Award-Winning Poems
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2008 Border Voices Poetry Fair
High School, Middle School & Elementary
First Place, Upper Division
To My Lita Delia
Who calls me Jessica, digo Abby, digo Sashie
Whose hands are a tender touch away from the finest
Chinese silk.
Whose hair is growing gray one day and a full
chestnut brown the nextWho tells me picante chile en el jardin de flores.
Who is a butterfly full of color and life.
Never wants us out at night.
Is birria de chivo on a cold winter day.
Que quiere una banda en vez de lagrimas.
Is late night talks and morning walks.
Abuelita,
Café de leche con panecitos.
Sashieana Scott
Grade 12, John Muir School
Poet-teacher: Jackleen Holton
Teacher: Jason D. Hundley
Second Place, Upper Division
Lo Que Soy
Yo soy un colibrí
porque puedo volar
rápidamente junto a ti.
Yo soy la tempestad
porque muero de ansiedad
por abrazar al amor
que me espera
con ansiedad.
Yo soy el cielo
porque me reflejo
dentro de tu corazón
admirando tus resplandecientes ojos
que suspiran de amor.
Yo soy una estrella fugaz
porque cumplo el deseo
de las personas que voltean
a admirar mi hermosa
luz de armonía y paz.
What I am
I am a hummingbird
because I can fly fast
along your side.
I am the tempest
because I am anxiously dying
to embrace love
who in turn anxiously
waits for me.
I am the sky
because I reflect myself
inside your heart
admiring your shining eyes
that breathe love.
I am a fleeting star
because I fulfill the dreams
of the people who look up
to admire my beautiful
light of peace and harmony.
Antonio Cruz
6th grade, Kimball School
Poet-Teacher: Francisco Bustos
Teacher: Beneranda J. Calderón
Translated by Francisco Bustos
Third Place, Upper Division
This poem also received a
Special Award
from the Greater San Diego Council of Teachers of English
Stupidity
Here comes stupidity
with those crimson eyes
his jet black cloak
flows behind him
he dashes back and forth
outside my door
he sits in class
drawing comics all the time
an ant
among giant redwood trees
his job is playing games
he hardly ever does his homework
he torments me
making me get F’s and D’s
I try to get away
but I can’t
he’s always there right beside me
he is my shadow.
Yearly Gonzalez
Grade 7, Farb Middle School
Poet-teacher: Johnnierenee Nelson
Teacher: Leslie Clark
Fourth Place, Upper Division
I’m Not Really Crying
I just got hit in the face
With a ball
By that girl
Who hates me.
Maddie Salazar
7th Grade, Rancho Santa Fe Middle School
Poet-teacher: Jackleen Holton
Teacher: Alison Wise
First Place, Lower Division
Dark Tree
A clump of stars
caught in its branches
rests.
A glint of sun vanishes
or does it rise?
Red puff of smoke
fires the sunset.
Its branches reach up
with nettled twigs grabbing the sky
like messy hair.
It weaves a cloak of stars
and at night
it glows.
Nathaniel Pick
Grade 4, Spreckels Elementary
Poet-Teacher: Celia Sigmon
Teacher: Peggy Araiza
Second Place, Lower Division
The Moon Is a Bowl of Milk
oyster white
and cold like a snowdrift.
The moon tastes like
a vanilla milkshake
sounds like a sleeping owl.
Jorge Elenes
Grade 3, Olivewood
Poet-teacher: Johnnierenee Nelson
Teacher: Karolyn Kmet-Moran
Third Place, Lower Division
Poetry Man
If Poetry was a party
it would be 4th of July fireworks,
up like rockets and down like leaves.
At a funeral, Poetry brings lilies
as white as bones.
At church on Sunday,
Poetry wears a silky soft tie
with flaming candles.
At its wedding,
Poetry would marry similes
as sweet as peace.
Poetry sends the Happy Face
to a deserted island
hoping never to see that
smiling thing again.
Poetry’s real magic is
that it sparkles like imagination
shining in your hand.
Margaret Poltorak
Grade 3, Hearst Elementary
Poet-teacher: Celia Sigmon
Teacher: Jean Feinstein
Fourth Place, Lower Division
This poem also received a
Special Award
from the Greater San Diego Council of Teachers of English …
and was selected for the first
LoVerne Wilson Brown scholarship
A World of Fantasy
In a world of fantasy
there are fire-breathing dragons
overprotective ogres
knights in shining armor
damsels in distress
dull, dimwitted king
wise, beautiful queens
blacksmiths with sweat
dripping from their foreheads
evil stepmothers
mean, ugly stepsisters
caring fairy godmothers
tall oak trees whispering
a song no one can hear
cackling witches
old bearded wizards
stuffy shopkeepers
greedy innkeepers
handsome princes
pretty princesses
balls with women wearing
too much makeup
and frilly dresses
tenacious, tired trolls
This world
lives in the hidden corners
of all our souls
Sarah Diaz
Grade 6, Ira Harbison Elementary
Poet-teacher: Glory Foster
Teacher: Cloe Mower
Special Award
from the Greater San Diego Council of Teachers of English
The Whispering Brook
There’s a cottage in my mind,
a welcoming place
like a warm summer’s day.
Behind my cottage is a brook
that whispers in the night.
When I fish in my brook I catch words
that warm my heart,
like charm, harbor and pledge.
I store the caught words
in a blue velvet bag
that I keep under my pillow.
But the words I can’t catch
whisper with the brook
like fairies at midnight.
Hannah Riedy
Grade 4, Hearst Elementary
Poet-Teacher: Celia Sigmon
Teacher: Chris Vasquez
Special Award
from the Greater San Diego Council of Teachers of English