2025 Poetry Contest Winners

I Have a Pet

I have a pet

and his name is shine

I have a pet

and he is mine. 

Dad and I 

Dad and I sweep, 

Dad and I mow, 

Dad and I hunt 

with an arrow and bow. 

We go out for coffee

and get a sweet treat, 

and often like to barbecue meat. 

Family

Family is what you make it,

The friends and relationships along the way,

Blood or not,

They will stand by your side,

Through dark and bright.

Shared laughs,

Shared tears,

Shared emotions,

Family supports each other,

Helps each other,

Makes us strong.

Without it like a house with no foundation, still standing but at what cost?

There's no perfection in family,

No rulebook to follow,

Calamity is bound,

Disagreements, differences, hardship, arguments will arise.

We're only human after all.

Through dark and bright.

They will stand by your side,

Blood or not,

The friends and relationships along the way,

Family is what you make it.

-Tessa P

Where am I safe?

Family is the safest place

to share your ideas

your hopes and your fears

Family is where you learn

not in school

a cold, stone building

Family is like a sheltered garden

safe and warm

Family is where you make mistakes

pick yourself up

and try again

Family is where you go for comfort

for your fears to be put to rest

for your doubts to be driven away

Family is where you go to rejoice

to laugh and be glad

Family is where you go to

cry and weep

Family is the safest place

of all

-Sonora K

16 Bottles of Bottled-Up Feelings

I think I might just drop out of school

I'm so sick and tired and stressed here

I came to this trip with death in my mind, and now after losing my mind, death has

escaped from it and is affecting everyone

I just drove my grandpa to the hospital in the middle of the night after he suffered

another heart attack

And now he's lying like a corpse in the ICU

I come home with my scared and heartbroken mother

And now her lungs are broken too, to the point she can't breathe

Throwing up her insides for all to see

For my tear-filled eyes to see

I told my absentee father to talk to the school to see if my summatives can be

rescheduled or done online

As usual, he shuts his mouth and says that I should send the email instead

My insides are hollow

1I haven't eaten for 12 hours

My insides are hollow

I am losing everything I love

If grandpa dies, I lose my mother

If mother dies, I lose my life

If I die...what if I die

What if everyone is suffering around me because of the sins that I committed?

What if everyone is being punished, tormented, for the wrongs that I committed

What if this is God finally deciding to do my final intervention

My sufferings are huge, but never more than I can bear

I merely throw them into the endless abyss that I learned was my heart

Or maybe my soul

Or maybe my self

I don't know anything within

But I know everything without

Without my grandpa

Without my mother

Without my family

There is nothing left for me except to be a failure

A warning to others

A sob story

And God forbid

Some entertainment at a party

Maybe this is the punishment, the intervention

For I don't give a damn about my sufferings I have bottled up inside,

Cast into the endless sea,

Never to be seen

Washed up on a shore

Buried beneath some beach

But I do give a damn about the others around me

Faces I love

Time spent together I love even more

It seems God has caught on

And knows that I can handle everything alone

As it has been routine and rooted since birth

But I cannot handle the pain of my loved ones

So intervention has befallen them

My intervention.

My punishment.

My suffering.

Their pains are my pains ten fold

Their screams are my screams ten fold

And their deaths will be the death of me, ten fold

Sweet sixteen, never been kissed

Sweet sixteen, grandpa still lived

Sweet sixteen, come the following month

Sweet sixteen, both my grandpas are gone

When I was six, I saw his face

Smiling in the hospital light

When it was six,

They wheeled him away

White cloth swaying over his face

When I was "six"teen,

I celebrated my birthday

My hands making a heart with his

Just the next month,

Death attacks his heart

And I am left to lose my mind again

With the first of them,

My 6th birthday was in his hospital

So with the second of them,

I prayed that he would be far far away and instead be close to me

He arrived on my 16th birthday, just as the clock struck 12

With the first of them,

He died the first month

20 days after my birthday

So with the second of them,

I am now crying,

Alone beside my bedridden mother

Losing my mind as always

Because all the puzzle pieces fit together

All the patterns are so clear and straightforward

And worst of all

The memories come back

Wave after wave after wave

All the bottles I threw in the ocean are being dragged from beneath the beach

Away from the shores

Coming up on the surface

Broken open by the endless sea

Their shards reflecting the scalding sun

Into the dark abyss of me

Forcing me to see myself

What has my family done to me?

