2023
Teen Poetry Contest
Presented by
Upper Dublin Public Library
Sandy Run Middle School Library
Upper Dublin High School Library
MIDDLE SCHOOL - 1st PLACE
It's Not Okay - by Nicholas Loza
MIDDLE SCHOOL - 2nd PLACE
Losing Hope - by Naomi McClure
Holding, gripping on.
Check.
Check again.
Still there.
Unsure.
Will she still be with us when
I wake up?
Visit.
Visit again.
Still there.
Not knowing.
Not understanding.
I could lose her at any second.
Any moment.
Check in.
Check in again.
Still there.
Cold, winter day.
In my room.
I get called down.
Slipping, losing my grip.
She’s not here with us anymore.
Tears stream down my face.
Now, it’s like having a body with no bones.
Without her, I can’t stand tall again
MIDDLE SCHOOL - 3rd PLACE
the stars always die - by Molly P.
Just listen to me this once.
Thank you.
I realize we aren't friends anymore.
and after everything we had.
but
I realized
I don’t care.
our star died
The blackhole didn’t win.
Will I miss you?
No, I won’t miss you.
Sometimes friends are like shooting stars;
you were there and you were not.
And I would wish it would all change,
but Now I’m happy about it.
I am ok with it.
I am not angry or sad anymore
I forgive you.
I just wish we didn’t burn out.
I just wish you felt the same way.
MIDDLE SCHOOL - Honorable Mention
Shattering - by Kaya S.
I remember all the words that raced throughout my head.
I remember all those days alone.
I remember that one time when you said “this would last forever.”
I remember feeling like a sinking stone.
I remember that day when everything shattered like glass.
I remember the day I realized that love will never last.
I remember how my world began to melt.
I remember when you left, I had never felt so hollow.
I remember feeling weightless, flying like a swallow.
I remember how it hit me, how I crumpled to the floor.
I remember running so fast to the door.
I remember screaming as I tried to get you to stay.
I remember you leaving.
I remember how you wouldn’t wait just one more day.
I remember waking up, drowning in my tears.
I remember needing your warmth but you were never near.
I remember you saying that I would see you soon.
But guess what? Here I am feeling all marooned.
I remember feeling like I’m on an island far out to sea,
in the middle of an ocean created by me.
I remember feeling dead, all cold and empty.
I remember how life just went on.
I remember what it felt like when you were gone.
I remember how people said the pain will ease.
I remember how it hurts when you're falling to your knees.
All those things I can’t remember,
but these memories, they will last forever.
MIDDLE SCHOOL - Honorable Mention
Bruised - by Lea Ras
Horrifying, gruesome pain
Fake it
Bruises surround my shallow skin
Happy
Tears stain the flesh on my brittle bones
Smile
Hide from the fear engulfing my sunken frame
Perfect
Every scar a desperate cry for help
Okay
Stuck with my impending pain, waiting hopelessly
Cover up
A shot of agony reminding me of my place
Normal
No one can save me from this impossible prison
Joyful
Help is an unthinkable wish drowned by reality
Just Smile
MIDDLE SCHOOL - Honorable Mention
"Ideal" - by Norah Duffy
From the moment you’re born, people will judge you for your appearance.
They will make comments about your weight, and your clothes,
and anything else they can use against you.
We are all our own Icarus. Driving ourselves to ruin over something we have desired for so long.
It is believed that once you “become beautiful”, you will also become content.
But much like Icarus and his ascent into the sun, it will not end well for anyone.
People will mutilate their bodies to try and reach something that is utterly unattainable.
People are always dissatisfied with themselves. We were raised in a society where
People are told they have less value because of something that is completely out of their control.
They will say you are not thin enough – They will say that you are not pretty enough.
They will say that you are not enough.
These words will become engraved in your mind–following your every thought like a plague.
These words will poison you until you reach a breaking point.
To the point where you spend all you have on makeup and surgery to become “pretty”.
To the point where you starve yourself to become “thin”.
To the point where you fill your skin with chemicals and coat yourself in colors
until you no longer recognize who you see in the mirror.
It has to stop.
It has to stop because you have taken a smiling, careless girl
and warped her mind until she spends hours every day
thinking about how her clothes look on her, if her makeup needs fixing,
what her peers and friends would think of her
if they saw how she looks on the days she doesn’t put in the effort.
She doesn’t feel like herself unless she is drowning in jewelry and perfect patterns.
These words will become engraved in your mind–following your every thought like a plague.
These words will poison you until you reach a breaking point.
To the point where you spend all you have on makeup and surgery to become “pretty”.
To the point where you starve yourself to become “thin”.
To the point where you fill your skin with chemicals and coat yourself in colors
until you no longer recognize who you see in the mirror.
It has to stop.
