NORTHEAST TEXAS POETRY IN SCHOOLS ANTHOLOGY A PUBLISHED COLLECTION OF STUDENT POEMS NORTHEAST TEXAS POETRY IN SCHOOLS ANTHOLOGY A PUBLISHED COLLECTION OF STUDENT POEMS © 2021, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED This book, or parts thereof, may not be used without the permission of the authors. For more information on the Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Contest, contact: Young Audiences of Northeast Texas 200 E. Amherst Tyler, TX 75701 903.561.2787 Visit our website at: yanetexas.org brought to you by: C About Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Young Audiences of Northeast Texas is honored to continue a tradition begun by the Rusk County Poetry Society four decades ago by presenting the 2021 Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Contest. Each year, this contest provides an opportunity for students currently enrolled in grades 1-12 to nurture academic growth through the literary arts. Classroom and language arts teachers are encouraged to submit original poems from their students to be judged by local poets and writers. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in each grade level receive a certificate, and are invited to read their poems to an audience of family, teachers, and administrators at the Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Awards Ceremony. All winning entries are published in this Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Student Anthology. For more information on next year’s contest, please visit yanetexas.org in the fall of 2021. 2021 Poetry in Schools Foreword The tradition of Poetry in Schools began more than forty years ago when the Rusk County Poetry Society, a chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas, chose to celebrate National Poetry Month each April by honoring local student poets in Henderson, Texas, with a contest and awards ceremony. Today, that celebration has grown to include hundreds of students and teachers in schools and home school groups across East Texas. The event’s current name, the Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools Contest, reflects a creative collaboration between the founding group of poets and several other organizations: Young Audiences of Northeast Texas, Region 7 Educational Service Center, and InSpiritry. The contest awards now include 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners in grades 1-12 with a scholarship awarded to the winning 12th grade poet. That scholarship honors the project’s first director, Henderson poet, educator, and civic leader Mary Craig. This year’s Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools judging panel is a distinguished group of published writers, award-winning poets, professors, educators, and poetry enthusiasts: Adrianne Pamplin, Anett Jessop, Brooke Kinsman, Lisa Salinas, Carol Thompson, Justin Robinson, Brenda McWilliams, Melissa DeCarlo, Mary Andrews, and Terry Miller. This anthology is a presentation of the 2021 winning poems. The judges have chosen poems that best utilize the many aspects of poetry— imagery, sound, metaphor, and universal themes—and writing sure to entertain and delight readers. Our congratulations to these fine poets! For many years, I have had the pleasure of serving as artistic director for the Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools project. I continue to be amazed by East Texas budding writers and to be inspired by their vision. My heartfelt thanks to all the students who submitted their wonderful poems, their supportive teachers, our esteemed judges, and the contest’s sponsoring organizations who believe in the power of poetry and the importance of arts in education. Anne McCrady Northeast Texas Poetry in Schools InSpiritry LIST OF POEMS FIRST GRADE Arabella Holmes Cat Page 9 3rd Place Cross Warren I Am Thankful Page 10 2nd Place Owen Crockett Baseball Page 11 1st Place SECOND GRADE Sammi Ambern Pets Page 12 3rd Place Bentley Tillison Legos Page 13 2nd Place Scarlet Virgen Leaves Page 14 1st Place THIRD GRADE Kaitlyn Martinez Ramirez The Beauty of Spring Page 15 3rd Place Sydney Rhodes Trapped? Page 16 2nd Place Joseph Lopez Night Time Page 17 1st Place FOURTH GRADE Jaxon Goodman Poems Are Tough Page 18 3rd Place Serenity Johnson About Me Page 19 2nd Place Airilyn Autry Sweet Dragon Dreams Page 20 1st Place FIFTH GRADE Kilsyth Middlebrook Minecraft Page 21 3rd Place Payton Spears Slavery Page 22 2nd Place Katherine Rodriguez Music Page 23 1st Place SIXTH GRADE Raleigh Rhodes Self Portrait in a Painting Page 25 3rd Place Lia Steinbrecher Awakening of Spring Page 26 3rd Place Elizabeth Williamson McKnight Church Page 27 2nd Place Grace Pitts Dawn Page 28 2nd Place Mikaela Haufler The Solace of the Ocean Page 29 1st Place LIST OF POEMS