On a late spring afternoon several years back, I happened to drive down Mountain Road shortly after the middle school kids were released. Watching several groups of kids walking excitedly down the sidewalk towards the center of town, I spotted my own then middle school son caught up in the mix with his friends, happily oblivious to the cares of the day. At that moment I wished time could stand still, and that for just a little while longer my son would stay in this magical time warp of childhood. I went home and started writing down my observations in hopes of capturing this moment forever on paper and in my heart. This poem, Middle School Kids, is in honor of all our middle school children, who grace our town with their boisterous energy as they walk up and gather at Dunkin’, CVS, the library and our homes.
Middle School Kids
Are giggles and mischievousness, spontaneity
and bursts of activity
Huddles and secrets, last minute assignments and projects
Headphones and iPods, texting, messaging,
iTunes and YouTube
Middle School Kids
Are skipping and running, with mid-air jumps,
high fives and fist bumps
Shuffling, flopping and zoning out,
Doritos with pizza, Monsters and Coke
Middle School Kids
Are skateboarding and walking to town
A posse of friends, making plans for the night,
as to whose house they’ll crash
With video games and movies, high jinks and laughs
Middle School Kids
Are stealth and secretive, always testing
and pushing the boundaries
Knowing there’s a chance they’ll get their way
With just a smile and a tug of your heart
Middle School Kids
Are at that all too soon transient space
Between childhood and the uncertainties ahead
Embrace and enjoy these brief magical moments
of that special Middle School Kid
Smile and laugh at their antics and banter with friends
For all too soon they will pass
through that last vestibule of childhood
Leaving that Middle School Kid behindMiddle School Kids
Are giggles and mischievousness, spontaneity
and bursts of activity
Huddles and secrets, last minute assignments and projects
Headphones and iPods, texting, messaging,
iTunes and YouTube
Middle School Kids
Are skipping and running, with mid-air jumps,
high fives and fist bumps
Shuffling, flopping and zoning out,
Doritos with pizza, Monsters and Coke
Middle School Kids
Are skateboarding and walking to town
A posse of friends, making plans for the night,
as to whose house they’ll crash
With video games and movies, high jinks and laughs
Middle School Kids
Are stealth and secretive, always testing
and pushing the boundaries
Knowing there’s a chance they’ll get their way
With just a smile and a tug of your heart
Middle School Kids
Are at that all too soon transient space
Between childhood and the uncertainties ahead
Embrace and enjoy these brief magical moments
of that special Middle School Kid
Smile and laugh at their antics and banter with friends
For all too soon they will pass
through that last vestibule of childhood
Leaving that Middle School Kid behind