Young Writers Project is a creative online community of teen writers, photographers, and artists, based in Vermont since 2006. Each week, VTDigger features the writing and art of young Vermonters who publish their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth 12-18 years old. To find out more, visit youngwritersproject.org, or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; 802-324-9538.
“Our eyes met across a crowded room…” Do you believe in friendship or love at first sight? Regardless, we have all encountered a stranger once or twice who drew us to them instantly with a magnetic force we could not easily explain to ourselves. This week’s featured poet, Penelope Zygarowski of Burlington, finds herself captivated one day by the new girl with a “kind soul” — but perhaps it was not meant to be.
The new girl
By Penelope Zygarowski, 15, of Burlington
There was a new girl in class today.
She had long blonde hair
and light eyes that wandered the room.
And when she walked by me,
I smelled her sweet perfume.
She wore an oversized jacket
that seemed to swallow her whole.
And when she looked at me and smiled,
I knew she had a kind soul.
I wanted to ask for her name,
I wanted to get to know her.
But when the bell rang,
she was out the door all the same.
The hallways were crowded
as I looked for her blonde hair,
but she was lost in the sea of people.
She had disappeared into thin air.
