Student Publishing Program ::

Joe Higgins

Off Season

A small cottage by the beach
Sits in solitude
Enduring the loneliness of
Fall and winter.

The fire place is unlit
The grill around back is meekly covered with a tarp
Sand tracked in by children is gone;
Missed.

The warm summer air has left
Replaced by the frigid snowstorms;
Which test the strength of the cottage.

The woosh and whir of the wind and snow
Causes paint to flake
Like a sunbather, who has basked too long.

As summer approaches, and the sun returns
A fresh coat of paint will be lathered upon the ancient shingles;
And the sand will be tracked back in.

Oh patient cottage, how you have longed
For the grill to spark up once more,
And for the familiar sounds and smells to return.

We celebrate your triumph
Over another lonely winter.

[TABLE OF CONTENTS, LHS CLASS OF 2012 EDITION]