Ashley - Atmosphere

As the leaves begin to fall

And the plants begin to shrivel,
As the ground starts to harden
And the cold winds start to ripple,
As the bears begin to burrow
And the birds begin to flee,
There comes a feeling that comes over me.
This feeling is not cold or sad or told
It happens within and takes over one’s skin.
It fills the atmosphere and prepares us for a new year,
This annual fun has just begun.

Ashley, age 16

Elizabeth - Atmosphere

In the atompshere…..

There are lots of things

Planets

Stars

Sky

Clouds

Everything is there

Just floating

Not really doing anything

But still really important

 There’s a feeling that you are alone

But you’re not

You have other people

And animals

And plants

And everything else on the Earth

That is just the Earth, you are forgetting about

Everything else in the entire universe

So do not feel that you are alone

Even though there is loneliness in the air

For everything in the atmosphere

Feels that way too

Feeling useless

But still so incredibly important 

Elizabeth, age 16

Courtney - There's a Feeling in the Air...

there's a feeling in the air
that its winter time
that the cooking begins
that the lights go up
that Christmas in the oaks opens
the presents will be unwrapped
that families will gather
that coats will be worn
that toes will be cold
that its winter time
in New Orleans

Courtney, age 16

Victoria - Atmosphere

The blinding glare through the car windows.
The craterous sidewalks and broken-up streets.
The creaky houses that refuse to fall.
The weather that just can’t decide its mood:
The heat that sticks,
The not-so-cold freezing.

The familiar faces—
Constantly telling you it’s a small world. After all.
It still stands.
The culture. The food. The music. The people.
The talk—the ya’lls, the yats, and the who dats.

All reminding us that we are the statistical anomaly.
That proud little point that ventured from the clumps,
Forever in our little corner of the world.

In an atmosphere that we have made our own.

Victoria, age 17

Haley - There's a Feeling in the Air...

There’s a feeling in the air… It’s hard to describe.

Tension. Confusion. Longing.

So many different emotions going through my mind.

My heart is what I need to find.

I need to do what I think best.

So that you can come before all the rest. 

Haley, age 15

Annie - There's a Feeling in the Air...

There’s a feeling in the air

The sweaters and jeans,

The bond fires with friends,

The sipping hot chocolate by a warm fire,

The friends and family laughing together,

The love and joy,

The feeling of pure happiness,

There’s a feeling in the air of a perfect winter wonderland. 

Annie, age 16

Helene - Atmosphere

Atmosphere on my
mind all of the time it is
on my mind my mind

Atmosphere
The atmosphere in this hemisphere
is wackin’ up my socialsphere
Atmosphere

Atmosphere, it wacks
up my socialsphere all night
Atmosphere, it wacks

Helene, age 16

Francie - There's a Feeling in the Air...

There's a feeling in the air, 
The love and the joy, 
The sense of home, 
The sound of your grandmother's laugh, 
The constant "i've missed you's", 
The smell of turkey and apple pie,
It's time for the best holiday of the year.  
Gobble, Gobble!


Francie, age 16

Brittany - Atmosphere

The Atmosphere Scare


Wear and tear, an eerie stare

The atmosphere: gases that glare, and make the living feel bare

A heavy cloud of obscurity encircles the Earth

Entrapping its contents

Temporary, yet permanent

Personal, yet prevalent

Familiar, yet often unknown

What exists beyond the thick consistency is a mystery

Explore and learn more

Make it an out-of-element-adventure

Search for something, if you dare

For something that you did not know was there

Something to remember

On this night in November

Brittany, age 16

Gabby - Atmosphere

She dives into the indoor pool at the REC center

Her mind seems to drift into an arbitrary atmosphere

as her physical body becomes submerged under  chlorinated  water

 isolating the movement of her functioning lungs she looks up at the rippling waters surface

 She lies belly up and the water around her  incases her every shape and imperfection.

 She prefers this place, which fits and shifts to her every move, 

the atmosphere of her own creation

Gabby, age 16

Ciara - There's a Feeling in the Air...

There’s a feeling in air

A feeling of love

A feeling of joy

A feeling of peace

A feeling of patience

A feeling of kindness

A feeling of goodness

A feeling of gentleness with all

A feeling of happiness

A feeling that all is well in the world

A feeling of CHRISTMAS..!

Ciara, age 16

Lucy - There's a Feeling in the Air...

True Love


There’s a nervousness in the air,

The kind that makes a hole in your stomach,

An empty pit, needing something to fill it

Hmm… possibly the popcorn he just bought you?

No, popcorn won’t do

Since the way he is looking at you,

Makes the pit appear all over again.

I don’t want this feeling to end.

But I know this kiddish love won’t last long after the movie,

The ending of the movie symbolizes the end of our everlasting love.

Lucy, age 16

Anna Marie - There's a Feeling in the Air...

