Greening Up The Mountains Student Poetry Contest
April 25, 2015
High School Winners:
Abigail Zuelch, SMHS, Dianne Gholson
Brittany Davis, SMHS, Gholson
Chasity Bark, SMHS, Gholson
Kayla Cochran, SMHS, Gholson
High School Honorable Mentions:
Tiffany Bennett, SMHS, Gholson
Kendall Rhymer, SMHS, Gholson
5-8 Winners:
Cierra Wolfe, SME, Faithe Giaquinto
Anna Ruth Hills, SC, Tara Williams
Taleigh Verrault, SC, Amanda Eichhorn
Shea Wargo, CV, Lora Cox
5-8 Honorable Mentions:
Calista Cruea, CV, Lora Cox
Alice Stephens, CV, Kristin Menickelli
Carson Frady, CV, Jennifer Patten
K-4 Winners:
Katona Fabian, CV, Lori Wright
Tyra Sterling, CV, Gretchen McCue
Lulu Garcia Santiago, CV, Gretchen McCue
Class Poem, CV, Carly Borchelt and Jennifer Powell
Class Poem, CV, Sandra McMahan
K-4 Honorable Mentions:
Zeke Brown, CV, Erin McDaniel
Carly Hester, CV, Drew Solesbee
Elijah Morgan, CV, Gretchen McCue
On display: poetry and artwork by Holly Rowan’s third- and fourth-graders at Fairview School.
High School:
Winter
And so you lay there,
ragged and raw, bleeding
brown, orange, red, copper blood,
jagged droplets
that trace a phantom breeze.
There are the evergreens.
They’re watching, mourning.
When the sun sets chill
and snowfall
will forge a frozen casket.
There’s a sort of sleep
that isn’t sleep,
a death that isn’t death.
Shivering and alone
the mind embraces hollow shadows.
But cuts are closing.
You are rocked
by the ice that burns your skin.
It will hold you,
and kiss your head with ever bluing lips.
Then the snow melts
you will reach
like a flower towards the sun.
Scars cast shadows,
but like the roots only show where you’re coming from.
And if the summer
burns you slowly
and you drown in autumn blood,
breathe, just breathe;
The ice only lasts ‘till the healing’s done.
Abigail Zuelch, 10th grade, SMHS
Comparison
Maybe it was the slurring words of women
Or the meaty hand of a man.
Maybe it was the bruises or stinging skin
Or the dark, brooding skies.
Maybe it was the low self-esteem
Or the hopeless feeling.
Just maybe it could be the laughter
Or the way the sun heats the world with rays.
Maybe it’s the birds’ song
Or the feeling of lips on my skin.
Maybe it’s the tall green grass
or the patter of a horse’s hooves
A mix of both,
Coating the only world we knew.
Brittney Davis, 10th grade, SMHS
About Rain
It’s dark and cloudy as the rain comes in.
It’s like the sky is crying for us.
The rain is like tears of the small children who have been forgotten.
Hearing the rain hit the roof reminds me of the ticking
clock in a small class room.
The splashes from the cars are like the forgotten children
playing in the rain puddles.
When the rain goes away it’s as if the children leave with it.
Chasity Bark, 12h grade, SMHS
She Is Me But She is Not Me
She has beaten me many times.
She is stronger than me.
She knows everything about me.
Including my deepest secrets.
She takes advantage of my strength.
She has taken the last little bit of voice I have.
She haunts my dreams.
Always lurking in the shadows of every twist and turn.
But no more will I be scared.
I will beat her.
I know her.
I know all of her moves.
Every day I will get stronger.
EVery day I will bring in more light, so she can no longer linger in my dreams.
For she will not be there.
I have pushed away her bad thoughts.
She will no longer control MY life.
I am better than she is.
I will win this time.
I know she will lose, because she is the old me.
I AM THE NEW ME!
Kayla Cochran, 9th grade, SMHS
Honorable Mentions:
Sweet Sadness
It felt like a hand
Was crushing my
heart.
Yet I took it
And welcomed
An old friend.
Sadness swept
Over me
Like a blanket
Of Snow
on a cold morning.
I did not run.
There was he
Helping this
Lonely depression.
All you can do
Is climb out of
The black hole or
Slip deeper in.
It is never easy.
It is always there.
Sometimes hiding out,
Other times you let it
Consume you whole.
You do not deserve
This treatment,
But you think
You do.
Tiffany Bennett, 10 grade, SMHS
Luminescent
This is no longer a book;
Its pages have been cut, ripped, torn, taped and painted.
Its stories are no longer here.
But they still live on in the hearts of whoever has read this book.
This book has been transformed into a work of art.
It now holds a new story...
A story about my dreams, my hopes and my hard work.
This book is a stage where my imagination can roam freely.
Where it is allowed to take the form of anything it wants.
This is no longer a book.
It’s a portal to my soul, this is where my soul is illuminated.
This is a window to the workings of my brain the the thoughts
that pass through it.
Kendall Rhymer, 12th grade, SMHS
GRADES 4-8 Top Four:
UNTITLED 1-3
Untitled #1
Each night Father fills me with dread
When he sits on the foot of my bed,
I’d not mind that he speaks
In gibbers and squeaks,
But for seventeen years he’s been dead.
All Monsters Are Human
It’s all a nightmare
And you can’t wake up
Lies like scars on your soul
They destroy you
Monsters
Don’t sleep under
Your bed
They scream
Inside your head.
You’re the only light I’ve ever known.
Untitled #2
Growing up is a scary, scary thing
The real world is a scary, scary place
I’m starting to wonder if anyone is actually
Prepared for real life.
