Sunrise

Okay, here is another poem. I'm writing another story, but I'm not done yet, so it might be a while before it is posted.

Sunrise

Red
Orange
Pink
Purple
Yellow
Blue
Sunrise

Freedom

Okay, so last night started Passover. Passover is all about freedom, so I decided to write a small freedom poem. It doesn't have a title. Any suggestions?

Held Free

Held
With the stars
And sun
Circling around

Free
As a butterfly
When it breaks free
From its cocoon

The Epilogue

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Epilogue

As I stood on the grass, I knew that I had done the right thing. I had learned all I could about Joanna before, well, before. And I knew that what I was doing now would change what would happen in my life.

"We are gathered here tonight to mourn the life and death of a young girl." I said. "She was brave and daring, but her life might have ended long before now if it wasn't for one person here tonight. The moon." I said, waiting until the gasps had died away. I told Joanna's story to the crowd. Every word of it. I even told them what I had learned from her. I felt the tears drip down my face. I turned and grasped the sheet. I pulled it.

It was covering a headstone. But not an ordinary headstone. This one was a normal ovular rock. On the smooth face it read:

'Joanna Heather. Birth 1994, Death 2007. Child of Mary and David Heather.'

Underneath those words, I had carved something in myself with a chisel lent to me by one of the carvers. I had carefully carved in six words. The penmanship was a bit hard to read, but it was legible. I smiled when I read it out loud.

"The girl who loved the moon."

Part Eight

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Eight

It was Wednesday afternoon. I was ungrounded, and Joanna was showing me how she lived. I thought it was good training. It was cool how she survived. She had slept in a hollowed out tree, and she kept her stuff stored under a root. It was amazing.

"And that's how you make a fire." Joanna finished. I smiled at her. She grinned back, and stamped out the fire she and made with two twigs.

"Hey, I was wondering, you want to come over for dinner tonight? My parents said you could. They don't know that you don't have parents or anything. It'll be fun." I invited. I wanted her to come over. I wanted her to have a real meal. She smiled at me, and nodded.

"Sure. What time?" She asked me.

"At about 6." I proclaimed. "See you then."

"See you then." She replied. I walked back across the street and I went into the house. I was hoping to keep her inside long enough to keep her from seeing it, but I wasn't sure it would work. And I didn't know how she would react if she did see it.

At 6 o'clock, she was on the door step. I dragged her inside and sat her down on the table next to me. We had dinner. it wasn't a fancy dinner, but Joanna looked at every cooked slice of meat with awe. I nudged her when it got to be to much. At around 8, my Mom turned to look at her.

"You should be getting home now, shouldn't you?" She asked her.

"Yes. Thank you for the wonderful meal." Joanna replied. She stood up. I
followed her to the door. Inwardly, I winced. It wasn't dark out yet, and tonight was the full moon.

"See you tomorrow, Joanna." I said.

"See you." She replied as she walked out the door. I ran upstairs. I looked out my window. She was playing in the park, disguising herself until the last person left. Then I saw her go over to her tree and fish out some soap. There was a pond in the park. She took a towel and disappeared behind some trees, and then she slipped into the far end of the pond where no one could see her. I knew she was washing. After a while, I saw the sky begin to darken. The moon was disappearing.

I saw Joanna slip out of the shadows wrapped in a towel, when she stood still and looked up. The sky was black. The moon was hidden. I saw Joanna's hands slip from her towel to her throat. She screamed. It was a heart breaking scream. I saw her fall to her knees. She was screaming, and crying, I could tell. I slipped on my shoes, when I heard the screaming suddenly stop. I got scared. I ran downstairs, gave my parents some lame excuse of forgetting something in the park as I ran outside. I ran across the park to where Joanna lay. I felt for her pulse, just as in hospital movies. I felt something small. Joanna was lying on her back. The moon was still gone from sky. Her face was as white as a sheet. Her eyes were fixed on the sky where the moon should be. Her pulse was slow beneath my fingers.

"Joanna. Joanna. Joanna! Listen to me! The moon will come back! Listen to me! Joanna!" I said, my voice increasing every time I said her name. Her face turned to me.

