Congratulations to our 2018 poetry contest winners! We had dozens of great submission this year and included a Grade 6-12 option for the first time. If you missed entering this year, keep an eye out for our 2019 contest! Winning poems from this year can be found below.
Adult winners:
1st Place/Adult: Patrick G. Metoyer for “guacamole piñatas”
guacamole piñatas
— After Ernest Hemingway
a perpetual paper
cut
at the tip of my middle
finger
as if a gladiator’s
mace
a torero’s
sword
shredded — and diced —
the rest of me
bleedy
confettied
while pamplona
bulls
gored savory
guacamole piñatas
at the confectionary
taxidermy
store
ouch
olé
death in the afternoon
when the magenta chop bell tolls
it wails
for me
for my lacerated
finger
a splinter
hemorrhage
no gauze — no salsa
can assuage
2nd Place/Adult: John Anglim for “Detour: Another Day in the Journal”
Detour: another day in the journal
The bright blue morning dawns
rosy In the little black book
and curly words squirm
against the pages.
Breaking the rules,
a troll from under the bed,
offers up obliviousness
and light writing.
Digression, like a rabbit
out of the hat, scampers
beyond my reach. White gloves
snatch at him, but he is free.
Out the door and down the street,
gravel chatters beneath me
as I pass myself In a dream.
All the way to here simply
has been, and is no more.
Today, the past is an empty pocket.
I long for the jingle of change
against my leg to remind me
to remember.
3rd Place/Adult: Robert Johnson for “July 4th, Buffalo Bayou”
July 4th, Buffalo Bayou
We tumbled like ants
over the green lip of the ravine
and slithered in a cauldron
of sweaty, fleshy stew
bubbling Frisbees, beachballs and balloons
while the chrome and granite sentinels of downtown
stood guard in the east
reflecting the tinny grandeur
that buzzed expectantly
into the sun.
We inhaled the hot steam
and breath
and beer
and floated away.
Teen Winners:
1st Place/Teen: Izabella Cornelison for “Dance”
Dance
Tombé, pas de bourrée, plié
On my mind all day.
Fondu, soutenu, arabesque,
I tap under my desk.
The corrections I get, pointe your feet, don’t hunch,
I work on them at lunch.
Á la seconde, effacé, écarté, á la quatriéme derriére,
The eight body positions are everywhere.
Balancé, sissonne, assemblé
I could dance for days.
Turns á la seconde
I practice them at home.
Fouetté, pirouette, tour jeté,
I dance instead of play.
Waltz turn, saut de chat, pas marché,
I will dance every day.
Dance makes me feel free,
Thanks for listening to a poem by me!
2nd Place/Teen: Anna Fitzgerald for “The Hill”
The Hill
Chase me up the grassy hill
Catch me if I were to die
Feel the warm wind go still
Feel my heartbeat fly
Let’s watch the sun go down
All the colors dance in the sky
What if we aren’t found?
Let’s look up so high
The stars will scatter
We will lie there and laugh
Our minds will shatter
The bird’s wings will flap
We start a cozy fire
Then blast music and dance
We will sing to it as if we were a choir
And wish we were in France
Lay with me until I fall asleep
The fire will slowly burn out
Our phones will beep
I wish they didn’t doubt
We head down that grassy hill
And wish we could stay forever
We will remember the thrill
But we aren’t that clever
3rd Place/Teen: Honor Blevins for “Broken Mirrors”
Broken Mirrors
Though you are surrounded by shards of glass
I still know
The crimson lines on your arm are no accident
Though my husband and I have good educations, these adult poems seem rather obscure and inaccessible to us, so we wonder about the general population.
We enjoyed the teen poems.
We support what you are doing. I think it would be nice to display all the entries somewhere in the library. I would like to see some of the other poems that I may more easily relate to.
Hi Judy,
Thanks for the suggestion!