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2003

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POETRY

“Wetland Friends”

Amanda Baron

High Meadows

Roswell

Teacher: Brenda Major

National Finalist

“Rain Drops”

Lee Cromwell

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

National Finalist

“The Domino Effect”

Nicholas Grivas

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

National Finalist

“Oblivious”

Terry Keys

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

National Finalist

“Drowning the Phoenix”

Katy Moore

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

National Finalist

“Montage”

Nattima Pranayanantn

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

National Finalist

“A Dirty River”

Alex Bragan

Huntley Hills Elementary

Chamblee

Teacher: Carolyn Cagle

State Winner

“Nature’s Jewels”

Jeanie Choi

J.C. Booth

Peachtree City

Teacher: Jennifer Ritter

State Winner

“Sunset Play”

Anna Comstock

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

State Winner

“Looking Downstream”

Courtney Duncan

Pharr Elementary

Snellville

Teacher: Staley Smith

State Winner

“Untitled”

Keith Goldberg

Evans Elementary

Martinez

Teacher: Marchman

State Winner

“Reflections”

Craig Handy

J.C. Booth Middle

Peachtree City

Teacher: Jennifer Ritter

State Winner

State Winner

“Rocky River”

Madeline Hewatt

Pharr Elementary

Snellville

Teacher: Staley Smith

State Winner

“Elements of the Earth”

Maya Killingsworth

The Children’s School

Atlanta
Teacher: Lisa Helsel

State Winner

“Reflections of Me”

Spencer Korchan

Tritt Elementary

Marietta

Teacher: Wendy Limerick/Tamera Neal

State Winner

“Wading and Waiting”

Michael Lancette

Druid Hills High

Atlanta

Teacher: Betsy Eppes

State Winner

“Under a Watery Surface”

Kelsey Randall

Holy Innocent’s School

Atlanta

Teacher: Renee Gracon

State Winner

"Loggerhead Turtle Commemorative Stamp Design"

Luke Tassopoulos

Casa Montessori

Marietta

Teacher: Hedwig O'Brien

State Winner

"Light on the Water"

Anna Sophia Wendorf

Evans High 

Evans

Teacher: Pamela Segers

State Winner

 Closed Ears 

              I

Now is the silence, that cool last

Silence before 

the mural’s skewed, the music cut; 

before my ears are abused

      by the rough, vulgar

beep  (whirr click) of everything else. 

What sweet poetry is

      the spider’s web:

life without fanfare and

death without tragedy

played among the deaf silver violin

      strings hung with dew

so tightly strung beyond

      our understanding.

The little septic pool

flowing back of the house

must babble and rush.

For all the water we don’t have

it must be Styx, Nile, Yellow, Amazon- -

      with it’s extravagant filth.

                        II

 As I am teased, cajoled, ushered along

       the lifeless pavement toward home

I am enraptured, struck by the embrace of the late fog,

        I squint through the dense, muddled air

of this grey winter and find I long

for the fire of fall, and the fine noise.

The neighborhood is a poor stage

for this drama: the muted trees, dwarfed by

closed houses, closed windows.

A silent season.

Tiffanie Jones

12^th Grade

Chamblee Charter High

Chamblee

2004 National Grand Prize Winner

Africa 

My hips have danced

            the rhythm of the Congo and

From my womb

Have come forth empires and tribes:

            Egyptians, the Ashanti, the Dinka, and the Ibo.

When I cried

            my tears filled the Nile and

Upon my laughter,

            birds sang

            and lions roared

            and locusts danced.

As my eyelashes beat,

            the grasses of the Savannah swayed.

My skin,

            in its beautiful brown,

            kissed by the heat of the Heavens,

Created the sands of the Sahara and

            the fertile ground for growing yams.

From my scalp

            came the thick, coarse roots

            of the jungles.

These eyes

Are the reddest suns

            in times of my wrath;

Of the bluest moons

            when peace takes me over.

I am Africa –

            Earth, Air, and Heaven.

I am the Motherland;

            The sweet daughter of Nature.

I am Africa.

Camesha Mitchell

12^th Grade

Chamblee Charter H.S.

Chamblee

National Finalist

Rain 

Lightning dances beneath the tumbling surface

of furrowed, thundering clouds

and suddenly, the fever breaks

droplets pour

and collect in my hands.

Of all the words in the English language

these have fallen together

to form

one small gift. 

Bethany Bernard

12^th Grade

North Gwinnett High

Suwanee

Teacher: John Bush

National Finalist

On Forgetting

it’s easy to forget

                                                                                    the air

(so soft and hushed just floating there)

                                                                                    the moon

(quietly looming moving so slowly

you even don’t notice

until it slips off in the morning)

                                                                                    the sky

(pinned up at night by the little pricks of light)

                                                                                    the trees

(bent piously under the glorious weight

of it all)

                                                                                    the water

(slithering sinuously and gracefully

light tickling its back)

it’s so easy to forget

until one night

you step out and

the moon is a giant circle

punched out of paper by a four-year old

bold and grinning

the trees reach and sing hallelujah

skies soar up

and the air is so still

that you can almost see

the little breezes that butterfly-kiss your cheek.

for a moment the splendor

is crushing.

Catherine Killingsworth

12^th Grade

Chamblee Charter High

Chamblee

National Finalist

Turtle Beach 

1,000 megapixels of:

taffy air, grandma sun-hats,

pretty princess shovels-

poised and ready to dig

into summer’s snow.

A butter pecan froth,

hang gliding on gravity’s good will,

238,606 miles below the source;

a mutual relationship:

water and gravity—

g-force just beats me into the ground

like the stake of a tent;

I am the parasite.

I could set my watch by it, the tide,

but time left me

- - like a sundial after dark- -

…back in some place called Kokomo

I changed to a telephoto lens.

