Poetry Contest
It all starts with a single word…
In December 2017 Ms. Gallen’s upper school English class entered an online poetry contest open to 7th – 9th graders across the nation. Poems were required to be 21 lines or less on any topic they chose.
The poems were sent to judges who selectively narrowed down and then ultimately chose the top ten winners for each grade division (7-9). These judges, who are published writers and/or educators themselves, looked for poems that were well-written and stood out as being excellent. They looked for language use that created strong images, topics that showed unique awareness to an important issue or a creative approach that showed originality.
Out of seventeen student poems entered, TEN of our students’ poems were selected to become published writers! Winners will be given recognition online and in a hardbound, full color book, printed with their name, grade, school and state.
Congratulations to everyone who participated!
Here are examples of a few of the winning entries.
Someday
S un will shine bright
O ceans will be calm
M ountains will be flat
E veryone will rejoice
D reams will be reality
A ll will be peaceful
Y ou can make SOMEDAY, be TODAY
The Sizzling Summer!
A lmost about to faint because of the smoldering heat
B ecoming longtime friends with the kid you met at the pool
C reating crafts at summer camps
D ipping into your backyard pool
E ating red, white and blue popsicles from the ice cream man
F inding out that there is no school for the next three months
G etting to spend more time with what matters most, family
Woods
First a seed enters the dirt, the grass skirts to make way
The branches lift high riding pollution from the sky
The empty splotch of land now covered by a wooden hand
Through lifetimes of sun and rain
Then finally the people come, and cut it all away
I Am…
I am smiley and strong
I wonder if there will ever be a day when I don’t smile
I hear only positive things
I see the good in people
I want everyone to be happy
I am scared and worried
I pretend to be positive
I feel tears falling down my face
I touch my red eyes
I worry that no one will be there for me
I cry when I am scared and worried
I am smiley and strong
I understand that sometimes it’s okay not to be okay
I say that everything is going to be fine
I dream about all the bad things pushing off my shoulder
I try to stay positive
I hope that there is a smile on everyone’s face
I am smiley and strong
Ghost Under the Light
The tendrils of my hair illuminate beneath the amber glow,
Bathing in the lights from above.
It must be this one.
The last remaining streetlight must have withstood the test of time.
The last to be devoured by the sickening darkness that falls over the land.
Yet I stay and watch,
Calming myself to walk once more.
I see it,
Bathing in the light.
It flickers…
And I flicker back.