I represent my generation.
Carefree without knowing the dangers.
Head spinning, overwhelmed,
taking a rest under my favorite Elm.
Finding beauty in the nature around me,
Finding peace and tranquility.
Walking through the woods,
birds are chirping, squirrels are flying.
Long Island has wonderful sights to see.
Fishing in the bay, strolling on the beach.
Doesn’t matter as long as I see the water,
which surrounds my home,
Always carefree on the island.

Cristian Martinez is a 7th-grade student at Ronkonkoma Middle School. He has been published in Bards Annual 2018, won first place in the Princess Ronkonkoma Awards for his poetry and prose submissions and had two haiku recently published in Mankh's Haiku Calendar for 2019 and 2020. Recently he was awarded for his poem, “Glimpse of Tomorrow” recognition as the Grand Champion for the Walt Whitman Birthplace Contest and will be published in their anthology. He has been mentored by Robert Savino for the past year which has helped Cristian fine-tune his craft. Cristian also loves to play soccer.