SEVENTH GRADE Brailey Barron Grandpa Page 30 3rd Place Joshua Ramirez Texas Page 31 3rd Place Charlie Rodriguez Antebellum Mansion Page 32 2nd Place Paisely Lewis Self Image Page 33 1st Place EIGHTH GRADE Jacob Penrose Sand Page 34 3rd Place Emery Chenault The Time It Only Takes Page 35 3rd Place Kasey Rhodes Phoenix Page 36 2nd Place Kaitlyn Kocher Fantasy Page 37 1st Place NINTH GRADE Ari Williams The Cold Water Page 38 3rd Place Katelynn Seacott Extinct Page 39 2nd Place Sydney Dwyer Beautiful Destruction Page 40 1st Place TENTH GRADE Jenna Cromer Music Page 41 3rd Place Cade Alders Bathroom Dance Page 42 2nd Place Abigail Williams The Clearing Page 43 1st Place ELEVENTH GRADE Breanna Jordan Of Wax and Feathers Page 44 3rd Place Hannah Williams Song Page 45 2nd Place Riley Seidel Flourish Page 46 1st Place TWELFTH GRADE Brooke Copeland PTSD Page 47 3rd Place Jennifer Aguilar A Sincere Love Page 48 3rd Place Asia Johnson Seed of Life Page 49 2nd Place 2021 Rusk County Poetry Society Scholarship Winner: Shea Clews I Think I’m the Smoke Page 50 1st Place You Breathe In 9 Arabella Holmes Mrs. Compton Wylie Elementary - Henderson ISD Cat Cat Fuzzy, small Scratches, Purrs, Meows Momma cats have litter of kittens Feline First Grade Third Place 10 Cross Warren Ms. Ashby Parkway Elementary - Pine Tree ISD I Am Thankful I am thankful for my life. I am thankful for my mom and dad for buying me clothes. I am thankful for school to be a thing Because I want to learn with my friends. I am thankful for animals. I am thankful for homes. I am thankful for water. I am thankful for toys. I am thankful for kittens. I am thankful for the food that my mom and dad get me. I am thankful for shirts. I am thankful for stores. I am thankful for furniture. I am thankful for cleaning supplies. I am thankful for snow. I am thankful for friends. I am thankful for candy. First Grade Second Place 11 Owen Crockett Mrs. Doerge Wylie Elementary - Henderson ISD Baseball Baseball Fun, exciting Catching, throwing, hitting I hope Covid doesn’t cancel our season this year Play Ball First Grade First Place 12 Sammi Ambern Ms. Ashby Parkway Elementary - Pine Tree ISD Pets Dog Fluffy, Playful Wagging, Fetching, Playing Ball, Frisbee, Mouse, Toy Purring, Napping, Hissing Friendly, Soft Cat Second Grade Third Place 13 Bentley Tillison Mrs. Reynold / Ms. Garner Wylie Elementary - Henderson ISD Legos You can build anything you desire You can make worlds with Legos They inspire and release your imagination You can make robots or BattleBots Legos can come in sets with many shapes and sizes Legos are fantastic they make your mind grow If you put forth effort, a Master Builder you will be! Second Grade Second Place 14 Scarlet Virgen Ms. Ashby Parkway Elementary - Pine Tree ISD Leaves We watch the leaves float down to the ground round and round. I love leaves! They are Brown, green, yellow, and So many more colors. There are fat leaves, Skinny leaves, leaves that Hurt you and leaves that Feel like silk! The world is filled with So many kinds of leaves. I could travel the world And see an abundance of leaves - dancing and free! My home is filled with leaves I love. There are families of leaves - like floating doves! Sometimes leaves are burned, Crushed, and stepped on. If nurtured, the leaves return like A beautiful lawn Leaves fill our world with color to see All leaves are unique And free! Leaves and people; people and leaves - are so alike! When both are loved and cared for Our world is whole; full of life and FREE! Second Grade First Place 15 Kaitlyn Martinez Ramirez Mrs. Baley Wylie Elementary - Henderson ISD The Beauty of Spring It’s the season of Spring, Bringing joy and laughter, The birds start to sing, The sun shines brighter, Flowers start to bloom, Trees get new leaves, Fresh water in the flume, Sweet honey left by bees, With Spring comes a chilly breeze, But sometimes it will act warm, Now you can wear your cute long-sleeves, But watch out for the hail storms! I feel the wind blow, I see birds fly in the sky, Flowers start to grow, Chickens cross by, The grass is light green, The rooster sings, I hear crickets in the night if I listen, And that is the beauty of Spring. Third Grade Third Place 16 Sydney Rhodes Ms. Rhodes Mineola Fine Arts Homeschool Co-op Trapped? Today I awoke to quite a sight what once was green had turned to white. The gleam of snow was so bright icicles hung like stalactites. The snow was so very thick It nearly climbed up to my hip. It looked as if we were trapped on our farm the animals too, camped out in the barn. Then, I realized it wasn’t so bad indeed, there was a lot of fun to be had. I came to see the snowy trees more like branches painted by fairies. The icicles turned into unicorn horns and snow caramel could be made in the morn.