Student Poets
Below
are the winning student poems of the Poetry Without Paper competition conducted
by the Gloucester Lyceum since the spring of 2003.
The contest began as a celebration of poetry month, April, and has been
an annual event ever since; over a thousand students have entered thousands of
poems. Winners were recognized in
three categories: elementary school, middle school, and high school. The
poems are headed with the winner's name, school, and grade level at the time of
the contest.
In addition, the Gloucester Poet Laureate Scholarship information can be found
after the student poems posted below.
2003
Poetry Contest Winners
Cathy Cusumano
First Place Winner, Elementary
St. Ann School, Grade 5
Him or Her?
Him or her?
Whom should I choose?
He is so fun and she is so nice.
He takes me places where I like to go.
She lets me come over and listen to the radio.
When he is there I feel so good.
When I'm with her hanging at the mall I feel right.
So my question is, him or her?
Kate Bresnahan
First Place Winner, Middle
Ralph B. O’Maley School, Grade 8
Nothing
Meet me, my name is nothing.
I can predict, I can foresee.
But no one ever listens.
Even in a time of great peril:
I am alone.
A loneliness I can't describe.
Even those I am closest to
Do not see me.
They cannot hear me.
Touch me, hate me, love me.
That is why I am alone.
Because they refuse to know me.
Nothing is a name I gave myself.
My true name has no meaning.
Because no one knows it.
They never tried to know it.
I try to reach out
But I must always pull back.
I am not allowed to love them.
It is fate.
Fate wants me to be alone.
Unable to see,
Unable to be seen.
I can hear, but cannot be heard.
That is why I call myself nothing.
My tears mean nothing
My cries mean nothing
My love means nothing:
I mean nothing.
Andrew Bergeron
First Place Winner, High
Grade 12, Gloucester High School
Flat Beer on a Sunday Night
Flat beer on a Sunday night
inspiring scribbled ramblings
out of half-drunken spite.
The incense burns, the radio sings
and on this notepad I confide.
Out of language I wring
the hopes and fears modified
into happy rhythms I despise
and tired rhymes that have been tried.
Using things like clouds and red to symbolize,
the strain and stress and frustration,
writing soliloquy while my heart drip-dries,
frying my brain till its overdone,
knowing my point, still unsung,
will go over the heads of everyone.
2004 Poetry Contest Winners
Heather Boudrow
First Place Winner, Elementary
Beeman Memorial School, Grade 3
My Cats
I have two cats
I am glad to say
that one is a little bit smarter.
One bats the fish tank
and the other one slides into walls.
Milo is the one who slides into walls
and Lily is the one who bats the fish tank.
Milo has no brakes
and Lily can't wait for a snack from the tank.
The silliest thing the two have done together is
falling down the stairs.
So which one is really a little bit smarter?
I am not really sure!
Emma
Chandler
First Place Winner, Middle
Glen Urquhart, Grade 8
Beach Day
The summer sun bronzes my light skin
as I lie in the sand.
I concentrate on the sounds of the waves
rolling over the sand,
and then hear them gurgle
and retreat back to the mothership, the whole ocean.
It spreads out, never ending.
I am covered in a blanket of sunshine and warmth.
The ocean beckons,
the small waves tease me,
tickling my toes.
I give in and wade in,
letting the cold spread up my body,
until it reaches the top,
My head is under.
The sound is gone.
I can think clearly now,
with just the bubbles
whispering to me.
I surface and breathe.
The sun greets me
as I lean my head back,
it reflects off my home,
making it shine
as if someone has dusted it
with diamonds
I let myself sink back under
and move with the current.
I feel complete
for a moment,while I am under.
Not grounded by gravity,
yet not flying out of control.
I am suspended in a liquid of tranquility
Not breathing, not suffocating,
just floating in bliss.
Kate Bresnahan
First Place Winner, High
Gloucester High School, Grade 9
Out of the Window
Out of the window
The land so quiet
The night bringing on its lust
The noise of the wind beckons me
And I can see the moon clouded over, hardly visible
No light, no sound
Only the wind and the faint glow of the moon
The trees sway in tune with a silent song
My hair flies out around me
It as though I'm flying
In this world that I have never seen before
No more tears can flow from my eyes
I can't make that happen anymore
Now that I have seen outside of my window
And into this place I have never known
The tears only come because of the sheer beauty
I can't hold it back
It's enchanting
And with a last breath I come back from my window
It smells different in the world I know
It is enchanting, but not in the way I have just experienced
It is beautiful
But not breathtaking
I now know what's beyond my window
How can I love that which I know now?
