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Eighth Annual Poetry Contest
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FIRST PLACE
FOREVER
She met him at camp, and everything changed
She hadn’t even wanted to go
She thought she had better things to do
Now that school was finally out
She hadn’t even wanted to go
There were places to be, people to see
Now that school was finally out
But her bags were packed and off she went
There were places to be, people to see
Dares and dates and mischief to make
But her bags were packed and off she went
What lay ahead she could hardly imagine
“We’re here! Farewell!” Then friendly hellos
The city receded and beauty crept in
Hearts were welcoming – Oh what peace…
“We’re here! Farewell!” Then friendly hellos
Swept up in the love and the campfire’s glow
Hearts were welcoming – Oh what peace…
New place, new people, new thoughts, new hope
Swept up in the love and the campfire’s glow
He reached for her heart and she gave it forever
New place, new people, new thoughts, new hope
She thought she had better things to do
He reached for her heart and she gave it forever
She met him at camp, and everything changed.
SECOND PLACE
Relic
Late July is a lousy time to tear down a fence
But a pair of shirtless young men take their tools
to the rotting boards anyway, wicking sweat
from their foreheads, spitting intermittently,
blasting country ballads from a boombox
they somehow knew I wouldn’t mind. Yes, I did
watch for time, but I don’t mean it like that.
I waited for a break to bring ice water,
thinking of my husband: how he milked cows
alongside his father at four in the morning--
the most faithless hour. Not hot work like this,
but hard just the same. They thanked me
then piled more fence boards on the flatbed.
That fence should have come down
a decade ago, but we’d always been too polite
to say so. After they left, the dog and I ambled
outside. I pinched a stray nail from the ground.
And here is where I could lie, say
I forgot his weathered leash, but the truth is
I wanted him to run free into this new expanse.
He’s lived all his life with that eyesore. Now
he’s whipping his tail like a metronome, telling me
it’s okay it was long overdue. He’s telling me
it’s never too late for something to become new.
THIRD PLACE
FRIENDSHIP’S REWARD
I wake up early in my backyard pup tent
The grass outside is dewy and wet
The sun is just showing as it climbs in the sky
Some birds are singing while others fly by
I sneak into the kitchen for some food and my pack
A note in the house lets them know where I’m at
I ride through the streets on my trusty red bike
It’s a five mile ride, and I meet up with Mike
It’s short distance now, to get to the lake
Then we get out our poles and put on some bait
We have crickets, red worms, night crawlers and a leach
It’s a great place to fish, but it has no real beach
With no school bells ringing, no papers to be done
We relax by the lake and soak up some sun
We keep some, we release some, we have lunch by the lake
All too soon we head home, we’ve run out of bait
With a stringer of fish, Mike turns at his street
And we both yell to each other, “See you next week!”
FOREVER
She met him at camp, and everything changed
She hadn’t even wanted to go
She thought she had better things to do
Now that school was finally out
She hadn’t even wanted to go
There were places to be, people to see
Now that school was finally out
But her bags were packed and off she went
There were places to be, people to see
Dares and dates and mischief to make
But her bags were packed and off she went
What lay ahead she could hardly imagine
“We’re here! Farewell!” Then friendly hellos
The city receded and beauty crept in
Hearts were welcoming – Oh what peace…
“We’re here! Farewell!” Then friendly hellos
Swept up in the love and the campfire’s glow
Hearts were welcoming – Oh what peace…
New place, new people, new thoughts, new hope
Swept up in the love and the campfire’s glow
He reached for her heart and she gave it forever
New place, new people, new thoughts, new hope
She thought she had better things to do
He reached for her heart and she gave it forever
She met him at camp, and everything changed.
SECOND PLACE
Relic
Late July is a lousy time to tear down a fence
But a pair of shirtless young men take their tools
to the rotting boards anyway, wicking sweat
from their foreheads, spitting intermittently,
blasting country ballads from a boombox
they somehow knew I wouldn’t mind. Yes, I did
watch for time, but I don’t mean it like that.
I waited for a break to bring ice water,
thinking of my husband: how he milked cows
alongside his father at four in the morning--
the most faithless hour. Not hot work like this,
but hard just the same. They thanked me
then piled more fence boards on the flatbed.
That fence should have come down
a decade ago, but we’d always been too polite
to say so. After they left, the dog and I ambled
outside. I pinched a stray nail from the ground.
And here is where I could lie, say
I forgot his weathered leash, but the truth is
I wanted him to run free into this new expanse.
He’s lived all his life with that eyesore. Now
he’s whipping his tail like a metronome, telling me
it’s okay it was long overdue. He’s telling me
it’s never too late for something to become new.
THIRD PLACE
FRIENDSHIP’S REWARD
I wake up early in my backyard pup tent
The grass outside is dewy and wet
The sun is just showing as it climbs in the sky
Some birds are singing while others fly by
I sneak into the kitchen for some food and my pack
A note in the house lets them know where I’m at
I ride through the streets on my trusty red bike
It’s a five mile ride, and I meet up with Mike
It’s short distance now, to get to the lake
Then we get out our poles and put on some bait
We have crickets, red worms, night crawlers and a leach
It’s a great place to fish, but it has no real beach
With no school bells ringing, no papers to be done
We relax by the lake and soak up some sun
We keep some, we release some, we have lunch by the lake
All too soon we head home, we’ve run out of bait
With a stringer of fish, Mike turns at his street
And we both yell to each other, “See you next week!”
