Winners of the Craven-Pamlico Regional Library Poetry Contest
Thank you to all who entered and congratulations to our winners!
The following prizes are awarded winners in each age group.
1st Place $35.00 Amazon Gift Card
2nd Place $25.00 Amazon Gift Card
3rd Place $15.00 Amazon Gift Card
We received an INCREDIBLE array of talented submissions, making it quite a challenge for our judges to select the winners! Every single poem was a wonderful expression of creativity and it was our joy to read them all! Keep writing!
Here are our winners!
1st Place - Children Up to 12 Years Old
Isabella Hicks
The Camping Trip
We hiked atop a big ol' hill
The growing grass was green
The birds close by were singing shrill
Not a cloud could be seen
The bees drank nectar in pairs
The hummingbirds seemed to dance
Hopefully no Grizzly bears
Could catch a small glance
That night we sat 'round a fire
That turned slowly into a blaze
Heading home had been my desire
But I guess I'll stay a few more days
(Random words: Nectar, Blaze, Dance, Green, Close)
2nd Place - Children Up to 12 Years Old
Susannah Joy Johnson
What is Yellow?
Yellow is the sun shining down on me,
Yellow is the fuzz on a bumblebee
Yellow is the warmth you get in the sun,
and the tall sunflowers blooming for everyone
Yellow is a blossom that comes in spring
when frost melts out of everything
Yellow is a butterfly
Yellow is joy
Yellow is trust from a friend with a toy
Yellow is my window when I stretch to wake
Yellow is my hair blowing by the lake
Yellow is the sun,
Yellow is the bees,
Yellow are the leaves on Springtime trees
Yellow is a daffodil and honeysuckle on a vine
Yellow is yours
Yellow is mine
(Random words: blossom, spring, stretch, joy, trust)
3rd Place - Children Up to 12 Years Old
Yui Newsome
The Beauty of Fall
when fall comes around,
the outside world becomes calm.
the wind exhales in the air,
as the trees become bare.
as darkness greets the sky,
leaves around will begin to fly,
even though the night,
you can see the orange leaves
bright as light.
(Random words: fall, darkness, greet, calm, exhale)
1st Place - Teen (13-18 years old)
Christina Rivens
When Nature Speaks Softly
The world begins to speak in hush,
in quiet winds an petal blush.
The sky cracks open, pale and wide,
like something fragile held inside.
The trees lean close like they all know,
the secrets only soft things show.
A tiny breeze, a trembling sigh,
like lullabies that almost cry.
But something shifts beneath the air,
a hidden feeling, cold and there -
The light pulls back, the colors dim,
the edges of the world grow thin.
A distant echo starts to form,
a quiet warning of a storm.
It isn't loud at first, just deep,
like something waking from its sleep.
The wind grows sharp, the sky turns gray,
like it might break or fade away.
The branches shake, the shadows cling,
the silence turns to everything.
And yet...inside the aching sky,
there's something soft that doesn't die.
A fragile glow, a steady line,
a promise waiting still to shine.
The rain falls slow, then slips away,
like tears that didn't want to stay.
The storm exhales, the world feels new,
in silver drops and softened blue.
And in the hush, so small, so warm,
there lingers quiet, gentle warmth -
like being held but not too tight,
like finding calm after the fright.
So listen close when nature speaks...
in broken hush, in quiet creaks.
It tells you softly, dark and sweet --
even storms can be complete.
(Random words: speak, open, storm, warmth, shine)
2nd Place - Teen (13-18 years old)
Laura Elizabeth Adolphson
Memories
The melody of memories in the breeze,
your smile on every flower
your work rooted deep in the soil
your faith in this garden a great tower,
that overlooks the land and the sea
I remember when we were alone together
just you and me
beneath the clouds or humid weather
You taught me about your favorite blossoms,
red, yellow, violet, blue
that care and planning keeps their colors alive
and it is true
that you poured your heart into this garden,
pulling every invasive weed
watering the cucumbers, trimming the bushes
and you did succeed
In making a floral wonderland
full of gorgeous life
and through all your hard work
sweat and strife
You've kept it alive for many years,
your joy on every petal,
so it brought me to tears when you departed
and the truth as hard as metal
that this garden
will never be the same
the colors faded to grey and black
the vegetables devoured by insects, the flowers lame
Now it's my turn to spark the life again
in the haven you've created
bring back the magic of springs and summers
that your plants emanated
So goodbye for now dear grandmother,
but I make this vow
to care for your dream
starting now
Perhaps in the future I will share it with my children,
and teach them how to grow
a tree, a bush, or even a garden
and the life that nurtures the plants below.
