Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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DEPRESSION My footsteps are unsure, There is no safety I'm the darkness of the alley. My eyes are wary of the lingering shadows, For the unseen, And the unknown, Are the only enemy That I can trust. I was born at the mouth of this crowded filth I will die at its end. Between the two I exist in the silent horror Of the untold ugliness in my fellowmen. But although I have no faith, This lonely life Gives promise of my glorious And continued light. A ray of hope Which I follow, Out of the endless night. Lindy Fotheringham Form 6 THE WONDERING What will you be? Somebody asked me. What will I be? I don't know. Which one shall I choose? It makes me nervous It makes me scared too. But when I bow my head, The horses came racing, racing and racing Then in a flurry Recede again To come racing back And then are washed away. The horses come racing, racing and racing They kick up a huge Head of foam And then they go back To their watery home. The horses come racing, racing and racing Trampling anything In their path, And then they fall back To their cold, salt bath. Leslie Kraft Form 5 So many things in this world And think it over, Well, will I be a nurse? No, I have to serve people. Will I be a doctor? No, I hate to sew people. Will I be a teacher then? No, I hate teaching. Will I be ..... ? NO ....... Will I be ..... ? No ....... I keep questioning myself. But, still I can't find an answer. So, if you ask me again, I'll say, Do you know where you come from? Josephine Yang Form 3 - l I l I'll jus-A' die and p , 'Nun Sosull be 5ov'v-sy H E ..,. I X y , sr , Va NX . ,Aj he l i 1 Nil iii! y 5'-1 'W : ' iieiig-Eli! in

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His memory was blurred until his arrival at the spot, near the old wooden bridge. He had flung himself onto the cold motionless bodies and tried to instil the fever of his blood into their stilled veins. How long he had lain there he could not recall. Sometimes after, two men and a woman clad in black and white arrived. A rough hand clutched at his collar and flung him aside. The nun broke the silence, Be more gentle - the poor man if only he could realize that she and the boy died for a purpose. God was calling her. With this she placed her hand on his head soothingly. He rose abruptlyg he did not believe. He left them there calling faintly after him - the pursuing wind capturing their voices. By now, he thought, the fools at the inn would have resumed their idle game and drinking. Then she and the child would be buriedg perhaps a wilted rose would be strewn on the grave by someone who cared. Only the nun would be praying, sincerely believing that God had done what was best. - The fool! As he ran blindly into the snow, the village becoming obscured from sight, he had one sole hope - that the snow and wind might capture his body also. Lorraine Murray Form 5 lo,- ijt THE AUTUMN OF ALIENATION The last quivering leaf sighs and The impossibility of alienation. tumbleg Death comes to my soul -- ggftly The futility of rebellion echoes into to me and l too follow insignificance in the path Among the massed dead of the silently awaiting their snow burial as last I struggle and finally realize autumn leaf. Joyce Lee Form 6 PROSE AND POETRY PRIZES Senior Poetry lst Joyce Lee 'The Autumn of Alienation' 2nd Sarah Everett 'The Lion and the Gnat' 3rd Lindy F otheringham 'Depression' Senior Prose lst Lorraine Murray 'Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go.' H. M. Heather McNichol 'The Tree' Intermediate Poetry lst Allyson Treleaven 'The Hope' 2nd Mary Martyn 'A Fox 's Tale' 3rd Leslie Kraft - Josephine Yang 'The Wondering' Intermediate Prose lst Elizabeth Haworth 'Rats and Mice' H. M. Nancy Lemon and Nancy Russel - Junior Poetry lst Moira Cruikshank 'The Week' 2nd Jane Lawson 'The Home' 3rd Joan Saunders 'Stupid'

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THE HOME The silence hung between them, Filled only by the old, forgotten fingers Of restless colleague constantly thrumming. They all seemed forgotten. Most shared the solitude in silence, With meaningless expressions. Some hung on pleasant for an instant. Some hung on them constantly. Their minds were gray as rain, and as blank. Some paced with defence, While others sat flinching and wary. Some were dwarfed by the size of the great oak chairs On which they sat and pondered. Their blank stares stiffened As a lonesome figure broke the shadows Cast about by the firelight, He had the defiant walk of a hurt, but proud newcomer. The firelight shone full on his thin, bewildered face, Making plain to see, the pale eyes Widened slightly with interest. l-le drew out a book, and sat down to read, Only to glance occasionally at his worn and weary companions. He saw them like the people of a dream, All with the same expressionless masks for faces. Someone patted his hands as they passed. A faint smile passed his lips As he convulsed, in a turmoil of ancient memories, Relaxed, and then lay limp. A last flame was pushed farther into the fire, It flickered for a moment, and then died. It left neither smoke nor ashes, It left not a trace. A lane Lawson Form 2 STUPID Stupid is her name, It seems to fit As I sit And watch her playing games. A paper bag her house, She fights with it Sleeps in it And shares it with a rubber mouse. Stupid is my cat, We have great fun When we run And she stays fluffy and fat. Io an Saunders Form I , Tl-IE WEEK The first day was very dreary, And the symptoms of snow stood clear, We hoped the morrow would brighten And put us in good cheer. The second day was dreadful, The rain kept pouring down, The noise of the falling raindrops, Became a perpetual sound. The third day we awoke to sunshine, With puddles that shimmered like glass, And birds at work pecked the ground, To find some grubs in the grass. The fourth the air was foggy, And nothing could you see, But the mist that hung around, So in the house played we. The fifth the snow did fall And down the snowflakes floated, Faster and faster they fell Until the fields were coated. The sixth the sun came, The snow it was to melt, lt did, but it made puddles, And mud that looked like felt. The seventh, a lovely day, With the sun's beams of light That stretched over hill and dale, Oh what a welcome sight! Moira Cruikshank Form I X if I ground Sou- N-0 reeacr 'WHS souls! as at :Jn :AX e nge X.