Student Publishing Program ::

Evan M.

Change

As I step onto the great green big field,
A shiver squiggles up my back with fear.
Already, before the game has started,
The fear of changing grows fast upon me.

Before playing for the school, fun was the key,
But now it is all for the win. On fields
Of our choice, my friends and I played a lot.
No pads, with tackling is how we played.
But now I can already see the change.

As my cleats squish slowly into the turf
Like the grapes that are squished for making wine,
I smell the frigidly tainted air that
Creates the small clouds of steam when I breathe.
With my team of 40, I start to stretch.
I am still sore from the day before and
When I stretch, it feels like a rubber band
Is pulling my muscles back into place.
When done, my team begins to do warm-ups.

As I walk ‘cross the field, the other team
Seems like giants and they look kind of mean.
As I line up near the ball on the first play
That I’ve been in, I fear that I will freeze
But I complete the play with much ease.
The quarterback says “Hike” and the play starts.
Two steps up and then to the right, I run
My route into a very crowded field.
I look up for the ball and it’s been thrown.
Thrown right into my chest pads where I squeeze
The ball to make sure it doesn’t fall out.
I glide across the grass as I fall down
Like skis on snow. I wasn’t even touched
By the other team since I slid into
The end-zone for a two-point conversion!

As I run back to the bench, I receive
Much applause, especially from my coach
Because I made the play-call. The pounding
Fists on my head from my teammates feel like
Large hammers smashing down on a very
Hard hollow object making my teeth clatter
Together. After the long, hard game I
Begin to think about the change that comes
With playing a more organized ball game.

There are pros and cons of both, but what I
Decide is that it isn’t one or the other,
But instead that there is always a choice,
And that change does not have to put waste to
The old just to make new.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2009 EDITION]