HANSONG, TINA
Tina Hansong
Age: 13, Grade: 7
School Name: Horace Mann School, Bronx, NY
Educator: Stephanie Davidow
Category: Poetry
Recess
During fifth grade recess
I remember the sunshine
beaming on my face:
how warm the air was
despite the cooling breeze,
how the laughter of all the children
running around playing tag
was loud yet soothing–
how the slide burned my bare legs
and I loved it anyways,
but not as much as the swings,
sending me back and forth,
how I could just close my eyes
and feel the wind,
everything else fading
in the background:
only me, the wind, and the swing
making a calming rhythmic pattern,
a soft quiet heartbeat in my ears.