The Neighbor’s Garden

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Audra Witte

 

I miss the new discoveries

That are now normal.

Ms. Janet’s koi pond waterfall that I was so interested in

Her kitchen full of wonders, I needed stools to see

The nighttime breeze and sweet sunsets

That I have unfortunately become accustomed to.

 

I remember my sticky hands

From sugared strawberries

Purple princess sunglasses

And a big bucket hat,

I was so happy to be there.

 

My preschool friends and I would dance

in the fresh grass,

Barefooted and wild.

Screaming all the words that we knew

Thinking about the words we didn’t

 

Freaking out the way our hands would turn red under a flashlight

Unaware of what we were

Dreaming of what we would become

Petting the neighborhood cat

And flipping over the ladybugs in distress

Smelling the mulch and 

Green earthy musk

 

With the only concerns 

of ripping off band aids too hard. 

 

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Audra Witte says, “Hello, my name is Audra Witte, and I am majoring in Psychology and minoring in Creative Writing. I am graduating in Rutgers Class of 2026. I am from Sayreville, NJ. Creative writing has always been a passion of mine; I wrote my first song at five years old and my first screenplay at seven. In my free time, I enjoy playing piano, writing poetry, songs, plays, and hiking.”

Audra wrote this poem in a creative writing class taught by Professor Joanna Fuhrman. Fuhrman selected the piece for inclusion in WHR.