2006 Poetry Contest Winners
A special thank you to all who submitted entries, and congratulations to our 2006 BookFestWindsor Poetry Contest Winners!Award Winners, Ages 10 - 13
1st Place: Adam Dattilo, "Freedom"
Thinking what I want to thinkRegardless of what others say
Saying what I want to say
Without the fear of punishment
Doing what I want to do
Without asking for permission
Making a choice
Without fear of failure
Being who I am
Without being judged
Something everybody wants
Something nobody really has
Something different for everybody
Freedom
2nd Place: Anthony Puzzuoli, "Freedom"
Sometimes I wonder what it is like to have freedom,Like a gorilla swinging from tree to tree,
Or like young birds way up in the skies,
calling to each other with happy cries.
Oh, to be free and without care,
Not to live in danger or constant fear.
To live each day and spread my wings,
To be forever untouched by horrible things.
2nd Place: Anthony Puzzuoli, "Soldiers Bring Freedom in Our Lives"
Every night I have something in my mind,And I always feel a sudden chill.
I wonder how many soldiers have died by protecting and
serving our country by day and night.
It is these soldiers that help bring freedom
in our lives,
And never bring danger in our countries.
I begin to wonder why these wonderful people are
Gunned down and killed.
Even though many soldiers have died,
They still exist to many of us, deep down
in our hearts.
3rd Place: Nicole Rivest, "Freedom"
The man watched covered in white and blackA man going to the doctor with a cold
And coming out healthy
The man watched clinging to the bars
The new Prime Minister say his victory speech
And talking about how the people made a good choice
Of choosing him over the three other parties that participated
The man lifted his chains and wondered
What his daughter was wearing and doing
Knowing his son was doing the opposite
The man wished that he could be free
Award Winners, Ages 14 & up
1st Place: Javaughn Langlois, "Buttress Poem"
freedom for the people that slave to pave a way for you to prosperlocked up, may our pain be your champagne
for every fortune made there's a crime, that stops us
what's right for you is wrong for us
and what i write is not to be trusted
the buttress that keeps us walkin the same path
desperate to arrest us young and benevolent hardheads
killin our spirits but we were already born dead
living in the truest lies while we still following the laws of the bluest eyes
this is for the jailbird, the felon, the convict and the 3 time loser
a message to the CO's, the wardens, the commissary and the legal aid
because once they're done railroading our lives they go to lunch together
say they want us successful but thats never the case
start to walk the same path, your skin's dark, shine a light in your face
we're never free, we're only licensed
not strong, only aggressive
that's why we are subjected to the laws of the oppressive
2nd Place: Missy Savro, "The Extent of Reality"
Is it the visually inviting blue-green colour of the ocean?Imitating rhythms and rhymes of a chime
As rejuvenating, relaxing, and refreshing as one indulging in a craved sensation of chocolate
Is it the security of having someone telling you where and how to swim,
Not the risk of learning for yourself
Making decisions! For you?
Or is it being able to enrapture the sea, ride the wave, dive to brilliant reefs of
extraordinary colours and culture in itself, chase the tide,
Having no limitations but reality.
For all reality is
Is a way to connect physically.
A veil of illusion
Pulled over the eyes of the world until our self-identity tears it
off.
The illusion of the blue-green colour of the ocean.
A reflection of the sky,
An imitation of above that hides the world beneath.
Unable to be penetrated because of appearances.
A veil of illusion.
Water is translucent but the ocean is not.
Is that what we believe? Or what we are told?
Ultimate freedom
Of the physical body that does not truly exist in true reality
Or of the spirit and soul penetrated by individualism.
The light at the end of the road we hope
To attain
Moksha, Rapture, Heaven, Nirvana
Is overcome by false overly dependent "copies" which we without cannot
cope.
We the privileged in "Free North America"
Exercise constitutional rights but not those of which develop individually
therefore
denying what one aspires to gain.
Do those in oppression, poverty, slavery, apartheid, or captivated
in samsara have
a greater sense of what western society lacks?
How free are you?
Reality, in itself, does not exist.
It is a stain glass window, painted to perfection
But a border to what is outside the frame.
3rd Place Tie: Kristina Simic, "The Shell"
It's a shell,A shell.
So why do people make such a big deal?
Why do they fret about?
It's a shell,
A shell.
It's not so bad,
It's like all the rest.
It's a shell,
A shell.
It dresses different and seeks to be different,
But it is the same as the others.
It's a shell,
A shell.
It talks and breathes.
It lives.
Look inside the shell,
The shell,
The shell!
What is inside is important.
What of the shell?
What of that body?
It encases the real me!
It is a holder of the physical me!
Look inside of me,
Me,
Me!
Does it matter of my race?
Does it matter of my religion?
What does it matter?
Inside the shell is a pearl,
A white, shining pearl,
Unique from all the rest.
The one thing that wants to be loved,
The one thing that makes me me.
What of the shell?
What matters is the pearl,
The heart,
The soul.
3rd Place Tie: Keri-lynn Power, "Freedom Dance"
Arms free from chainsNo ropes shall bound these legs
I am free to dance
Free to live my hopes and dreams
Never can I be held
I shall dance my dance
Freedom is my song
And freedom is the dance
I will move with peace
Let arms and legs be free
Come and watch me if you can
For freedom is dancing next to me
Let the dance be contagious
Let others follow my lead
Let's dance this dance of freedom
And help others to be free
All poems on this page are the copyright (© 2006) of their respective authors, and may not be reproduced without permission.