Thank you to all the students that submitted entries this year. There were over 280 submission and the talent was outstanding! Our judges were so impressed that 2 honorable mentions were also awarded. The winning poems are listed below.

1st Place: Colin Y., 10th Grade, Homewood High School

SCHPLAGHETTI
Mama mia thatsa spicy meatball
Luckily i’m ready
Ready for that spaghetti
I’m gonna eat it all

Ill gobble it all down no matter the sauce
Alfredo
Tomato
I’m the pasta boss

My blood vessels are noodles
Pumping sauce from my meatball heart
Pasta more precious than jewels
Spaghetti and i will never part

My brain is a giant ravioli
My hair is spaghetti
Pasta is holy
I’m hot for pasta, it makes me sweaty

2nd Place: Naomi W., 11th Grade, Ramsay High School

8th Ter. West
Summers at grandma’s house
Summers on 8th Ter. West
Running barefoot in the sun
Summers on 8th Ter. West
I will never forget
Summers on 8th Ter. West
Blasting the stereo on the porch
Summers on the porch barbecue cooking
Summers were I grew more
Hot days getting my nappy hair hot combed
Summers running around with no cares
Spankings for paying no mind
Summers fighting with peers in the yard
Those summers came to an end
Sad but I had to grow
Grandma died
Goodbye 8th Ter. West

3rd Place: Bella N, 6th Grade, Liberty Park Middle School

Ode to Art
You make anything possible,
You are utterly unstoppable.
On the stage you dance,
Leaving the audience in a trance.

You make my world go round,
You are a rushing waterfall that makes no sound.
You can be love or sadness,
But you take lots of practice.

You could be a thunderstorm with the power to erase,
But after there is a rainbow, the storm left without a trace.
You give life a new view
And this is what I love about you.

I feel your grasp on my hand,
A feeling no one else could understand.
You control my imagination,
You are the essence of all creation.

Art,
You are a mystery
With an amazing history.

Honorable Mention: Will P., 10th Grade, Homewood High School

Untitled                                                 

There comes a day
Where everyone has yeti cups
And you’re standing in the middle of them with a roughneck cup
Wondering, thinking, praying
That nobody will notice.
Just a teenage boy
With a silver coffee cup
Trying to survive.
My mother tells me it’s the same thing
And I know it’s just a logo
But a piece of me wants to be like everyone else.
I bought a new sticker and lid
To look like everyone else
But I know I’m just hiding from everyone
With my fake cup.

Honorable Mention: Maia S., 6th Grade, Liberty Park Middle School

Wear It With Pride 
Breaking a heart,
Alone in the dark,
Tearing me apart,
Waiting for a better ride.

They said words
They thought I hadn’t heard.
I’m not as free as a bird,
I can’t just let it slide!

Don’t they know I have feelings too?
Why do they say things that aren’t true?
I do not wish to start anew.
By their rules I won’t abide.

I am slipping through the cracks
There is no more turning back
Falling into a pit of eternal black
Too much agony inside.

Crying on these broken wings,
A sorry voice sings,
Could this be the thing
That could help me take a flying stride?

Lifted back into the light
By a soul so kind and bright
Clearing my clouded sight
I can fight against the tide.

Walking through these lonely lands
They need to see that I still stand
The future in the palm of my hand.
To all I shall confide:

To all who think that I’m unstable
To all who think that I’m not able
To all that call me by my label:
I will withstand your harmful landslide.
I will be who I am inside.
What I am, you can’t decide.
Go ahead and give me a label.
I’ll put it on, and wear it with pride.