Dahlia

= = flat = Swimming With The Turtles = One breezy August day, Kim and her brother Andrew were out at sea in a wooden canoe, as they normally are, when a small dorsal fin appeared a couple feet away from them. They both knew it was a shark, but definitely a baby, which was no harm to Kim and Andrew. That’s when Andrew noticed a turtle with a red dot on it’s back in the shark’s presence. The shark was obviously aiming for the turtle, which was only a couple months old. They slowly paddled over and pulled the shelled animal out of the water. The turtle was startled, but after five minutes of lying in the boat, it began to crawl around the canoe. Kim and Andrew paddled back through one mile of the Gulf of Mexico before returning to their home in Florida. When they opened their front door, the turtle was safely nestled in Kim’s arms. Andrew and Kim retold the story word by word to their mom and after lots of persuading, their mother agreed to let them keep the turtle until it was big enough to fend for itself. Day by day Kim and Andrew brought the turtle to the sea and let it swim around. Soon the turtle was big, big enough to live alone. Kim and Andrew both said goodbye and went to the ocean one last time with it. As it swam further across the Gulf, they slowly turned around and shuffled across the beach. Six months later, Kim was going for a swim when she was caught in a rip tide. Since she rarely encountered them, she was not good at getting out of them. The current was taking her out even further and she knew she could tread water for a long time, but it may not be long enough. She tried to swim sideways, but the rip tide was too wide. Then, she felt something underneath her. Kim looked around wildly, but she could not see anything except for the blue depths of the ocean. Then she looked below her and saw a big shell with red dot on it. It was the turtle! It lifted her up and Kim and the turtle slowly swam out of the rip tide. Then the turtle glanced at Kim and swam away. That was the last time ever Kim saw the turtle she and her brother had rescued so long ago.

_________________________________________________________ = Seasons = In the summer The dew on the soft blades of grass The warm sun Pulling you out of bed

In the winter The crisp new snow Without footsteps imbedded in it The snowflakes just brushing the ground

In the fall The leaves making piles Luring you to jump in them The air at a perfect temperature The apples ready to be picked

In the spring The tulips sprouting tiny flowers The birds just awakening and chirping The bees buzzing around