High School Runner’s Up for Art or Science Projects - $100
Sarah Gerber (Hall High School, West Hartford)
 

Poem: “Concentration

Concentration

Concentrate.

Please just finish this.

After forty-five minutes sitting here,

I have only done four math problems,

And I can’t seem to focus.

School is not the only problem.

Jobs and careers,

Family life,

Relationships,

And these are only some.¹

Although my disorder is most common among children, ²

I feel so alone.

I wish I could be normal,

But this is how I was born.³

Strattera,

Adderall,

Concerta,

Ritalin,

I’ve tried them all.

However I always seem to fall.

When I am not on my medicine,

You see a different side of me.

A jovial, exciting person

You would someday wish to meet.

Many people do not understand

What goes on inside my head.

Sometimes even I have trouble

Catching my ideas as they run by.⁴

Everyday when I get home from school,

My mom leaves a note of what I should do.

Then I do my homework and eat a snack, ⁵

But when I start to watch TV I can’t look back.

In school we have timed exercises.

For me, my teachers have to make compromises.

If I don’t do things at my own pace, ⁶

You will see a stressed look on my face.

Although you may not see me apply myself,

My wild imagination needs no help.

I love to pretend and live a life of someone else.

So next time point out something positive. ⁷

Say you enjoy my stories, ideas, or art.

In many ways we are the same,

We have two legs, two eyes, and one heart.