Marshmallow so soft
Pillows at my fingertips
Dissolves on my tongue
Sensation so sweet
Sweet little cloud melts away
Sticky, licky, yum
2025 Vision+Voice Winners!
The judges have made their final decisions and we are thrilled to announce the winners in the 2025 Vision+Voice Poetry Contest.
As you you read these winning poems you will see that there is a lot of variety – some are funny, some are sad, some are mysterious, and some are beautifully simple. All of these poems succeed in presenting a vision or a feeling of the poet’s world in their own special way.
Judging poetry isn’t easy, and our judges take this task very seriously. There were hundreds of wonderful poems to choose from, and we are confident that these poems are a great representation of the best entries in this year’s contest.
THE 2025 VISION+VOICE WINNERS ARE:
1st Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Marshmallow by Enzo R. / Ridgetop Elementary
Featured Voices:
Snowflakes (a Haiku) by Smera K. / Austin Montessori School
The Watermelon Bowl by Sahana S. / Austin Montessori School
The Pig and Wig by Jasper L. / Hernandez Elementary
2nd Grade
Exceptional Voice:
My Treehouse by Remington R. / Ridgetop Elementary
Featured Voices:
Annabeth by Annabeth O. / Ridgetop Elementary
Rainbow Butterflies by Annabeth O. / Ridgetop Elementary
The Rainforest Vibe by Grayton H. / Blackshear Elementary
A Valentine’s Day Poem by Evelyn Z. / Andrews Elementary
3rd Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Te amo, Mama by Eva A. / Ridgetop Elementary
Featured Voices:
The Winter Knight by Raaed Y. / Doss Elementary
Fire is Destructive by Kellan J. / Doss Elementary
Nature by Charlotte B.H. / Ridgetop Elementary
4th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
The Ascension to Night by Kellan J. / Brentwood Elementary
Featured Voices:
I am From by Lucy D. / Ridgetop Elementary
Pain by Nelson M. / Homeschool
ADHA by Wilhelmine H. / Crockett Elementary
5th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Masks by Zuri R. / Crockett Elementary
Featured Voices:
A Collage of Women by Mila G.H. / Ridgetop Elementary
Follow that Voice by Emma E. / Blanton Elementary
When my Feet Hit the Ground by Camille R. / Ridgetop Elementary
6th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
New Year, Same Me by Rosie K. / Gorzycki Middle School
Featured Voices:
Mango the Cat by Anthony P. / Lamar Middle School
The Pen Owns the Poem by Dillon M. / Gorzycki Middle School
Mirror by Carys C. / Gorzycki Middle School
7th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Splits by Brianna C. / Gorzycki Middle School
Featured Voices:
Different DySLExIa by Evie M. / Lamar Middle School
Left Love by Brianna C. / Gorzycki Middle School
What I Already Have by Avery M. / Miller Middle School
A fractured utopia by Fiona M. / Gorzycki Middle School
8th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
The Forecast of Sisterhood by Theodora P. / Lamar Middle School
Featured Voices:
Home by Olivia G. / Miller Middle School
Asylum by Zoe B. / Lamar Middle School
November Mornings by Larkin B. / Lamar Middle School
9th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Golden Hour by Blythe M. / Austin High School
Featured Voices:
Flower by Raghavi S. / Rouse High School
Broken but Okay by Raghavi S. / Rouse High School
Don’t Fall in Love by Evelyn R. L. / Austin High School
Art by Ayanna O. / Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders
10th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
One, Quick Second by Gianna M. / San Marcos High School
Featured Voices:
Living in the Subway System by Elisa R. / Austin Achieve High School
Thanks (Ghazal) by Stella S. / Austin Achieve High School
Breath in Empty Space by April Y. / Crockett High School
11th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Echoes of the Past by Ramah S. / Crockett High School
Featured Voices:
The Coffin by Miles W. / S. F. Austin High School
COACH DIDN’T CANCEL PRACTICE ON TUESDAY by Brynn G. / San Marcos High School
If I could Paint the Way I Dream by Savannah W. / Rouse High School
12th Grade
Exceptional Voice:
Her Story by Morgan L. / San Marcos High School
Featured Voices:
One in a Million (Sestina) by Andrew Y. / S. F. Austin High School
Prey by Harrison S. / Austin High School
Old Man Johnson by Izzy K. / S. F. Austin High School
Congratulations to all the poets, their teachers, and their families!