Now, is it land on water or water on

land?

White on black or black on white?

I can never remember.

I switch to panoramic mode.

The horizon is a myth, anyway.

just a point where

my eyes end and the sea begins

to stretch her quads.

Bridget Walsh

12^th Grade

North Gwinnett High

Suwanee

National Finalist

River Memories 

My mom says the river has memories.

I think she’s right.

Some memories are bad…

Like people putting trash and

bad chemicals in the water.

I hope our river has good memories…

Like a deer or a bear coming to visit

And a boy or a fish splashing in the water. 

Connor Clark

Kindergarten

Chestatee Elementary

State Winner

Under Construction

 I used to go enjoy the lake,

Sun reflecting in my wake.

I could go play and have some fun,

Sadly, now that time is done.

No one goes in anymore,

With so little water, it’s an eyesore,

Being refilled with every rain,

When it’s done, I’ll have fun again.

Canoeing almost every day,

It will be lovelier than I can say.

 Henry Smith

7^th Grade

J.C. Booth Middle

State Winner

A River is Flowing 

Imagine a scene of tranquility,

Shady trees, lush grass, rich soil,

A river is flowing.

Now comes a family that builds a cabin,

Sturdy walls, new beginnings, panoramic beauty,

A river is flowing.

A grandfather’s death brings relatives near,

Inherited land, a cabin demolished, a dream realized,

A river is flowing.

A country falls upon hard times,

Bankruptcy looms, repossession of land, a dream defeated,

A river is flowing.

An entrepreneur has high aspirations,

Loans secured, land purchased, opportunities abound,

A river is flowing.

He builds a business from nothing,

Jobs created, finished products, open market,

A river is flowing.

A large corporation crushes competition,

Business sold, land desecrated, factories built,

A river is flowing.

Chemical runoff destroys,

Water polluted, wildlife annihilated, nothing left,

The river flows no more.

Elliott Froehbrodt

12^th Grade

Chamblee Charter High

State Winner

Numb

Stepping out

Breaking away from all the other drops

Out to the platform

To tip of my index finger

Not even feeling it…Numb

About to fall

It lingers there for a moment

Like stepping on a stage for your first monologue

Leaving your parents for the first time

Having your first child

Meeting every hardship life throws

That brief second of surreal cloudiness

When time slows in the muggy steam of the shower

As other drops cry for their turn to take the next step

Towards existence

‘Lil Droplet fights the temptation of gravity

Hanging over the abyss unsure of

What to do

Then, ‘Lil Water Droplet breathes and takes that leap

Into the big puddle and eventually

Down the shower drain 

Hope Mullinax

10^th Grade

North Gwinnett High

State Winner

The River 

A river is flowing, it’s passing me by

reflecting the birds and showing the sky.

I look at the plants; they sway in its bed,

and I see the fish that swim on ahead.

A river is going just flowing past me

It dampens the dirt and hugs the tree.

It suffered a mudslide; it survived a storm,

and the people just let its beauty be torn.

A river is flowing, its dead and forlorn

because we’ve been polluting since this river was born

it no longer sparkles with a radiant glare,

we just kept polluting, we just didn’t care.

Joey Davila

7^th Grade

Fort Middle

State Winner

Ways of Water

Rain makes Rivers,

Springs makes streams,

Water is life for everything.

Lakes are blue,

Swamps are green,

Lots of animals can be seen.

Sometimes warm,

Always wet,

It’s the best drink for your pet.

Seas are cold,

Oceans are clear,

How many boats will sail this year?

Swim in a pool,

Fish at a pond,

Water reflects the break of dawn.

Take a bath,

Wash a pan,

Save as much water as you can!

Joseph Barrett

1^st Grade

Pharr Elementary

State Winner

Lazy Creek

 Calm and peaceful throughout the night

Waiting until the moment is just right

Then, swaying gently from side to side

Bringing in the morning’s sweet tide

The growing light dances and sings on the top

Oblivious to time screaming, pleading, “Don’t stop!”

Though life may seem busy

Going from day to week

All is solemn and beautiful

In this one lazy creek

Killian Dortch

8^th Grade

Clifton Ridge Middle

State Winner

Earth Speaks

You see me?

 Yea…try looking down,

 I’d bet you forgot me

 With your Dr. Scholls to protect your little feet

 I’d bet you don’t even

 Remember the feeling of mud between toes

 You came from mud

 And now you act like

 you don’t even know me.

 You think 4 inches of high heel is

 Enough to escape me?

 Not forever

Because I’m here.

 I’m always here.

 When you ran barefoot all summer,

 And when your first pair of heels

 Squashed deep into the lawn,

 When you ate mud pies—

 You’ve moved on to the “five second rule”

I can wait

 Have you read your Newsweek?

 Or what about mythology?

 Dirt makes you strong

 As if I didn’t know that

 I’ll wait.

 I’ll wait for the touch of bare toes

 Reveling in cool mud.

Kait Stanhope

11^th Grade

Chamblee Charter High

State Winner

The Freest Element

What does it mean

To feel the rough of a wild tongue

Imbibe part of your being

To be swallowed

Down into a dark void

To bead up upon fresh leaves

In the early hours of Spring

To become one with the clouds

Then tumble to earth again

To spatter upon the shoreline

But never know the shore

What does it mean

To not have to choose

But let Mother Nature desire for you

To flow about

Into the unknown chasms of life

To separate into two bodies, still one

And take both pathways

To go nowhere in particular

And end up everywhere all at once

What does it mean

To be able to become

Coming together with what grasps to you

To take shape to whatever your surroundings

To never have to breath

And yet be the breath of life

To be one with all things

 and become all things in nature

Katie Zelinski

12^th Grade

North Gwinnett High

State Winner