Age 9–13
First Place
Just a Dream
Hayden Thompson, Middle Tennessee Electric
I reach to touch
a familiar person
my papa
but I can’t.
He’s no longer here.
Flashback from Biltmore
to California
to Destin
to Hawaii
and accomplishments
in my young past
when he cheered
me on. Unless it
came to the peanut
M&Ms when he’d
say, “Hayden, you’d
better save those for me.”
Alas! The mourning sun
streams through my
window and I realize
it’s one more day
without him.
Just a dream
back in Tennessee.
Yet he’s still with me
not only on an ornament
atop my Christmas tree,
but living in my heart
where he’ll always be.
Second Place
Tennessee Iris
Paulina Trout, Duck River EMC
I see them in the meadow
swaying in the breeze
by the river’s edge
they smile at the sun
shining beauty on the world
from all colors they range
like a rainbow by the river
a rainbow in the garden
a rainbow shining light on our state
they stand so big and tall
the beauty of them all
in the midst of this virus
is our state’s flower
the Tennessee Iris
Third Place
Seasons
Samantha McNabb, Tennessee Valley EC
Come, hear us tell
of Tennessee’s four seasons!
Bringing harsh, cold storms
and mild, warm breezes.
First comes the summer
when the sun climbs high.
Next comes the fall
when the leaves start to die.
Last is the winter
long and cold.
And it begins again with spring
when the flowers unfold.
Long have they lived
and long will they remain.
Tennessee’s four seasons-
Forever shall they reign!
Age 14–18
First Place
The journey of a wind
John Hancock, Middle Tennessee Electric
A gentle gust of wind
Is born amongst the trees
It drifts through the leaves
And out to the pasture
Where it lazily floats
Past the drinking pond
It glides past the barn
And waltzes through the house
Before soaring into the sky
And filling the wings of an eagle
It then retires to the woods
Dancing amongst the trees
Before settling in
To the gently falling leaves
Second Place
Tennessee weather
Edeara Lott, Meriwether Lewis EC
The cold howling winds
Rattling the old screen door
The hot delicious chili
No one will know we’re poor
The buck mounted on the wall
For many years to come
C’mon cheer up
Winter’s not all that glum
Come take a walk
Look at the beautiful hawk
The changing of the leaves
Look what you can see
The crisp and crystal Duck
Come and fish with me
We’ll lean against this tree
Just as free as can be
Oh yes beautiful Tennessee
It is home to me
Third Place
Out to the Woods
Rebecca Hales, Appalachian EC
Out to the woods I go
Whenever my spirit’s low
My weary shoulders go free
From the cares that follow me
When the day drags slowly by
And it seems to never end
If all you can do is sigh
You have a place to depend
The cheerful bubbling stream
That laughs along its way
Gold sunshine makes it beam
A beautiful show display
My worldly foolish fear
As I enter this leafy realm
To completely disappear
In the World of the Oak and Elm!
Age 19–22
First Place
Highway 68
Molly Wilson, Appalachian Electric Cooperative
I’ve never seen so many stars
A tiny Appalachian town
No smoke or smog or billboards
Just winding roads and a tackle store
Overwhelming mountains
and trout filled rivers
Lightning bugs and barefooted kids
Sun burnt cheeks and fishing lines
Rusty pickups and the smell of bonfire
A thousand stars and a green eyed boy
Second Place
Cold Mountains.
David Smith, Fayetteville Public Utilities
Misplaced in the depths of winter’s mansion.
Embraced by the ocean of snow.
The Tennessee mountains surround me with white-tipped towers,
the wind touches me with its ever colder flow.
Every year destiny starts winter anew,
the scent changes,
and the harvest is ended with a glimmering sheet of frozen dew.
The life of the world awaits upon,
in its suspended state,
the hand of fate to once again return to spring.
And even in the brisk weather,
we never cease to find beauty that even winter can bring,
nor do we cease to find joy in coming together
Third Place
A Home.
Mary Smith, Fayetteville Public Utilities
Home.
Safety. Security. Love.
Warmth. Holidays. Music. Food.
