Monday, April 21, 2008

Teen Power Poetry Contest Winners!

Thanks to everyone that submitted their poems! We've got a lot of talented poets out there, and we urge you to continue writing and developing your skills.

The winners as selected by the Teen Writing Club:
1st Place - "Journey to Wherever" by Emily Ellinger
2nd Place - "That Night" by Krishna Brahmbhatt
3rd Place - "My Gold and My Fame" by Sivali Patel

Honorable mention - "(Woes of an Introvert)" by Jessica Kneller

1st Place: "Journey to Wherever" by Emily Ellinger

Clouds of silver,
Drift to the ground,
Sparkling and shining,
On their lazy descent,

Whom has walked,
This road I travel?
Whom has bothered,
To come this way?

No one of late,
I see that clearly,
No one of late has,
Chanced down this path,
Unless just maybe,
This path is taken,
But my destination,
Is their beginning,

Far in the cities,
Wagon wheels race,
To and fro so quickly,
Each with passengers,
With things to do,

The mud becomes slush,
For they in the city,
Don't look as they go,
they see only where,
The chance to be headed,

But out here,
Sparkling, clear and white,
Far from the dark bleak towers,
The path is not to where,
Or even where from,
The path is simply,
How you get there,

And so I walk,
Alone this day,
Through fields of crystal,
Completely undisturbed,

And know that since,
The snow last fell,
Not a soul,
Has past my way,

Thus not with traffic,
And not with company,
I watch the snow,
Still lightly fall,

On my journey:
To Wherever.

2nd place: "That Night" by Krishna Brahmbhatt

In the sky's arms the moon waited alone
A blowing gust of wind, the shining night
In the star's carriage a sparkling procession of fireflies has come
Upon everyone's lips some words came and stopped
Whose footstep is this, whose shadow is this
There knock in my heart, who has come here
Upon me who has put this lively color

I did not decorate the moon upon my palm
I did not make any relationship with the stars
I have hidden every sorrow
I have laughingly taken on every pain
I have even embraced the thorns
and have taken wounds from flowers
Yes but in prayer when I raised these hands
From God in prayer I asked for you

3rd Place: "My Gold and My Fame" by Sivali Patel

Take my gold, take my fame,
You may have my youth,
My childhood's showers,
My paper boat and the fresh rain,
But you may not have my memories.

She lived here for so long,
She whom I called Granny,
She who told me stories about fairies,
I will never forget her even though she is gone.
Filling my nights with magical tales and her soft kindness.

She who used to make me feel secure,
She who made me cookies,
She who used to comfort me in my lonely times.
She who told me every sickness had a cure.
Wasn't it beautiful, that life of mine?

Take my gold, take my fame,
You may have my youth,
My childhood's showers,
My paper boat and the fresh rain,
But you may not have my memories.

Honorable Mention: "(Woes of an Introvert)" by Jessica Kneller

The world forever urges me to speak,
to sculpt the clay of words to mirror what
floats imageless within my domed peak,
deface the woven silence with a cut.
To say some word alone for speaking's sake
would lead to idle chattering of fools.
And from my own voice, joy I hardly take;
I'd rather glean my pond'ring's hard-earned jewels.
If these request to speak were not endured,
and unstrained words composed a foolish flood,
if I released my heart in every word,
what would be left inside to pump the blood?
Just as a lock will not spring sans a key,
my words will not be prodded out of me.

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Get Homework Help from an STDL Librarian -- Online!


You're probably multi-taking on your computer as we speak... between researching projects, talking with friends online, or looking up random words in Wikipedia. Let the library help you with those tough research questions and steer you in the right direction. We're happy to offer free online "answers in an instant" via AIM, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk (or G-chat). Add us to your buddy list and get homework help from a real, live STDL librarian!

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