My home, a hardly noticeable place

On the coast of Maine

The sound of the lobster boats zooming past

The pond where goldfish swim in the summer and in the winter the lines in the ice from skates

The howl of a hound echoing through the air that smells of bait

Buoys’ neon colors mark where lobster traps lie

Moorings keep boats from floating adrift

The barrels filled with pungent dead fish, pogies and herring for the traps

The boats coming in and out, picking up bait and going out to sea

The minnows in the shallows, scavenging for food

And the big fish, like tuna, in the deep waters, where fishermen look for the biggest one to eat and sell

The clucking of chickens announcing every time a hawk or an eagle flies overhead

It shows that such a small town isn’t so small

Hudson Pierce, age 10, Harpswell Center

Fifth grade, Friends School of Portland