A SHARK
The black thing in the water.
He aims to slaughter.
Moving along
A shadow through the blue-green sea.
Towards his prey
Like a black torpedo burrowing through.
The sea green blue.
Sliding, gliding smoothly to his prey.
I. Clark, P6A.

PENICILLIN
Penicillin was discovered quite by accident. Sir Alexander Fleming put some germs on a jelly which germs can't resist eating. The next day he went to his laboratory to see what the germs were like. He saw some mould on the jelly, he was just about to throw it out when he realised that the germs around the mould were either dead or dying. He found out that a spore of the fungus penicillium had drifted into the room and landed on one of the culture trays, which he had forgotten to put the lid on. Fleming tried the penicillium on other germs which he thought it would kill. After years of work penicillium was pure enough to be used on humans. One day he needed penicillin for one of his patients. He telephoned another scientist and asked if he had any penicillin to spare. The scientist replied, "Yes, enough for a few days treatment. You can have it if you want, after all penicillin's yours you know".
Boyle, P7A.

CELLULOID GODDESS
I see her,
I hear her.
Her face is there before me,
I know she's there.
She speaks to me.
She smiles at me in the darkness.
The only star in my black, empty sky.
A thin twisty cable decides Her life, her death. Connects her to my heart, My life.   My soul.
Amidst my chaos she remains untangled.
Her smile guides me through my pain.
My celluloid goddess.
Though here.
Lives on the far side of the universe.
J. Sayer, IV.

DAY
The sun has not yet risen, but already people are beginning to move around in their matchbox houses. Waking, washing, eating, preparing for the dawning day. Clutching brief cases, lunch packs, tools and school books, they hurry down through fourteen blocks of solid concrete out into the cool morning air. Cars, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians—they all join in the daily rush. Shops pull up their shutters, offices are filling, a school bell rings—the day has begun. Now the sun is creeping over the top of the distant horizon. Outside in the streets there is the continuous bustle of early morning shoppers, young children run free in the dirty back streets, dogs roam in search of scraps and the morning continues. Housewives in cages are chained to their daily chores, the beds are made, the rooms tidied and so they go on to the strains of their own personal morning show.
It is now dinner hour and offices empty, children return home from school, secretaries eat their sandwiches on the park benches and still the day continues. The monotonous afternoon follows, no different from any other, people tied to their places, not complaining, watching the clock they sit in formation like an army preparing for battle.

In factories and schools, shops and offices they anticipate the final signal—it comes. Streaming homewards towards freedom, freedom to do what they want for the next twelve hours—but are they really free?
D. Kennedy, VI.

"LETTER  FROM AMERICA"
Dear School,
Well, New York must be the most crazy, mixed-up city in the world ! To the drivers there, pedestrians seem to be invisible; every time we crossed the road we were taking our lives in our hands, or rather our feet.
Broadway is not as big or attractive as we thought, neither is Times Square. In fact we were in Times Square several times before we realised it, by referring to our guide-map.
We went up the Empire State Building at night, and of course we had to go up when it was cloudy and raining. Nevertheless, when a break occurred in the clouds we got quite a fantastic view of the illuminated city below.
We also visited the United Nations building. It's beautifully designed, and there are many interesting symbolic paintings, windows, and murals all over the place. While we were there Lord Caradon spoke to us all in one of the committee-rooms, and told us something of the kind of work he and his colleagues had to do. His talk was very enlightening.
We didn't want to have been in New York without seeing the Subway, so we gave it a try. Our Underground is far better: the trains on the Subway are much noisier; the screech of their brakes is enough to drive one mad, and as they thunder into the station the platforms vibrate alarmingly. The stations themselves are much dirtier than ours. Naturally enough, when finally down in the Subway, we allowed eight trains to pass by, before we finally realised that we could have taken any one of them !
We went on a boat trip round Manhattan Island, and among the sights pointed out to us was the Statue of Liberty. It was a foggy day, and we couldn't see it very well till we got close. It is much smaller than we thought, but impressive all the same.
The most noticeable difference over here is the temperature. Even on a cloudy day with no sun at all, we are very hot, but it's bearable. Everything also is very green, which gives the place a very calm atmoshere.
Well, here's hoping that the weather's treating you all right in Scotland now.
Yours,
Brian Murton, John Sayer.

TO DIE THE NATURAL DEATH OF A CAPITALIST GRAVEDIGGER
"This is the way the world will end not with a bang but a whimper"—T. S. Elliot.
Trees bend down towards creator Earth,
Hate filled teeth rip out synthetic roots,
The Pipe lines by which nature is fed.
The mass suicide reaches its climax.
As trees crumble into dusty epitaphs to a past age.
Man witnesses the spectacle in a sweat.
Screaming at the Mad Monk to find a God,
Who will save them from this brutal end.
But for these materialistic monsters.
Final products of a commercial civilisation.
There is no hope. The end has come.
The silent destruction.
For this is the final protest against the control.
Of Money-eyed monsters fed on financial gain. The Only action which this, a once mighty force, could take.
Was her own self destruction. The Wind cries a silent Prayer—Amen.
G. MacKenzie, VI.