Now that the world beyond has come to life
I cannot appreciate the beauty I have created any longer
So I look out my window again
For that one breath
Of sensational wind
2005 Poetry Contest Winners
Alexandra McKay
First Place Winner, Elementary
Beeman Memorial School, Grade 3
Friends
Everybody has friends .
Even the stars have friends.
They glitter with the moon in the morning light.
Everybody has friends.
Even the sun has friends.
The sun is bright and the clouds are white.
Everybody has friends.
Even the planets late at night.
When the astronauts come in from flight.
Everybody has friends.
Samantha
Turner
First Place Winner, Middle
St. Ann School, Grade 7
Dreams and Nightmares
Open and sweet with bright colors
Anything can happen
Flying over the highest cloud
Dive into the deepest ocean
Climb the tallest mountain
Ride the fastest horse
Chase the wind in a game of tag
Peace is all around you
Darkness overwhelms the light
Pain consumes your happiness
For just a moment everything is still
Then chaos erupts all over
Shadows chase you to the brink of a cliff
Volcanoes explode with giant rocks
Floods and strong winds wash and scour the earth
Fires burn with powerful heat
Then courage comes and you fight back
You wield powers of untold forces
Passion to free yourself from evil fights
Light comes back
You have won
Warmth comes to touch your sleeping face
You wake up from the night's adventure
To go on to the new day's quest
Kaitlin
Nicolosi
First Place Winner, High
Gloucester High School, Grade 12
World Wonders
World wonders are small beauties, often lost in the blink of an eye.
They are shadowed by the extravagant, the flash of riches that we see,
It’s sad to know we often let the best things in life pass us by.
Like a string of laughter which makes us double over and cry,
Or even the soft curve of a smile one can so brilliantly foresee,
World wonders are small beauties, often lost in the blink of an eye.
A kiss so sweet and gentle that the lungs exert a sigh,
Watching nighttime as the waves wash out slowly past the sea,
It’s sad to know we often let the best things in life pass us by.
Late afternoon swimming and early evening cookouts in July,
The delicacy of autumn with burnt citrus leaves in each tree,
World wonders are small beauties, often lost in the blink of an eye.
A friendship formed where a shell was cracked in someone that was shy,
Or genuine surprises that bring a glow to the cheek and a tremble to the knee.
It’s sad to know we often let the best things in life pass us by.
A face adorned with makeup is the beauty that you buy,
But life is far more glamorous than a cosmetic will ever be.
World wonders are small beauties, often lost in the blink of an eye.
It’s sad to know we often let the best things in life pass us by.
2006 Poetry Contest Winners
Billy O'Donnell
First Place Winner, Elementary
Brookwood School, Grade 5
Aviation
I left you far behind today,
With your gravity-bound ways.
I am now on top of the world,
As light as a feather.
I no longer have any earthly limits,
Just the constraints of my remaining minutes.
I feel happy, excited, and adventurous.
I feel as though I am floating.
Looking down on you, I am not gloating.
I am in control of everything,
Except for nature's anger!
Britany Diamondt
First Place Winner, Middle
Ralph B. Ralph B. O’Maley Middle School, Grade 7
Ecstasy
at the Beach
Sitting Still
sounds all around
laughter fills the air
splish, splash, the ocean pounds the rocks
along with the squak and mock of a gull
soft, silky sand slipping down my leg
along with the tickle of a crab
faint taste of ocean on my lips
can taste the salt in the slush with every sip
sun shining from every angle
my hair tangled
wish the moment would freeze
like the ocean waves can
Breathing in,
clean, crisp, coconut lotion
sweet smell of burned skin
refreshing and invigorating
not a care in the world
the sun is beginning to set
sky looks on fire
fire spreading
now reaching the ocean
within minutes the world seems to be caught up in flames
fireworks of red, orange and pink
everyday at the beach is a different story
this one just happens to be my favorite
Erin
McManus
First Place Winner, High
Gloucester High School, Grade 11
Blood
has No Doctrine
blood
has no doctrine
when it
spills
from
the gun's barrel
our sweet stifled indignation
is identical
our wildest dreams are
symmetrical
beaten
pulpy
silence
blood
not of mosques
or temples or
churches
Blood
of the people
Blood of our written
Byronic heroes flows and flows
Blood,
red hand of mortality
Oh blessed life!
