Spring 2008

Congratulations to Heidi Geis and Suzanne Peterson, whose works were chosen from the Hugo Writing Classes spring end-of-term reading. Each quarter, we highlight the work of two of our talented students.

Heidi Geis wrote this haiku in Michael Dylan Welch's Haiku class. The haiku was inspired by a trip she took to California—it was a town's spring cleaning day, so people had left all kinds of things by the curb—encyclopedias, glassware, old holiday decorations and, yes, a kitchen sink. Heidi is drawn to haiku because of its brevity and accessibility.

Haiku
By Heidi Geis

a kitchen sink
left by the curb
spring cleaning

Suzanne Peterson wrote “Drinking Champagne with General Petraeus” In JT Stewart's class, “The Zen of Writing Poetry.” General Petraeus' comment regarding our Iraq war victory, “The champagne bottle's been pushed to the back of the refrigerator,” came up in class discussion. From this discussion came the “Zen moment “and the “surprise poem” done in an open form.

Drinking Champagne with General Petraeus
By Suzanne Peterson

The champagne still sits in the back of the refrigerator!*
No thought of what I would drink to—
How many dead bodies?
What would victory mean?
Have I grown numb!
One more death,
one more bomb,
one more IED** (a new word!),
one more baby,
one more garden gone.
The champagne pop,
a mimic of a gun,
a sweet spray turning my bubbling tongue—
A cheap shot!
No wasted dying drop.
The bubbles exploding in my face—
the long stemmed glass—
the sparkling sting—
the fizzing blast—
the clear white heat—
What would I celebrate?
Who would I kiss at midnight?

*based on a statement by General Petraeus testifying before the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, April 8, 2008.
**improvised explosive device