(Random words: melody, breeze, pour, root, red(
3rd Place - Teen (13-18 years old)
Lorna Wren Rickard
The flute player and her daughter
I smile at the song you sing,
how much beauty it brings to each face in the crowd,
and to each face that yells aloud.
The song you sing is one of spring,
so beautiful and elegant,
it seems to be.
The summer breeze comes blowing in,
soon we will see it again.
I wonder when I will see you again,
your songs were so beautiful,
we all used to come to the field,
that was your usual spot that you'd sing.
But now summer has arrived
and you are gone,
I don't think I can sing another song,
as good as you could in your days in the field.
Now there's silence
Not another song
For us to sing along.
I believe I'll see you again
When the air spins with pollen,
The wind used to blow,
your song used to travel, but now I have to unravel
your thousands of songs you kept jotted down.
Until next spring we can sing aloud.
(Random words: silence, wind, wonder, believe, sing)
1st Place - Adult (19+ years old)
Katherine Rylien
Iris
Iris is the name of the flower
Growing beside my door
Red as blood
Nodding in the morning breeze
Roots protected by mosaic stones
Iris is the name of a girl
She lives in the house next door
No more than nine or ten
Beautiful as a melody
In her unconscious grace
She plucks the flower.
Never asking for permission
Pouring out her drink
To place it in the bottle
The girl is also part of nature.
She is human.
Seeing beauty, she claims it
Dooming it in the process
The roots remain
The flower will bloom again.
(Random words: melody, breeze, red, roots, pour)
2nd Place - Adult (19+ years old)
Gregory Layton
The meadow wakes in a wash of gold
Where bright wildflowers start to unfold
A distance blurred by a silver veil
As clouds drift low on a shifting gale
The sudden rain begins to dance
Awakening the earth from a quiet trance
And there, a lone and weathered rock
Stands firm against the thunder's shock.
(Random words: distance, meadow, bright, rock, rain)
3rd Place - Adult (19+ years old)
Melvin Barlow
What Still Grows Within
The sun leans low on a quiet day,
Where petals wilt but dreams still stay.
I watch the light through branches thin,
as something soft begins within
The earth feels dark, the air unsure,
Yet roots hold on, steady and pure
Until at last, I feel it open,
A fragile truth, no longer broken
A life once small, now growing rich
Beyond the edge, beyond the ditch
(Random words: sun, wilt, watch, open, rich)
1st Place - CPRL Staff
Jewel Smith (Cove City Library)
Let Nature Speak
Shh!! Listen intently, purposefully
as nature speaks through all our senses.
Feel the warmth of the sun
as it begins to shine on your skin.
Hear the rumble of thunder
from a distant storm.
Smell the scent of new rain
on dry, parched soil.
See evidence of a gentle wind
as it passes through an open meadow.
Taste the juicy sweetness of berries
growing within reach.
Shh!! Listen intently, purposefully
as nature speaks through all our senses.
(Random words: speak, open, storm, warmth, shine)
2nd Place - CPRL Staff
Crystal Levin (Cove City & New Bern Library)
Approaching Summer
I watch the light dance over the green grass.
The sun a blaze in the blue sky.
The warm rays shine on my face as I close my eyes.
I can see the light dance behind the blackness of my eyelids.
The breeze blows through the trees and bushes.
As I take a deep breath I can smell the sweet nectar of the honeysuckle.
I smile, summer is near.
(Random words: nectar, dance, close, blaze, green)
3rd Place - CPRL Staff
Taigen Boyd (Book/Tech Mobile & Outreach)
Oceans Blue
Throughout my days you have always been with me.
Your calm and serenity lapped on the shores of my life
like the waves of the ocean.
Oh did you love that vast beautiful sea—
So many moments we spent basking in that crystalline blue
We shared a heart for what was fairview.
Now I struggle against what is true—
I exhale that ocean blue in hopes of seeing you,
Holding my breath when the darkness comes anew,
I fall through each dreadful wave,
Being slam into that same shore we both knew.
Tossing through each wave,
Each day as memories of you brew.
I know that one day I will greet you as someone renewed,
On that shore we both knew—
But for now I stare into that ocean blue.
(Random words: Fall, Darkness, Exhale, Calm, Greet)