"If the moon died, I would have no reason to live." She said faintly. Her pulse slowed, and slowed, until I could no longer feel it. I tried to do the breathing thing, where you breathe for the injured, but she didn't respond. I stood up, shaking. I walked across the street, but just as I got ready to open the front door, I looked back. I saw the sky. I saw the moon. All that had happened was a Lunar Eclipse. I realized that I would never see the sky the same way. It had seemed such a peaceful place, but now, not anymore. It had killed an innocent girl. A girl who had suffered beyond all others. I realized that I had just seen someone die. I turned, and walked back to the park. I slowly lowered myself besides Joanna's body. I looked at her face. Her eyes were open, and her face seemed peaceful. I realized that her eyes were fixed on the moon, which was shining so brightly in the sky, so innocently. Her face seemed peaceful, even in death. I took the towel she had used and I placed it over her naked body. I gently took her face and held it between my hands. Then I closed her eyes for the last time. She would never see the moon again, I thought.

I walked back home, grateful that I had one to go to. I told my parents everything, even about the dead girl in the park. They called the police, who determined that she had died from a shock too great to measure. I told the police her story. I shook with the wind. As they picked her up, I touched her hand. It was cold with death. I placed it between mine for a split second, and then I let go. I held my mother tightly.

When I went to bed that night, I lay in bed with my eyes open. I couldn't sleep. But I knew what I had to do.

Part Seven

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Seven

I sat on the stoop of my house. It was Monday. Mom and Dad didn't punish me too much, they just grounded me for a few days. I was more disappointed than I normally would. Brian went away to sleep away camp, Mom and Dad worked, and Jenni had pre-school. I was alone at home in the summer. I didn't want to go to camp. But now I wished I had.

"Hey Caroline." I heard. I jumped. It was Joanna. She had sat down beside me. With my preoccupied mind, I hadn't noticed her.

"Oh, hi Joanna." I said. She smiled at me. She was holding a pen. I realized that it was my pen, the pen I had taken with me when I decided to try to go out of my home, and travel. I looked at it curiously. "Where did you find that?"

"It was on the side of the street." Joanna said innocently. I had a feeling she knew more than she was telling. Well, two could play that game.

"Oh, okay. What are you doing over the summer?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"What can I do?"

"Oh, right. But, don't you work?"

"Yea, but I'm off for today."

"Oh."

"So, where were you yesterday? I didn't see you?" There she went, off where I didn't want her to go. Oh well. I told her where I had gone, what I had done.

"Oh." She said. "But why? You have a place to live."

"Yea, I realized that, thats why I came back."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead." I said, bracing myself for whatever it might be.

"What do you have to live for?" I had not been expecting that.

"Well, my family, I guess. My mother and father, my brother and sister. They
would be so sad without me." I answered as honestly as I could.

"Would they die if you did? Like my parents?" She asked. Her face was turned towards mine. Her expression was flawless. I could not tell what she was feeling right now.

"No. They would keep living for my siblings, and each other. They would know that I am gone, and even if they would want to join me, they would wait until it was their turn." I didn't know how I knew that, but I did. I told her exactly what I thought.

"Have you ever loved someone enough to die for them?" She asked.

"Well, I don't think so. My life has been pretty simple. No one I know has died, and if they did, I would be pretty sad, but I wouldn't die just because of that."

"The only thing I love enough to die for is the moon. I do not know much about the moon. I don't know if it can die, even if it is really alive. I don't know if it can disappear. I only know that it has been there every night I have been alive. Every night, I was able to see it. But if it died, I would die too." Joanna spoke with such sincerity, it almost made me cry. I knew more about the moon than her, but I didn't think she would want to hear that. But what would happen in two days?

Poem In Your Pocket

Today is Poem in your Pocket day. Do you have a poem in your pocket? I walked around with this one that I wrote this morning.

Last Hope

Wishing
A single hope left
Held
As if to keep from
Flying away
And vanishing

Part Six

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Six

"I knew it all. I knew she would try. I knew that she would fail, I thought to myself as I saw her walking back down the street, bag in hand and head down. She couldn't see me. She shouldn't see me. It would make her wonder more, make her want to try again. But why? She has no reason to wander. Actually, she has no true reason to keep living. Does she?" Joanna thought.