Untitled #3
Beauty is also
About the way you
Move, speak and
Express yourself.
It’s about good health,
Warmth, spontaneity
And charisma.
Cierra Wolfe, 8th grade, Smokey Mountain Elementary
She
She was beautiful
in her very own way
She never cared what others
Had to say
She dreamed and
with the flowers she would sway
She thought of places
Far Away
And just like pollen
in the summer breeze
It would pick her up
And carry her away.
Anna Ruth Hill, 8th grade, Scotts Creek School
The Whispering Trees
The whispering ttress high in the mountains
If you listen you can hear
why I gallop to and fro, why do I, you ask, well...
Here’s a little secret
For the whispering trees well
You may know them as the...
Smoky Mountain Trees.
Shea Vargo, 5th grade, Cullowhee VAlley
Wonders of Spring
The grass so green
The sky so blue
Wonders of spring
For me and you
The mist fades away
The joys of spring we share
Flowers start to sprout
And bloom everywhere
As the sun goes away
The moon will come out
Crickets start to chirp
The fireflies fly about
This was the end
Of a perfect spring day
But maybe next time
The sun will come and stay
Taleigh Verrault, 8th grade, Scotts Creek School,
Honorable Mentions:
Prayer: for the Mountains
Sometimes I wonder why bears are bears
and why fish are fish, but I love the mountains, that’s all
I got to say. I love the mountains every day.
Sometimes I can’t help sticking my toes in the water
and eating the honeysuckle blossoms.
I love the mountains and the birds as they sing.
I love watching my dog leap and be free
And watching my sister run away from the bees!
Calista Cruea, 5th grade, Cullowhee Valley
The Smoky Mountains
These tall giants tower over us like skyscrapers.
Their rich soil grows lush plants and trees.
These mountains protect us from the dangers of the storms.
They give us humans and animals shelter.
The see these mountains as just chunks of land
but they are more than that, they are a part of our heritage.
These are the Great Smoky Mountains.
Carson Frady, 6th grade, Cullowhee Valley
Mountains
They live taller than a skyscraper!
I grew up in the mountains.
They can be GIGANTIC and they can be small.
But the most beautiful thing about them is
that they are not man-made. They grow by themselves.
It doesn’t matter about their size or beauty.
I just matters that we keep them healthy
and not throw trash on the ground of our beautiful mountains.
So please don’t mess them up!
Please help them stay how they are
so they can keep their beautiful animals and rivers
trees and grass!
Please love and take care of them!
Alice Stephens, Cullowhee Valley
Grades K-4:
Song for the Mountains
I laugh
I cry
I dance around the mountains
I run
I play
I sing a song for the mountains
I live
I love
I love the mountains
Lulu Garcia Santiago, Cullowhee Valley
My Stinky Feet
My feet my feet my stinky feet
I light and I play on
My feet All day
Nothing can stop me oh not today
I go to the mountains
To play all day
I go to my bed and shut my
Eyes and go to sleep
And then pet my sheep.
Katona Fabian
Cullowhee VAlley, 3rd grade
The Mountains
I run
I play
I dance all day
I laugh
I cry
I sing a lullaby
I roll in the grass so fine
I wish it could be mine
All these things I do are fun
I do them in the mountains
Tyra Sterling, 4th grade, Cullowhee VAlley
My Mountains (Class Poem)
Make Me Happy
Oh I love the Mountains
Under the Shiny Stars
Never stay the Same
The Mountains are Beautiful
Amazing to Mee
It’s Spring on the Mountain
New Leaves on the Trees
Sometimes Blue
Mrs. Madill & Mrs. Irwin’s Kindergarten, Cullowhee Valley School
MOUNTAINS (Class poem)
Morning fog
On the river going by
Under the cloudy sky
Nothing else comes
They are so beautiful
And the sun peeps through
I love mornings on the mountain
Never stays the same
Stars come
Mrs. Borchelt’s & Mrs. Powell’s Kindergarten
Cullowhee Valley School
Honorable Mentions:
The Smoky Mountains
The Smoky Mountains are home to many rivers
but none like the Tuckasegee.
I love to play in the river because
it brings back many memories
of when my papa George used to play
in the river,
but he died of cancer.
I fish in the river where I caught my first fish.
But when the rain raises the river, it can get very dangerous.
When my life is done, I’ll ask the Lord
for me to see one last river
and it will be the Tuckasegee.
Zeke Brown, Cullowhee Valley, 3rd grade
I HEAR MUSIC
I HEAR MUSIC ACROSS THE STREET.
I START TAPPING THE BEAT
WITH MY FEET
I HEAR “OLD JOE CLARK AND THE CRAWDAD SONG,
THEN I GET MY GUITAR AND PLAY ALONG
FIDDLE, BANJO, MANDOLIN TOO,
THE SONG IS SO HAPPY SO WHY ARE YOU BLUE?
THE SONGS ARE TRADITIONAL, YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN.
I HAVE TO END AND SAY GOODBYE,
BUT I WILL KEEP SINGING TILL MORNING IS NIGHT.
CARLY HESTER, 4TH GRADE, CULLOWHEE VALLEY
Flowing in Gloryland
I step into the rushing water,
As I feel the scales of fish, I start to slip on a wet stone.
Swept to the edge I know I must jump!
Leaping from that spot I soar with the eagle...
My winged warrior
My guide to salvation
He leads me home
As I feel the scales of fish, I start to slip on a wet stone.
Swept to the edge I know I must jump!
Leaping from that spot I soar with the eagle...
My winged warrior
My guide to salvation
He leads me home
Elijah Cooper Morgan, Cullowhee Valley, 4th grade
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