It has to stop because you have taken a smiling, careless girl
and warped her mind until she spends hours every day
thinking about how her clothes look on her, if her makeup needs fixing,
what her peers and friends would think of her
if they saw how she looks on the days she doesn’t put in the effort.
She doesn’t feel like herself unless she is drowning in jewelry and perfect patterns.
She can say she looks pretty when she is at her best, hears her mother saying,
you’re so pretty. I wish you would see yourself the way I do. And she wishes she could believe it.
She is drowning in self-loathing, and she fears that she will never
Break the surface of the water again. Yet she is not alone in this feeling.
There are millions of people stranded in that same sea of societal standards.
Winners
High School Category
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
HIGH SCHOOL - 1st PLACE
White Envy - by Sanjivi Iyer
I envy white girls for having eyes.
Big blue oceans, and teardrop chestnuts and green marbles that hypnotize you if you look
too long.
I envy their long straight blonde locks and brunette waves.
I envy pretty girls for the way they laugh, for the way they talk without hesitation, the way
they smile without their teeth.
Their glossy lips grinned in a perfect pink pigment.
I envy thin girls for their long ribbed torsos and skinny thighs, and skinny jeans.
Things I can only see when I dream in the mirror.
I envy these girls for the way boys follow them around, and I so envy the way they turn them
down.
I'll say to myself that I am just beautiful,
But when will I believe the things I say?
HIGH SCHOOL - 2nd PLACE
Expression - by Isabella Loza
1. This is just to say.
2. To simply speak,
3. Divulge,
4. Inform.
5. -To ponder.
6. This
7. is just to say.
8. That
9. is just to hear.
10. To complicate
11. Comprehend
12. Confuse.
13. That is just to hear.
14. Life is full of listening.
12. Confuse.
13. That is just to hear.
14. Life is full of listening.
HIGH SCHOOL - 3rd PLACE
to stop and savor - by Camber Beauchamp
to stop and savor
and as the world passes me by
and people reach their destination
only to destine anew
i normally would choose that
endless loop of points
of a’s and b’s
but today i chose
to stop and savor
to hear the birdsong
chittering in the breeze
to view with full-focused
eyes the place i call home
to smell with sensitive nose
the crocuses that bloom so vibrant
to taste with bated breath
that early spring air sweet as a melody
to stand in place for but a moment
and listen
i did not choose
that predestined loop of endless rushing
always early
but always far too late
did not choose
to see a thousand faces
speak a thousand names
and know not a one
did not choose
to glue my eyes
to that light that shines
such an intoxicating blue
instead i chose
to stop and savor
to hear the birdsong
see the place i call home
smell the vibrant crocuses
taste the spring air
to stand in place
for but a moment
and understand
*written after a walk home, in response to fahrenheit 451
HIGH SCHOOL - HONORABLE MENTION
The Enchantment of Stargazing
by Maria L.
It was a lovely summer day
Yet evening was drawing near
A sunset began to emerge
Signaling the end of a pale blue sky
Yet, a new one was soon to appear
One filled with shimmering stars in Earth’s atmosphere
And I, one who adores the beauties of outer space
Decided to tend to the outdoors
Fascinated by the galaxy’s sparkling orbs
My body drags me out to the grass
And lies me down to gaze upon, admire, and watch
The twinkling celestial stars embroidered in the sapphire-blue
firmament
With glowing fireflies in the distance, and windswept air
enveloping my surroundings
And the occasional howl of the wilderness
Nighttime had officially drawn near
The wondrous time of the day where the universe’s other side puts
itself on display
Just me and the dusky starlit sky
This was where I truly wanted to be
HIGH SCHOOL - HONORABLE MENTION
won't back down - by Serenity B.
HIGH SCHOOL - HONORABLE MENTION
Things That Matter - by Orin Dalgarno-Platt
As I take a look back down the trail behind me,
I am forced to consider what all of it adds up to.
Where do my footprints lead?
I’ve seen the leaves drain their colors,
And regain them again.
I’ve felt grass on my feet,
And cold rain on my cheek.
I’ve breathed in cool winter wind,
And fought through thick summer air.
I’ve stared into people’s eyes,
And never seen others.
I’ve spent nights crying alone,
And afternoons laughing with friends.
I still don’t know what any of it means,
But it doesn’t matter why.
What matters is that it is,
That it does,
That it continues to.
That we exist freely in these moments.
2023
Teen Poetry Contest
Judges
Shannon Collins, Upper Dublin Library
Samantha Connelly, Sandy Run Middle School
Lindsay Cummings, Upper Dublin Library
MJ Lyons, Upper Dublin High School
Beth Nixon, Upper Dublin Library
Members of the UDPL Teen Leadership Council
Sponsored by
Friends of Upper Dublin Public Library