Bucket list Freewrite, Tobey Kaplan, Montara Middle School

Bucket list Freewrite

I want to see the northern islands
I want to go to the Isle of Man,
the Outer Hebrides, the Aran Islands.
I want to see the graveyard of kings
on the Isle of Iona, and the Holy Isle ofArran.

I want to see Thailand before I die,
the place where the tsunami scoured
fragile atoles, the resurgence of palm trees,
leaves clattering in the wind
I want to bask in the sun of down under,
snorkel the great barrier reef,
see the gardens of fish bloom
in technicolor splendor,
sit beneath the Boojum tree
and admire its strong adaptation
to desert sun and drought.

I want to live in a house in the country.
I might get a cat, maybe some chickens.
A house if I don’t have to take care of it daily.
I’ve already done that. I’d grow a garden,
watch the tomatoes ripen.
I’d eat raspberries right from the vine
I’d beat the birds at their own game
for breakfast.

But I woke up an hour too early today
and I thought I was late for class
so I listened to ancient music,
Uillean pipes in the morning mist.
It took me off. The clock stood still.
Time slipped away.
I was trapped between worlds,
transported to the otherworld
where time stands still
and life is always in the moment.

4/11/08
Montera Middle School

First draft
I want to go to the Isle of Man,
the Outer Hebrides Iona and the Holy Isle.
I want to see Thailand,
the place with the tsunami
swept the shore and I want to snorkel
in the Great Barrier Reef
to see the gardens of fish up close
and bask in the sun beneath palm trees
I want a house in the country I might get a cat,
maybe some chickens, I’d grow a garden
and watch the tomatoes ripen
I’d eat raspberries off the vine.
But I spilled my tea all over the car
and woke up too early and though I was late
because I listened to the music
It took me off, the clock and slipped off
It took me off time, time suspended
Transported time to the other world.

4/11/08

Montera Middle School