“TOUCH” by Anonymous, 17 “Poor, poor girl. To grow up with no father. To only see him when he argues with her mother. To be left like a lamb to slaughter. To only know the feeling of anger and sadness. She doesn’t know how to be happy. Her mother works the day away. Poor, poor broken girl. All alone with no one to play. Locked in a cage without a key. How can she possibly know what is right? All her family has ever known is alcohol and drugs. Is this the path set for her? Like a tree on a river, she doesn’t want to grow up like all the other saplings around her. She longs to touch the water. To feel the cold ripples against her branches. Everyone else wants to go up, up, up. To touch the sky and fly. But when she leans into the water, she sees herself already flying. Like a portrait painted against the waves, she flies among the trees. Touching the earth, the river and the sky. Poor, poor girl. Always dreaming of the river. Wake up, girl! Stop dreaming! Lean in and touch the water. For when you are down, you will always look up.” In a New Light is a therapeutic nature photography project at Northwest Passage. To see more of the kids’ photography, visit inanewlight.org.