NC STUDENT LAUREATE AWARDS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL: LINDSEY DODGE, CAITLIN PARRIS, AND ABRIANNA BERRY

Macon Middle School in Franklin, NC, swept the Middle School category in our third annual NC English Teachers Association Student Poet Laureate Awards, judged by Cathy Smith Bowers, our state Poet Laureate. They are receiving their awards today at the annual conference held at Wake Forest University. Falecia Metcalf was our Second Prize winner last year. Addie Fairchild has been among the winners of the Mount Jefferson State Park's annual poetry contests. Congratulations to these five young poets!

Abrianna Berry, Caitlin Parris, and Lindsey Dodge, Macon County Middle School








First Prize: TIE


Everything




Everything is the same
Her clothes still hang in the closet
Pictures sit there gathering dust
There's still her place on their bed
Pawpaw doesn't disturb


by Lindsey Dodge, Macon Middle School, Franklin, NC




Kathy


I loved to watch her
in her big sun hat,
wiping the sweat
from her face,
kneeling on the ground
like she was praying.


The flowers she planted
were the most beautiful things
I have ever seen.


When she watered them,
the water would dance across them,
the sun shining over them.




Caitlin Parris
Macon Middle School








Second:


Squirrel Hunting With My Dad


We went up the mountain where
My dad hunted when he was little.
It was cold, the wind
Whipping up the holler, trees shaking.
Me and Daddy went to the top of the mountain.
We sat down and waited and had
A silent talk.


*******
by Abrianna Berry, Macon Middle School




Honorable Mention:




Child of the Wind,

by Falecia Metcalf, N. Buncombe Middle School, Weaverville


Sing to me,
with a soft melody.
Talk to me,
as if to a child.
Comfort me,
as if I were yours,
because in my heart
I am.
Whisper to me,
with words of joy.
I belong right here,
spinning around and around.
Guide me,
with a helping hand.
Lead me,
for without that
I'd be lost forever.
Stop me,
and make me think clearly.
I've always felt this way
no way to make it stop.
Not always in this place,
but always remembering
that special feeling
of belonging
I'm always look for.
Cradle me;
I'm yours,
a child of the Wind



I FEEL THE SEASONS (Mount Jefferson)


I feel the winter coldness on my face,
the trees that cover me are all frozen
My nose is frozen.
The air is windy

The snow is all around me.

I feel the spring breeze through my hair,

From the bottom up I'm green all over.

Animals waking everywhere,
Flowers swaying along with the wind,
Flowers all around me.

I feel the summer sun on my shoulders,

People climbing to my peak.

The fiery warmth touches me day and night,

Picnics on my tree covered skirt,

Fireflies all around me.
I feel the chill through my ruffled coat,

As time changes, days get shorter.

Leaves are falling through the brisk air,

The temperature is dropping down low,
Bright Colors all around me.



Addie Fairchild
6th grade, Westwood Elementary
Jefferson, NC

STUDENT POET OF THE DAY: HANNAH MALOY

Here I sit drinking my morning coffee and reading Hannah Maloy's charming " Morning Coffee." Hannah is in the 6th grade at Macon Middle School.

MORNING COFFEE

To Ohio

past flat grounds.

I say,

"Mama, look at all those gardens."

To Aunt Soni's house

greeting them with

hugs and kisses.

Aunt Soni says,

"You've grown a mile."

Then to Meemee and PapaDon's

where in the morning,

PapaDon,

in his pj's,

drinks his coffee and

reads his newspaper.

He says, "Want some coffee, Sweetie?"

Hannah is the daughter of Holly and Mike Maloy of Franklin, NC.

STUDENT POET OF THE DAY: LINDSEY DODGE

Lindsey Dodge, a sixth grader at Macon Middle School in Franklin, has written a touching poem about the loss of her grandmother.

EVERYTHING

Everything is the same

Her clothes still hang in the closet

Pictures sit there gathering dust

There's still her place on their bed

Pawpaw doesn't disturb

by Lindsey Dodge

Lindsey's parents are Beth Simons and Paul Dodge of Franklin, North Carolina.

STUDENT POET OF THE DAY: ALEX DAVIS

Alex Davis's haiku-like poem has stayed in my mind ever since I first read it. I like the interplay between" tumbles" and "cushions".

THE WATERFALL

by Alex Davis

The water tumbles

Over the edge

The velvety moss

Cushions its fall.

Alex is a 6th grader at Macon County Middle School and is the son of Tina and Jason Bruce of Otto, North Carolina

STUDENT POET OF THE DAY: SARA JENKINS

Six grader Sara Jenkins has written a haunting poem about the ocean, not the sunny vista of Summer days but the depths and their secrets. Her ability to move this poem along in a compelling way impresses me. Sound effects (look at that second stanza...) work beautifully. Line breaks are good, as are the three-line stanzas, with the closing pared to two, clean and a bit scary. This piece reminds me of the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer's "Deep Down."

THE OCEAN

by Sara Jenkins

The sound of waves

crashing down

bothers me.

Its depth I fear

and things that swim the waters

with arms and legs and daggers.

The shipmates

lost at war

haunt the waters.

The secrets

never revealed.

-------------

Sara lives in Franklin, NC. Her parents are Tanya and Shannon Jenkins. Like Abrianna Berry she attends Macon Middle School.