CPC’s grade 9 student, Jack Van Volsen, has received an honorable mention for his poem entitled, “Dear 2020” in the Conference of Independent Schools Fall Writing Contest. His poem was judged in the top three of the Grade 9-10 division of the competition, which included over 100 entries from 25 CIS schools.
Dear 2020
You have become the year we will never forget
But some days I wish we could
Coronavirus, Kobe, controversy and confusion
You are like a runaway train that has left us wondering–will you stop or will you crash?
What else could go wrong?
Brush fires, plane crashes, school shutdowns and toilet paper shortages
Lockdowns, Lysol wipes and loved ones lost
It’s like we are all living in a cage,
Locked in, helpless, wanting to get out.
Despite all of this, you are not as bad as the devil that people make you out to be
Cheering for our Toronto teams boosted our spirits, GO LEAFS GO
My bubble, your bubble, his bubble, her bubble, NHL bubble, NBA bubble
Our bubbles became board games, basketball, binge watching and lots of family bonding.
Family, family, family, family, family
The little things became the big things
A sidewalk visit with grandparents from a distance
Brought smiles for days
ZOOMing with buds made us all feel like studs
Mandatory masks came into style
And even though you couldn’t see us smile, our whitestrips were glowing like fireflies
We are two months away from a brand new year
When we beat 2020, we will have nothing to fear.
by Jack Van Volsen (’24)
