Young Writers Project is a creative, online community of teen writers and visual artists that started in Burlington in 2006. Each week, VTDigger publishes the writing and art of young Vermonters who post their work on youngwritersproject.org, a free, interactive website for youth, ages 13-19. To find out more, please go to youngwritersproject.org or contact Executive Director Susan Reid at sreid@youngwritersproject.org; (802) 324-9538.
Get up, get out, explore — step onto the trail, with a hand cupped behind your ear, and listen carefully. What does the forest say? This week’s featured poet, Amelia Van Driesche of Burlington, sets out into the woods on a journey of self-discovery, nurtured by the whispered wisdom of the trees.
Lessons from the woods
By Amelia Van Driesche, 16, of Burlington
I took a walk in the woods one day
to see what the forest could teach me.
The trees whispered,
“Stand tall, young one.
Take up space, young one.
Grow old gracefully, young one.”
The ferns whispered,
“Think thoughtfully, young one.
Dream big, young one.
Step out of the shadows, young one.”
The logs whispered,
“Not all things are beautiful at first glance, young one.
Being broken and falling apart is okay, young one.
Stay strong, young one.”
I took a walk in the woods
and came out taller than the trees.
