I Am

If you are a stranger asking what I do,

“Figure skating” is always my first answer for you

The ice rink’s a place I feel I belong

Wind on my face, a flying jump – I could go on

I love it for its graceful tricks

As well as friendships strong as bricks

For someone who loves such a flashy sport

One would expect, perhaps, a louder sort

But though I perform in many places

I’m not that loud in many cases

I don’t always get out all that I’m thinking

And many teachers tell me to be louder-speaking

But rather than talk, I’d read a book

Lose track of time, curled up in a nook

Or write in my journal, as I do many a night

Where, sometimes, a short story comes to light

Perhaps I’d like to write it in français

My favourite language, apart from l’anglais

It can be easier to write in a strange tongue

The words sound better, and it’s really much fun

For all my friends I really care

Despite the daily insults we share

When anyone complains of troubles with school

“I won’t let you fail,” I say to the fool

For I believe with some help and some trying

There’s no need for anyone’s grades to be dying

Sometimes I find myself thinking about life

Wondering what matters, if it’s worth the strife

I am sometimes confused by my own strange thoughts

Understanding myself ties my mind in knots

But I suppose, with growing, it’s something we learn

Understanding will come when it is my turn

With most of the world, conforming to individuality

I want to be unique, just like everyone else.

Warbler

“Can I have popcorn?” Jenny asked her brother, Mark.
“But you just had lunch!” he protested.
“I’m hungry again,” she retorted. Mark sighed and went to the cupboard. For a tiny six year old, Jenny could be so demanding! There were bits of popcorn still scattered on the couch and the windowsill from Jenny’s previous snack.
Mark went back into the living room to see what Jenny was up to while the popcorn heated in the microwave. He found her kneeling on the couch, staring out their large window.
“Mark! Come here!” Jenny yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Calm down, I’m right here!” Mark yelled back. Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, but quickly turned back to the window.
“Look!” she pointed at some indiscriminate point in the distance. Mark followed her finger. The sky was mostly clear, save for a few wispy clouds that floated lazily along. The trees in front of the house were beautiful, as usual. Some leaves waved slightly in the summer breeze. Mark had no idea what was making Jenny so excited, and told her so.
“There’s a birdy there!” Jenny said, exasperated at her obviously blind older brother. “It’s so pretty!”
Mark picked up a set of binoculars on the coffee table and squinted into the trees. A tiny blue bird stood on a thin branch several feet away. Mark wondered how in the world his sister had spotted it. It was mostly blue, but had a white belly and black streaks on its wings.
“I think that’s a cerulean warbler!” he exclaimed. “I researched them in school but haven’t ever seen one! You’re amazing, Jenny!”
Jenny smiled at her brother smugly. “Will you give me my popcorn now?” she said. The microwave had beeped a few moments ago. Mark rolled his eyes, but smiled.
When Mark returned to the couch, he found Jenny with her nose pressed against the glass.
“It moved closer,” she whispered.
The bird was standing right on the windowsill. It was nibbling on a small fragment of popcorn that had landed there.
Mark was speechless. All those days trying to set up a bird feeder with just the right foods to attract a warbler, and it had been his little sister’s popcorn litter that had finally done it!
“You’ve made a great discovery!” he finally said to his sister.
"What do you need to make a discovery?" asked Jenny, cocking her head to the side just like the bird outside the window, who gave a shrill chirp.
"Hard work, dedication, and..." Mark could hardly contain his joy "serendipity!"
"What’s serendipity?"
"It's like, your obsession with popcorn lead to discovering the bird... and the fact that they like to eat popcorn,” he replied. “Well done, kiddo!"
Jenny beamed at him as she put half a fistful of popcorn in her mouth, and dropped the remaining pieces onto the windowsill.