Sixth Grade
Dust
A glittering image of wisdom
A keepsake nobody cares about
Just thrown aside
Never noticed
Always treated like nothing was ever there
Yet dust is a part of you
Something you created
Wherever you go there will always be
A trail of dust.
-John Johnston
Third Place
METAMORPHOSIS
Inside a caterpillar is a dying soul awaiting
to be something big and bright
it sits on a leave cocooning
in the heat for two weeks
flying free in a new body
Inside a butterfly is wisdom
pouring out
flying by
living fast
like a racecar winning every race
rain or shine
leaving the past behind
Inside you is change
and the power to be different
and as beautiful
as the caterpillar
that became a
butterfly
-Frances Morquecho
Second Place
When I Was Four
When I was four
I pretended to win
The racing cup
I battled the evil monster
In my closet
I chased the wind
I caught the clouds
But that was long ago
Now I am twelve
I pretend to be a man
I battle the obstacles
That pop up in my way
I chase the FCAT
I catch poems
With only
A pencil and a piece of paper.
-Andres Pineda
First Place
Seventh Grade
hello
hello, how are you doing
what are you doing
in this place where one leaf is nothing
but part of the path
hello, do you like
sitting there
when to move would mean
to be different
hello, would you like
to stand out
to leave this place
to leave the roots that are a part of your history
hello, I would like
to be you
to feel the pressure of nature
that tells you to whip that way to lean to the left
I feel the caress of the spring breeze
that only you can feel
for I feel it in my mind
and you feel it through your branches
I feel the roots of my history
that I sense
yet you have
that pin you to the ground
Good bye, little aspen
for to see you again
the way I see you now
would mean to retrace my memories
-Jacquelyn Fullford
Third Place
African Americans Dying
African Americans die in 3-ways
get shot, in prison, or die of aids
on the inside we’re feeling blue
on the outside we think we’re cool
god knows the anger, hurt and pain
but what more do we have 2 gain
most people don’t seem to care
but if you ask me, it ain’t fair
I ask myself why?
why this happens to us
this ain’t nothing but a fuss
try take back the night
but how with these fights
the good life the bad
and all the chances we had
on the street smoking & drinking
many of us ain’t thinking
many gunshots in our days
we die in 3-ways
family and friends
when will this end?
everyday i look in the sky
wondering how will i pass this by
i can’t stop crying
not knowing who’s dying
night and day day and night
help me find the light
in prison, get shot, or die of aids
African Americans die in 3-ways
-Shameka Ashley Baker
Second Place
THE PARTY NEVER ENDS
her face
lavishly decorated
pastel complexion
shining with laugher
and highly blushed cheekbones
the color of the ruby catacombs
hidden inside the pomegranate
her eyes
reflective jewels
holding deep set memories
in their glittering green depths
and keeping captive
tantalizing secrets
her lips
her painted smile
parting in a hollow laugh
a shallow comment
scolding playfully
she is beautiful
her guests do not deny
but the party is over
her company has left
along with their compliments
she is alone
none to impress
no one to tell her secrets to
but the show is not over
not for her
for her
all of life
is a masquerade
-javannah fehling
First Place
Eighth Grade
Miss Liberty
Have you eve looked at her face when you hurt her?
When you brawl with another man over her love?
When you don’t give your pets a cage?
She stares away,
Into wherever the abyss seems to flow,
As long as it’s away from you,
In her eyes you can see tantrum tears,
By her face you know she wishes she was home,
That she was on times of long ago,
Where the sky was more dreamy,
And the flames had died out,
But she can’t go back,
Can’t even move,
Not because she’s a statue,
But because we’re holding her down.
-Alex Gammon
Third Place
Peace on Earth
Peace is its own type of war
Even though the initial definition
contradicts the truth
because within peace is a fight
is the struggle for peace
because in order to have peace
there must be war,
in one way or the next.
and although war can never evolve
to change and become peaceful
or to grasp different reasons
of same intentions:
human greed
that lines the frothing lips of rich
and that crusts the tearing eyes of the poor
and although war may never evolve,
it may cease.
and with every war
there will be protestors
intoxicated with their excusing phrase,
“peace.”
and that exhilarating phrase is what drives them
and although war may never evolve
death is filled with peace
from fold of the arm to fold of the leg
peace is crammed in the crevices.
as soldiers brains fall out
spilling peace from the mind
mixed into the blood that floods the skull like a halo
understanding eyes freeze open
looking into peace.
and peace is the only thing that keeps some soldiers sane
as they blow each other apart
replacing madness with the serenity
that they keep in the fold of the cranium
for when they need it most.
and in war,
the soldiers learn
that the only answer to ultimate peace
is when you care more about others than you care about yourself.
-Alex Dodson
Second Place
Stravaganza
A masquerade ball,
This lifetime’s main event.
