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More High School Poetry Finalists
Jenny
Miller, Third Place,
Grade 9, Changing the Way the World Spins, Notre Dame
Academy
Changing the Way the World Spins
Every day the world keeps turning,
A cycle of indifference ever churning.
While this ignorance turns the world,
Overlooked opportunities are yet to be unfurled.
Every day the world offers us a chance
To seize our opportunity and take a stance.
It is the small acts of daily life
Which cure the world of its strife.
Whether greeting a forlorn face
Or speaking against discriminating a race.
No level of superiority does either profess
For a worldly problem both address.
So let the evils of indifference be conquered today
By stepping out and leading those who went astray.
Start the chain of love and set it free,
Become the hero you dreamed you’d be.
Small acts of defying indifference
Make the biggest difference.
Hannah
Bruckner, Honorable Mention, Grade 9,
The Murmur, Notre
Dame Academy
The
Murmur
Hate
is building a new city
with cold stone walls.
It is barricading its residents from love, beauty, and happiness.
These
residents are living their lives, longing for a peace that they can't have.
But there's a growing murmur radiating in the city...
"Revolt, Revolt.
Crush
the walls and let the sun in!"
This murmur speaks of peace and a new beginning.
It will keep building
And
building
Until
the whole city screams...
"Revolt! Revolt!
Tear
down these walls of hate!"
The murmur is no longer a whisper, but burning actions.
The
residents are running and shouting
And ridding themselves of this negativity.
They burst through the cold stone walls
And abandon this cold city.
Cold, Cold, Cold ... then ... Warmth.
At last, these residents run free,
Soaking in happiness like light from the sun.
The murmur.
The
murmur gave them hope.
It made them flee from the hate.
How hard can it be for one person to start the murmur...?
Timothy
Pope, Honorable Mention, Grade 10, The Greenhouse Effect, Toledo
Early College
High School
The Greenhouse
Effect
Me the sun watching your poor
little greenhouse
Rejecting light in which I
freely give
Refusing water from ocean
Denying rich soil from mother
earth
All because of hate towards
the others
But I ask you if not for
yourself then for your helpless plants
Open yourself to the world and
let your plants breathe fresh air
Let them join with the natives
and learn as one
Let them drink from the waters
of the earth
And eat from the grains of
life to grow and prosper
Taken by my advice watch your
brown plants turn green
Watch them grow into trees and
then forest
But now you must also change
and accept all these for yourself
For you will have to grow too
if you want to house your trees
And if you refuse you will
lose all you love
And if you deny your plants
will out-grow you and leave
Remember you do have the
choice to make your own decision
But you must have the faith to
face the consequence for all of your actions
Then you feel you must ponder
between love and loss
And you find yourself lost
from the decision
As if you blacked out and
awoke many hours later
Then you realized your all
alone
Your greenhouse is empty and
useless
Then you realize that you made
a mistake and its too late
To Erase the Hate
More Middle School Poetry Finalists
Sarah
Boyk, Second Place, Grade 6, You are the
future, Maumee
Valley Country
Day School Video on theme of poem
You
are the future
I promise you that it is hard
to wash away the hate in this world
Especially with millions of
gallons of hate
It can't change itself
But I know you can
You are the future
You have small hands
That can recycle
A loud powerful voice
That can speak to the world
Feet that can travel miles and
miles
To tell the world the truth
About what this generation
needs to bring the earth
A brilliant mind
That can persuade anyone to do
anything
And that's why I know
That you are the person who
will change this world
You will sacrifice your life
for this world
You've got ideas for the
future
And you are willing to forget
the past
You are the future
Grace
O’Leary, Third Place,
Grade 6, The Wind, Maumee
Valley Country
Day School
The
Wind
First a breeze
Then a blow
Finally
The wind comes
Blowing through the trees
Searching
Looking for conflict
Hatred
And turmoil
Then there is
Peace
Enemies become
Friends
And friends become
Best friends
For that split second
With the wind
They are one
The wonderful wind
The peaceful wind
The guardian of love
After a long day
Of work
He settles down
For a nights rest
To wake up in the morning
Full of energy
And end
Conflict
Hatred
And turmoil
To bring peace
To the earth
Once again
Cecily
White, Honorable Mention, Grade 6, Characters, Maumee Valley
Country Day
School
Characters
She
is black
He is
half-Mexican
They
are an adoptive family
He is Jewish
She
is white
They are
Christian
He is 5'8
She doesn't
own socks
We're same on the inside
But
different on the out
Take
away the different colors
And
the hate will go away
Think of your future
And
Remember your past
Do good for others
And
make life last
John Sullivan Shousher,
Honorable Mention, Grade 6, Fulfill The Dreams, Maumee Valley
Country Day
School
Fulfill The Dreams
Human societies
Have,
For millenniums
Enslaved each other selfishly for
Their own benefit.
Is there some law that
Says that
White people are better than
Blacks
Or that Christians are better
than Jews?
I believe that all men (and
women) are created
Equal
And that this generation
Will be the one to fulfill the
dreams
Of
Martin Luther King jr.
Gandhi
And all the others.
Fareid El Gafy, Honorable Mention, Grade
6, Baby, Maumee
Valley Country
Day School
Baby
He sits there.
The baby.
A certain gleam, Set into his eyes.
As if his soul, So pure,
Could be seen,
In his eyes.
His soul,
Is pure.
His mind,
Is pure.
But soon,
It will be corrupted,
By the world, The ideas,
His fellow humans,
Have created.
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