Last spring, WITS Writer CJ Wiggan taught a virtual residency in Charles Sanderson’s 9th grade class at WeBBS. Many students from that class submitted their work to the forthcoming Writers in the Schools 2020-21 Anthology, Curiosity in Ones and Zeros, which will launch at this year’s Portland Book Festival, including the student whose work is featured below.
A Cry to The Moon
by Jazerei Lei Pajela
My parents say I stay up too late
There’s a reason for that
There’s always a reason
At night, when the only sounds to be heard
Is my laughter as I talk to my friends on the phone
Or sometimes it’s just silence
Pure and comforting
Silence
My eyelids turn to dumbbells as I struggle to stay awake
And my mind sings it’s time to go to sleep
But I don’t want to
Not yet at least
If I do, I know what’ll happen
The sun will rise and it’ll start all over again
Wasting through the day
Not a moment of relaxation
As the moon once again makes its appearance
I breathe a sigh of relief
For at night, it is the only time
Where I can truly unwind
