(File photo)
Submissions for Month of the Military Child by Mr. Wagner’s ELA-11 B3 students.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From a Child’s Eyes
From a child’s eyes,
When he leaves for work he leaves for war
It may seem easy, but it is filled with fear and more
Those eyes are scared
From a child’s eyes,
He is too preoccupied to stop and care about the kid
He has too many things to do and has had many that he did
Those eyes are angry
From my eyes,
He does more than I will ever know or understand
He is the one who stops and makes a stand
My eyes look up to him
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purple Month
April wears purple
Kids like me stand brave and tall
Missing hugs, but still we smile
We count nights till homecoming
Home feels close in dreams.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M.O.T.M.C
Months of new, unique experiences
Months fly by as nothing stays the same
Of meeting new faces and influences
Of telling people my name
The move always makes you a bit empty
The empty gets you ready to transform
Military is both an honor and a duty
Military means being different from the norm
Child of the military is who I am
Child who is very proud
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stand With Pride
Pride stitched in my bag
Walls that never learn my name
Rooms I leave behind
Homes borrowed just for a while
Still I learn to stand with Pride
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Leaving
The heavy boxes are stacked by the front door again,
brown cardboard boxes with clothes.
The packing tape sounds like a rip in the air,
loud in a room that’s really quiet.
Checking the empty walls one last time,
I feel emotion trickling down my face.
I’m ready for the silence of a brand new hallway,
wondering if the air there will ever feel like this.
Waving from the driveway while crying,
only to find my new friends in another place.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children of the Winds
Military kids
This month is given to you
In the foreign lands you stay
carried to the far corners
A child of the wind
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dandelions
A dandelion
Wilting flowers to light wings,
Ready to leave its old home.
Through countries and continents,
The seed finds new land.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The New Kid
A constant shift in scenery
A journey around the globe
A new experience awaits
Will this new life translate
A new kid on campus
Will I make acquaintances
The worry settles in
But the calm of friendship arises within
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free verse poem
Change
Family of five in a big home
A wandering feeling that would always roam
Wondering if it’ll stay the same
But then comes again there is change
I pack my bags then I unpack
I do this never-ending loop
As if I’m stuck on a race track
“I’m really adaptable”, some may say
But in my mind I wonder if I feel that way
My time here is close to end
So I guess I will just pack my bags once again
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Struggles”
Struggles I’ve seen,
As I travelled around this small world.
I’ve seen many struggles from many different people
Each has a struggle of their own
As I continue to travel
I wonder if these struggles have been solved
Learning through people’s struggles
I’ve learned to deal with my own
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who will I be this time?
Every time we move, I strategize and plan my next style, personality, and lifestyle.
I really take “new start” to a different level.
I plan meticulously, searching through Pinterest
Studying my favorite character’s body language and vocabulary
And creating a perfectly curated person for me to embody.
I thought that was normal, thought every military kid did this.
It wasn’t until the tenth grade that I realized, “What is wrong with you? This isn’t normal?”
I mean, did I stop? Yes and no.
As you mature, you realize that you can be yourself.
Sometimes you just embody a lot of different people, and that’s okay.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warm Friendships
We meet then pack our lives away
Each laugh still echoes in my heart
The friendships are still here to stay
Though miles try to pull us apart
New faces greet me where I go
We share our stories day by day
Though time is short the bonds still grow
They still follow me when I move away
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Tragedy of War
War is fought for the gain of a nation
To find more prosperity than what had been wasted
Because after all it’s based on relation
To the people they serve to protect
But what if that relation is spread through the globe
Like brothers and sisters battling at home
For meaningless things such as money or throne
What a lonely world the winner will roam
War, a battle of ideologies
May be just, or idiocracy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Struggles
Moving again to a new town
looking for a place to belong
waiting for the front door to open.
New kids stare in the hall,
nobody knows my name yet,
or how much I miss my Dad.
I pack my toys in a box
trying to be brave today,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbyes to Friends
We say goodbyes now
Laughter fades into the past
Promises to talk later
But distance grows in silence
Until we lose touch
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The shapes of strength
I have learned to read the world
by the rhythm of departures
the soft click of a door,
the long stretch of waiting.
But I have also learned
that strength can be quiet,
that courage can be small enough
to fit in a child’s hands.
Every move redraws my life,
yet somehow I remain whole
a mosaic of people, places and moments
that taught me how to grow
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Across every map
Suitcases packed before I learn the streets,
Goodbyes feel normal, hellos feel brief,
Home is a word that changes with time,
But strength is a language that’s always mine.
New schools, new faces, starting again,
Missing old friends but learning to blend,
Across every map, my story is spread,
With courage and pride in each step I tread
