April was National Poetry Month and the library hosted it's very first Young Poets Contest for everyone in grades 2nd-12th. We had many amazing entries and we want to thank each and every one of you who submitted a poem. We have split all the entries into three groups based on grade, and in each group we have a first place poet and a runner-up. For grades 2nd-4th, first place goes to Wesley DeJong for his poem "Aqua" and our runner-up is Lyndie Thrailkill for her poem "Puppies." For grades 5th-7th, first place goes to Evangeline DeJong for her poem "Wolves" and runner-up goes to Joy Brock for her poem "Live with Love." For grades 8th-12th, first place goes to Benjamin Brock for his poem "Happiness" and runner-up goes to Grace Brock for her poem "The Darkest Night."
Without further ado, here are the poems of our all our winners.
Aqua
By Wesley DeJong
4th Grade
1st Place
Aqua is:
Wet like the Ocean,
Cold like the sea,
Soft like the sand for eternity.
It tastes like an ocean wave,
Feels like a robin’s egg,
It sounds like a wave
Crashing on the shore,
There are others like it,
Blue, green and maybe more.
Puppies
By Lyndie Thrailkill
2nd Grade
Runner-up
Puppies, puppies everywhere
Some people don’t but I care.
These cute faces full of love,
To me they look like little angels from up above.
Puppies, puppies everywhere
Come to me because I care.
Wolves
By Evangeline DeJong
6th Grade
1st Place
Wonderful hunters of the night,
Old ones, young ones prowling round,
Lightly they walk away from the light,
Very wild, not a hound
Ever silent, not a sound,
Sneaking to catch their prey away.
Live with Love
By Joy Brock
5th Grade
Runner-up
Life without love is,
Like song without tune;
To lead a happy life;
You must learn to love another,
So live with love in your heart;
We should do this everyday
Yet we forsake the holy way,
Though we go astray;
We must find Peace inside the day,
So live with love in your heart.
Happiness
By Benjamin Brock
8th Grade
1st Place
Happiness walks with a basket of winged shoes,
Giving them to those who are in deep holes
Made from the sorrows they hold
He gives them shoes to fly them high
Out of the pits of sorrow
With the flight of happiness
They soar above their fears
And when their time has come
To leave this world behind
They’ll use those shoes one last time
To sail away from here
And when they reach their destination
They’ll thank the Lord so dear
For giving them those shoes
That kept them out of their sorrows.
The Darkest Night
By Grace Brock
9th Grade
Runner-up
Oh the pain one must have,
When you lose someone you once held fast;
Then soon will come the dead of night,
When all is still but not quite right.
You try to clear your mind,
And think of happy times
But the pain comes back
No matter how you try;
Then a memory will sail through your thoughts
It is happy and joyful
It will lift up your spirits
And rest your mind
Although your heart may still feel faint
You’re now warmed and calmed
Then you close your eyes
And fall fast to sleep
‘Cause you know you’ll be alright.
Thank you again to all those who submitted poems. We loved them all so much and could have easily given everyone first place. We have a display in the foyer of the library with all the first place and runner-up poems in the glass case on the left-hand side so come by to take a look. To our winners, please be sure to come to the library to get your prizes.
~Abigail C.