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Thank you very much for participating in the Teen Poetry Contest. We received so many wonderful submissions. Once again, we were impressed and humbled by the effort and talent! We look forward to your entries in next year's Teen Poetry Contest.
Please note, click on each title to view the complete poem.
- Santa Clara County Teen Librarians
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Campbell Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
Mama
"Mama left me all alone /
Ain’t no one left but my own /
I told myself not to cry /
I told her drugs would make her die..."
Saba Gebremedhin
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Reverberations
"an echo /
can be traced back years /
to a mountainside call /
or a mockingbird's song..."
Rachel Steeves
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Cupertino Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
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The Jellyfish
"A zeppelin floating through the ocean, /
Never venturing far from his bloom. /
He is unable to be touched /
Severely stinging strangers..."
Kelly Whelan |
A Beauty Beyond Compare
"The whole world is dark when I wake up, /
Black and cold. /
No golden light breaks through the dismal patchwork of clouds..."
Kaelyn Lemon |
Gilroy Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
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What is Red?
"Red is a feeling deep inside /
Red is an emotion you can’t hide /
Anger, pain, hatred and dread /
Feelings that come when thinking of Red..."
Pryanka Sabharwal
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The Pursuit of Happiness
"Happiness is never a thought, or an image /
Happiness is colors in my head /
Swirling, dancing, playing /
Reminding me that I am, in fact, alive..."
Alanna Zhang |
Los Altos Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
Into a Cat's Mind...
"My black and white kitty, /
Has to make up his mind, /
'Should I stay and eat cat food?' /
'Or are there mice I could find?'..."
Sherlyn Bakalish
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Voice Box Blues
"I’ve had enough sunburns to know what regret feels like /
I must be half way to rotting by now /
But if undamaged goods means I spend my life in a freezer /
In a Rewa-sized microwavable box, waiting to be woken up /
I’m glad my family did not spared me any chance to learn from my mistakes..."
Rewa Bush
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Milpitas Library |
| Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
Books in the Night
"My room is a buttery source of light…/
In this dark, consuming night
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I am not alone, for I have a book, /
As I sit in my secluded, cozy nook..."
Siddharth Kulkarni | Revenge of the Unlived Life
"I stayed out of trouble. /
Steered clear from drama, /
Turned my head and ignored /
The girls that screamed and hollered..."
Sylvia Yu |
Morgan Hill Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
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Final Salute
"Looking out across the field, /
Staring out where all of them lay, /
The day is over, the battle done, /
despite all this, neither side has won..."
Bryant Ronald Jew
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Gossamer
"The first beams of sunshine, its golden warming rays /
Illuminate the dewdrops lingering on gossamer strings. /
Like golden Christmas lights, strand upon strand, /
Swaying effortlessly to the rhythm of the breeze..."
Amy Liu |
Saratoga Library |
Middle School winner: |
High School winner: |
The Art of an Apple
"Look at this apple. /
It is red, yes, and it is round. /
It has a stem, you are correct. /
But what else do you see in this red /
and round creation of which you are about to draw?..."
Kacey Fang
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dig deeper
"a spread of sun-spackled shadow, one hand against /
the earth, the smell of orange blossoms brought your voice /
back to me: what was it you said? the compost of /
day upon day and /
week upon week, discrete units of time..."
Ashley Wu
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