Badgerblog

Today, I took my sidewalk chalk
my sidewalk chalk of assorted colors.
I went outside
out on my street
and started to rub my chalk on the sidewalk
the old concrete sidewalk.
I had time
maybe a little too much.
I had spent all day there
in the hot, hot sun
just rubbing, rubbing down my sidewalk chalk.
And when I finished,
I swelled with pride
at that masterpiece
I created.
Then, it started to rain.

Eliana, middle school, downtown summer camp

Soft but sharp and blue like the sky,
Bright and yellow as the sun goes by.
Dolphin jumps high above the water,
As deer run fast in the evergreen forests.
In the sky, flying in a “V,”
Swans fly North across the sea.
Cherry blossom trees
Swaying in the wind.
As I sit and watch this
The day is coming in.

Alexa, middle school, south summer camp (poem and illustration)

The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.
A jackrabbit scurries through the brush
while far above a raven cries.
Dawn breaks from a frozen hush.

A jackrabbit scurries through the brush
bent on finding food to eat.
Dawn breaks from a frozen hush,
the cold chill of the night retreats.

Bent on finding food to eat,
a roadrunner darts across the sand.
The cold chill of the night retreats
as fiery warmth fills the land.

A roadrunner darts across the sand
in the shadow of a towering saguaro.
As fiery warmth fills the land
the cactus wren peers at a beetle below.

In the shadow of a towering saguaro
a bevy of quail march by in a line.
The cactus wren peers at a beetle below.
On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.

A bevy of quail march by in a line
while far above a raven cries.
On a sunny rock the lizard reclines.
The desert awakes with a whispered sigh.

Mallika, sixth grade, north summer camp

Walking down a numbered street
I have just left my father’s car
and the air conditioning is still settled
in the bottoms of my shoes
encasing my feet, the feeling
soaking through my soles,
up into the muscles of my legs.

I continue to walk forward,
noticing tar spots on the sidewalk,
the concrete looking like
the floor of a painter’s studio.

I walk past a man
who is deflated on the curb,
returning to reality roughly,
piece by piece.
His eyes are closed
and his breath creaks like
the wind creaks through an abandoned house.
He coughs, and I avert my gaze,
walking forward.

The sunlight has had hours now
to soak through the sidewalk,
the asphalt, and the buildings.
I look away from the shimmering cityscape,
and focus on the sun.
I feel the heat sink in and replace the cool air in my shoes.

Olivia, tenth grade, downtown summer camp