Young poets' winning words

Announcing the winners of the Monitor's 12th annual Young Poets Contest.

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My Favorite Place

I come from rich country fields

I come from burrowed cottages within the shire

I come from cool days

bringing nights of energetic warmth

The winters around crackling fireplaces,

summers in the orchards and ponds.

Where I come from, mills and rivers can always be heard

The land smells of earthy manure

and various wildflowers.

I come from a place of old folk tales and legendary myths

Cow pastures surround the mountains

and split winding rivers.

At night choruses of yelping coyotes take over

I come from the mountains

Peter Moore

Waitsfield, Vt.

12th grade

Mother to Daughter*

Well, girl, I'll tell you:

Life for me ain't been no Hollywood movie.

It's had terrible actors in it,

And disappointing endings,

And horrible scripts,

And directors with no sense of humor –

Outrageous.

But all the time

I'se been a-waitin' for that perfect part,

And practicin' my lines,

And takin' on the fans,

And sometimes when the paparazzi are out of control

Where they just don't leave you alone.

So, girl don't you stop actin' out those parts.

Don't stop livin' your life.

'Cause you find it's kinder hard to go on.

Don't you give up now –

For I'se still believe in you, honey,

I'se still actin',

And life for me ain't been no Hollywood movie.

*After Langston Hughes's "Mother to Son"

Danielle Diersing

Cincinnati

5th grade

November

It stumps in like a bear

Devouring everything in sight

Leaving trees and bushes bare

Small animals run into their home for a while

It's no longer safe outside

He has arrived

Brian Welty

Kalispell, Mont.

12th grade

Untitled

Be the earth that you walk on

Be the sky that you seek

Be the moon that you dream of

And you will be the stars that shine so bright

Just be

Just be yourself

Israel Dellamas

Whitethorn, Calif.

3rd grade