Untitled - St. Pius X Catholic High School

The sound of flowing water;
It echoes in my mind.
A river in the land
That I once left behind.
The land was full of life;
It was my own, my world.
My one love was my land
And seeing beauty unfurled.
There was a place I found,
I went there in my mind.
There, I found the secrets
Of the world and of all time.
I treasured all these secrets,
They were mine and mine alone.
I could have shared with others,
But I did not tell, not one.
These secrets were important;
Important, but not known.
A child often knows the best,
Without “intelligence” to hone.
And now, I feel it is too late;
I’ve come to a new land now.
It’s far away from my own,
And I begin to wonder how…
How I might be bale
To spread the secrets of time.
But now, I think I realize:
This land, it is not mine.
t was a cool September day when I first backed my
brand-new shiny red vehicle out of the driveway.
My father, ever-present, was right beside me. The
time had finally come for my first real driving lesson.
I was ecstatic, but Dad’s forehead was crinkled with
worry. Only after I had agreed to wear a helmet
while driving would he agree to even consider
teaching me.
randfather watched as Dad checked
the tightness of my helmet straps for the
umpteenth time. “You know,” he said,
“you never wore that helmet contraption when you
first started driving, Jim. Let them learn from their
mistakes, that’s
what I always
say.”
My dad
looked up at
Grandpa and
frowned. “Well,
that’s nice Dad,
but my baby girl is
going to be safe.
Isn’t that right,
sweetheart?”
“Sure.” I
mumbled.
“Now that
that’s settled,
go ahead and
back out slowly,
sweetie. Make
sure to be careful,” he instructed.
Grandpa waved. “ Have fun, kids!” he
called.
“There you go, nice and slow,” Dad coached,
nodding his approval as I looked both ways before
pulling out of the driveway. At last, I thought to
myself contentedly, the open road. My head was
held high as I cruised down my street, attracting
smiles and occasional worried looks from neighbors
working in their lawns.
uddenly, I found myself at the end of a level
stretch of road and at the beginning of a
hill. I started down before my dad could
stop me. I laughed from sheer joy at the wind in
my face as I zoomed down the hill.
“Slow down!” Dad yelled, panic in his voice.
I savored the moment for a second longer, then
started to break.
xcept, I couldn’t brake. “Dad!” I screamed
frantically. I looked up and saw that the hill
was about to end in a cul-de-sac. I scarcely
had time to brace for the impact before I hit the
curb and went flying, hitting my head on a mailbox
post.
ad was immediately at my side, checking to
make sure that I wasn’t seriously hurt. I sat
up, feeling dazed. He grabbed my shoulders
and looked me in the eye. “ Don’t ever, ever do
that again.
Understand?” I
nodded dumbly.
stood slowly,
holding my
head. Then I saw
it: my sparkling
red treasure was
laying on its back,
wheels spinning
fruitlessly. With
a small gasp,
I knelt beside
it, tears forming
in my eyes.
I looked up at my
dad, squinting
in the harsh
sunlight. “Can
you fix it?” I asked beseechingly.
e squatted beside me, surveying the
wreckage with a well-trained eye. “Yes,”
he said after a pause that seemed like an
eternity, “ but I’m not sure if you’re quite ready for
driving.”
I looked down at my toes, ashamed. “I know
I shouldn’t have gone so fast down the hill, Daddy.
I’m sorry.”
ealizing that I was truly repentant, he smiled.
“I know. Let’s just be a bit more careful,
next time, ok?” I nodded. With that he
stood, hoisting the remnants of my tricycle on his
shoulder. He took my little hand in his strong one,
and together we started the trek back up the hill.