Bats

by Griffin Wells

First Place

Middle School-Waring School

Grade 8

We looked at bats today.

Some guy with coins and each little star

sleeping and fishing by the lake by his forehead

taught us about them.

He had hand puppets that he was good at talking to

(they had been friends for a while, I could tell).

And he was supposed to let us try them out but I saw

the fear in his eyes when talking to anyone but his puppets.

Nonetheless, all five of them were seized.

Now it was raining by the lake

and there were too many catfish,

so the stars decided to pack up their apples and rods

and leave.

He glanced at the line of seedlings in little Styrofoam cups.

I decided to talk to him, pointing to one of the bats in his books,

but someone tapped their watch

and it was raining, hard. Droplets the size of my thumb.

He called for his bats,

pocketed them protectively

                                                               and left, storming.