But when they saw the inside, the smiles left no traces.

It’s empty, there’s nothing!” her great father said.

“Now go to your room and get into your bed.

“We’ve taught you so well, right down to the letter.

“Now go to your room and think about it.

“On your bed is where you will think and sit!”

“But it is not empty, I tell you, it’s so!”

It is empty; you disappointed us, now GO!”

Helplessly she cried; to her room she went.

After long hours, her tears were all spent.

That night it was dark; all over the road there was ice.

The family went Christmas light-looking; all the lights were very nice.

But then, the car slipped on a sharp bend in the road,

And soon, the girl, to the hospital had to go.

After a long night, the dad heard the doctor say,

“I’m sorry, your girl, during the night passed away.”

That loss just tore the poor parents apart.

It tore them right down to their poor caring hearts.

“I’m sorry I was so hard on her like I was,

“And to apologize to her, we’ll leave her room just it is because

“We want to remember her the bast way we can.

“I want to remember my poor little Fran.”

So they left her room alone for a week, maybe two.

Then the mom siad, “I know what to do.

“I’ll go and inspect that little old box!”

So she crept into her daughter’s room like a stealthy old fox.

She inspected the box, turned it upside down,

And when she did, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

As she stooped to pick up the note, she turned pale.

For the message it bore was beyond hill or dale.

“Charlie,” she cried; he rushed into the room.

“What is it?” he asked, still holding a broom.

“Read this,”she exclaimed. He sat down on the bed.

Tears filled his eyes, for this is what it said:

“This is not just an empty old present, you know.

“It was given to us by God long ago.

“I’m giving it back to you and God Above,

“For what I’m giving to you is my wholesome love.”

So you see that the little girl gave all that she had.

She gave something pleasant that made others glad.

Like her, this is the gift to you that I give.

It is something that lasts long while it lives.

The box is not empty, that you can see.

It is something just wonderful to you and me.

That old box there is filled with my hugs and my kisses,

My dreams and my hopes and the very best wishes.

All this adds up to my gift from our God;