LET THE POETRY BEGIN
- This contest is open to all K-12 students in the ACC service area
- Submissions are open! The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2025
- Poets may submit as many poems as they’d like
- any topic or form is welcome (rhyming is NOT required!)
- all submissions will be published on this website
- winning poems selected by the ACC Liberal Arts: Humanities and Communications Division will be paired with artwork from an ACC student to create poetry posters
We can’t wait to read your poems!
And the Winners Are…
The judges have made their final decisions and we are thrilled to announce the winners in the 2024 Vision+Voice Poetry Contest.
As you you read these winning poems you will see that there is a lot of variety – some are funny, some are sad, some are mysterious, and some are beautifully simple. All of these poems succeed in presenting a vision or a feeling of the poet’s world in their own special way.
The poems are judged based on these 6 criteria:
Theme – Does the poem give readers a specific idea or perspective on a subject?
Originality – Does the poem offer a new or different way of thinking or feeling about that idea?
Language – Are the words precise and does their arrangement create a unified impression?
Imagery – Does the poem use figurative language (simile, metaphor) to create a vivid description and appeal to readers’ senses and imagination?
Impact – Does the poem evoke an emotional response from readers?
Technical Details – Are spelling and usage appropriate to the poem’s subject?
Judging poetry isn’t easy, and our judges take this task very seriously. There were hundreds of wonderful poems to choose from, and we are confident that these poems are a great representation of the best entries in this year’s contest.
THE 2024 VISION+VOICE WINNERS ARE:
1st Grade
Tennis by Remington R. / Ridgetop Elementary
Ode to Cats by Esme M. / Ascent Academy
Pickle Dog (a Haiku poem) by Enzo R. / Ridgetop Elementary
2nd Grade
My Amazing Family by Eva A. / Ridgetop Elementary
My Brother by Charlotte B. / Ridgetop Elementary
3rd Grade
The Snow Leopard by Taj M. / Doss Elementary
Sunflower Fields by Calder M. / Doss Elementary
Fire by Gracie H. / Boone Elementary
Books by Gracie H. / Boone Elementary
Words that Rhyme by Thomas E. / Boone Elementary
4th Grade
I Dream a World (Inspired by Langston Hughes) by Aria S. / Brentwood Elementary
My Friend Pencil by Cora T. / Ridgetop Elementary
Nature by Chloe C. / Ridgetop Elementary
They Call Us… by Isla P. / Brentwood Elementary
5th Grade
The Power of Words by Aida B. / Brentwood Elementary
I Am by Owen M. / Brentwood Elementary
Broken Hearts by Stella E. / Capitol School of Austin
6th Grade
The Ocean May Seem Beautiful by Renee K. / Gorzycki Middle School
FORGOTTEN by Lucia G. / Gorzycki Middle School
Scout from Shadows Thin by August W. / Gorzycki Middle School
Moldable by Avishka C. / Gorzycki Middle School
7th Grade
Observations of an Immigrant by Leelah V. / Lamar Middle School
Blank Page by Ivy A. / Lamar Middle School
Goodbye Toby by June P. / Lamar Middle School
5 Ways of Looking at Grief by Annikea E. / Lamar Middle School
8th Grade
Pirouette by Wren V. / Lamar Middle School
My Hobby Hullabaloo by Zeena H. / Gorzicky Middle School
Poems Hide (After Naomi Shihab Nye) by Lucy C. / Lamar Middle School
Looking For Hope by Em S. / Murchison Middle School
9th Grade
Threadcatcher by Stella S. / Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders
Yesterday Girl by Asa W. / Austin High School
10th Grade
Versions by Brynn G. / San Marcos High School
After the Rain by Phineas E. / Austin High School
Nature by Bri H. / Stephen F. Austin High School
Just a Kid by Isabela M. / Stephen F. Austin High School
11th Grade
Silent Smoke by Sarah Y. / James Bowie High School
Dragon by Gabriela Mc. / James Bowie High School
Wildflowers Don’t Dance by Janani E. / Liberal Arts and Science Academy
Please Don’t Leave Me Shattered. by Kennedy A. / Austin Highschool
12th Grade
A Pennies Worth by Angelina M. / Austin High School
The Weeping Wood by Andrew B. / Stephen F.Austin High School
Blowing Sand by Locke S. / Austin High School
A Noise in the Woods by Deven N. / Stephen F Austin High School
Congratulations to all the poets, their teachers, and their families!