The guests;
Emotions attired,
In but a simple mask-
Anger and joy waltz through the room,
As sorrow and depression embrace one last time.
Animosity sits alone,
while envy, anxiety, and fear watch from afar.
A friendship is struck,
Between optimism and love.
The music fades,
Honesty arrives – unmasked.
Invariably, all masks become irritating,
They are removed,
A revelation of the true nature of each guest.
And as surprise makes his rounds,
Revulsion is served.
-Chelsea Mata
First Place
Tenth Grade
Momma’s Soldier
No one forced him to go
No one even told him to
I offered him everything
But this is the path he chose
He’s a man
No longer momma’s little boy
So I bid him farewell
Because this is the path he chose
The stories I hear
Give me fear of his return
I place him in God’s hands
Along with the path he chose
With my fear comes pride
A courageous man
Fighting for his country
Bravery is the path he chose
He stepped up
Did what he was called to do
He chose his path
He’s momma’s soldier
-Claudia Visconti
Third Place
Silent Streets
Vacant Buildings line the streets
The windows boarded up
By unknown hands
A lone paper flutters along the side walk
Catching on a fence
It ends its journey
Dust sweeps in wind pushed across the old town
Covering foot prints of a life long gone
The sound of a crow’s call
Echoes down the empty streets
And carries off into the distance
Lost into the silence
The black shadow of the crow
Sweeps over the town and is gone
It too is lost into the silence
And all that remains is a single glossy plume
That drifts into the street
And is swept away by the currents of dust
-Jack Conlon
Second Place
I am…
I am water, mixed with emotions. Flowing
With the world, I am free
I am a Serpent, still and focused. Though
Mistakes have been made, I will learn.
I am the color grey, here and there. Unsure of
Many things, hope strives me.
I am a tome, brimming with facts. Seeking for
Answers unknown, incomplete.
-Seger Sipe
First Place
Eleventh Grade
Smoldering grey clouds
Threatening at all times
Lighting like a forked tongue
It had only just begun
Threatening at all times
It stopped our hearts
It had only just begun
The day was still young
It stopped our hearts
Stumbling back inside
The day was still young
We thought of our years
Smoldering gray clouds
Stumbling back inside
We thought of our years
Lighting like a forked tongue
-Scott Ryan
Second Place
The Parting of Sisters
Since they were little tykes,
Susie stuck to Sam like Jell-O
But now that Sam had grown a bit older
Is it a wonder that she wanted to let go?
You’re just a second grader, she said to Susie,
She wanted to put things in their place.
But soon she started feeling really bad,
At the sight of her baby sister’s crushed face.
Oh, come on now, don’t be like that,
Sam said trying to fix things.
But Susie just walked to her little pink bedroom,
Eyes watering and tears dripping.
Sam went to her soccer themed bedroom,
She could hear her sister crying.
And little did the big sis know,
That the baby’s innocence is dying.
She tried to forget and not feel bad
She thought Susie would get over it tomorrow
And years later, she still wonders,
Why her baby sister’s face is still filled with sorrow.
-Shannon Browne
First Place
Twelfth Grade
Undulations from the Deep
What do the waves see,
As they try to seduce the shore?
These foaming crescents hunger for nothing.
Towering castle bows down in a trance,
Reunions of water sweep fragments of life
Out to sea; an S.O.S. to the deep.
The shore is pacified; lined delicately with angel wings.
Still, waves creep closer and closer
Holding back yet gaining ground grudgingly.
Menacing all who come near.
They exceed their territory; decide to retreat
And ever so slowly recede farther and farther
Guarding their stolen treasure.
Tomorrow the waves will try again
To erase arrogant footprints scratched in the sand,
To calm the scorching granules, and sharp anger of the shells.
The waves consume all that lies in their wake,
But as their mother moon draws them back
Safe in her light,
What do waves see?
-Rachel Barnard
Third Place
Mirror
A mirror
Reflective of oneself
It shows you
But in truth it lies.
The person in the mirror isn’t you
That hair is not your hair
That smile is not your smile
That figure is not your figure.
They are the mirror
For their eyes do not show bright
As yours.
Their laughter merely mocks yours
And they lack that spark that lives
Within you.
They are the shadows in the mirror
They live within the mists of time
Dancing with the ones who’ve
Looked in before you.
They are the reflections of the
Mirror.
-Nicole Pointer
Second Place
Life and Expectations
When life is but a fleeting moment-
Of seconds, turning hours, turning days
We’re basically of no use,
Only eating-
Only needing-
Most of all seeking gratification
Through trivial means and ways
Writers, artists, visionaries-
People they may be
Seek history,
To carve their hearts into the pages
Into the minds of future ages-
When life is but a fleeting moment-
A single blink of eternity’s eyes,
While many are forgotten-
Destined to live,
And eat-
And die-
There are people who seek history
To make eternity cry-
-Joey Teffenhart
First Place
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