- Poem by Danielle Maturo, Grade 9

Twelve candles on the birthday cake,
It happens every year,
I slowly blow out the flames,
As everyone begins to cheer.

They all ask what I wish for,
I look at them and smile,
"Maybe I'll tell you right now,
Or maybe not for a while."

The years have come and passed,
Faster than the blink of an eye,
My sixteenth birthday is today,
I go up to my room and cry.

I hear a knock on the door,
I quickly wipe my tears,
"Come in," I say in a quivering voice,
Through the door my mom appears.

She sits down softly on my bed,
And asks if it was something she did.
I look up at her with blurry eyes,
"I just want to stay a kid."

This is the 14th  and final piece of student writing in a string of two straight weeks of student writing! Check back in 2007 for lots more!