Edited by Susan Amsterdam Contest Judge, Laura Boss Cover design and layout by Ashley Kesling A cooperative project between The Poetry Center Passaic County Community College and The Theater and Poetry Project: A Language Arts Enrichment Partnership At Passaic County Community College ©Poetry Center, 2015 Passaic County Community College One College Boulevard Paterson, New Jersey 07505-1179 2015 Paterson Student Poetry Contest is made possible, in part, by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and Passaic County Community College. ! ! 2! !!!!!!!!!! This 2015 Paterson Student Poetry Contest Anthology is the result of a co-operative project between the Poetry Center at Passaic County Community College, the Theater and Poetry Project: A Language Arts Enrichment Partnership at Passaic County Community College and the Paterson Public Schools. The poems in this book are the winners of the 2015 Poetry Contest for Paterson Students, first through twelfth grades. We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Donnie W. Evans, State Distict Superintendent; Mr. Dennis Vroegindewey, Director, Instructional Technology & Library Media Services of the Paterson Public Schools, as well as Dr. Steven Rose, President of Passaic County Community College, whose continuous support makes projects like this anthology possible. We would like to thank the principals and teachers who encouraged their students to participate in the Contest. We also need to express our thanks to the Passaic County Community College, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State and the Paterson Schools for their support of the many poetry and writing workshops that inspired the enthusiasm and guided the talent of the students in expressing themselves through poetry. ! 3! FIRST PRIZE Name Poem School Grade Teacher Page Ashley Camacho Ashley’s Playground School 27 2 Mrs. Ludlum 8 Ana Leary Bookworm Roberto Clemente School 3 Mrs. Zalewski 8 Kambria Wooten Thunder School 15 4 Ms. Hodges 8 Leslie Mere Max School 27 5 Mrs. Kelly 9 Fabeha Chowdhury What’s The Point? School 28 7 Mr. Cecere 8 Academy For Gifted & Talented Melina Guzman Corners Norman S. Weir 8 Mrs. Cox 10 Rose McNeill This is When We Were Rosa Parks High School 10 Mr. Goch 9 Beautiful SECOND PRIZE Mariah Sellow My Dog School 27 1 Ms. Camacho 11 Casandra Fallas My Home Renaissance One 2 Ms. Romer 11 Enrique Rivera My Neighborhood School 29 3 Ms. Propersi/ 11 Mrs. Burdick Mahek Amin My Neighborhood School 27 5 Mrs. Kelly 11 Jalen Thompson The Switch School 28 5 Mrs. Gates 12 Academy For Gifted & Talented School 28 12 Emily Cruz Society 7 Mr. Cecere Academy For Gifted & Talented Helen Garcia My Room Don Bosco Academy 8 Mrs. Pabst 12 School Of Information 13 Steven Grimaldos You’re Home! 11 Mr. Easterbrook Technology @ Eastside H.S. Daiana Ortiz Unusualties 11 Ms. Goch 13 Rosa Parks High School 4 HONORABLE MENTION Name Poem School Grade Teacher Page Ferdinand Agyapong Paw Patrol Renaissance One 1 Mrs. Lovell 15 Lucas Cardona Day and Night School 27 1 Mrs. Blayer 14 Jeremiah Mathis My Violin Renaissance One 1 Mrs. Lovell 15 My Two 15 Rihanah Uddin School 27 1 Mrs. Blayer Neigborhoods Stephanie Ventura My Friends School 27 1 Ms. Jones 14 Nevaeh Nealy Grandpa's Room School 27 1 Ms. Camacho 14 Sharon Lopez My Mom School 27 2 Ms. Gallagher 16 Esther Perez My Home Renaissance One 2 Ms. Romer 15 Jenessa Powell My Neighborhood Renaissance One 2 Ms. Romer 16 Joseph Santiago My Home Renaissance One 2 Ms. Romer 15 Pamela Bonilla My Best Friend School 29 3 Ms. Propersi 17 Alfredo Gonzalez My Brother School 29 3 Ms. Propersi/Mrs. Burdick 17 Kimberly Hernandez My Dog School 29 3 Ms. Propersi/Mrs. Burdick 17 Adara Lusk When I Go School 27 3 Mrs. Ferraro 16 Destiny Ortega My Best Friend School 29 3 Ms. Propersi 17 Daniela Payano Holidays Roberto Clemente School 3 Mrs. Zalewski 16 Joshua Rodriguez My Brother Steven Roberto Clemente School 3 Mrs. Zalewski 17 Mia Alvarez The Friend I Lost School 15 4 Ms. Hodges 18 Martin Cintron Adoption School 27 4 Ms. Medina 18 Taseen Malique Me School 27 4 Ms. Medina 18 Gabriela Molina My Way Renaissance One 4 Ms. McCaffrey 18 Glenirubi Ramirez My Home Edward W. Kilpatrick 4 Ms. Winston 18 Clarence Robinson My Neighborhood Edward W. Kilpatrick 4 Ms. Winston 18 Ariana Acevedo My Home Renaissance One 5 Mrs. Garner 19 School 28 Academy for 21 Tahmid Ahmed The Band and Me 5 Mrs. Gates Gifted & Talented 5 HONORABLE MENTION, continued