Of that final year…
When your childhood was taken from you.
All you had worked toward
Was traded away to a wealthy fool.
A businessman who will never appreciate it
The way you did.
He will turn your twenty acres of happiness
Into ugly trees which bear no fruit.
Your peach trees will be ripped out
And peach pits will be buried under the discs.
All your animals will be sold away.
The closest thing you ever got to a wild stallion-
Brimstone, a beautiful little black horse,
Wearing a white star on his forehead-
Suddenly loaded into a trailer
As you watch, helpless, from your bedroom window…
And you will be afraid
for the years ahead…
Because that precious time in your life
Held memories you know can never be recreated.
And everytime you find an ancient peach pit,
Buried in the dirt from the time in your life
When you lived on a farm…
You’ll miss all the rabbits named Peanut running loose in the yard
You’ll miss grape eating contests with Samuel
You’ll miss eating two handfuls of ripe, juicy peaches
You’ll miss racing up and down the rows on a blue dirt bike
You’ll miss feeding carrots to Brimstone…
But those peach pits were buried
Along with the remains of these shattered memories
And watered by my tears from my bedroom window.
But don’t be afraid anymore
Because one day…
You will own a grand ranch
WIth peaches, apples, cherries, and red grapes
The ancient peach pit
Buried in the dirt
Will begin to grow roots and sprout
And you will care for many beautiful horses
With white stars on their foreheads
As the sprout pushes out of the soil…
You’ll remember playing in the dirt with Jonathan
You’ll remember raising little chicks in the barn
You’ll remember learning how to graft trees with Dad
You’ll remember the feeling of the cool wind through the blossoming trees
When your peach tree grows…
So many new adventures will be created.
Your lost peach pit will grow into a glorious tree!
So Rachael, don’t be afraid.
--Rachael F., 9th-12th Grade