Georgia Parke, a Junior at Stowe High School, completed this
piece while attending the Vermont Governor’s Institute on the Arts. Inspired by
the prompt "Perhaps it was the clams…" Georgia combined her irrational fear of
the ocean with ideas of conformity and, conversely, standing out in the crowd.
For more great student writing go to youngwritersproject.org
Perhaps it was the clams
who stole the
burdensome pearl
from the longer green oyster
who couldn’t hold a note underwater
if its place in the sand depended on
it.
Perhaps it was the solemn starfish
who choked on
seaweed
when the old man threw it headfirst
back into the reef.
Perhaps it was the foreign snorkeler
who,
lovesick seasick
adventuresome pride,
started to drown when
she lost sight of the sky
and was saved
by the underwater mountain that drew
blood from her toes.
Perhaps it was those bittersweet
lullabies
that taught children to
fear the depths of the sea.
Fear the tide!
Fear the figures pushing you away
from the walls and into the
middle of the carpet the
middle of the room the
middle of the ocean where
you can swim on your own with
nothing
to assist you but the muscles in your
legs
you grew from running back and forth
away from the rising tides.