Part Five

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Five

I walked down highway 15, towards Kentucky. There was a town there, near an aquarium. I had bought a map in the first rest stop I found. It was cheap, but it showed all of Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. As the sun went down, I began looking for a place to stay. I saw a rest stop on the side of the road. I walked down to the McDonalds. It was bad food, but it was cheap. I bought a burger and ate it. I used the restroom, and when I came back outside, it was dark. I saw a hill and a small group of trees. But there were signs saying to stay away from them. Instead, I went around back of the McDonalds and found a patch of grass that ran up to the building. I took my blanket and unfolded it. I crept under the blanket and lay on the grass. I would sleep until the sun came up, and then I would keep going. took out my cell phone. I had charged it the night before, but I knew it wouldn't last forever. I had packed my charger, determined to throw it away if i needed to. I plugged my cellphone into an outlet in the wall. I curled up and tried to sleep. This scenery was so different from at home. There was no bed, only blanket, grass, and wall. There was no door, just a parking lot. I had crept into an ally so as to not be seen. I closed my eyes.

I couldn't sleep. I slept very little, and that made me think about how I could make it. I packed my stuff and bought a small french fries from McDonalds. I ate them as I walked up the highway. I had gone six miles yesterday. It wasn't enough. I needed to keep going, but I didn't know why. Something was pushing me, but it wasn't pushing hard enough. My courage was failing fast. I took a deep breath, and turned back the way I came. I couldn't go on. I had no reason to. I had a home, a family, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, I didn't need this. I got home by nightfall. My parents let me inside without a word. I hugged them and went up to bed.

As I lay in bed, I wondered at myself. How could I just go out, but come crawling back home? Because I have a home, I answered myself. I have what I need. I fell asleep in an instant.

Part Four

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Four

I woke at dawn. It was a Saturday, but I didn't want to sleep in. I wanted to know what Joanna's life was like. I wanted to wander, to leave home and travel far and wide. But what about my parents? Or, my brother? My baby sister? I wasn't sure. But I wanted to feel how Joanna did, to know what had happened to her. And, well, I had always wanted to travel. I emptied out my book bag, school was over for the year, and I began to pack. I emptied out my piggy bank, even though it only had $200. I took a thick blanket, a small pillow, and two changes of clothes. I took some food from the fridge, and a notebook and a pencil. I would have to record what I did. I took a sheet of printer paper and began to write a note to my parents.

'Dear Mom, Dad, Brian, and Jenni. I want to go see the world this summer. I am going off to travel. I will see Aunt Mabel and Aunt Christi on the way. Don't worry about me. I have my cellphone. I will see you when I get back. Caroline.'

I put my cellphone into my jean pocket. I took another pen, and I opened the door. I left my keys on the table by the door. I closed the door behind me. I took a look around me. I wasn't good at traveling, but I had to try. I began walking east, towards where the sun was rising steadily up, lighting my way. I walked to the end of the block and turned the corner without a backwards glance.

Part Three

Here comes what you've all been waiting for, part three.

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Three

"I was born in Indiana in a small town. We lived in a small house. Me, my mother and father. We were poor, I knew that. When my father got sick with pneumonia, my mother panicked. She tended him herself, as we were too poor to go to the hospital. She stayed by his side till the end. She wouldn't leave him, even to eat. I brought her food, but she wouldn't eat. She left it on the floor. Eventually, she died in her sleep. And I was alone. I was only five

"I took all the money I could find, but it wasn't much. I left the house, my only home. I hadn't learned letters or numbers, any reading or writing. I was all alone with myself and my stuff. I had a bag with the money, some food, a change of clothes, and a blanket and small pillow. That was all I took when I left my home. I walked until I found a city. We had lived not far from Indianapolis, I knew that much. I went into the big city. I looked for kids my age, or adults who looked nice. But I found on one. The first night, I slept on the side of the road. Then, after a few days of wandering, I found a book shop. A library. I went inside. The lady there helped me. She gave me food and water and a place to stay. She taught me letters. I slept on a couch in the back of the library. It was the closest thing I had to a home.

