Age 8 and younger
First Place
Raccoon’s Hidden Mask
Gowtham Krishnaa Anbalagan, Middle Tennessee Electric
I have the best eyesight
At night.
I’ll be worry free
When I hang out in my hollow tree.
I hunt when it’s dim,
and when people can’t find
a single rim, of my trail.
I have a bushy tail
and a bandit’s mask
Which I’ll never unmask.
Though I think happy things
about my life,
One question worries me a lot….
If there’s nothing to hide, then why wear
a mask?
Second Place
Soccer on Saturdays
Damien Quillen, Meriwether Lewis EC
The smell of fresh cut grass.
I see the ball coming.
I hear my family cheering.
When the ball gets to me
I kick it hard.
It makes a SWISH! when it goes
in the goal.
I feel proud as I taste my
ice cream after the game.
Third Place
My Room
Ruby Bell, Duck River EMC
My room messy and that’s on me
but it has a meaning not to you but to me.
it is not the best
but it’s my room and that is what matters the best.
My room is not welcome to any guests
but it’s welcome to me
who lives in the great state of Tennessee.
Age 9–13
First Place
A Passage Way Out
Melinda Cai, Middle Tennessee Electric
A passage out of reality
Journeying to a realm
of endless possibility
I once experienced the wrath
of the Greek gods
The next day I bested a beast
in the wizarding world
Next I ventured through a land
of dragons
Then a love story where two
became one
A friend who speaks when you’re down
A friend who never flees your side
A friend who shares their wisdom
And a friend true to their word
The nature of books astonish me still
F or one man alone could have
a million friends
Through the pages of this passage
out of reality
Second Place
Where I’m From
Charlotte Wunderlich, Middle Tennessee Electric
I’m from the last names Carter and Wunderlich.
I’m from Lilly to Hank to Maggie.
I’m from Little Rock, Arkansas to a keyhole-shaped cul-de-sac in Tennessee.
I’m from tree sparrows gliding overhead to robins nesting on our back porch columns.
I’m from holding my little sister for the first time to making a sculpture about it in art.
I’m from dreams about being a librarian to fears about bridges over water.
I’m from reading at recess to knitting by the fire on a snowy day.
I’m from Liberty to Eden to Zixi.
I’m from the first cantaloupe of summer to the last batch of snowcream.
I’m from more than just Tennessee.
How about you?
Third Place
The Battle of Peach Orchard Hill
John Luke Roman, Middle Tennessee Electric
Rolling barrels to block the bullets
The battle is about to begin.
The United States Colored Troops
Charge and fall,
Charge and fall,
The bravest of all that battle.
Fighting for freedom
And liberty.
Charge and fall,
Charge and fall,
Through mist, rain, and thick smoke.
Nobly they did their duty,
Fighting for the first time.
Charge and fall,
Charge and fall,
The United States Colored Troops
Courageous in the fight,
Never to be forgotten.
Age 14–18
First Place
A Picture
Reece Turner, Duck River EMC
Frozen,
Small moments in time.
Silently calling you
To that long gone feeling.
The fleeting past caught within its trap.
Such fickle things are feelings
Thoughts
And moments
Yet once past is lost forever,
Unless caught at that perfect time.
The harvest of the memories,
Soon forgotten.
Hidden away for the unsuspecting
A treasure for the curious
A hope for the lost.
So much within a single moment,
So much felt and cherished and loved.
Yet also much
Pain
And fear.
Just single glimpse into a troubled
world,
Where good things do reside,
On the other side of a moment.
Second Place
The Lives Lived on those Old Country Roads
Audrey Brown, Appalachian EC
Leaves will rustle
Through the bustling rain.
It seems bad,
But the crops will only gain.
The wind fluctuates,
But the truth knows.
Eyes meet; they’re just kids,
But their hearts will only grow.
Lips meet, hearts skip beat,
Rings on finger, lives together,
Guitar strums,
Country accents become,
The lyrics to that old, pitter-patter,
Lives lived through timeless, little laughter.
Time goes,
Words fly,
Lovers to friends,
Relationships end,
Lives close.
But he never knew he loved her
Until he let her go,
But perhaps, someday, they’ll meet again
On those old country roads.
Third Place
Upward
Kendra Simpson, Meriwether Lewis EC
Here we are,
And all we see is what we think our desires are.
Glancing up once in a blue moon
Only to pretend to care for a moment,
Then back down our heads turn,
To focus back on the “important things.”
My eyes linger upward,
And a certain pain aches my heart.
So much is missed
And never able to be seen again,
Only because time is not taken
And thoughts not provoked.
Hearts left hurting,
Minds left wondering,
Bodies left longing,
Only because one doesn’t take a moment to look…
Upward.
Age 19–22
First Place
Sunrise Stroll
Anna Moss, Gibson EMC
Called to wake
by the first song of the canary,
the cloudless baby blue canopy
now fringed
with pride and prejudice proposal pink.
I hadn’t slept five winks,
but the dawn raised me to life
and whisked me outside to
the gravel road.
Due west for a mile,
I turn back to the light.
