6th Grade Oak

For how long have you been here?
How long will you stay?
You watch
as we toss you seeds
You know more than us all
The home of creatures,
The food of animals,
You sacrifice your rough, scratchy bark
To house the squirrels
Your smooth acorns
To feed the squirrels
Your being to shade and comfort numerous sixies
And offer a place to stay
The history of Menlo
The 6th grade oak

- Em S.

Vulture and the Plummet

Heat, muggy, and no escape
Water every couple hundred miles
And food, I have now energy to hunt, neither do the predators, I envy
The agility, speed, power, control
Powers I wish I could posses

It has been days now.
Nothing to keep me going
Nowhere to hide
But wait
I see something running, then stopping, then waiting,
In the shadows, on ground, a place not safe for the likes of me
A lion, whose features I am dismayed not to scope

The patience, what more could it have in its stomach than I
Only I know it is the superior
I am worthless

I feel heavy now
But I am light, no nothing to contempt my desire for flesh

But wait
A pounce,
A yelp
I will wait now for my food, I am a scavenger

I can’t my, drive compels me
I can no longer hold on
I dive, plummet, to the ground ready to swoop
I am a scavenger
But
It is
Too late

- Saga Sunshine Shermis

Black and White

Ahhh, the perfect grass.
Just right for me, Zebra.
Long, smooth, crunchy.
Who would have known it was my last meal.
Grazing the vast field.
The copper sun shines upon the glimmering grass.
I hear the nearby vulture crowing, searching for a tasty carcass.
I’m grateful that won’t be me.
Pleasant, calm, atmosphere.
Peaceful, no reason to be alert.
Then,
A rustle, a deep growl, a pounce,
Headed straight for me.
Then, pain,
Piercing my stomach,
Again and again.
I try to fight back, but know I have no chance.
The end of my world, a mess of black, white, tan, and red.
Once again, I hear the crows of the vulture again.
The faint cry becomes louder as the bird swoops closer.
I moan, and give myself up.
I feel each muscle go limp, until, finally my heart,
Dies too.
My last thought is,
Goodbye.

- Rebecca Larson

I Am Predator

Food is scarce for most animals.
But, for me, Lion, King of the jungle, I the predator, can find food.
Zebras roam the open plains
Elephants drink from the water hole unaware of their surroundings.
Soon, they will be prey.
I am predator.
I pounce for the zebra as it tries to run.
But it gets no where.
The wonderful taste of flesh bounds in my jaws.
One dead, more to go.
Another smell triggers my taste buds and sends saliva running down my chin.
I follow my nose to the smell, and find a vulture hovering over a dead gazelle.
The fight for food is on as I leap for the carcass.

-Talie Warner