What have I done to myself?

Forever Grateful

To the ones we hold so dear,

I write these words with love and sincere.

For every hug and each smile,

You’ve made this journey so worthwhile.

Through highs and lows you’ve stood by us,

With open arms without a fuss.

For every sacrifice, big or small,

For every lift, when we would fall,

For being there through thick and thin,

I thank you for all, where to begin?

In moments of fear, in times of cheer,

You’re the ones who draw us near.

With hearts so warm, so full, so true,

I’m forever grateful, beyond what words can say.

A steady presence, always by our side,

When the road was rough, in moments of doubt, when hope seamed tough,

With gentle hands, and hearts grand.

Through silent tears, and quiet fear,

You’ve offered strength, and brought us near.Pg.2 Through laughter shared and moments in sorrow,

You’ve made our burdens lighter to borrow.

For every sacrifice, for all you’ve done,

For the countless ways you’ve made us one.

We thank you deeply,

For everything you’ve done.

Forever blessed to have family like you,

So here’s our thanks, with love so deep.

For the promises you’ve chosen to keep,

Through the days and years ahead,

With hearts full of love, we’ll never forget.

Side by side, we’ll always stand,

Grateful together, hand in hand.

Her Mother and Her

A cry of first breath vibrates through the halls,

Her blue eyes, unfocused, scanning the walls,

The ceiling, the lighting; confusion abounds -

So many voices and noises and sounds.

But one above all, familiar and known,

A voice she has heard for months as she’s grown;

Her mother is there and calmness sets in,

Her head on her chest, nuzzled under her chin,

And right at that moment her smell, voice and face

Is all that she needs in this big, scary place.

A toddler is crying, she’s fallen once more,

She’s not really hurting, just her ego is sore,

Oh this isn’t the first time, she has taken her bumps,

As learning to walk has been known to cause lumps.

As frustration sets in, she sits down to cry,

Chubby fists are balled up as angry tears fly,

But a few gentle words from a doorway and then

Strong arms scoop her up and she’s safe once again.

Her mother is there and calmness sets in,

Her head on her chest nuzzled under her chin

And right at that moment, her smell, voice and face

Is all that she needs in this big scary place.

A little girl’s sitting alone in grass,

She’s holding back tears but they’re coming on fast,

Her friends are all playing away ‘cross the yard,

She’s feeling left out and finding it hard

To talk to her peers, she knows what they’ll say,

They’ll laugh in her face and send her away.

Her clothes are to messy, her shoes are too white,

Her hair’s the wrong style, her braces too tight.

Then from behind her, she hears that soft voice;

The tears start to fall, there isn’t a choice,

But her mother is there and calmness sets in,

Her head on her chest nuzzled under her chin,

And right in that moment, her smell, voice and face

Is all that she needs in this big scary place.

A teenager’s sitting on the bed in her dorm,

Her things are unpacked but the white walls aren’t warm

Like her bedroom at home, with its smell and its feel,

But now she is here and things just got real.

She’s alone in a building surrounded by strangers,

Unlocking new fears and new kinds of dangers.

It’s a huge step she’s taking, and she’s still scared to death,

Until a voice from the hallway catches her breath,

And her mother is there for one last goodbye,

She’s hugging her tight and they both start to cry,

But she’s stretching her wings, and learning to fly,

So she pulls her in close and they both heave a sigh;

And right in that moment their smell, voice, and face,

Is all that there is in this big scary place.

Love is

Love is a word

An imprint in the spring mud

Left by a child’s foot

Love is the constant

Earth beneath my feet

Silet, yet present

Keeping me grounded

Love is the rush of wind

That pummels the sturdiest, proudest tree

And strips it of every leaf

Love is the ache

Of the river run dry

Hoping for the rain clouds’

Sweet return

Love is a forest fire

Blazing a trail down my heart

Leaving little behind

Love is dying embers

Barely aglow

Waiting…still holding

To the memory of constant warmth

Hoping for new breath to give it life

Love is the smallest leaf

In my heart

Trying to reach the light

Love is the hurt

That harbours the love

For all the love that was ever lost

Trying to find its way

Back to itself