Seventh Grader Gets Poem Published

The Middle School Student Council would like to congratulate Fort Recovery seventh grader, Erika Lennartz.  Recently, Erika's poem was accepted for publication in a poetry anthology called A Celebration of Young Poets.  We asked Erika some questions about her poem and here is what she had to say: What made you decide to enter the poetry contest?  "I wrote the poem in Mrs. Kaup's class and got a lot of compliments on it from people, so Mrs. Kaup and I decided to enter it into the contest." Tell us a little bit about your poem.  "It's about someone helping this poor guy on the street.  The poem tells how it's better to gaive than to receive."  What kind of prize or reward was there for the winners?  "The winners get published."  Anything else that you would like to tell us?  "Just that it's better to give than receive."

Straight from the Heart

Erika Lennartz

One day during Christmas when I was all alone

I looked across the street5 and saw a man with no home

He lived in a box that he was proud to call his own

He had nothing, and yet his pride still shone

People who walked past frowned and stared

I wondered if he even cared

He had no family, no one to love

What he needed was a miracle from above

Every day on the street he wandered along

In my heart something felt wrong

The only possession that he had

Was a picture of his family, I felt so sad

The picture of that man never left my heart

And then one day I decided to do my part

I went to his house, he had a valley as a yard

And left him some food, money and a card

That night when he came home from his nightly roam

The expression on his face really shone

He looked at his stuff and just stared

Now in his heart he knew someone cared

To see someone now happy who'd felt so lonely and sad

Really made me overwhelmingly glad

Now I truly believe

It is better to give than recieve!