The soliloquy begins and terminates
us all
the same
2007 Poetry Contest Winners
Phoebe Weissblum
First Place Winner, Elementary
Harborlight Montessori School, Grade 5
The Midnight Clock
Tick, tock the midnight clock
will life turn out soft, or hard as a rock?
Tick, tock the midnight clock
will the door to my dreams be open, or will it have a lock?
Tick, tock the midnight clock can I pass through my troubles silently,
or will I have to talk?
Tick, tock the midnight clock
it never ends, it never stops.
Kazira Slocum
First Place Winner, Middle
St. Ann School, Grade 8
I Dream with a Reason to Wake Up
With a shy voice, sweet words are spoken.
With calm eyes watching there is no stutter in the pattern.
Breathing gently, with soothing gasps.
Lying with compassion.
Sleeping now with the sound of night.
I hear inside my cry.
The three words I have never heard before.
Were spoken with truth.
Within lying tears, I lie awake.
Not wanting to leave my dream.
I wake to a reality with your voice inside my mind.
It rings in my ears; the three words I have never heard before.
I love you.
Alexandra Lees
First Place Winner, High
Gloucester High School, Grade 10
A Girl of the Sea
The sky is a deep ebony
the sea slaps the sand gently
the wind is cold and biting
the stars sparkle and dance
the moon is pregnant with light
A girl lies on the beach
her clothes, hair, skin are
brushed by the wind
she is shivering,
but she doesn't notice
She is part of everything,
her skin is moonlight
her hair is burnt dune grass
her curves are the moon's curves
her eyes are the stars
her breath is the waves
Her soul is the sea,
swirling, gliding, caressing
the earth, the creatures
embracing the world
in a blanket of peace
2008 Poetry Contest Winners
Lydia Anderson
First Place Winner, Elementary
Beeman Memorial School, Grade 4
Africa
In Africa miracles come alive like spirits on a bike
there are some animals I personally like
from monkeys swaying in the trees
to elephants stomping in the breeze
there are even more even some as delicate as a glass
such as chomping cheetahs in the grass
and gentle giraffes looking around with a face of brass
but my favorite is the warthog or pig as many people would say
they always run but they just have a different way
of expressing themselves in their land
and I hope they will never ever die as planned.
Aidan Breen
First Place Winner, Middle
Glen Urquhart School, Grade 6
Where Are You?
I try to feel your ghostly presence thinking of you.
Are you there?
I went to visit you at the hospital.
I saw all the wires, IV tubes hooked up and blood rushing into your skin.
She went over to see you that day.
You smiled real tiny and started to cough.
I remember the whole thing like it was yesterday.
You started to cough real hard and Grammy got scared.
She started yelling your name, “Jimmy, JIMMY!
You made it through that time so why not this time?
I really didn’t understand what was happening then.
When Mom told me to go away I knew something was wrong.
I never thought this would happen to you.
But I guess it did.
So now you are really gone.
I was at your memorial.
Four hundred people were there.
Everyone knew you, I suppose.
It was all-quiet. Hushed.
You taught me many things. Some as simple as throwing a baseball.
I’d sometimes be afraid. I’ve always been shy.
But there is one last thing I need to ask you, “Where are you?!”
All I know is that you are gone.
Alexandra Lees
First Place Winner, High
Gloucester High School, Grade 11
Dreams on the Wind
Spring day, sun shining, I walk alone,
feet hitting the sidewalk, one after the other,
I hear them as they scuff the pavement,
The wind sweeps past me,
sends my hair flying like a flag,
It whispers, "I know who you are
and who you want to be,
I see past your imperfections,
I see your soul,"
"I hear your heart beating," roars the ocean,
"I feel the passion stirring within you,
it pounds through you like the waves crashing on my shore."
The trees reach out their fingers to the light,
reaching, reaching, always reaching …out.
"We have had death," they rustle,
"But we have also had life,
Without hope, we have nothing."
The wind whispers, "Keep dreaming,
Keep hoping, keep being."
My eye sees gold dreams and sweet winds.
2009 Poetry Contest Winners
Jordan
Gentile
First Place Winner,
Elementary
Veteran's Memorial,
Grade 4
Earth Day
The tree is tall,
But its home is still cut down for a mall.
The bird can fly higher than oil
But its escape is foiled
Because oil makes it unable to fly.
Bug spray keeps the bugs away
But makes frogs die
A whale can flip a boat with its tail
But if a boat hits it, its will to live fails.
The worst thing for animals is pollution
Which makes me come to this conclusion.
Always help on Earth Day
To help the Earth is the best way!