"But then the library shut down. By then, I was 7, and I could read and write. I wasn't old enough to make good money, but I could make something. I worked my way over from Indianapolis to here, in Ohio. It took me a long, long time. I slept on roadsides and in parks. I worked where I could and bought food and clothes when I outgrew what I wore. I lost my blanket, but I bought a strip of fabric and used that. I kept going. But since I was 5, I haven't had a real home or family. I only have one family. Only one constant in my troubled life.

"The moon. Every night, in the parks or on the roadsides, I saw the moon. When I was still at home, still small, I looked out my window every night to see the moon. The moon was my only reason to keep living. My father was dead, my mother loving him so much, even more than me, so she would die with him. That library, closed. Gone in a wink. The moon was the only thing that has lasted forever. Its my motivation. My reason to keep going, keep living, keep trying." Joanna told me the whole story. I closed my eyes. I couldn't imagine it. Her own mother died for her father without a backwards glance to her only child. I opened my eyes, and I realized that I was crying.

"When I got here, I went to the school. They let me in. I stayed with a family for a year, and then I had to go. I live on my own now. But the school still lets me in. They give me breakfast and lunch. I get my own dinner. I work in a diner as a garbage person. It's so hard to keep going, but I see the moon and I realize I cannot stop." Joanna stopped talking. Her own face was wet with tears. "I should go now."

"What?" I wondered, but then I saw the clock. It was 5. My parents would be home soon. "Where do you stay?"

"I can't tell you. But I think you will find me. See you at school." Joanna said. She stood up. I gave her a bag to put her stuff in and I fished a blanket out of my closet. I handed it to her, knowing that she might need it. She smiled, took it, and walked out the door.

Later that night, I realized what Joanna meant by saying that I would find out. I looked out my window. It was 9 pm, and it was dark out. I saw the park from my window. I saw a figure standing in the darkness, looking at the moon. Tears leaked from my eyes. Joanna's story was so sad, yet so real. I cried for her. For the girl who loved the moon.

Part Two

Okay, I just can't wait to post the rest of the story. For now, though, all you get is part two. Enjoy!

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part Two

"Caroline?" It was Joanna. I had been thinking about her a lot since showed her to the office. I looked at her. Her clothes looked ragged. Her shirt looked like she had worn it too many times without a wash, and her pants were in tatters at the knees. I hadn't noticed that yesterday.

"Hey." I smiled. She smiled back.

What's up?" She asked me. It sounded like she didn't say that much, and her tongue had trouble with the words.

"Not much. Hey, I was wondering, you want to come over to my house after school?" I wanted to find out what was so different about her.

"Umm, I'm not sure......." She said hesitantly. She looked scared again.

"You want to call home and ask?" I asked her gently. She started at the word 'home,' and she looked at the floor. I wondered what was so different about her life that made her like this. "I noticed your pants were in tatters, and well, I have some pants that don't fit me. Do you want to come over and try them on?"

"Okay." She said. I wasn't sure, but I thought she only said it to make me feel better. I left the topic.

"Lets meet outside the school after the bell rings." I suggested. She nodded and continued to eat her lunch.

After school, I went outside. There she was, sitting on the floor with an armful of books. She looked up when I came over.

"Hey." She said. She sounded tired. I bent over and sat next to her.

"Its a beautiful day." I said. She nodded. I turned to look at her. "Ready to go?"

"To your home, you mean?" The word 'home' sounded odd on her lips. I wondered at it, but then let it be.

"Yes. Come on, it's only a few blocks away from here. It's right across the street from the park." I told her. I stood up and hefted my schoolbag. She just stood, holding her books. I led the way. We got there, and I unlocked the door. As we stepped inside, Joanna looked so out of place, I wondered at it. Her skin was pale as a glass of milk, and her eyes were big inside her face. She looked around quickly. I wondered what it was to make her so astonished. It was an average home, even below average. I led her to my room. "Drop your books on the bed. I'll just get the clothes." I opened my closet. Toys and books came tumbling out. Two toys landed at Joanna's feet. A toy bear and a stuffed penguin. She picked up the penguin and marveled at it. I grabbed the bear and threw it back into the mess. I took out a few pairs of jeans and a few shirts.

"Here. Try these on." I said, tossing them onto the bed. She took a soft red sweater. I had outgrown it, but it seemed like it might fit her. She pulled it over her head. It fit.

