Winner -- NLW Teen Poetry Contest

Dandelions

Rolled up cobwebs drifting everywhere

Drifting through deserts

Drifting through fields

Plains

Forests

Farms

Like a spirit looking for a home

Until at last

The wind dies down

Then . . . Slowly . . .

                                   slowly

                                                      falling

                                                                            to

                                                            the

                                  ground.

Finally at rest.

Written by Andrew K. Fong, age 11.

3 Runner Up -- NLW Teen Poetry Contest

Your FairyTale

You built yourself a fairytale

A world of castles and Dragons

You created your knight in shining armor

To fight with you through everything

You dreamed yourself some dragons

Tu guard and to protect you

You built yourself a tower

To watch over your kingdom like a hawk

You created yourself a pedestal

You were above everyone

You had your moment in the light

You had your time in power

You built yourself a FairyTale

But you didn't think of how to disassemble it

Your kingdom is crashing down on you

Your knight has turned against you

Your dragon is breathing fire over you

Your tower windows fogged up

The pedestal you built yourself is crumbling down

Your kingdom has fallen out from under you

If only you had built a way out.

Written by Danielle, age 14.

2 Runner Up -- NLW Teen Poetry Contest

How a Hippo is a Cookie

A hippo that dances on your tongue

Only sweeter

And lighter

And warm

A hippo that can melt in your mouth

Only smaller

And yummy 

And soft

A hippo that lifts you; makes you fly

Several seconds

Off the ground

'Til it's gone

A hippo is a warm cookie

Right from the oven

With a cold glass of milk

On a Sunday afternoon.

Written by Marica Lesznik, age 15.

1 Runner Up -- NLW Teen Poetry Contest

The Candle

Somewhere in the darkness

A lone candle burns.

It burns with its flame eternal,

Burning bright, so bright.

Its radiant light shines like a star,

A beacon of hope to all,

It fights the dark like a toy soldier, on and on

Fighting forever, never faltering.

The dark, it does not like the light.

It tries to wrap it with its wispy tendrils,

It tries to extinguish its flame,

Burning bright, so bright.

But no matter how hard the darkness tries,

It shall never succeed, no matter how it fights,

For the candle burns its radiant flame brightest in the night,

Burning bright, so bright.

Written by Michael, age 13.

National Library Week Teen Poetry Contest Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the annual National Library Week Teen Poetry Contest at Franklin Lakes Public Library!

Andrew Fong, sixth grader at Franklin Avenue Middle School, will receive First Place, awarded with a $50 American Express Gift Card, for his poem “Dandelion.”  Three runners’ up prizes will also be awarded each with a$25.00 Barnes and Noble Gift Card:  Michael Park, eighth grader at Franklin Avenue Middle School, for “The Candle”; Danielle Linz, also an eighth grader at Franklin Avenue Middle School, for “Your FairyTale”; and Marica Lesznick, sophomore at Ramapo High School, for the original poem, “How a Hippo is a Cookie.”

Contest winners will receive their prizes and be specially recognized at a Teen Poetry Coffeehouse and Open Mic Night at Franklin Lakes Library on Monday, April 25, 2011, 6:30-8:30 p.m.  All teens and families are invited to this event to share original and favorite pieces of writing.

The Teen Poetry Contest was part of the celebration of National Library Week 2011 and National Poetry Month.   At Franklin Lakes Public Library and area schools, teens were given a contest entry form and encouraged to create original poems or song lyrics.  We received over 25 poems and a Grand Prize winner plus three runners’ up were chosen by an array of local judges and library workers.  Entries were judged on creativity, originality, flow and polish, and overall impact.  Copies of the winning entries can be found on display in the library.  Thank you so much to all the teens who submitted entries for this contest!

Teen Writers

You're a writer?

Check out this blog post from Class of 2K11.  There's a lot of great stuff out there to help you get going, and to help you keep going. 

You're a writer and you're looking for some things to DO this month?

Franklin Lakes Library is hosting a Teen Poetry Coffeehouse and Open Mic Night.  All teens are welcome to bring some favorite or original poetry to read aloud, or just bring your friends and family and hang out with a cup of tea and some snacks.  We'll be honoring the winners of the Teen Poetry Contest at that time, too! (Winners will be announced here on this blog tomorrow!)

Plus, there's a five-week Teen Writers Group on Thursday afternoons at the library beginning on April 28.  (You can register online or shoot me an email: kate_thelibrarian [at] yahoo [dot] com.)

Just contact me for more info, or find the programs listed on the library's Calendar of Events!

Celebrate National Library Week!

While you're waiting for the announcement of the National Library Week Teen Poetry Contest winners, check out some of these awesome ways to celebrate libraries!

50 Great Ways to Celebrate National Library Week

NLW Teen Poetry Contest -- First Place!

Thank you to 25 young writers for submitting entries to the Third Annual National Library Week Teen Poetry Contest at Franklin Lakes Library! And the winners are . . .

History

It's been a long time
Since the old man lifted his eyes
His gaze has been shifted to the city's demise.
His name has been stripped of value and lore.
Despite the lives they have cost once before,
His words have been muted by the frenzy of war.
His face is a parchment of creases of time
His palms have a vision, patterned by line.
It is not he who is blind, reader, it's you,
Unable to tell the false from the true.
The man can predict the motion of skies,
You are defenseless in History's eyes.

written by Sasha, age 15, Indian Hills High School

NLW Teen Poetry Contest -- Second Place!

