LOCAL STUDENT HAS POEM PUBLISHED IN KIDS' MAGAZINE - Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME)

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Portland Press Herald (Maine)Thursday, February 27, 2003Edition: FinalSection: Your Neighbors-LakesPage: 5F

RAYMOND-- Jordan Small Middle School can boast a newly published poet.

The February issue of Highlights for Children magazine published a poem by seventh-grader Michael Orsini.

The poem was written two years ago when Michael was 11.

Each year Highlights readers send in about 35,000 submissions of drawings, poems, stories, jokes, riddles, recipes, book recommendations and letters. The publishers say they have room to print merely 2 percent of the creative items received from children.

Following is Michael Orsini's poem, reprinted with permission from Highlights for Children.

WinterRain, rain, rain, the sky went.Good-bye, snowy fieldsand wintry sportsand snow days.Good-bye, cozy fireplace.For now we don't need you.Good-bye, short winter days.I will miss all of these things.But I can't stop the seasons

from changing.I wish it could stay winter forever,

but that won't ever, ever happen.So I guess I will have to waitthe six blazing-hot monthsuntil winter, winter, winter.