December 31

Happy New Year!

what the poets say…

“What do I mean by a phrase? A clutch of words that gives you a clutch at the heart.” Robert Frost

A Community*

By Dylan Bruce, 5th grade
2006 Merit Award

A community is a place were you can feel absolutely safe,
where friendly filled friends care about you more than the world.
Also in a community there are marvelous mothers and dazzling dads
Which have the most love for you.
A community sticks together like a shoe and a piece of gum.
A community is something fantastic.

*Copyright 2006 by Dylan Bruce. This poem is included in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.

From the Same Flour*

By Diane Barrera Turner
2007 Merit Award

The smell of the flour, the kneading of the dough
Memories embedded of my “abuela” long ago
I ate tortillas, my friend ate bread
My hair was dark and curly, her hair was red
Together we grew like intertwined leaves
We were tossed and tumbled by the insistent breeze
Sometimes we reflect on the lives that we led
For I ate tortillas and she ate bread

*Copyright 2007 by Diane Barrera Turner. This poem appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.

joy to the poets…

“Poetry, I think, is the ultimate language of belonging. To overcome all of the painful acts of separation that followed man’s expulsion from the Garden – that is the work of poetry. Unlike Plato’s realm of eternal forms or the Apostle Paul’s eternal salvation, the best poetry calls us back to this world. The true poem captures not just what is seen, but the experience of seeing. Poetry, we might say, is the aura thrown around an ordinary object to show that, in fact, it isn’t ordinary at all. The poem, then, is a microcosm, held together by its own invisible Logos, that shows us how to transcend the mistake of seeing the world as merely a collection of objects, separate and insignificant. Poetry is a religion that redeems us in the here and now…”
Erik Reece, Orion, Nov/Dec 2008

After Being Called “Girlie” at the Hardware Store*

2010 Merit Award
By Kim Roe

*Copyright 2010 by Kim Roe. This poem, which can also be read here, appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.

about poetry…

“Poetry must have something in it that is barbaric, vast and wild.” Denis Diderot

The Moon*

2009 Merit Award
The Moon*
By Madeline Bowler, Kindergarten

The Moon sits on the sky.
Looks down at the Kids Playing
Before they go in.

*Copyright 2009 by Madeline Bowler. This poem is included in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.

The Best Recipe*

By Julia Hobart, 8th grade
2007 Walk Award

Diversity is like M&Ms,
All different colors forming a delicious medley,
Inside, there is always something slightly similar,
A speck of unity inside every one.

Diversity is like a lush garden,
Full of life, color, and differences,
Bursting with cool deliciousness,
Steadfast and strong through all weather.

Diversity is as wild as the tangled jungles of Africa,
As dense as the blanket of tropical leaves,
Creating a moist, shady environment,
Beautiful in its own way.

Diversity is a bustling school cafeteria,
Filled with the sounds of chatter and laughter,
Students of all different race and background,
Each enjoying their individuality.

Diversity is a recipe of a little bit of everything,
Wonderfully mixed all together.

*Copyright 2007 by Julia Hobart. This poem appears in POETRY WALK: Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest – The First Five Years. Info: Book! Placard design by Egress Studio.

on poetry…

“I write poetry in order to live more fully.” Judith Rodriguez