joy of music
In music, peace is found in the endless soundwaves
a sound with a heartbeat, lost in song
pabletating in the people of the brave
gone in ecstasy of music.
A drug that overtakes the body
controlling us like puppets
we dance like there is nobody
till our feet give out or the trumpets stop.
We make music with our voice
a shout of praise or of grief and failed love
we rejoice in the power of music
We use it as a tool to get through tough times like the wings on a dove.
Music is a drug like no other it can make you fly
higher than the heavens past the earth’s sky.
Black and White
Once in a world without a name
Without a color
Without a shade
They all lived in black-and-white
And gray
Newspapers had a dreary taste
The clothes were all in plain
Expression is forbidden here
Everything remains the same
White and black, and back again.
We all forget eventually
Stars will die
But Earth keeps spinning
When something’s different, call it wrong
Point it back to white and black
Forget about original.
There is no just start and end
There has to be a story
And when we change the order
We get gray.
Once there was a world
Of black and white and gray
All because of one brave soul;
All because of difference.
the windy day
there once was a day
it was very windy
the wind shook the tree
leaves fell
the sun set
Dandelions
Walk with me in this world
only the stars can live forever
let’s plant our seeds and hope they grow
we never know what will outlive us
take me down to where the roots can’t reach
we’ll play our music up to God and hope She likes it
most days life is just a waiting game
until then, come drown in our sunlit rains
put down the weight of the world for a while
I promise to be your everyone
Only the stars can live forever
In your eyes I see the sky
Sinking
Someone, not seeking to be saved,
Like the setting sun in mountain’s embrace.
Outstretched hands, an earnest try,
But reaching, impossible, despite how nigh.
No way to touch, no way to hold,
In dusk’s descent, a tale untold.
He, elusive, beyond life’s brim,
There was no way to reach him.
Echos of Absence
From the day of my birth, my mother never left my side
Her glowing face was the first I had seen since I arrived
We had many cherished moments and she always gave me a chance
She was compassionate, and always listened when I cried
Her soft touch blossomed throughout my body in a trance
The beach was a realm we both admired, and we wanted to see it once more.
Tingles crawled down my back, each time the wind brushed against the hairs on my skin.
The waves were in an endless rhythm, as they gracefully swept onto the shore
The sea, and the wind, swayed to the enchanting melody of the violin
Suddenly, I was left without a farewell too fast
I was too young to face solitude and became engulfed in my bad mood.
pleasant moments never last I thought.
Why can’t you understand that, who are you?
Was I not enough, Was I not the daughter you asked for, Was it fair to leave me so soon
Was I being too dramatic, I thought
Or should I leave my emotions to rot
I felt selfish and alone
But when would she be coming back home
She is doing the right thing, she had a purpose to leave
But still, this selfish part of me takes over
And all I can do is grieve.