Thank you for all the wonderful poems that were submitted for our RPL Teen Poetry Contest! We enjoyed reading each and every one! The winners are:

  • Group 1:

    1. Warrior Willow by Celestia C.
    2. The Butterfly by Rosie L.
  • Group 2:
    1. In the Forest by Nicole V.
    2. Sparks of Life by Rana  Mahani

Congratulations to all the winners!! Please read the winning poems below:

Warrior Willow

I hear the willow’s battle cry!
Her hardy frame, it echoes mine.
The autumn breeze bends branch and leaf,
But fragments not her tattered eaves.
Her hardened skin is scarred and torn
By hatchets held in hands of scorn;
A dozen bluebirds make their nest
And on her tired shoulders rest.
No, never once did she complain,
Of her own anguish, her own pain.
They needed her maternal warmth
More then she thought to heal her sores.
Although she bears the weight of worlds,
Immortal charity she holds;
In gentleness she lifts a hand
And strokes the silky lapis head.
From sacrifice comes faith sincere!
Her song of truth is wise and pure;
The warrior willow’s love is small,
But grace and strength her spirit call.
– Celestia Caspian

 

The Butterfly by Rosie L.

As the dewdrops sparkle,
and the breeze flows in,
I catch a tiny movement in the corner of my eye.
Just a gentle flutter,
light as a feather it floats.
Nothing absurdly obvious,
Yet my curiosity sparks just the same.
I flip over my blankets in a rush to reach the window,
And just in time I am!
For I manage to catch a slight glimpse
Of a pair of stunning wings.
Glowing with the morning sun,
they sparkle with iridescence.
I find the creature to which they belong,
and she does not disappoint.
She’s nimble yet lively,
swift and deft.
Flitting this way and that,
as if no path were wrong.
I race outside to greet her in person,
sprinting furiously to keep her in sight.
Blasts of cold air engulf me instantly,
but I push on, mesmerized.
She finally settles on a sturdy leaf,
deemed worthy of her presence.
She rests there,
oblivious to my wonder,
slowly regaining her strength.
Eventually she leaves,
but not before my toes are blue with frostbite,
and my fingers chilled numb.
It isn’t until she is but a dot in the distance,
I realize that she stole something from me.
For when she bid farewell,
she took my breath with her.

 

In the Forest by Nicole V.

In the forest
Lies Death.
Locked in a steel coffin
It waits patiently
Smothered by dirt, leaves, twigs
The metal rusting into a dirt brown
Hiding its true contents from all who merely wander by.
In the forest
The boys go to play
Abandoning their chores in favor of fun
Shooing the youngest away to cover for them
Chasing each other through the muddy woodland
Finding it.
A
Bringer
Of
Mass
Bereavement.
In the forest
The leaves and dirt are easily moved aside
And twigs poke the casket
Tempting fate
Tempting something far darker than fate
Again and again
Until—
In the forest
Pandora’s box is opened
But no one hears a sound
And a small dejected boy glances up from his friends’ work
Surrounded by farm animals
Hands coated heavily in manure
And wishes he could be with the other boys
In the forest.

 

Sparks of Life by Rana G.

A firecracker is a wonderful thing
Isn’t it?

It’s little spark of light
So simple and pure
It’s blaze bringing back memories of laughter
And never-ending nights
And childhood innocence
All for about 5 short and sweet seconds

It also reminds one of reality

Simply getting the damn thing to light
struggle experienced by all the hopefuls
Wading through the unruly waters of their dreams

It also takes bravery to light it
The miniscule chance of getting a burn, ever present

But such a fear is nothing compared
To the terror of finding one that does not light
One that is broken
One that is faulty
One that is a throwaway

A firecracker is a lot like life
Isn’t it?

You have little control over which firecracker you’ll get
But you can choose how to treat it
To be thankful and enjoy it
To be strong and never give up on it
To be brave and fearlessly face it
Or to just throw it away

The lighter is in one hand
The firecracker in the other
Have your go at it
Pick your journey
Make your decisions
Make your memories
Make your mistakes

Live.

It’ll be over before you know it