A feeling…
Feeling in the air.
The air of our hope.
A hope for happiness.
Happiness that’s enjoyed.
The joy that makes us all smile.
The smile that leads to laughter.
The laughter that leads to memories.
The memories that lead to friendships.
Friendships that make us happy forever.
Forever being a never ending factor of time.
What a lovely and sensational feeling in the air.

Anna Marie, age 16.

Maeve - There's a Feeling in the Air...

There’s a feeling in the air.
You know what it is.
It’s there: thick, soupy, mess.
They make me blush,
make your eye twitch, and
make both of us feel
                    uncomfortable.









There it is again.
That space, the place
where time seems longer
and words shorter.
Prolonged and interminable -
Not the light, fluffy space between words,
cushioning them,
making sure they don’t collide.

Hot, sticky, mess.

We are

                    Um
      Awkward
Maybe?

Maeve, age 17

Chelsea - There's a feeling in the air...

There’s a feeling in the air of winter

There’s a feeling in the air of Christmas

In the Christmas air, there’s a feeling in the air of family

There’s a feeling in the air of Thanksgiving.

There’s a feeling in the air of community.

During Thanksgiving, there’s a feeling in the air of fall.

In fall, there’s a feeling in the air of winter.

There’s a feeling in the air always

Always is their a feeling in the air.

Chelsea, age 15

Brooke - Atmosphere

Seeing is believing
But what about the invisible stuff
That industry is bequeathing
Stop. Enough.

Particle things floating in the atmosphere.
A dash of plutonium. A hint of uranium.
Little bits cause no fear
But all those little bits build up in my cranium.

Politicians say it doesn’t exist
It’s a natural phenomenon
“YOU HIPPY COMMUNIST”
Well what will you do if the marsh is gone?

How far do you need to go to further your campaign
Why does it matter when there is a hurricane?
What is so great about fame?

Brooke, age 16

Camille - Atmosphere

The atmosphere is chilled/ Today tastes metallic/ the blood is rushing through my veins, coursing at the
speed of light/ unknown faces rush by from every directions/ they go near, far, everywhere/ they blur
together in a swarm of colors/ reds, whites, yellows, browns/ they are all on a mission/ They all walk
to a single beat/ I follow in step with the rhythm they create/ where are we headed? No one knows/
We are just walking and talking and moving forward/ progress is the name of this song/ cars stack up
on the streets/ they seem to move at a rhythm of their own/ it complements the beat beat beat of the
unknowns on the street / the construction workers pound pound pound their jackhammers through the
concrete/ it travels through the sidewalk through our feet/ the music fills the air/ we create a system,
based off the beat/ everything rises and everything falls/ this beat keeps time for the players/ on and on
the clock tolls/ progress ensues/ I hear music in the air/ the man on the street corner/ the only one not
walking, keeping in time with all the rest/ his sound floats through the air, above the heads of walkers
and touches my skin / they don’t seem to hear this individual beat yet he plays his saxophone load and
clear/ the notes wrap around my body/ my feet stop/ the walkers are disrupted if only for a moment/
they continue their song/ I stand still being embraced by a new sound/ instead of step in front of step,
my feet are jumping!/ they are jumping side to side/ I groove to the wave of joy splashing over me/
crashing into my ears, my skin/ it creates ripples on my skin/ I get Goosebumps to the chill of something
new/ I dance from corner to corner, hands flaring, feet jumping/ the new song set inside of me, warms
my heart/ the warmth travels through my veins, slowing the once coursing blood down to a slower
beat/ everything slows and I sway back and forth/ The atmosphere is heated/ Today tastes so good.

Camille, age 16

Katie - Atmosphere

The Atmosphere of New Orleans from A to Z

A is for the alligators

B is for basketball in the arena.

C is for Canal Street

D is for “D’em”

E is for Esplanade

F is for Fulton Street

G is for Gumbo and all the other unique foods

H is for Hot. Humid.

I is for The Iberville projects

J is for Jazzfest

K is for the King Cake.

L is for laughter with a random stranger

M is for MARDI GRAS

N is for the Northshore

O is for Orleans Avenue that leads you to City Park

P is for Poboys,

Q is the Queens and Kings that reign at Mardi Gras,

R is for the River

S is for Saints, duh.

T is for Tad Garmley

U is for “Under the Overpasses”

V is for the Vieux Carre

W is for the Westbank

X is for Xavier University

Y is for the Yats of Christmas

Z is for the Zulu parade

Every single one of these places, things, and people contribute to the loving, historic, and unique atmosphere that New Orleans creates for every tourist and every resident it will ever meet.

Katie, age 16

Anonymous - Atmosphere

Fog

My breathing is almost even

As I slowly inhale dew.

Condensation on the cool

Glass of my window.

I look outside.

 The grass is wet

And I put on my rain boots to play in the slosh.

You know that feeling of total absence?

That feeling is in the atmosphere

That thick and heavy fog.

Anonymous, age 15