Laughter. Joy. Peace.
Happiness. Expression. Patience.
Time. Rest. Privacy. Recovery.
Emotions. Release. Care.
No cares. Amazement. Wonder.
Life.
Relaxed. Excitement. Family.
Alone. Silence. Chaos. Babies. Feet.
Movement. Dancing. Kitchen. Tables.
Life.
Schedules. Productivity. Work.
Bubbles. Bathing. Clean. Water.
Warm clothes. Dry. Shelter.
Senses. Gratitude. Kindness.
Chocolate. Milk. Memories.
Home.
Age 23–64
First Place
The Autumn Leaves of Monteagle
Reed Omary, Sequachee Valley EC
Yellow is Green electrified,
stereo to Green’s mono,
a playful child to grownup calm.
Yellow laughs in the present,
Green dwells in the past.
Yellow’s sportscar revs past
Green’s family sedan,
its playful puppy teases Green’s wise owl.
Yellow is devil-may-care.
Green knows this could go down
on our permanent record.
Yellow is mercurial, prone
to periodic tantrums of joy.
Green smiles rarely,
and only when amused.
For Yellow, every day is a snow day.
Each autumn, Green stumps for weekends.
After all, we need to rest from these
seasonal comparisons to Yellow.
Second Place
Beneath My Maple
Elizabeth Perry, Duck River EMC
No two leaves the same
Just like people, you might say
Size, veins, colors, and shape
The world goes round this way.
In summer, it provides refuge
Under its expansive wings of green
But with each change of season
These particular leaves, I have never seen.
It is the same tree
In the same space
But newness appears to me
Lying at its base.
Each leaf has a journey
Important and unknown
Releasing into freedom
By rain and breezes blown
Every flight a miracle
Returning to God’s earth
Not a single leaf will end
But instead have a rebirth.
Third Place
A Tennessee Christmas
Laura Kurtz-Dotson, Appalachian EC
Majestic mountains kissed by snow, running into the people you know.
It’s pumpkin spice and everything nice, it’s stockings filled with toys.
The colorful places and lit up faces of all the girls and boys.
Families trimming the Christmas tree,
A small child reaching to place the star.
FaceTime smiles shared across miles, greetings from near or far.
Cookies and milk set out on the Eve, of the Jolly old man himself.
Jokester deeds and played out scenes, of the naughty little elf on the shelf.
All of these are my favorite things that make a sweeter December,
and as I grow older, and my memory becomes shorter,
A Tennessee Christmas is what I remember.
Age 65 and older
First Place
The Value of Paintings
Joan Binkley, Cumberland EMC
That landscape over the sofa
no matter how small or wide
Offers eyes a visceral benefit equal to
have’n just walked outside
The painting will tell the eye
if perspectives are bonafide
To travel the eyes for miles over a
distant mountain and back to a seaside
F or, when all day these ‘ole cooped-up
Tennessee eyes’ focus is only on near
objects plied
The eyes can then rest themselves as for
miles on the seascapes and landscapes
they can tide.
Second Place
Flight of Tears
Glen Badger, Duck River EMC
The eagle flies through his domain along the trail of man.
His noble eyes are filled with pain as he strains to understand.
His crystal streams, once full of life
all, run now, blood red.
Piercing like a mighty knife
his brother fish, now dead.
He sees the forest floor below
stripped bare of all its trees.
He remembers seeing treetops
bending slowly with the breeze.
Tired and discouraged
he flies off towards the sun.
As if to tell the world
he knows his time is done.
Third Place
Radiant Moon
Sandra Fortune, Mountain EC
A powerful glow in the night sky
Shining to guide all the
night creatures using
nocturnal skills with
stealth and expertise.
The moon reminds us of classic
writing from ages past…
“The cow jumped over the moon.”
Children’s author, Margaret Wise Brown,
Penned GOOD NIGHT, MOON!
As children, we often searched
for “the man in the moon”
because we had frequently heard
about him.
Moon phases are connected
to the ocean tides and to the signs
of agricultural planting.
Check out the moon…
radiant and grand…
it shines on both you and me.
