Thank you to all our teens that submitted poems for our Fall Poetry Contest. We had over 250 submissions and we were astounded by the amazing creativity that our community has. We selected 5 winners total (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and two honorable mentions). The winners are:
1st Place: Bury My Head in American Soil by Jenesys K. (12th Grade – ASFA)
2nd Place: If You Only Knew by Catherine S. (11th Grade – Vestavia Hills High School)
3rd Place: As Honey’s Sweetness Flows From You to Me by Benjamin T. (10th Grade – The Altamont School)
Honorable Mention: Untitled by Anderson C. (8th Grade – Homewood Middle School)
Honorable Mention: Autumn Time by Emma P. (6th Grade – Liberty Park Middle School)
Winners can stop by the Adult Services Desk to pick up their prizes!
Here are the winning poems!
1st Place: Bury My Head in American Soil by Jenesys K. (12th Grade – ASFA)
Jesus black life ain’t matter
head hung like my father from a tree
a tree with roots sown in American soil
my roots sown elsewhere on pagan
his hair locked like my brother behind your man-made bars
I was taught the image of your man-made Jesus
cheeks RED skin WHITE eyes BLUE
my savior was idealized to comfort you
you starred with stars in your eyes
“land of the free,”
“religion, speech, press, assembly, petition,”
“all men are created equal,”
“from sea to shining sea,”
“from the mountains, to the prairies, to the ocean white with foam,
God bless America, my home sweet home,”
you breast feed us the milk of this motherland
swaddle me in the American flag
rock me to sleep mama, so I can project the American dream
on the back of my eyelids
sacrificing everything on the cross of America
you say justice is blind but she wears a diaphanous veil
clutch your chest and sing the anthem with pride in your vocal cords
feel your heartbeat as red stripes pump life to every limb
you get on tv and read me the lines of a minstrel show
My black face don’t wash off.
2nd Place: If You Only Knew by Catherine S. (11th Grade – Vestavia Hills High School)
if only you knew
how many times i’ve cried over you,
how many tears i’ve shed
instead of peacefully dreaming in bed.
if only you knew
the stinging pain i feel when i see you two,
the pure bliss flickering in your eyes
only makes me want to cry.
if only you knew
all that i’ve told my mother about you,
resting my head against her chest
while she tells me it’s for the best.
if only you knew
that when i smile for you,
my heart shatters
its pieces are continually scattered.
if only you knew
the love i have for you,
how i want to wish you both well
but can’t, it’s like you tripped me and i fell.
if only you knew
the pain of the truth,
the moment i was told
our friendship was sold.
3rd Place: As Honey’s Sweetness Flows From You to Me by Benjamin T. (10th Grade – The Altamont School)
As Honey’s sweetness flows from you to me
I want your gentle soul to give me bliss
Not to forget the moments that I see
As now I wish for just one splendid kiss.
Love understands the one direction here:
If I remember you embody Hope
The losing of your spirit is my fear
That guides me through December like a rope.
Could I ask Fate to weave us at our height
Or should I wait and follow with an eye
Alone compared to a long starless-night
And when my soul is hollow I am shy
To you my heart continues to outshine
All others’ yearning passion in this sign.
Honorable Mention: Untitled by Anderson C. (8th Grade – Homewood Middle School)
I look in the mirror,
An image blurred,
I am tainted with self-doubt, guilt, sadness,
But filled with love, happiness, and kindness,
That is what I see,
But what about everyone else?
A question I struggle with,
A question everyone struggles with,
Do they see just a kid,
Or more?
Less?
A mirror is more than a reflection of how you look,
A mirror is a story,
Maybe not to someone else,
But always to you,
They are hard, painful, stories,
Not always seen from the outside,
My story is not easy to tell,
A divorce, a move, new people, new places, new feelings,
This is my story,
What is yours?
Honorable Mention: Autumn Time by Emma P. (6th Grade – Liberty Park Middle School)
A cool breeze strokes my face
Leaves defy gravity as they float down
like orange and red fairies in the deep blue sky
The aqua sky seems as vast as the sea
The grass seems to blow with the wind in a slow swaying motion
The sun warms the surface of the Earth with a bright and warming light
Leaves hang on for dear life like outcasts on trees
Water flows briskly down a stream as if tumbling down a large hill
Pumpkins of orange and white line the patches of pinestraw
Children laugh and sing merrily as cold wind shakes the colored trees
The smell of turkey and dressing blows freely through the air
A bright red Cardinal spreads its feathered wings and flies high above the buildings
A song rings through the air as the sun begins to set
A blindingly bright orange light sinks lower in the air as darkness begins to fall
A cold wind rides on top for the clouds as the faint howling of the breeze rocks the world to sleep
