Teen Poetry Contest 2009

First Place
If a Heart was a House
by Kate Maher

If your heart was a house,
would it be big or small?
Mr. Reilly, old and bitter.
His house would be a shack,
if a heart was a house.
Each shingle a dollar, or drink.
His wife, long gone;
made his house compress,
if a heart was a house.
What children and grandchildren?
What nieces and nephews?
What cousins and seconds?

Little Mary,
Young and sweet;
would live in a castle,
if a heart was a house.
Each brick the people
and places she loves.
Each day you hear the drilling
of a new addition,
if a heart was a house.
What hunger and war?
What hate and sadness?
What little old shacks?
If your heart was a house,
would it be big or small?

Second Place
Through Their Eyes
by Jordan Hutensky

The colors swirl and blend
Browns, blues, yellows,
Oranges, greens, purples and reds
Showing every person a
Different hidden image

Some see a wave of blue
Crashing on a distant yellow beach
Others discern a flock of multicolored
Birds, crying each their unique sound

The musicians see the sound
Of instruments, a deep purple bass
A yellow trumpet, a blue guitar
Blending, creating, playing

The little boy who scraped his knee
Sees a world without pain
A place where his mommy is
Always right beside him
Comforting, kissing, telling him a story

The wise old man sees
The life beyond, where he can
Live with his beloved once more

The young girl on her wedding day
Sees her life ahead of her,
Long, happy prosperous

The same object,
But not one view is alike
Everyone sees something different
In a kaleidoscope

Third Place
A Band or a Person?
by James J. Frazier

The guitarist plays the sweetest tune
It sinks deep into my soul
I can feel it saying something
As if a story is being told
The guitarist gives the song flare
He plays it with soul over, and over
With such intricate care

The drummer plays a steady beat
Oh, oh so steady
He keeps the tempo with the band
Always knowing when to be ready
The beat gets faster and faster then from the start
As the tempo becomes faster and faster
So does the beat of my heart.

The piano is dynamic and complicated
It keeps the melody with grace
It guides the music swiftly and elegance
The hammers coming down with such a fast pace
It sends messages to the instruments
It makes me think over and over
About how it works and functions
Maybe it’s the mind of the Music

I hear the trumpets and horns
They’re blowing and blowing away
It’s like their yelling at me
As if they have something to say

They yell at me emphasizing every single word
As if a voice was crying out yearning to be heard
 
So is this a band or a person
Or could it be both
It has a story to be told
It has a heart a mind
A voice and a soul
So together what are they
 
I have a soul a heart a voice and a mind
So maybe I’m the music
I’m the band and God is the composer
Making these sounds together
It brings us both much closer
What I will do I don’t know
It’s a choice I have to take
But another question is
When I’m with God
What kind of Music will he make?