Thanks so much to all of the teens who submitted poetry for this years contest. The winning entries are as follows:
Second Annual Bob Giannetti Prize for Poetry
Emily Marra, Grade 8
Untitled
Hands reach out to imprison
Bodied self and forever feel and speak,
For one
Slows, time in the mind’s grace
The pulse quickens
And air is none
For our time is fled
And no longer is
She watching (waiting)
For as the branches of oak and willow
Bow to the raven,
We shall see no longer
Heart’s flutter
Untitled
For all to one shall tear her
Soft flesh from her corpse
Trees shield the moon from the
Pulsing violence below-
Her child’s murder
Soft flaxen hair intertwines with grass
Its protector
A wolf sings a soft song in the distance
Mourning the loss of a pack
Here, she shall sleep
Swathed in the night’s black and the moon’s struggling rays
The she-wolf mourns her now.
As she mourns all
Untitled
When all was quiet and all was still,
The lone lost song
Of herself broke free
In horrible, terrible, sweet bird-song
Alighting from the branch,
She flew on silver wings
Into the cruel sun,
Unforgiving and blinding
The horrible, beautiful silver-song
The last piece of her now-marred beauty
It breaks on frail soft note,
And she is gone and left,
Here where none of her silver beauty
Could bear to stay.
First Place, Beatrice Preti, Grade 10
“Staunch as the Stars”
Once upon a time
As raconteurs often say
There lay a little hut
Beyond the hills, tucked away
In this little hut, behold!
A trio, oh so queer!
A lion, a bear and a little girl
Who held the others so dear
Such friendship as they had
I wot you ne’er saw
Love and joy and laughter reigned
‘Neath this little roof made of straw
They had dwelt together
For years which numbered two by three
Since that great storm so long ago
No other human life did they see
But they were happy—so content!
To live and love in peace
Between the girl and her pets
The friendship could ne’er cease
One day, however, our little girl
Became silent, and acted queer
No words she spake, no gestures made
To her friends she held so dear
For she had seen—out in the distance
Something she had seen not in years
A fire! Burning, oh so bright
Brought back so many dreams and fears
Love like none she had e’er felt
A family, hers, and a hug so warm
Things we oft take for granted
Left our girl yearning, forlorn
She was not young six years ago
Her years, eleven, then
But how that fire inside her burnt
Such a longing! Such a yen!
For family! For love! For her human friends!
Though she loved her animals, true
Might she see them again—just once more?
She would find out before night was through
Our little girl then set out
With her animals close behind
Towards that ever distant fire
To see what she could find
However, on her travels,
For it was very dark,
She tripped, and fell into a deep hole
The reward for not being hark
“Help! Help!” cried she
But none could hear her voice
None save her animal friends
In the matter had a choice
But, alas! She told them not
To whence she was going
And, as her voice grew hoarse
She realized what a tangled web she was sewing
“This will ne’er do,” thought she
And she thought and thought some more
While her friends sat on top of the hole
And wondered what was in store
Days and nights passed—one, two, three
‘Twas not a soul in sight
The girl in the hole, her friends right above
Kept vigil all day and night
Then, as the sun rose on the fourth day
Big, bonny, and bright
The girl and her friends were lifted up
By a force with a great might
A cool breeze whistled past them
As they ascended to the sun
Not a soul in sight
There was nothing—no one
They were lifted to the zenith above
Up high, into the air
And placed among their ranks in the stars
The girl, her lion, and her bear
Now, as I gaze into the sky
And carefully study my chart
I now know the story of
These constellations I know by heart
Ursa Major, a big bold bear,
Looks kindly at me here
Through it is enormous—oh so big!
I know have naught to fear
Leo, a lion, shakes his mane
As he journeys across the sky
Haven’t thee e’er thought it queer
A lion is allowed to fly?
Virgo, the virgin, smiles daintily
As she watched me gaze at her in awe
Her silver wings, her plaited hair
Make her the grandest lady I e’er saw
The stars watch over me
For I know their tale
And they’ll watch you, too, my friend
This story for thee will ne’er fail
First Place, Najia Khaled, Grade 8
“what, exactly, is poetry?”
if poetry is meant to be vast, limitless;
to reach, immeasurable (as all good poetry)
from horizon to horizon
is the sky not poetry?
if poetry is the bittersweet sigh
of the shackled soul,
the desperate yearning for freedom,
the easing of the strain of a purposeless existence,
what can be more poetic
than the rain?
if poetry bares the soul, lifts guileful masks
of flesh and bone,
cushions the spirit like the warm velvet
of the night sky,
like a mouth forming the name of a lover
(in heartfelt whispers dulcet as honey)
then your lips
are poetry.
why bother with the steel trappings
of words and syllables,
why create a punishing wall of letters and language
around my mind,
when every moment in your arms
rings with the sweet silver bird’s-song
of poetry?
why put pen to paper, when my eyes
(and yours) thrill with what words
cannot say?
whenever did a butterfly pinned to a corkboard
have the resplendent, untranscended wonder
of a whisper of wings (surprise!)
against the sapphire cloak
of the sky?
Why place my heard under the sterile-oppressive-claustrophobic
Microscope of words
When my very self
is poetry?
Second Place, Jennifer Robbins, Grade 8
“Time Flows”
Time flows at the same speed everyday
It can neither go faster or slower
So I can’t speed it up to see you sooner
And I can’t slow it down to speed more time with you
So I must wait until the time comes when I see you again
And I must appreciate every second I have with you
Even now, time is flowing at the same speed
First Place, Michael Fiorica, Grade 7
“Tranquility”
Tranquility is a soft beautiful pink like
A sakura tree’s blossoms or
A glistening pearl. It quiets the soul
To a whisper. It gives all those
Who find it
A quaint and peaceful smile.
First Place, Jorian Holka, Grade 7
“Inside This Book”
Inside this book are worlds never imagined
A journey for the reader
Inside this book, kind faces in bright places
But in the dark you must beware
Inside this book, its heart pumps adventure
Suspense
Love
Laughter
And the reader finds that his role
Inside this book
Is to imagine the unimagined
Love the unloved
Discover the undiscovered.
Second Place, Michael Fiorica, Grade 7
“Love can be:”
A pale pink like two lips meeting
Warm like a sweet embrace, when two become one
Cool like a soft rain
Sounds like a soothing lullaby
Smells like a dozen fresh roses
Looks like a twinkle in the eyes of a lover,
The laughter of two brothers,
Or
The smile of a new mother
Tender as a child’s hand
And slow like a long walk
