London Central Secondary School - Golden Glimpses Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

Page 61 text:

The sun was starting to set directly in front of her, and the spectacle was greatly enhanced by its fiery rays. As she leaned against the railing of the deck, she happened to cast an eye on the water below. It had taken on a rich ebony colour, deep and dark, as though she were looking down a well. She found this phenomenon equally incredible, as she was used to the clear turquoise of the open sea. Then she noticed a series of objects, that she guessed to be the beginnings of a trail leading into the port. She was fascinated; a number of red and silver tin cans floated by, then a whisky bottle and the remnants of a couple of wooden crates. All looked extremely promising, and sure enough, looking up she found she could make out a vague silhouette of the great mass of land that lay ahead of them . Through the haze, which incidentally had now become quite dense, she could distinguish a seemingly endless row of sky-scrapers and tower-like chimneys, out of which billowed forth brown smoke. Among these buildings there stood one that seemed to dominate the others, being superior in grace and height. It was shaped somewhat like a mammoth church spire, where the crucifix had been replaced by a television-aerial. It was indeed awe-inspiring and Miss Higgins would have gone on admiring it, but she was taken by a fit of coughing and had to search her purse for a handkerchief. It was then that she noticed that the few cans and bottles she had seen earlier on had greatly increased in number: she could see hundreds of them at a glance and they seemed to grow thicker as one approached land. Mingled in among them were various other items, some of which she could distinguish as being pieces of metal or plastic, and others that were undistinguishable and just contributed to the prevailing stench. Fortunately, Miss Higgins had never before seen such a spectacle and was much too surprised to be disgusted. She simply turned away and began to contemplate a large statue that had loomed up ahead of them. Through the smog it had an ominous appearance; brandishing its club, it seemed to threaten those that admired its grandeur. It stood huge and black against the burning orange of the setting sun. Miss Higgins was so enthralled by this majestic idol that she didn ' t notice that the boat had slowed down to almost a standstill. The water had become so dense with refuse as they approached the shore that the boat could move no further. Kate Collie The thing of it is, we must live with the living. Montaigne It is the business of the future to be dangerous. A.N. Whitehead

Page 60 text:

Deja Vu The slow gentle warmth Of vibrant figures Weaves a delicate etching On the back of my memory. I have been here before . -December ' 69 Xenephon THE VOYAGE All her life Miss Higgins had dreamt of making this voyage, and now finally the time had come. She had heard many stories of this land of plenty, where riches could be found in the streets, but she had never quite believed that someday she, the head-mistress of a most insignificant school in southern England, would be a witness to these wonders. She had been told that the people of this land had formed a new sort of society called superbia where they lived in the lap of luxury. She had visions of a marvellous Utopia, so wealthy that no man need go hungry, where the word misery was probably quite meaningless. Such were her thoughts as she sat on deck gazing at the horizon, overwhelmed perhaps by her dreams, but certainly very excited. For seven days she had been surrounded by nothing but the sky and the sea and she was yearning for the security of land. She knew that at seven o ' clock (only two hours to wait) they would enter the harbour and shortly after eight she imagined she would be setting foot on land again. Despite her efforts to control her emotions, she found herself continually glancing at her watch and peering incessantly in front of the boat, trying vainly to see over the horizon. And as she gazed, her imagination carried her away into wondrous dreams of affluence and luxury, of scientific achievement and miraculous inventions Her reveries were cut short when a strange dark object appeared on the horizon . She jumped to her feet, for it was more than just another boat, and focused on it with her binoculars. She found it to be a gigantic lighthouse construction. The first sign of civilization! A wave of excitement swept through her body as she felt a strong urge to shout Land ahoy! , but she caught herself just in time and sat back down in her deck-chair. Still in a bit of a tizzy at the thought of approaching land, she continued to look at the horizon. Straight ahead of the boat there was an amber haze that hung over the area of their destination . Miss Higgins took this to be a heavenly glow, a type of halo suspended above her dream- land. Extraordinary it was more than she had hoped for. She went up to stand in the bow of the boat to get a better view and looked at this incredible sight for quite some time with her binoculars.

Page 62 text:

TO NANCY Waiting softly in my memory playing with my mind Coming through with transformation leaving consciousness to find The rippling fading water dabbled upon by someone Seen playing, like a virgin arms wrapped around the sun Won ' t you please tell me why? Cause I want to know the reason she is always there lurking Hidden by the shadows that cross my eyes Rooted deep within her silence I sense the feel of wonder (but her fleeting shadow escapes me) And I ' m lost wonder who she is and shy Obnoxious scenes of turmoil that graced us in the past Waiting, slowly coming then turning on at last To see her golden body resting like a flower But hidden from my view by a timely ageless hour Then it comes into my mind she ' s unreachable forever And I want to draw her to me and touch her but never Never Never hurt her for what ' s lacking is feeling And I see her dimpled softness And what ' s seeing is believing And I love her Doug Agnew And I awake and find myself looking Through the long abandoned thought waves that were spelled out crystal clear upon my wall Waiting for the moment When I realize my conflict and wondering why I waited for the call But it ' s hard to be me As I wander along the railway track hiding from the fears I left in bed And the statue is Apollo And he runs through the graveyard Passing over the long forgotten dead Yes, there are many who have run out of their wits for women and become servants for their sakes. Many have also persisted, have erred, and sinned for women. Oh you men! How can it be but women who are strong, seeing you do this? anonymous