To date I've received more than 100 poems for possible inclusion in my upcoming anthology, Reflections. Submitted by teachers, students, and others, these poems range from pithy haiku to eloquent odes. Here's a poem I received from eighteen-year-old Rose Scherlis, a student at Beacon High School, Newton, Massachusetts. Her teacher is Doug Holder.
        In addition to "Skateboarding," Rose submitted two other poems  titled "The Dog with No Name" and "The First Morning."
        If you would like to submit poems for consideration, please contact me at hankpix(at)yahoo(dot)com for guidelines. I welcome submissions from students, teachers, and others.
        By the way, Reflections isn't one of those buy-the-book-after-we-publish-it deals. Rather, it's an anthology designed to be used in the classroom. My goal is to provide a series of poems and photos that will serve as inspiration for class discussions and follow up writing activities.

Skateboarding

Sometimes I skate,
Glide, soar, weave, jump,
Duck under heavy, mournful branches
Decorated in fragile autumn leaves
Like so many brilliant orange faeries
Until I reach my destination:
An abandoned bridge to read under,
A coffee shop or candy shop,
Or just an empty lot to carve across.                                                                   
Sometimes I skate
As fast as I possibly can
Until the world blurs into a colorful blend
Of distractions, possibilities, ideas.
Until day turns to night and,
Sunsets sparkle across the horizon like
Vivid necklaces of pink and red.
Until I lose track of time,
Lose track of everything,
Lose track of myself.
Sometimes I skate.

Write What You See

Although Cottonwood Press was acquired by Prufrock Press recently, Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is still in print. You'll find it in bookstores, at Amazon, and at many other Internet sites. This thought-provoking collection of black-and-white photography is accompanied by a wide variety of writing prompts to motivate students. Includes A CD-ROM of all photos and writing prompts. Grades 7-12 $24.95.

        "This book will launch  a thousand essays. Never again will students complain, "I don't know what to write about."

                                  Derri Scarlett, English faculty, Bismarck State College