2003 Winners | The America Library of Poetry

2003 "With One Voice"

Student Poetry Contest

Division Winners

Division I
(grades 4-5)

Emmaline
by Dalton McCallum

She’s wearing a tie-dyed yellow, green, and blue t-shirt
She’s Emmaline, flying through the air
Like a bird soaring through the sky
Her green-brown eyes are like lightly burnt grass
With morning dew
My little sister’s small legs and feet happily do the splits
Her shorts are jean and she’s wearing jean shoes
The blue sky behind her only has four clouds and is beautiful

Precious Life
by Megan M. Murphy

I saw
The little coffin
Go down the aisle
I saw
Every tear
Go down my dad’s face
I saw
Grief and darkness
I saw
Tears and pain
I saw
A picture
Blond hair, blue eyes
I saw
A treasure
Leave someone forever
I saw
Life

Division II
(grades 6-7)

Fenced In
by Robin Silevitch

Sun glaring down on us, as if to say, "Stay away."
A tall rusty fence clattering in the wind
My tiny hands grasping the thin rusty wires
My shoes getting stuck in the diamond shaped grooves
The smell of lilacs budding and blooming
Keeps out the harsh rusting smell
The jagged edges cutting into my soft flesh
I reach the top
The pointy tops dig into my pants
Fear sweeps over me while the wind combs through my hair
My heart thuds in my chest
I close my eyes so black invades my mind
I jump, air rushing past me
I land on cool, fresh green grass
My eyes flutter open, and I let myself fall flat
Looking at the sky
My friends land by my sides
And we watch as the clouds pass us by in that forever blue sky

In This Place
by Hannah Herbert

I watch the sunlight fall across the open field
A simple breeze warms my face
Tall grasses whisper in the wind
I have no need to be complete in this place
I hear an ocean wave crash on the sandy shore
The grasshoppers sing to a steady pace
Seagulls cry shrilly from up above
I have no need to be accepted in this place
I taste the sweet night sky all around me
And watch the moon and sun in their incredible race
The stars twinkle like a million diamonds
I have no need to be worthy in this place
For my place is all of the things I am not, I will never be
My place is a comfort and a peaceful calm
There’s nothing to seek here and nothing to find
My place is the most beautiful of all
For this place dwells in my own heart and mind

Division III
(grades 8-9)

Blind
by Marian Williams

I wish I could walk the way my dog walks
He stops to sniff the dandelions
He turns his head at a chipmunk
He finds fascination in a shoelace and curiosity in a cat
Caring about everything and worrying about nothing
He sees what I don’t see
Though we walk down the same road at the same pace
The only thing that connects us is a leash

This Is Not Me
by Melanie Richards

The glass is silver
With a frosted chill of remembrance of my manifestation
This cannot be who I am
It’s just the plaster and the plastic
With the cracks running through
It is not the light shining brightly
Concealed in the twisted channels of thought
It is not my innocence or vivid inner eye
It is a lie—this mirror cannot tell the truth
It doesn’t know who I am

Division IV
(grades 10-12)

Farewell
by Jessica Tina Chang

Sugar, you called me, but poison you gave
With your cold words, "Goodbye, Gabriella"
You sauntered away
Abandoning me by sweet lavender where we first met
I remember your hands, caressing my body
I remember your cologne, the scent of juniper
You swirled my senses; but tonight, I lie in bed
Infused with vodka, whispering your name

We Were Immortal
by Joseph Allocco

The radio hums, providing the white noise needed
To proclaim the urgency of our situation
Hollow bottles and dead skin chocolate wrappers
Catch the breeze and lose pace
Hurtling violently into our anonymous past
Back home, dim lights and ink stains account for words unspoken
But repeated tirelessly in my heart, over and over and over again
Ripped denim and short sleeves can’t cover the scars
And she takes notice
Supported by pillows, we realize our youth
Eyes connected, fingers intertwined, and it feels like forever