'Carry the Light' Excerpt: Carry the Light

Editor's Note: For the first time in the history of the San Mateo County Fair, a 300-page anthology has been published that includes more than 100 stories, poems and essays from writers who submitted award-winning work for the fair's literary contest. The idea was the brainchild of Bardi Rosman Koodrin, a San Bruno resident who runs the fair's literary contest, and the anthology, titled "Carry the Light," features work from many Peninsula writers.

This poem is about learning to overcome problems, and carrying hopes and dreams.

From p. 70, "Carry the Light"

In times of hardships

that pull at your heart,

like a thousand whips

tearing you apart,

You wonder as tears

run down your face,

Is there still hope, light to cheer?

Stand up now, and at your own pace,

Carry the light;

Your beliefs and your hope,

and your dreams just might

leap from their rickety tightrope

and into reality.

Now it’s all in plain sight,

so let yourself free

and carry the light. 

Excerpted from "Carry the Light" with the permission of Sand Hill Review Press, the publisher. The book is available for purchase for $12 on Amazon.com.

Cheyenne Wiseman is a 13-year-old and currently attends Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School in Palo Alto. She enjoys writing, going on walks and playing with her three cats.