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.
Even if the seasons of Westeros functioned like the seasons of Earth, George R.R. Martin would still be right: Winter is always coming, you could say. But it’s finally time to batten down the hatches and hunker in… or, as this week’s featured poet, Rachel Brassard of Montpelier, suggests with both good cheer and urgency, the time has come to stack enough logs for the woodburning stove, wish the geese good luck on their journey, and prepare for a month of family, feasts and festivities before the true cold sets in.
Winter coming
Rachel Brassard, 14, Montpelier
Winter’s coming on fast –
better chop enough wood.
Pluck the last fruits of the harvest,
then say goodnight to the garden
resting under a blanket of leaves and love.
Gather your loved ones for one last feast
before the endless snow.
Bid farewell to the birds –
the robins, larks, and geese.
Give the dog a blanket to sleep on.
Winter’s coming on fast –
we only have so much time.
Prepare your yards, gardens, homes, and selves
for the cold.