Meghaen
Favazza
First Place Winner, Middle School
St.
Ann School, Grade 7
Love
What is love?
A mother’s care for her baby,
A couple holding hands.
From which comes life,
Comes the ability to love.
It’s not a must,
Nor a need.
Love is a privilege, an opportunity.
What is love?
It is intense and eternal,
A difficult reality.
How can you love?
Listen to a person needy of a friend,
Talk to a person needy of advice.
What is a world without love?
Nothing but a lonely shelter,
A place of endless torture.
What is love?
Peace during a war,
Forgiving a conflicted friend.
That is love.
Love is the strength,
The intensity and courage of a relationship.
And compared to love,
Everything else is second best.
Lucina
Fox
First Place Winner, High
School
Gloucester High School, Grade: 12
5 Ways How He’s Not Like the Water and 10 More How He Is
got more than three forms:
I’ve felt his ice, his rushing rivers, seen him
evaporate, and then some.
water’s not flammable
but he lights me up burns right alongside me.
so damn sweet my teeth ache.
and pure? that boy’s a sinner: though I can’t say I don’t crave it.
space between? a damn barrier.
he couldn’t find a way from point a to point b.
couldn’t move the dust and dirt to make a grand canyon
yet I still managed to fall in
or did I jump?
oh, but his lips are cool like the river
and his caress is omniscient like the lake
he babbles like the brook
but whispers like the waves.
reminds me of summer,
a force, to be reckoned with: could hold me under, could lift me up.
thirst quencher (heart wrencher)
the stuff of tears
he filled my ears
he slipped between my fingers.
2010 Poetry Contest Winners
Jemma
Johnson-Shoucair
First Place Winner, Elementary
School
East Gloucester,
Grade 5
Hope
Leaping, jumping,
falling
Soaring when the stars come
And still flying when the stars fall
Diminished by the rain's tear
And grasped again by the rich earth
It is as true as truth itself
And more eternal than all eternity
Hope is hope itself
Alessandra
Moceri
First Place
Winner, Middle School
St.
Ann School, Grade 8
Gone
With the Wind
Sitting
in what we believe is here
Watching
intently as motionless sounds roam about
As
the trees stand claimed and waters sing a silent song
What
is the place of where I cannot see?
Only
by the force of what is taken unexpectedly
How
we live and how we’re gone
When
I look I see it
And
then, I think if what I had just seen was a reality
Not
sure of what has been witnessed
Making
no promises
It’s
there and then disappears
Right
before I get the chance to collect what I had just seen
Teasing
figures and motions taunt me
Fearless
of what is to happen
Waiting
contently
Hoping
for the best
Waiting
for the worst to come
One
step at a time
Coming
closer and closer
Seeing
the unseen
The
best is to come
But
it’s gone with the wind.
Katina
Tibbetts
First Place Winner, High School
Gloucester High School, Grade 12
The
True Story
Everyone feels bad for her
But she’s no angel
The true story is
She stole my prince charming
She is my step sister
But I am not evil
She is not so nice
Underneath that innocent exterior
That magical pumpkin
And mice the morph into horses
Those are all lies
And that beautiful gown she wore
Well, that dress was mine.
Along with my gown,
She took my glass slippers too.
She ran away to the ball
Before I even knew.
And after she wooed him
I tried to explain
She was nothing but a liar
And a downright thief too,
He wanted to believe me,
So he said,
“Try on the shoe.”
I returned home
To retrieve that slipper
And as I walked in
I heard that evil little snicker
I didn’t realize how far
She would go
And then she went and closed
The door on my toe.
I couldn’t believe it
My foot was too big
My prince charming gave me
A sad look and said
“Sorry, you’re not my perfect fit.”
So this is my story
You don’t have to believe me
You can think
“Cinderella?! She wouldn’t hurt a thing!”
But she did, she stole my prince charming
________________________________________
Gloucester Poet Laureate Scholarship
Organization:
John J. Ronan
Amount:
$250.00 - girl
$250.00 - boy
Requirements:
The Poet Laureate Scholarship was created in
2009 to recognize graduating seniors from
Gloucester High School who show
an interest and ability in poetry.
Winners need not be residents of Gloucester.
In any year, if only one winner is chosen,
that senior will receive $500. Applicants
must submit a one page letter explaining
past interest and activities involving poetry,
and three sample poems.
Deadline:
May 15 (received.)
Send your application
to:
Gloucester Poet Laureate Scholarship
c/o John J. Ronan
Box 5524
Gloucester, MA 01930