Poet’s Playground – June winners

Age 8 and younger

First Place
The Trees of Tennessee
W. Phil Pratt, Southwest Tennessee EMC

Some days after school
my Papa and me go to the park
we see all the flowers as we walk
around the fence near the pool
then we sit on a bench until it gets dark

We usually look to the tall trees
with their branches waving in the wind
and their green, orange, and brown leaves
It is always a colorful picture to see
the beautiful trees of Tennessee

 

Second Place
Art
Tiffany Myers, Caney Fork EC

I love to paint with my brother
I love to do mazes with my mother
I love to color pictures with my crayons
I’ve even learned to write my name
I love to draw pictures of me and my daddy
I just love getting messy everyday

 

Third Place
Basketball
Timothy Myers, Caney Fork EC

Playing basketball is very fun
It is also good exercise
You have to run, jump, dribble
and shoot the ball
I love to play basketball
at our home
In Queback, Tennessee.

 

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Age 9-13

First Place
Night Lightning
Luke Barnard, Gibson EMC

Jagged, azure knives
Slice across the sky.
Who could tame the lightning?
Only a fool would try.
Throughout the voltaic display,
The bedazzlement of the scene,
A fragment of future is shown,
A piece of tomorrow is seen.
An electric eternity Is graven on the sky.
Who could tame the lightning?
Only a fool would try.

 

Second Place
Spring in Tennessee
Elizabeth Lefler

The bird’s song washes over the new day,
Making blossoming flowers bloom after the dark night,
The old leaves have been washed away by the snow,
And are nowhere in sight.

New, soft bark, sprouting fragile, green leaves,
Sending shade on hot days,
Lifting its arms to the pitter-patter of rain,
When it was dry and bare.

The gurgling stream bursts with life after being frozen for so long,
Whispers hello to the dandelion who sits beside the stream,
Gathering nutrients from its’ foaming waters,
Dipping its’ head in for a sip, but pulling back when it feels the current.

 

Third Place
Summer
Jade Young, Appalachian Electric Cooperative

I go outside;
the air is warm;
the wind is soft,
Summer!
School is out,
time to laugh and play!
I eat ripe,red,and juicy cherries
fresh from the tree.
I lick ice cream from the cone,
so it doesn’t drip on my hand and dry.
Oh so sticky!

 

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Age 14-18

First Place
I Am From
Rylan Clevenger, Appalachian EC

I am from the woods
with the birds and bees,
I am from the front yard,
the mowing hard
I am from the evergreen I hid in,
from the lilies whose colors distracted me while passing ball
I am from the hotdogs and steaks,
the stay up lates
I am from the clean your room
and the clean your mouth
I am from the laugh-a-lots
and the hand-me-downs
I am from the Bible verses
throughout the house
I am from the countryside
that’s back in the holler
I am from the volunteer spirits
I still carry on

 

Second Place
Harsh Words Can be Used as a Noose
Reagan Honeycutt, Sequachie Valley Electric Cooperative

I saw a girl with a hanging head
because of other’s words,
her joy was dead.
She layed apon her bed at night
with a wish of change,
a wish of light.
As time moved on her thoughts grew worse
what’s good in living,
life in a hearse?
Her brain felt dead, no happines remained
three or four times,
Her wrists had been named.
I saw a girl with a hanging head
with how tight the rope was,
she was soon pronounced dead.

 

Third Place
Half-remembered dream
Kira Cornick, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation

Remember that time,
With our backs against the ground,
Eyes on the sky,
Fingers tightly bound,
The stars never so beautiful,
Moon never so bright,
Darkness never so comforting,
As we laid there that Tennessee night,
Long ago it seems,
Since we left with tearful goodbyes,
And now my fingers trace,
The yearbook where you signed,
Now the stars are never as beautiful,
Moon never as bright,
Darkness never as comforting,
Since that last Tennessee night,
My love, I shall find you,
No matter how hard it seems,
Because I’ll never sleep in peace,
With this half-remembered dream.

 

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Age 19-22

First Place
Lingering
Anna Kurschner, Chickasaw EC

Life runs slow, lazy, lounging like
A summer creek.
Splash it, throw stones, jump in —
I only cause ripples.
Sit on the moss-grown bank,
Pondering.
Still the creek goes at its own pace, twigs
Agonizingly getting stuck.
I hate the dead leaves whirling in endless circles,
Caught in endless flow.
Nothing I do makes it change, I am powerless.
Unless I change.
Hesitant, I stand, step in, join the leisurely tempo,
Let water roll around my ankles.
This is different. Enjoy the drowsy speed
And slow my mind.
I’ll step out soon enough and enter
Rapids.
But not yet.

