Our Poetry Contest Winners
Back in October, we invited "Kidspace" readers to send in poems for this year's young people's poetry contest. And send you did - more than 1,100 poems in all. We were delighted.
Poems came from all regions of the United States, in both structured and free verse. Many people wrote about nature; others wrote about their favorite activities or their neighborhoods. Thanks to everyone who entered!
The poetry was reviewed by three judges: Diana Der-Hovanessian, president of the New England Poetry Club; Steven Ratiner, a poet who works with many schools in the Boston area; and Elizabeth Lund, the Monitor's poetry editor. We hope you'll send in poems for next year's contest, too.
Black
Black, you are the color
of my people
The black and white
movies of our parents' past
Black, you are midnight
sweeping over the land
The black tip of a pencil
The wet nose of
a dog
The dark place
where the stars stay at night
Charlinda Ann Brewster
Grade 5
Minneapolis, Minn.
Butterflies of snow
hit
a tinted window
Jessica TeSelle
Grade 5
Denver, Colo.
What Is the Name
It's the water dripping on steel,
It's the phone ringing in the dark,
It's the crickets on a warm spring night,
It's the clock ticking away midnight,
It's the lamp swaying back and forth
to cast its frightening shadows,
It's the wind outside to tell you a tale of storm and rain.
Its name
is noise -
I would have called it
music.
Brandee Hansen
Grade 5
Provo, Utah
Car Ride at Night
Dark night, bright lights
Shimmery trucks passing by
Street lights shining high
Yellow, white, pretty lights
Happy sleepy car ride.
Zzzzzzzz
Peter Lepper
Age 4
Newark, Ohio
Bike Riding
My feet rise off the planet
peddling the wheels of steel
that sparkle as they spin me
through open space.
I feel like winding to
galaxies farther than the sun
where bikes are satellites
orbits never done.
Dennis Martin Dunne
Grade 6
North Bergen, N.J.
The Cat
Night.
Cat.
Curled like a steel trap.
Muscles flexing.
Crouching.
Waiting to strike.
Movement.
Green eyes flicker.
Pounce.
Silent landing.
Nothing.
Sam Howe
Grade 6
Belmont, Mass.
Falling
Snow is falling
ever so
slowly
as the
sun is
setting,
the
darkness
falls,
falls,
falls,
the
children's
eyes are
closing,
ever so
slowly,
hand
in
hand
we go,
and now
the moon
falls,
falls,
falls.
Chelsea Jones
Grade 7
Fletcher, N.C.
Jet trails in the sky
Look like rainbows waiting
To be colored in.
Ben Lepper
Grade 3
Newark, Ohio
Geese
Geese flying,
Flying south,
They know,
They are wise,
Cold winter coming soon.
Fly,
Fly fast,
Fly away,
Stay until spring,
Cold winter coming soon.
Ice,
Cold ice,
Thick ice covering the pond,
Insects gone, fish gone, geese going,
They know,
They are wise,
Cold winter coming soon.
Geese flying,
Flying north,
They know,
They are wise,
Warm spring coming soon.
Fly,
Fly fast,
Fly home,
Stay until winter,
Warm spring coming soon.
Anna Jackson
Grade 6
East Ryegate, Vt.
Sunshine
On rainy days
Over a hill
Beyond the schools
Down the street
Up a hill
Around the trash cans
Is a house
Through the door
Up the stairs
Within a room
By the window
I wait
Jeffrey McVey
Grade 6
San Diego, Calif.
