2010 Winners | The America Library of Poetry

2010 Student Poetry Contest

Division Winners

Division I
(grades 3-5)

The Forest
by Callie Gudmonson

In a forest
Beneath the tree
An ecosystem lives happily
Spiders spin webs
True and free
Birds sing their songs
Beautifully
Squirrels gather acorns carefully
And lay them in the old, old tree
Everything is done peacefully
In the forest
Beneath the tree

Just Like the Wind
by Saffy Laurio

Just like the wind I want to be,
Flowing between each and every tree.
And cooling little children on a hot summer day,
As well as seeing them laugh and play.
When I look up I see the sun and clouds.
But if I look down I see my shadow dancing among the ground.
I can fly so high in the sky, people seem like ants;
And so low, I see every little detail of every living plant.
Just like the wind, I want to be playful and free
And happy as a child can ever be.

Morning In the Mountains
by Jennifer Bowles

As the sun leaps up onto the horizon,
The mountains yawn.
The trees
Stretch their branches.
The creeks
And streams
Fight the walls holding them captive.
And rays
Of light
Tip toe out of hiding.

Division II
(grades 6-7)

I Will Rip Their Wings
by Amber Rose Granger

Butterflies fluttered past me,
Their water colored wings flowing with the wind,
I wanted to reach out and tear each one of their wings apart,
They had taken Mommy away,
Daddy had told me that the butterflies took Mommy to Heaven,
I wanted my revenge today,
I wanted them to bring Mommy home,
Daddy told me to only wish they could,
Each butterfly I see, I will rip their wings and burn them,
I will rip and burn until they bring Mommy back.

The Last Time
by Will Griffin

There had to be a last time
I went out to play on my old swing set
In the backyard, at the bottom of a hill
There had to be a last time
I waved to my dad through the window
As he was going to work
There had to be a last time
I played Hide-and-Seek with my little sister,
Or a last time I climbed our Japanese maple tree,
Or rode down our driveway on my blue bike with training wheels
There had to be a last time
My mom bandaged my wounded knees
There had to be a last time
I saw my granddad before he saw Jesus
I have done so many things for the very last time

Each Other
by Ariel Riley

"Mommy," she says in a scared voice
"Where is our home going?"
"Sicily," the mother says to her child in her loving voice
"We shall find a new home. Nothing to worry 'bout now"
"Well, how's Cassidy?" she panics
"She is in my arms and well," the mother responds
She turns to the bars that are as cold as ice
Dazed by the sight of flames thousands of feet above and in our home
"But what do we have left, Mommy?"
"Each other," she whispers

Division III
(grades 8-9)

Hot Hell
by Jeremiah Rogers

As she stepped into the room,
I inhaled the cinder and ash on her skin.
Her hair raged as a great forest fire,
Black with red streaks, and just a wisp of bleached white.
Her eyes were the color of cherry oak firewood,
One with just a spark of flame left.
Her lips were glossed with kerosene,
And with a kiss, set me on fire.
The dress flared bright red,
A flame begging for blood.
I fell in love with this burning fire.
She scorched my heart.
Consuming it to the last vessel.
But, there's a spark where my heart used to be
And it will always live on.

An Artist's View
by Helena Rainville

A splotch of paint
On canvas, white,
An insignificant form in the world.
A small speck of the brush’s
Independent thought.
Nothing will be done.
For nothing needed to be.
Many looked and wondered.
What could this be?
A boy saw a dragon,
A mother saw a child,
A teacher saw a number,
And then the artist looked,
And smiled.
Imagination was the key.

Midnight Illusions
by Lorena Lipe

Eyelids flutter like the wings of a butterfly
Adrenaline pumps through veins as heartbeats race to diminish
Large beads of sweat languidly trickle down and collect at the nape of the neck
Shallow breaths, filled with sighs of relief, are presented before glossy eyes
It was just a dream ...
Head to toe, the body is shielded
Streams of perspiration stain the comforter,
Yet the body quivers with fearful expectations
An unidentified noise bathes the room with ominous sounds
A yelp escapes the mouth, and a pulse throbs
It was just a dream
Shadows paint the walls as a candle flickers in the corner
Porcelain toes warily touch the ground,
As long legs move stealthily across the bare floor
The wind intruding from the window whispers warnings,
And kisses the vulnerable flesh
Tapered fingers tightly wrap around the doorknob
Sharply pulled, a heavenly light is exposed
The melancholy ambience is washed with relief
It was just a dream

Division IV
(grades 10-12)

Teenage Eyes
by Caeli Faisst

Words jump off the page,
"Outcast," they scream.
Laughing demons circle my head
Taunting me as my tears cause their words to bleed,
Words written from the blackness of their hearts.
They try to fling their words at me,
But I harden my heart and let their flaming arrows bounce off.
Harder and harder they throw their curses,
Harder and harder it is to keep my heart from breaking.
Finally they leave, leave me at peace,
Yet their cruel eyes haunt my vision.
The ink from their words mixed with my tears seeps into my skin,
Mixing its poison with my blood,
But I refuse to accept defeat.
I will rise above.
I will not let them win.

Lucifer's Clever Joke
by Shelby Lokken

Her eyes snap open to see nothing but the pitch black surrounding her.
Her heart starts to race and her mind is twisting of questions,
But her body will take over, basic human instinct.
Her mouth opens and a blistering scream fights free.
Her newly french manicured nails begin scraping at what they can
Of the silky material above her,
With each nail snapping off and the skin beaten down to the bone.
Her legs are flailing and her toes break in her rich red 5-inch stilettos
With every blow to the container imprisoning her.
Her shrills will be heard by only the lifeless bodies peacefully laying around her
And now, her breaths are becoming further apart.
A slow, suffocating death will make Lucifer laugh.
Her life was nothing but a clever joke.

The Kraken
by Michael Shupp

Far, far beneath the thunderous deep
In the abysmal dark doth sleep
A nameless horror, to be true
Untainted, untouched beneath the blue
Its ancient form most hideous lies
Under rock, and sea and skies
Huge sponges of millennial height
Above it shield from fading light
In depths where never sun has shone,
It waits, unseen and all alone
And many, unknowing, journey past,
Unaware this day shall be their last
They blindly sail o'er quiet water
Heading into gruesome slaughter
Long tentacles grope and fast surround
The ships that suddenly are bound
And down, fast down through roiling waves
The victims pass to nameless graves
Never to reach the distant shore
They lie in darkness evermore