"Thank you." She said softly. She tried on the pants. All but one pair fit. I gave her all of them. Then she picked up the penguin again. She fiddled with it between her hands.

"Do you want it" I asked quietly.

"I shouldn't. You've given me so much already."

"It's nothing. Take it, and the penguin." I said. She gave a small sniff, and I realized that she was crying. I went over to the bed and pulled her onto it. I sat next to her. I put my arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?" She kept crying. But then she turned to look at me through her tear stained eyes.

"Caroline, do you know why I am like this?" She gestured to her ragged shirt and pants.

"No." I said quietly.

"I wasn't going to tell you. I don't want to have it happen again. I don't want to loose another....." She began crying again. I held her until she stopped. Then she looked at me. "Caroline, I want to trust you. I want to be your friend. Can that happen?"

"Of course! Joanna, I am open to you. Tell me whatever." I said with full honesty.

"Okay." She said. "I will tell you my story."

Part One

I know that the prologue is short, so here comes part one!

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Part One

"Hi." The whisper was so quiet, I barely heard it, but it was there. I looked around. A girl my age was looking at me. She was average height, and she had mousy brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She was standing behind me in the lunch line. I had never seen her before, so I realized she must be new to the school.

"Hi. I'm Caroline. Who are you?" I asked her. She blushed, and looked down.

"I'm Joanna." She said in a small voice. Her voice sounded pretty, like a singers. I scrutinized her carefully, but she kept her gaze lowered. We moved up in the lunch line.

"You just moved here? You new in the area?" I asked her. She looked lonely, so I figured it couldn't hurt to keep her company. My friends had already left for camp for the summer.

"Kind of." She said. We got to the front of the line. I took a slice of pizza and an orange juice. She only took a sandwich. I wondered at that. She looked very thin, and her clothes looked worn.

"Hey, you want to sit with me?" I asked. She looked at me, surprised, and then she smiled. It was a tentative smile, but it lit up her face and, for a second, she looked almost pretty. I smiled back, and we sat down at a table. I was starving, and I bit into my pizza with happiness. Pizza was the only good food the cafeteria made. Joanna only took a small bite out of her sandwich. I looked at her curiously. "Aren't you hungry?" I wondered.

"Not really."

"You nervous?"

"About what?"

"Well, you look scared a bit, if you don't mind me saying."

"Oh." She said. She blushed again. "Well, guess I am, a bit."

"Why?"

"I'm not ready to tell...."

"Okay." I backed off. I took another bite of pizza. "What class are you in?"

"I don't know." She looked even more scared now. I must have frightened her with my questions. I didn't say anything else. When the bell rang, Joanna looked around like a lost dog. I felt sorry for her.

"Do you want me to show you to the office? They will know what class you're in." I suggested softly.

"Okay. Thanks." I heard the gratitude in her voice. It sang out like a voice in an empty room. I smiled at her and showed her the way to the office. After making sure she was in good hands, I went to my next class. But all throughout the afternoon, through music and math, I thought about her.

Prologue

I began to write a story yesterday, and I'm going to post it part by part. Tell me what you think.

The Girl Who Loved The Moon
Prologue

I saw her. It was a cloudless night, and I saw her, just standing there, looking at the moon. The sight just about broke my heart. She didn't move a muscle, she just stood there, in the middle of the park in the darkness of night, just looking at the moon.

Part One, soon to follow.

A poem from the past

I was looking in an old notebook of mine, and I found a poem there that I had written when I was 9 years old.

Moonless Sky

I look at the sky
A clash of lightning
A crash of thunder
No moon

I wait for it to fly
A splash of rain
A whistle of wind
No moon

I lay my head and cry
Clouds go away
A bright light comes to say
No moon

I think that it's pretty good for one I wrote at age 9. What do you think?

First Post

This is a blog of my writings. I write poetry and stories, but right now I can't think of good stories, so poetry it is. Tell me what you think.

As The Sun Goes Down

The sky
So blue
A deep, deep blue
As if
It went on forever

As the sun goes down
The sky goes dark
The sun sinks
Into fluffy pink clouds
And disappears into the sea