In celebration of April being National Poetry Month, the Homewood Public Library hosted its annual Teen Poetry Contest. 6th-12th graders from all over Jefferson County were able to submit two original poems. With over 100 entries submitted, the judges selected 3 winners and 3 honorable mentions.
Winners:
- 1st Place: “Untitled” by Hugh Williams – 10th grader at Homewood High School
- 2nd Place: “Why?” by Fritzi Rico Catano – 9th grader at Homewood High School
- 3rd Place: “Baseball” by Mason Perrigo – 7th grader at Liberty Park Middle School
- Honorable Mention: “Persevere” by Luke Turner – 7thgrader at Liberty Park Middle School
- Honorable Mention: “String of Pearls” by Riley Donlon – 10thgrader at Homewood High School
- Honorable Mention: “A Warm Summer Day” by Grace Carney – 7thgrader at Liberty Park Middle School
Below are the winning poems selected for the 2019 Teen Poetry Contest.
1st Place: “Untitled” by Hugh Williams – 10th grader at Homewood High School
I get nothing from this.
Oh but I wish,
wish that I did.
I wouldn’t bid,
I wouldn’t buy.
And with a sigh,
I would look away.
Nothing to say,
I get nothing from this.
Oh but I wish…
2nd Place: “Why?” by Fritzi Rico Catano – 9th grader at Homewood High School
Welcome to chapter one of my life
My past comes and haunts me and stabs me back like a knife
The sound of a ripple of a pond
And a somehow broken bond
I can only gaze at you from afar
When my past and actions are glued to me like a ghost that haunts me in
dark like a battle scar
All the voices around me are muffled
I trip on my own feet which causes me to stumble
Everyone in the room seem to point and laugh
As they begin to take out their phones and take photographs
I try to be very humble
But on the inside I crumble
Knowing that you’ll never see our red string of faith and love
You’re like the beautiful stars that’ll I’ll never reach as you’ll
always be above
These signs of love is something I can’t ignore
But it seems like inside my mind, and the world outside is like a never
ending war
My heart is crying and screams in pain as if you took a gun and aimed
it at me
This is killing me, so why can’t you see!
I’m drifting out of consciousness, I feel so lonely
Though I’m dying so slowly
I want to give you my heart
But this bullshit called “life” is breaking is apart
I’m over here crying with tears rolling down my pathetic face
As the rose that was meant for you loses its red, as its petals fall
apart in grace
I know what I did to you was wrong, but is it wrong to say that I love
you?
When I’ve being living in the darkness, when everything is blue
I look at the ticking clock thinking that you’ll never love me
I know, what’s the point in love if there isn’t pain, but it just hurts
so much that I’m at the point where I’m on my hands and knees
I’m begging and I pray to God with the same question “why?”
But it seems like I have to burry my feelings in a coffin and kiss them
good bye
Everything is restless in my heart like tons of knots that can’t be
untangled
Dying as if you grab me by the throat as I hopelessly strangle
Within every second the air is getting hard to breathe
As if a vampire came and bit my neck with its bare, sharp teethe
Forgetting you is hard when I love you so much, so please just to bed
That way I wouldn’t have to be in pain anymore now that I’m dead
Blood pumping from my vein
I need something to numb the pain
At times like this, I rather speak to no one
With the pain you have given me I just want to love on
3rd Place: “Baseball” by Mason Perrigo – 7th grader at Liberty Park Middle School
It’s the final play
of the final inning.
And my only thought
is the thought of winning.
The ball hit like a rocket,
straight into my hands.
I make the throw
and hear the roar of the fans.
After the game is over
And we’re full of triumph and tears,
the play I’ve just made
Will be the play that lasts for years
Honorable Mention: “Persevere” by Luke Turner – 7th grader at Liberty Park Middle School
Trying to crack the code.
Take off their back, a great load.
Searching deep within their minds,
Never stopping that continuous grind.
Trying to save their families’ lives,
Never stopping ’til they arrive.
Will they do it, or will they not?
They’ll definitely give it all they’ve got.
Honorable Mention: “String of Pearls” by Riley Donlon – 10thgrader at Homewood High School
I thought they would keep flowing and pool at my feet, but you wanted
me to put them on.
I did.
My décollatage was the last bit of space left unused;
the rest of me was so meticulously curated,
the rest of me was sectioned off in a perfect ratio: skin to silk to
patent to shine.
The rest of me was what you said made me worthy of standing, so pretty,
on this balcony,
high enough for the view to take my breath away with delight instead of
woe.
The string of pearls completed me --
the last bit of my stolen spirit as a fragile cord around my neck.
Honorable Mention: “A Warm Summer Day” by Grace Carney – 7th grader at Liberty Park Middle School
The sunshine slowly rises without delay,
on that warm summer day.
With your feet in the sand,
An ice cream cone in hand.
Lying on the beach,
all of your dreams in reach.
It is time to enjoy the day,
And let all of your worries fade away.
As the waves crash
The palm trees sway.
Nothing can recreate the feeling
Of that warm summer day.
