by Angelina de Bruijn, 14
Waking up to a harsh sound,
“Beep, Beep, Beep.”
The alarm clock shows 7:00 a.m.
Ringing in your ears as you wake.
A quiet tapping sound
With a constant rhythm
You didn’t notice
In your sleep.
Curiousness in your eyes,
Adrenaline coursing through your body,
Wondering what was making the sound.
Getting out of bed,
Feet touching the smooth flooring,
Looking out the window,
Still half asleep.
Prying open the curtains
Like a panther attacking their prey.
Eyes bulging at the sight
Of the scene appearing outside.
Smile a mile long,
Teeth creating a grin
Whiter than a bag of marshmallows.
Outside lay a blanket of snow
At least four or five feet deep.
Not a footprint in sight,
Not an uncovered piece of land.
Running down the stairs,
Slipping and sliding with excitement,
The thundering of footsteps coming from behind.
Over my shoulder,
Running almost faster than me,
Is Raphael,
Funny, matter-of-fact, honest,
Is Julien,
Dramatic, sweet, know-it-all,
Is my family.
We seem to read each other’s minds
Simply through our smiles.
Not a word being spoken,
Yet understanding each other completely.
Laughing downstairs while hearing
Our favorite TV program.
Thinking of the snowmen
And snow angels
We’d make together.
The snowball fights with our dad
While our mom made hot cocoa in the house
To warm us up when we come inside.
Thinking of the hills lined with trees,
But not paying attention to them,
Rather focusing on not crashing into them
With our sleds.
Seeing our mom and dad come down the stairs,
Asking if you want pancakes.
Listening to the sizzle of butter on a pan,
And hearing the batter hit it.
Sitting down to taste the rich
And creamy chocolate chips
That pervade through the pancake.
Hearing the radio crack,
Saying five feet of snow on the ground
And still more to come.
But then,
Something pangs you with despair.
Your smile fades,
Turning inside out.
You welcome a frown to your face
And start to hang your shoulders low.
You just remembered that,
Even though there is snow on the ground,
Even though you can’t leave your house,
You still must go on Zoom.
As the thoughts of the fantastic day
Slowly start to fade away,
You trudge upstairs with a heavy step
Looking over to similarly see your siblings
Over your shoulder.
Though now they don’t have a smile,
But have also welcomed a frown.
Separating into their rooms
And opening the computers.
Logging into seeing classmates
That usually have an energetic spring to their step
Finished off with a smile,
Now have glossy eyes,
Blank stares,
And melancholy expressions.
All of them thinking of the exciting,
Fun,
Entertaining,
Family filled,
Snow day that could have been.
Fair Haven, NJ
Bridge Ink 