Full

The emptiness that surrounds,

It fills me up

with nothing

where something once was.

What do you do

when you are plunged into darkness?

Watching the last sliver of light

escape beyond our grasp?

The emptiness takes over.

How can I bear it

until the door opens

and the light returns?

I cannot.

I will not!

The waiting... the anticipation

battles with the raging emptiness

It is the emptiness that surrounds,

that fills me up

with nothing

where something once was.

written by Ariana, age 13, Franklin Avenue Middle School

NLW Teen Poetry Contest -- Third Place!

Winter Tree

The bare trees hold themselves up straight

But occasionally shiver in the cold.

They sway back and forth

As the breeze tickles their exposed arms.

They shake like a dog that is soaking wet

That just escaped from falling in the pool.

They stand in one place reaching for the sun,

Anticipating grabbing some warmth.

The wind sounds like a flat music note

Swiveling and scurrying between each branch

The powerful whisper vibrates along the trees

Sending them in utter shock to move.

The branches are so fragile and flimsy

That they could easily break off with one snap.

With branches as delicate as a baby birds' wings,

They want to be secure and steady.

The trunk is the heart and soul of the tree

That spreads life into each branch.

Each branch attributes a quality to support the tree

Through every season during the year.

A single tree cannot survive on its' own,

For it needs every other tree in order to live.

With a single breath, and a single sway,

It can keep a whole forest alive.

written by Margaux, age 15, Saddle River Day School

Third Place -- Teen Poetry Contest

Sorrow

As each of heaven's tears drop and bless our given Earth,
The sky of wonder turns a deep dark shade of gray.
As the sun is slowly blinded by the clouds,
All cares are lost and evaporated away --
Leaving our soul free and innocent from worries . . .
Each drop of salty water relieves the grass's thirst,
Each drop of cold rain leaves ornaments on a spider's web,
Each drop a rounded gem sliding down the flower's petals,
Leaving a tear-stained face.
The moon reveals beneath the clouds;
Silence envelopes the dark midnight reverie.
Yet, in the drifting distance, the thundering sobs echo . . .

written by Kaity, Bergen Academies

Second Place -- Teen Poetry Contest

Memories

Fabric tears,

Colors fade,

Stitches unravel,

Friendships remain.

They sit there

Stranded on a shelf

Of old toys

And baby pictures.

Sometimes they were guests

At luxurious tea parties.

Most times, they were

Best friends I could share secrets with

Long into the night.

Now the days of pretending have ceased.

They are just button eyes,

Staring me down

Or

Welcoming me home.

At times I want to pack away

My childhood days

But somehow I can't bring them up

To the attic, where

They will accumulate dust, where

Childhood friends

Can disappear

Forever.

written by Olivia, Eisenhower Middle School

First Place -- Teen Poetry Contest

To be Free

Shyness sits in the corner of the room,
Staring out fearfully.
Watching the world carefully,
She wants to be alone.
Watching me move around,
I look up, feeling her.
I see her in the corner waiting,
Waiting to be free.

So I leave,
But I hover near the door.
Watching carefully.
Slowly, she creeps out of her corner.
She pauses, checking all around.
Wondering why I left.
Wishing to be free.

Shyness is sure she is alone.
She clears a path,
Through the clutter.
There is a place to be free.

She opens her mouth,
Releasing a bell-like note.
A beautiful sound.

I watch her closely,
Seeing her every movement.
I listen carefully.
So carefully, soaking up the beauty.
The beauty coming from the one note.
The wonderful note,
So solid and still.
It is quavering, breaking off.
No!

She closes her mouth,
Cutting off the note.
Silence falls,
An unbearable silence.
So quiet, so placid, so peaceful.
She leaps up twirling,
And lands.

She leaps higher,
Twirling the whole time,
And lands.
She jumps again.
She almost touches the ceiling.
She lands.
She leaps one final time.

Touching the ceiling.
She lands.
She stops.
She stands.

I dare not move,
In fear of her catching me watching.
I dare not breathe,
I fear she will hear me.

She pulls out a pen,
Out of my drawer.
She pulls out my chair.
And sits.
I know now who she is.
Why she is here,
She is me.
I am her.

written by Kimi, Franklin Avenue Middle School

2nd NLW Teen Poetry Contest

Congratulations to the winners of the second annual National Library Week Teen Poetry Contest at Franklin Lakes Public Library!

Kimi Braun, an eighth grader at Franklin Avenue Middle School in Franklin Lakes, received First Prize: a $50 American Express Gift Card.
Olivia Surgent, an eighth grader at Eisenhower Middle School in Wyckoff, received Second Prize: a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card.
Kaity Hsieh, a sophomore at Bergen Academies, received Third Prize: a $25.00 Starbucks Gift Card.

The Teen Poetry Contest was part of the celebration of National Library Week 2009. At Franklin Lakes Public Library and area schools, teens were given a contest entry form and encouraged to create original poems or song lyrics. We received 43 awesome poems or songs, and three winners were chosen. Copies of the winning entries can also be found on display in the library. Thank you so much to all the teens who submitted entries for this contest - It made the job of choosing just three winners very difficult for the judges! Thank you for your participation.