The Spring of Hope (Poem of the "Terrible Winter")

They stand apart, divided,
so different yet so together.
She gazes at him with longing, desire,
or is it fear?
Can she follow him out of this bleak, waste land?
Wanting to leave the cold, barren place,
he reaches his hand, grabbing the rail.
So many obstacles, so many barriers
denying him from his ascent.
The branches reaching into the sky,
pulling him upwards, seeking the warmth of spring,
the spring of hope.
The buds poking out of the ground, seeking light,
reaching towards the astral rays that
shoot down to crack the winter's wall.
Can this wall be cracked to let new lives burst forth?
Love, Hope, Desire,
reaching upwards,
bringing them together.

I was a loner,
I felt scared.
I kept things to myself,
Everything bottled up.
I couldn't trust anyone,
To let things out was still a battle for me.
Now, I've smashed that bottle.
Now, I don't keep things to myself.
Tell someone.
To all those shy kids,
You need to tell someone.


Author: Victim

Audience: The people who have similar experiences with the victim and who fear to tell.

Message: If you have experienced the same thing as the victim and are still keeping it to yourself, then you should really tell someone. It is the best way of releasing pressure and it helps you to step outside to the wide world.

Synopsis of the Digital Chapter

In the last chapter of “The Chrysalids”, the story ends with the helicopter containing David, Rosalind, Petra and the Sealand lady about to land. In our digital chapter, we continued with this scene and created three comic pages as an additional ending of the novel. On the first page, as the helicopter is descending, we had the Sealand lady announcing this news to the others through thought shapes. For the background, we found a picture of a coastal city which represents New Zealand in the story. For the second page, we used a picture consisting of many huge buildings in the background to tell readers that they have successfully landed in the city. They are welcomed and accepted for who they are. Finally on the last page of our digital chapter, we had Rosalind and David sleeping. Right beside David, there’s a dream bubble consisting of a picture of outer space. This is a connection with the first dream he had in chapter one in which he dreams about New Zealand. We decided to use this dream as our ending because it links the whole novel together in a circle. As well, it indicates possibility and change. David is now in a world which he is free to dream and choose his future. In Waknuk, this was impossible. One of the themes in the book deals with change and evolution. The word chrysalid is a term in biology and it’s a state in which the larva is wrapped in a hard case, not moving or even eating until it becomes an insect. The people of Waknuk seem to be stuck in this state, never deviating from what they think is normal. In contrast, the Sealanders know that the chysalid must pass on to the next stage and that change is inevitable. David is happy to leave Waknuk behind for the next stage in his life where anything is possible.

If there is really a tribulation happening right now, I think we, 25 of us as a group, should work together to face the problem and solve it. At this very urgent situation, we should all cooperate and help each other out. For example, if there's an earth happening, we should all stay together and no one should be on his/her own. We should stay calm and find a right way to solve the problem. We need to get all of us out of the building while having no one in danger. One solution can be to have us be divided into several groups. Each group can work on different things. This way, we will all be solving the problem and no time will be wasted because obviously time will be the most important thing to consider at that situation.

Perhaps the tribulation is something more serious and 25 of us can only do little to help . If this is the case, I still think we should try. Most important of all, we should treat each other well because we are the last 25 people on Earth. We must support each other and feel like we're in a family. We should eliminate any negative thoughts in our mind and to only think on the postive side. This way, we will be confident to face the upcoming problem and work through it as a whole.

Topic line: What describes my love to thee?

Restrcition: At least 5 syllables each line

Literary device: Rhyme

A look into thy eye,
Melts the snow of mine.
Arise! For thee, my love,
See our joy fly like a dove.
Thou is the light in the dark,
Leading me the way that sparks.
My life exists for thee,
And not a thing can compare indeed.