Kids winners

First Place

A Quiet Journey
Mother elephant tiptoes across the hushed savannah. She stretches her neck as if to be closer to the end of endless lands. She sniffs the air with her wandering trunk. It lifts and curls like a cobra, ready to strike. She catches the scent of a waterhole, and continues in its direction. A young bull follows, kicking up the dry dust and tumbling to the ground. Mother elephant steadies him and flaps her ears to cool. A shiny black fly whispers on the verge of silence. The two elephants reach the waterhole and slowly take a drink.

—Simone Hammett-Lynch
age 10

Simone is a multitalented kid if we ever met one. The Blue Oak Charter School fifth-grader won this year’s poetry contest, along with an honorable mention, took second place in last year’s fiction contest and is also an accomplished fiddler. Her mother, Jennie Hammett, has a poem in the honorable mention category of the adult winners as well.

Second Place

Untitled
She lie she lie
She lackaloo
Wackalacka sackalacka
She bobaloo

—Tanner Ehorn
age 9

Tanner is a fourth-grader at Evergreen Elementary in Cottonwood. He admits he’s not much of a writer—he prefers to be outdoors, hunting, fishing and working on cars. But clearly he has a way with words anyway!

Third Place

Brass Cow
A yak from Nepal
Ding, ding
Rings its bell
Sturdy legs
Friendly horns
Pure water
On its back
I bring you gifts, he says

—Adam Bohach
age 6

Adam is a first-grader at Montessori Elementary School. He enjoys writing and playing outdoors and submitted this poem as a class project.

Honorable Mentions

Snowflakes
Snowflakes falling down like broken hearts and
mended fears
We try to catch them, but it is impossible to
catch broken hearts and fears
They must mend themselves because no one
knows how, not even I

—Elizabeth Miller
age 9

Untitled
A jellyfish in a blue sea
That shines
In the light
Tingles in the cold
Its friendly stingers
Line the pink rope
That dangles
From its king’s cap

—Braeden Chapla
age 7

Untitled

Your great dane, better watch out…there’s a new dog in town!
This dog isn’t tied up on a rope or chain,
so mean people start runnin’ – ’cause this dog’ll cause pain!
They don’t like it when you call them “itsy-bitsy” or “kernels of corn,” so I’m tellin’ you now, consider yourself warned.
And if you think this is all just a joke, I’ll call them up right now… “The Chihuahua Security Co.”

—Arianna Sells
age 10

Go, Go
Go, go
said the wind
down, down
through the valley
up, up
to the mountains
Home, home
to the clouds.

go, go
said the clouds
rain, rain
on the valley
’round, ’round
the mountains
safe, safe
in the sky.

go, go
said the sun
shine, shine
for the valley
up, up
to the heavens
down, down
’til night.

Go, go
said the moon
rise, rise
in the sky
glow, glow
for the world
hide, hide
from the light.

—Olivia Steger
age 11

Untitled
What is a bird?
It eats smooth worms
It swoops down to catch mice
It coasts
In the happy summer

—Neil Bajaj
age 5

Snowy Egrets
In the sky I see snowy egrets passing by
Look at them go—watch them fly!
They take my breath—they make me sigh.

—Zoe Karch
age 9

In the Kitchen
There’s pots and pans,
There’s forks and knives,
There’s drawers and cabinets,
There’s stoves and ovens,
There’s fridges and freezers,
And there’s sinks and dishwashers,
All in the kitchen, my favorite place.
The pan sizzles, the pots boil,
The forks stab, the knives chop,
The drawers close, the cabinets slam,
The stoves heat, the ovens bake,
The fridge cools, the freezer freezes,
And the sink drips while the dishwasher runs …
All of this happens in the kitchen!

—Alexa Renee Croup
age 9

Winter Morning
The early morning light glistens on the frosty grass.
The sun shines like a cold crystal in the icy blue skies.
I walk through chilly mists as dry brown leaves crunch under my sneakers.
I embrace these winter mornings.

—Simone Hammett-Lynch
age 10