05/01/2007

Poetry winners from West

Editor's note: In honor of National Poetry Month, the Record-Eagle is printing these five winners from a poetry contest held recently at Traverse City West High School.

PASSIVE ABANDON

By Howard P. Larson III

(Grand Prize Winner)

I see her sit at the bench
with an ear to the phone receiver,
listening intently to a voice silent
to my ears. Her expression
changes almost imperceptibly,
like the rising tide.
Yet as for the person who never
learned to navigate
the water's treacherous currents
her newly tense eyes
make all the difference
in the world.
A tired frustration rises
in the cool air like a misty
fog in the morning.
Then cold sorrow rushes in,
its winds blowing
lesser emotions away.
As she flips the cell shut,
I know I should jog over to offer
some words of hope.
Her silence holds me back
and she drifts away,
fading into the trees.

ME

By Stephanie Sizeland

(Award Poem)

Do not judge me by my face,
my religion or my race.
Do not tell me what to wear,
how to look or do my hair.
We are different can't you see?
The way you look is just not me.
Who you are isn't who I want to be.
"Who then?” you ask. I want to be me.

Stephanie Sizeland is a sophomore.

MY LOVE FOR YOU

By Ashley Stiel

(Award Poem)

My love for you lives forever,
Even if you're gone,
I know you'll be there,
Your spirit lives on.
My love for you lives forever,
As I look into your eyes,
So bright and shiny,
I won't be seeing them for long.
My love for you lives forever,
Your eyes have become dimmer,
Your hair has become whiter,
Your gracefulness is no longer there.
My love for you lives forever,
As I stand here watching you, I think
I've seen you play,
I've seen you smile,
And it is really hard for me to say,
That as I stand here watching you,
Your life is slowly fading away.

Ashley Stiel is a sophomore.

THEY SAY THAT...

By Dan Riggins

(Honorable mention)

All great poems should create a connection
between the poet and the reader.
The reader should have a tiny insight into the workings of the creator's
mind. I imagine some stranger
using my poem as a grappling hook.
She throws it across the chasm
of humanity until it wraps smoothly
around my body, clinking into place.
She grabs the rope and travels
hand over hand until she's dangling
in front of me.
We shake hands, exchange pleasantries,
and head to a coffee shop,
conversing late into the night.
But what if she throws my poem
in the wrong direction?
The hook clanks around a perplexed
ee cummings or Billy Collins.
Making the most of the situation,
he offers a message about the irony
of love, even though my poem was talking
about frogs in the marshes of Alabama.
I can't help but worry about giving
this poor girl the wrong impression.
She thinks I'm some wise
old man full of hidden meanings,
instead of some kid who's
just really into amphibians.

Dan Riggins is a junior.

NO TITLE

The author's name is being withheld

(Honorable mention)

He took five years of her life.
Not to mention something she can never get back;
Her innocence
It wasn't like he was some abusive boyfriend,
Or even just a casual friend,
He was her brother
She just let him have his way
Believing his threats to hurt her if she ever told
She knew it was wrong
But she also knew he would turn his threats of pain into promises
Finally, she told her best friend in confidence
Secretly hoping that she would break her trust and tell someone
And she did
The abuse and rape finally stopped;
From him at least
But there's still one person
In her family that still abuses her
In the mental sense at least.
She's blamed for sending her brother to prison
While he's getting rewarded for his crime
She's tossed aside, broken
Getting told to forgive, forget, and
Move on
She has come to terms with her past
And what has happened,
But she will never forgive and forget
And it's been so hard to move on.
Faced with the risk of losing family,
She's so tired of hiding.
If they were her true family,
They'd be there by her side,
Showing their support.
But she can't wait any longer.
She's ready to move on.

The author is a junior.