 

Second Place
In and Among Statues
Erica Welch, Appalachian Electric Cooperative

I find myself in and among statues.
In this world where the adults live
words laid like concrete fall like heavy stones
instead of music.
One day I will be one
who decides what is important
today.
But for now I am wet paint,
and you must not touch me
because too many already have.
Their fingerprints distinctive:
Changing and rearranging me
into a person that matters.
Another inglorious statue.

 

Third Place
his golden heart
Ali Lawrence, Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation

his fur is cream
composed of coastal sands
parchment ready to be penned
warm fields of wheat
across plentiful lands
his name is nash
after the music city
and the harmony
in his golden heart is
a radiant welcoming committee

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Age 23-64

First Place
Meeting Place
Jocelyn Hawley, Fayetteville Public Utilities

Just a glimpse of the soul — a stand of water seen through trees.
I want to walk you out to the pasture of our childhood. Can you find the way back through the briar Of memory? Here is the treeline; this is a fence. This is how you climb a fence. The world emerges here and everything has a name.
Teach you to see red and say “cardinal,” for blue say “indigo.”
We will touch every separate thing in reverence. When we are tired, we will drink from the creek like horses until we are full.

 

Second Place
Morning Coffee
Brian Hendrix, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation

Alarm calls out, reminding me
another day is here.
Dogs scurry pleading, begging,
happy to hear a human stirring.
Outside they go, excited,
chasing whatever they can find.
The newspaper waits,
ink and pages asking to be turned.
Inside, I dress in quiet trying not to
wake my sweet of 36 years.
Leaving, my journey is quick and fruitful,
First District Coffee fills my view.
Mug in hand, brew poured,
no cream or sugar for me.
Friends come, sit and drink,
smiling as we greet the day.
Then it happens without fail, the laughter
comes and pushes all worry away.

 

Third Place
So Proud to Live in Tennessee
Bessie Everhart, Duck River Electric Cooperative

“Riding bikes, Skinned up knees”
“Catching lightning bugs, climbing trees”
“Moms homemade biscuits, chicken and beans”
“Having company , desert by all means”
“Tossing football with my Dad”
“Proud of my brothers and sisters I had”
“Playing board games , Watching T.V”
“Flintstones, Scooby Doo, All In The Family”
“Planting gardens, pulling weeds”
“Tomatoes,potatoes,Turnip Greens”
“Hunting,Fishing, Planting Trees”
“Getting stung by bumblebees”
“Dads teaching us how to swim ,In Tims Ford lake”
“Eating Moms favorite chocalate cake”
Listening to the whip-poor-will”
“Running,Rolling down the hill”
“All the laughter you can see”
“So proud to live in Tennessee”

 

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Age 65 and older

First Place
The Return
Kay Horn, Middle Tennessee EMC

Retirement came — hugs all around
Waved good-bye — no tears, no sound
Packed my bags — left that night
Traveled fast — arrived first light
Hills and valleys — the hollows too
Whispered a welcome — “at last! It’s you!”
Drawn by my roots — led by my heart
Gone for a while — back to my start.

 

Second Place
God Is
Patsy Walker, Duck River EMC

In the crisp mountain air
in dusk’s stillness always there
in the dawning of everyday
in night’s darkness lighting your way.

Never too busy to hear your call
never caring if your big or small
never prejudiced by the color of skin
never limited by the abilities of men.

Always keeping every promise He’s made
always comforting when you’re afraid
always the same today and forever
always present – He’ll leave you never.

There when life’s pathway seems too rough
there when you think you’ve had enough
there when you feel you can’t make it through
there whispering “I love you.”

 

Third Place
What About A Pet?
Dolly Kimbel, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation

A home without a pet is not complete.
You could get a purring pussycat,
Perhaps a tail wagging dog,
Or maybe both.
They live inside with the family,
And become a part of the household.
They make you laugh,
And spread happiness all around.
Sometimes they make mistakes,
But so do we.
They are good for children,
Folks who live alone,
And many others too.
So find a pet, and make your home complete.

Please encourage our younger readers to participate. We enjoy seeing their work, and we miss them when they’re not here.