2006 Winners | The America Library of Poetry

2006 Student Poetry Contest

Division Winners

Division I
(grades 3-5)

Snapdragons
by Michelle Krumpe

Nestled ’neath a bush so snug and warm
Waiting for the light of day
The little snapdragons sit forlorn
While the fairies with the roses play
She wishes she could fly like them
So free and full of light
She watches as their glow comes near
But then it’s gone, and out of sight

My Grandpa
by Alexandra Mardirossian

My grandpa was a quiet man
He was not wild or weak
He was like a willow in the breeze, swaying gracefully
While we are loud, he was soft
He was as peaceful as a light snow, drifting down on a leaf
He was a caterpillar who went into his cocoon
He left his shell, his body, on Earth
Now he is a butterfly
His soul wanders freely

Division II
(grades 6-7)

Missing Them
by Caitlin Fallahay

Girl among the gravestones, lighted by the crescent moon
Near the stroke of midnight
The ghosts draw her here, here to slip away
She stops in front of a sculpted angel, a raised cross
She fingers them gently while a tear races from her eye to her cheek
A trickle of blood tracing down her memory
Lying down, protected by stone wings
Reliving the past, the pain, the tears
Pressing herself against the cold, hardened ground
As if trying to find her mother and sister there, alive and warm again
Girl among the gravestones, despair pouring from her eyes
Straightens to a sitting position, looks to the stars as if to say, “I’m coming home”
She fades into the darkened sky

Wild Horses
by Kaitlyn Dotson

The wind whips your mane
Like the ocean tosses a wave
The sweet smell of dew-tipped grass
Tickles your every breath
Hoofs pound the earth
As dirt flies up around you
Holding your long tail up high
A flag signaling behind
The rain thuds against your back
Soaking you to the skin
You dry in the warm, bright, shining sun
That makes your coat glisten
Lassos the cowboys throw
Twirl like snakes around you
Jumping first to the left and then the right
Managing to avoid every one
Racing across the plains
Galloping at top speeds
This is all you have ever known
You are wild, free

Division III
(grades 8-9)

So Clean and So Young
by Emily Mergel

Stagger down moonlit Willis Street
Patent leather spikes snagging in the crumbling asphalt
Collapse
Dizzy eyes are veiled by flickering lids
Head lolls back onto the silent pavement

Remember Christina
Suede and alabaster hands smooth a linen dress
Ice and ancient eyes glance away with somber sighs
Disapproval
Thin lips part

“Stop, little girl
Take time to smell the porch lights turning on
The rain dissolving paint on wooden houses
Breathe the way the would-be-junkies do
When getting blisters from holding hands too tight
Secrets too close
Love too dear”

Eyes flash
Eight thousand pear blossoms shower down upon a sorry face
Like kisses from thin lips, littering the moonlit pavement

Crows and Ravens
by Angelina Waller

Crows clothing a willow tree
Black feathers flow like silk in the breeze
A song of betrayal they sing
Either resting or flying
Ravens come, on the wing
Harkening sorrow as they sing
Now they blanket a walnut tree
A black sheet of misery
Crows and ravens of depression
Willows and walnuts of sadness
Now comes the rain, weeping for all

Division IV
(grades 10-12)

The Price of Love
by Eric Rostvedt

The darkness loomed on such a day
When Faith held her tongue
Unrighteous men cowered away
When on the cross He hung
Their King, their Friend, was dying there
His burdened eyes looked down
Yet, while He hung, He said a prayer
And wore His crimson crown
The thorns, they mocked His royalty
Innocence hammered the nails
The sinners proclaimed disloyalty
And darkness said, "Hope fails!"
It was true, Hope had to hide
Her tears stained the light
But Love, she shone! She turned the tide!
For mercy, Love would fight
Nail-pierced hands raised the sword
The King, with His final breath
Struck down the Enemy, and the Lord
For wretched us, chose death

Farewell To Childhood
by Sarah Adams

In the nursery down the hall
Thick silence fills the air
The toys stand ready on the shelves
But no young boy is there
He has his briefcase, suit and tie
He has no use for things
Like dragon tales and paper hats
And dust of pixie’s wings
The rocking-horse grows dusty
Look closer and you’ll trace
A slow parade of ashen tears
Upon his oaken face
He loved that little boy the best
And wonders how he’ll fare
When child-like innocence is lost
Replaced with work and care
And so the world cheers its new man
While tears fill wooden eyes
For where the world sees triumph
The rocking-horse, demise