Name Poem School Grade Teacher Page The Conversation of School 28 Academy for 21 Angela Alvarez 5 Mrs. Gates Freedom Gifted & Talented Sheehan Chowdhury In My Room School 27 5 Mrs. Kelly 20 Crystal Pena My Home School 7 5 Ms. Alves 22 Kimon Rutherford- My Neighborhood Renaissance One 5 Mrs. Garner 20 Holmes Cristian Tello-Rivera In My Neighborhood School 27 5 Mrs. Kelly 22 School 28 Academy for 19 Hillary Trujillo Little Cat Feet 5 Mrs. Gates Gifted & Talented KamranUddin In My Neighborhood School 27 5 Mrs. Kelly 19 I Felt the Whole World School 28 Academy for 24 Elainie Alfonso 6 Mrs. Matthews on My Shoulders Gifted & Talented Lesrene Browne Home Norman S. Weir 6 Mrs. Cox 23 School 28 Academy for 24 Isaac Figueroa Mother Nature 6 Mrs. Matthews Gifted & Talented School 28 Academy for 25 Chyenne Roberts My Home 6 Mrs. Matthews Gifted & Talented Isabela Ruiz My Perfect Poem Norman S. Weir 6 Mrs. Cox 23 Cheyenne Williams The Fears Inside of Me Norman S. Weir 6 Mrs. Cox 23 Caitlin Bryant Uncle Jason Norman S. Weir 7 Mrs. Cox 26 Jeremiah Capers Hype Norman S. Weir 7 Mrs. Cox 25 Isaac Davenport Games School 7 7 Mrs. Polo-Thorpe 25 Maria Savillano Home School 7 7 Mrs. Polo-Thorpe 25 School 28 Academy for 26 Fabeha Chowdhury Building Our Bridge 7 Mr. Cecere Gifted & Talented Fabliha Zaman Trying… School 7 7 Mrs. Polo-Thorpe 26 Ashlie Bristow Guitar Norman S. Weir 8 Mrs. Cox 28 Sheyla Camacho My Home Don Bosco Academy 8 Mrs. Pabst 27 Imani McCrory Union Avenue Don Bosco Academy 8 Mrs. Pabst 27 Rachel Rhone 13 Years School 20 8 Mrs. Dickson 29 6 HONORABLE MENTION, continued Name Poem School Grade Teacher Page Ashley Mora In the Box Don Bosco Academy 8 Mrs. Pabst 27 School 28 Academy for 28 What is My Escape? 8 Mr. Cecere Sahara Sampson Gifted & Talented School 28 Academy for 27 Jeffrey Severino My Daydream 8 Mr. Cecere Gifted & Talented Travia Ballard It's Sad How Rosa Parks High School 9 Ms. Goch 32 Ashley Diaz The Want Rosa Parks High School 9 Ms. Goch 31 Passaic County Technical 31 Ayleen Guzman Nostalgic Palms 9 Ms. Festa Institute International High 32 Koran Lawson My Best Friend! 9 Mr. Rayot School Kiara Suero I Think of You Rosa Parks High School 9 Ms. Goch 30 School of Information 30 Hermy De Jesus Lightning Rod Technology at Eastside 10 Mr. Walter Taveras HS School of Information 33 Ruddy Batista To Live Within the Lines Technology at Eastside 11 Mr. Walter HS School of Information 33 Courtney Francis Shady Figure Technology at Eastside 11 Mr. Easterbrook HS School of Information 33 Momen Hamad Video Games Technology at Eastside 11 Mr. Walter HS 7 Ashley’s Playground Bookworm Ashley Camacho – Grade 2 Ana Leary – Grade 3 The new play ground for School 27 is amazing I am a bookworm, It’s in my neighborhood I love to read all day. I can walk there I would love to say, It makes me feel pumped up with excitement Why I love books in every way. I feel freedom When I go down the slide I feel tingly with energy Books are interesting and inspiring. The new playground is colorful They take you to amazing new places. I bet it will look nice in the fall They may lead you to confusing mazes, It has orange, yellow and green Or mythical places or faraway lands, I bet it will make me feel warm And may take you somewhere unplanned! I have the same name as the little girl it was named after There are a lot of people you can be, ASHLEY A goddess, a fairy, a wimpy dragon slayer, She was sick and she loved playgrounds A loving bear, a nutty maid, or a famous player. Her mom and dad wanted her to always be happy Reading fills me with glee! People from New York came and built it for us That is why a bookworm I like to be! The day it was built there were more people than ten helping I think about the little girl named Ashley I am happy my name is Ashley I wish I could see the people who made it so I could say thank you Thunder What’s The Point? Kambria Wooten – Grade 4 Fabeha Chowdhury – Grade 7 After school it was like Circles, circles again and again The sky bursting into tears. The same start, the same end. Clouds were dark. A path with no destination. As a blackboard around me. Where am I going, what’s the point? Walking and walking. Like a cloudless day, the future is empty. I heard this sound. No hope, no dreams. It was like the thunder. It’s not a stroll in the park. Striking into the sky. It’s just a path with no destination. And rain drops falling on the ground. Something that I keep taking I ran home.