Artist of the Week

April Poetry Contest

The April Poetry Contest winners have been announced. For this last contest of the school year students were to write a poem about the first small sign of spring. Barbara Stout ’66, English teacher and contest coordinator, urged participants to “avoid writing clichés about blue skies, green grass, buds in trees, birds singing, etc. Look more closely at the world around you,” she noted. “Notice details. Notice and write about small, wonderful changes that herald spring’s arrival.” Students were able to write in form or in free verse, but each entry was to be no longer than 20 lines.

Congratulations to the winners and to every student who entered the contest!

First Place: Emily Bredemeyer, “The Landscaper’s Wife”
Second Place: Maranatha Kure, “Freedom”
Third Place: Ellie Shotton, “Captive”
Honorable Mention: Caralyn Barrett, “A Fake Spring”
Liam Fistos, Untitled

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The Landscaper's Wife
Emily Bredemeyer

I lay in bed this morning
and knew that spring was here.
I could not smell the fresh cut lawn,
nor could I hear the birds chirping.
A drip down my throat
told me that spring was here.

I walked to the lake midday
and knew that spring was here.
I could not see the buds on the trees,
nor could I feel the warmth of the sun.
The itch in my eye
told me that spring was here.

I closed my eyes this evening
and knew that spring was here.
I could hear the spring peepers
and feel the cool breeze,
but it was the sighs of my husband
that told me spring was here.

Please visit Poetry Alley in Foley Hall to read the other winning poems.