Blindness, I’ve been told,
is a small price to pay
for the beauty I behold.
Second Place
God’s Peace: Sunrise Till Sunset
Grace Itira Young, Caney Fork EC
Finally, it’s the cool of day.
A warm honey glow cascades over the river,
Everyone is going home
The intensity of heat, life’s pressure, kept and unkept promises-
are gently washed away.
I find what matters most at Sunset.
Alone with my loving Creator,
Who always keeps His promises.
He promised that the sun would set
and that it would rise once again.
I take a deep breath and note the scent of fresh water.
Enjoying the breeze,
I read my Bible and pray,
while peace overcomes all oppression.
I find what matters most at Sunrise.
Third Place
Home and Native
Ashley Sands, Middle Tennessee Electric
Really, don’t eat the red snow.
Tennessee requires lead bone.
Silly, don’t attack the homestead alone.
Won’t back down or up, don’t snub,
they dub me very ice stoned.
My heart and lung are a vice and megaphone.
Ignore the bright light to invite that which is a nice glow.
That is war, last generation known.
That’s a door, to a river, meditation flow.
Rat wants more, just a killer, respiration shown.
You’re like a clone, you ask for me,
I die for me in this thunder dome.
Say lie for me, know you’ll suck it up as bubbles foam.
Age 23–64
First Place
Memories Live Here
Terry Weaver, Duck River EMC
Encased, though not entombed
In the pavement of Time.
Penned in ethereal ink,
Engraved upon shifting winds,
On imperceptible breezes of
Partly cloudy afternoons.
Glowing in eternal embers,
Flowing in the creeks of Yesterday,
Rising again each yawning sunrise.
A wakened, provoked by things most
random…
A dormant voice, long since heard
But n’er forgotten, suddenly appears,
Saturating the conscious
And leaving tendrils of contentment
In its wake.
Sprouts of hopeful ambition,
long wilted,
Reemerge in crevices
Overgrown and seldom trod.
Yet…
Others dwell in lighthouses of Hope.
Their beacons enlightening,
strengthening,
Illuminate our steps
Towards unseen journeys ahead
Second Place
The Things I Will Take with Me
Jerri Stanco, Meriwether Lewis EC
Oh Tennessee, my Tennessee
These are the things I will take with me
Early misty morning dew
Crows flying against the blue
Beautiful sounds I long to hear
Of nature singing in my ear
A mockingbird’s song, the croaking toad
Silence of snow as it blankets the road
A foothill’s chain of endless gaze
A waterfall and autumn days
These are the things I will take with me
Deer in the meadow and a willow tree
A country creek and the swimming fish
The twinkling stars and a granted wish
Third Place
June Brings July
Alex Morrison, Sequachee Valley EC
“April showers bring May flowers”
With rare mentions of June.
Yet without rain,
Would come no grain,
Bailed in the heat of noon.
For ‘tasseling corn or melons form
How long are we to wait?
We sow the seed,
And beg and plead,
For weeds to meet ill fate.
The weather swings us back and forth
From spring’s sweet breeze to pain.
A stifling heat,
Dead then repeat,
With a front of storms and rain.
We find our peace in Tennessee
Though mosquitos bite and fly.
Yet June’s month’s run,
Is said and done,
With Friday comes July.
Age 65 and older
First Place
Listen to the Melody
Sandra Fortune, Mountain EC
Quietly,
Still the noise surrounding you
Listen to the gentle melody
of your soul
No musical notes on a paper
No musical instruments required
No audience necessary
Just a connection with
your inner being
Listen to the melody
of your soul
Peaceful meditation
Special instant of passion
Joyful moment in time
Quiet thoughtfulness
Allow a connection with your
melody from the inside
Celebrate your jubilation
of happiness
Tap your toe to the tune
Dance…Sing…Shout!
Listen to the melody
of your soul.
Second Place
Home
Debra Cole Quarles, Fayetteville Public Utilities
“Follow me,” chirped the mockingbird!
Off we go, him in lead,
Past frilly irises of many colors-
Lovely as Dolly.
Past cascading falls- Look!
Black bear cub at edge of woods!
Up we go, forest bursting with rhododendron fully blooming.
Can’t believe my eyes-
Davy Crockett and Roy Acuff conversing- places in time not mattering.
Imagine! Earth quaking to make a Reelfoot!
To a home of Grace- fit for the king.
Volunteers everywhere, doing so much.
Keep moving- lots to take in- yet feeling peace.
Don’t have to see it all now.
This is Home.
Third Place
Grandpa’s House in Tennessee
Robert Smith, Middle Tennessee Electric
Grandpa’s white house stands tall
In a grassy yard, not far from the road
With a tin roof and long, wide porch
Rocking chairs and swing beckon us all
Grandma smiles amid her flowers
Peonies, coleus, and begonias
Rhododendron and azaleas
Majestic Tennessee irises
She calls to Grandpa, “Lonzi,
Look who’s here!” and we go on and on
Talking through our good supper,
Games of Rook and family stories
Day’s end, far from urban clamors
Lying beneath quilted covers
Stars peek through the rafters
Into the peaceful quiet of home
