I shake the trees taking their leaves
Scattering them on the streets
I blow, pulling someone’s hair
as they walk their dog, stepping on the fall leaves
I shift turning the wind sock
changing directions,
choosing the way
I turn in circles like a puppeteer making the leaves dance
I tiptoe and tap, sneaking silently about
whispering through the night
knocking on doors
I slip and slither
pulling and prying
Twisting,
Changing,
Taking,
I push the clouds
I never stop, I’m always
Going
Flowing
Grabbing
and moving
sometimes in full gusts
That howl and swirl
sometimes soft and light
Like an evening breeze by the beach
Salt floating through the skies
I am calm and quiet, adding mood to a deep night
I am loud and stormy, screaming muffled noises just to get attention
I can create
And destroy
I have many sides,
Many moods,
I am only a small detail in a big world
Something to see but never to understand
I am always changing
Always looking on and over
For you
Feedback from our judges
Thank you to everyone who submitted to this year’s Vision and Voice K-12 competition. We saw a lot of amazing entries and have announced our winners. Well done, Poets!
What is it that makes a good poem? One of the most beautiful (and frustrating) things about poetry is how subjective it is, how everyone who reads or writes it has a different idea of what it means. Below are comments from this year’s judges on what made some of our winning poems outstanding and insights on how they might apply to one’s own writing.
Judge Ysella Fulton-Slavin
On Mila G.’s Blue: “Love the use of the color Blue paired with tangible adjective.”
Using words that relate to the five senses allow poems to feel more tangible, more relatable, and more real.
On Lily G.’s Day Time Monsters: “ Very powerful poem–especially the line, ‘I am a child,/ do not say I thought this was a game.’”
Poems don’t have to be pretty. They can be used to make powerful statements.
On River M.’s chamomile: “I really love this poem–so full of wonderful, tangible images.”
Images are the building blocks of poetry; what the words make our minds see.
Judge Christina Brunson
On Leon S.’s Oculus: “The title caused me to look up its definition on my phone. A brilliant beginning to an interesting piece of work. Well done!”
A poem’s title can be just as important as the poem itself.
On Rainy B.’s The Sunbath of Glory: “The elusiveness of which animal is being described is fun in this poem. Well done!”
Describing something without saying what it is can be very interesting and gives room for the reader’s imagination.
On Marina A.’s Vovo: “I cried when reading this one. The innocence of this child’s love and adoration was well described. The sights, sounds, and smells are outlined beautifully. Awesome job!”
Memories can be full of emotion, detail, and can be an inspiring place to write from.
Judge Juniper Maldonado
On Sydney M.’s Snow, Heat, Cold: “The simplicity of this poem is really effective… I love how the meanings of simple words are shown to be both constant and multifaceted.”
Words can have different meanings in different contexts, like different shades of the same color.
On Farrah K.’s Paper Planes: “The imagery of the paper plane as a parallel to the commentary on childhood is interesting. Good use of a semicolon.”
Punctuation in poetry can be confusing, but can help keep things organized.
Judge W. Joe Hoppe
On Inez G.’s El avión de papel: “Excellent flow and imagery–feels like a paper airplane floating down the page. Lovely idea and metaphor.”
Focusing on a single image or theme can be really effective.
On Alexander D.’s GRITS: “Nice image and smooth flow–kind of like good grits.”
Flow is all about how well words go together, how they sound out loud and in our heads.
On Aden P.’s A sad background: “Poet uses personal history to make art (I assume it is autobiographical). Very glad that they are now loved and cared for.”
Poems can be used to express intense feelings and let your readers experience feelings along with you.
On Katelyn O.’s Monopoly: “Thoughtful and class conscious. Good points made in an interesting way.”
For as much as poems can express emotions, they can also be calls to action. They can be revolutionary.
We Have Winners!
Here are the excellent poems that our panel of judges have selected for recognition in the 2022 Vision+Voice Poetry Contest!
Congrats to all poets who participated, as well as the teachers and parents who encouraged this great work.
Stay tuned for news about how we will honor these wonderful winning poets!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Blue by Mila G.
2nd grade / Ridgetop Elementary
Magic Science by Julian R.
2nd grade / Ridgetop Elementary
Sunlight and darkness by Camille R.
2nd grade / Ridgetop Elementary
Day Time Monsters by Lily G.
4th grade / Ridgetop Elementary
El avión de papel by Inez G.
5th grade / Ridgetop Elementary
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Oculus by Leon S.
6th grade / Lamar Middle School
GRITS by Alexander D.
7th grade / Gorzycki Middle School
A sad background by Aden P.
7th grade / Gorzycki Middle School
Afternoon in the Library by Stella S.
7th grade / Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders
Numb by Cleo H.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
Snow, Heat, Cold by Sydney M.
7th grade / Gorzycki Middle School
Sweetheart, your back is showing by Fiona L.
7th grade / Gorzycki Middle School
Telephone Pole by Isabella R.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
The Arctic by Emma S.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
The Ego of the Sky by Emma S.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
The Sunbath of Glory by Rainy B.
