Watermelon

This poem by Maria, age 12, got me thinking about summer picnics in the park! Thanks Maria.~~Melanie









I take a bite of watermelon
inside pink outside green
infested with seeds of snow
and seeds of bark black bean

yes it tastes swell I must say
in my mouth it is good and crunchy
this little bit of heaven
so sweet and munchy

It smells so wonderful
this sweet smelling fruit
the bees come in swarms
to steal my precious loot

When I squeeze it into pulp
This crisp treat goes pop, pop, pop!
The green part though, when I feel
Seems to become hard as a cop

The my sister comes along
And asks, "What is that thing you're eating?"
I hear crunch, munch, buzz, pop!
I say, "That is a food you can't go beating."

It's Watermelon!

Through Animals' Eyes

I don't understand it
About humans
The way they look in the mirror
And obsess about eating
The way they need their reputations to be perfect
And judge others if they're different
I don't understand
It's not like they only see the outside

Can't they see through anyone's eyes
And know what they are feeling
Don't automatically assume they're happy just cuz they're laughing
Can't they look at the mouth
Not at the frown or smile kinda thing
But at the posture
And see what their thoughts are
Can humans not look at their overall stance
And clothingAnd see others' moods?

I'm beginning to think they can't
They don't have the ability
Because if they did
They'd be like us
We don't judge
We know that we really are the same on the inside
What does it matter if it's plaid or Burberry?
If it's Slim Fat or regular?

Or maybe they can
Maybe their eyes will allow it
But their strange mind won't
Because they're too busy obsessing over
Well--
That stuff
And so they don't realize that they could seek truth
And actually live
Without being so perfect

I don't understand
I thought humans were supposed to be the smartest
The most advanced
Is there something wrong with me?
That I don't understand why they seem to be the dumbest?
And the ones that need the most help from us?

I guess I'll never find out
Because I'll never be a human
And even so
I wouldn't want to be

Emily, 12
Alabama

New York, New York

Hey, girls! Is there something you'd like to say about the way advertisements show girls and women? Then consider attending this year's Turn Beauty Inside Out conference in New York City. As part of the conference, girls will get to speak directly with people who work in the advertising industry!

Last year, we travelled to New York for the Turn Beauty Inside Out conference focusing on music. You can still read the blog about our experiences here.

So, what got me thinking about New York and TBIO? Well, this morning I came across this poem, and it brought me back to my very first time seeing New York.

Bright lights shone at me when I walked off the plane
the plethora of colors reflected on my amazed eyes.
All of the billboards, the skyscrapers,
and the people took me completely by suprise.

Independance swept into my eyes--
I was parentless--no mom or dad.
Just my grandparents by my side
the right of passage from what I am to what I had

Broadway, fashion, Statue of Liberty, Time Square
New York is thought of so glamorized.
We forgot about the people past Brooklyn--
9/11--the deaths that made them so mezmorized

I felt like I flew in a rocket ship--instead of a plane
Colorless Lake Oswego would never be the same.
I rode on a rainbow, in this sleepless city,
where nobody has the same name. - Miranda, 11

Genuinely UniQuE

Here is a poem that Rebecca, from Peterborough, Ontario sent us. Thanks for the great submission.~ Melanie

I am who I am,
you are who you be,
I am me,
but are you who I see?

My inside and out,
are like symmetry,
but I think that you
are who they want you to be.

What truth do you see
in this puzzle you've formed?
Be like me...but be you
(if you see what I mean!)

By: Rebecca, 14
Peterborough, Ontario
Canada

How can you submit to New Moon's blog?

I got the following question in New Moon's blog email account yesterday:

Hey New Moon! I love your magazine! I've been reading it for about two years, and it's so cool to see how it's progressed. Your blog is awesome, too. I'd like to submit a story, and I was wondering if there was a word limit. Thanks! --Alex, 13

This is a good question. We haven't set a specific word limit on blog submissions, but I think we don't want anything TOO long because that's hard to read online. I think 600 words, the length of an average New Moon article, is a good maximum length for a blog post. But blog posts can also be much shorter -- even 50 words are so is long enough to be a blog post!

The type of work we accept for the blog is a little different than what we accept for the magazine. For the blog, we like posts that address things that are going on right now in the world. What's cool about the blog is that we can publish stuff right away. In the magazine, it takes a minimum of 6 months to publish news, so that makes it trickier to stay on top of current events! Our themes list on the side of the blog lets you know which categories interest us most.

And speaking of submissions, I got some great poetry submissions from Emily, 12, today. I'm posting one below:

Low Fat Water: No Sugar Added
It started with lip gloss
As simple as that
Then all kinds of make-up
Cover up baseEye liner, too
To disguise our little faces
But that's not all...

Plastic surgery
Botox and injections
Take away my wrinkles
I don't want to get old
All I want them to see me is
Perfect

Then I need to watch my weight
I need to appear healthy
Slim FastWeight Watchers
SplendaLow fat from A-Z
Soon they'll even edit water

And software
You know what they do?
Let's take off half my body weight
Blur the forehead
The world could rotate on that pimple!
And it's all cuz I wanna appear
Perfect

I can't show I'm sad
People might think something's wrong
So I smile and I laugh
I won't show that tear
And it's all cuz I wanna appear
Perfect

We're so edited out
To make a perfect impression
But is there room for living?
Is there time for being human?
Amidst all this editing?
Amidst all this editing out mistakes?
Is there time for learning and growing?
Having fun?
No
But we don't really care
Then again, there's no time for caring

Step back and look at us
Look what we've done to ourselves
And the world
Things are hardly real
They're so edited out

Look at us now
Then come back in the future
When we'll see life passing on a computer
All the tragedies will be deleted
"Tragedies"
Come back in the future
And I swear
There'll be low fat water
No sugar added

You can read more of Emily's work at www.agwritersjournal.blogspot.com!

Acadia's Thoughts :-)

Acadia, 14, from Duluth, MN sent us this wonderful poem on her thoughts about fashion. Thanks, Acadia!

Reasons Why Shopping Makes Me Want to Throw a Tantrum

Jeans too tight
Never fit right
Mini-skirts look cold
But that’s not what I’m told
Apparently they’re hot
Especially when bought
At the “right” store
Where you always pay more!

And by the way,
The other day
I learned air costs a lot
Because that’s all that I got
In the jeans all ripped
From Abercrombie and Fitch
So I sold them on eBay
Then fed a small country for three days

Now spaghetti on a plate
Would be nice on a date
But spaghetti strap tops?
Eww…I think not
Reminds me of buying a bikini at the mall
It got lost in the bag, ‘cause it was too small
Teensy tight things I cannot wear
When I can’t breathe, I get quite a scare

Why do boys get all the comfy clothes?
You never see them in heels or pantyhose
I guess girls must have more grace
Even in stilettos they don’t fall on their face
Which is good in those dangerous shoes
Because they could stab, slice, or bruise
Speaking of death, if I see another midriff
I might just jump off a cliff

You can see my frustration
With this fashion nation
Maybe I’m just lacking know-how
To wear all the “in” things now
I guess I just don’t get
Why clothes aren’t supposed to fit
Unless you are stick thin
Like that Lindsey Lohan
It’s a sad, ridiculous mess
When smaller clothes don’t cost less
I’m missing out on the fashion logic

So from now on, I think Ill just dodge it.