7th grade / Gorzycki Middle School
Veilchenblau by Maya H.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
Vovó by Marina A.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
Waves of Peace by Ruby A.
7th grade / Lamar Middle School
art by River M.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
bookstore girls by Lalitha G.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
chamomile by River M.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
Fairies (pantoum) by Caroline B.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
Inspiration by Josie B.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
kaleidoscope by River M.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
Let the night rise by Josie B.
8th grade / Lamar Middle School
Paper Planes by Farrah K.
8th grade / Lamar Fine Arts Academy
STAR-SHAPED HOLES by Caroline B.
8th grade / Lamar Fine Arts Academy
HIGH SCHOOL
Monopoly by Katelyn O.
11th grade / Cedar Park High School
Seamstress for the World by Gibson H.
11th grade / Steven F. Austin High School
Paper Planes
Your smile is like a memory in my mind
As the paper folds in your small, delicate hands
The sun is bright as the plane soars above our heads
Such a short time we are children; the plane lands
Hawaii
In the morning of this home where you belong
Bright flowers opening in a sleepy sun
Sing to the perfect melody of a song
Delicate animals open their eyes along
With the blanket of trees that coat the horizon
In the noon of this home where you belong
The mountains who look down upon all are strong
They protect the valley that holds each and everyone
And join into the perfect melody of a song
Even the dullest of things never prolonged
Are all diamonds in the continual harmony begun
In the evening of this home where you belong
A path of water that has no wrongs
Splits and rejoins on the mossy staircase not undone
Entwines itself into the perfect melody of a song
A breese rights all that is wronged
And sings Aloha until the day is done
In the twilight of this home that you belong
Hawaii will comfort you to the perfect melody of a song
Blood Moon
As I am standing so stupefied here
Motionless, with the cold nipping so near
A moon in the horizon which I peer
Eyes full, not displaying too much known fear
Then when it draws me in at its own glance
Untold, it stretches, how far it degrades
A bloody glow in the air holds a trance
The sky, afraid of this whole masquerade
And the wisps of clouds trip over themselves
For it is trampling my poor starched vigor
And stomping my emotions to no health
It pulls my consciousness from my figure
The red beast who holds such a tangled smile
Curls a mystery around me in bile
An Upside Down World
In an upside down world
On an upside down face
A smile was there
But a frown took its place
Someone important had gone
To a far away land
Where she was left struggling
Not able to grasp a hand
When she went away,
Any sort of happiness had gone too
With not a clue on what to do.
She was gone as quick as light
Now the only thing left is night
No brightness able to slip through
The shards of our hearts. Broken
The world felt empty the hope it’s a trick, a taboo
Hostile
Her slight eye glancing at me, ready,
My feet in thin brown boots,
Slide fluently into their rusty position
Across the reflective wood beneath us,
She takes her stance with silence
The wind killing all sprouts of new conversation
My fingers slide over my soft, gold streaked hair
The very touch of the sleak blade,
My hand jumps back
The feeling of burning white fire coursing through my fingertips
Hidden by the shadows of my concern
And the black coals of regret filling the air
My twinge of doubt streaks across my face
The tinges of feeling sliding out,
Into the world forming the thick grey cloud
Silhouetting my body
I tug at my free hand the feeling of a million tons at my side lifting
I force the thought away once more,
Clenching my fist into the pain of needles in flesh
Letting my eyelids close,
I fear that tears of lost pain will come
My focus on the new enhanced ones
The fire in my fingers inflates as I reach,
Sliding the blade from my back
I take a cool deep breath,
The cloud pulsing with me
I rush toward her feeling the cold wind at my cheeks
The quiet birds chirping
The green grass blowing
The soft beauty
The intense pain
With each slash of searing pain that comes with my wield
The damp clouds follow,
Leaving only the devoured corps of my will
Consuming all known
Consuming all beauty
Only letting me pass without forgiveness,
Hostile
The Ego of the Sky
The sun’s peak is over,
It fades into a downfall,
It glances over the horizon to take one last look,
But it catches the moon approaching its crown.
Oh so jealous it makes the sun,
Out of spite, the sun lingers on the horizon,
It paints the sky with oranges and pinks to overshadow the moon.
The sun thinks highly of itself knowing it won the battle,
But it must disappear until morning, so the sky fades to dark and the sun is gone,
Until tomorrow the moon rules the sky.
Windows
Windows,
Openings into a new world,
A place better than your own,
A place that might deceive your mind.
Windows,
Shattered by sound,
Shattered by rock,
Shattered by the world.
Windows,
Trashed,
Hopelessly lost,
Why try when you will always be replaced?
Windows,
Things that can be covered physically,
That will always be open mentally,
Built with fear of being seen,
Paranoia can take over in the mind of the ruminator.
Windows,
Reflecting,
Self and light,
Shattering the perception of who you pretend to be,
Allowing you to see yourself as you truly are.