Age 9–13
First Place
Mind of a Bookworm
Shay Simpson, Meriwether Lewis EC
One too many,
But never enough.
Shelves too small,
Overcrowded and stuffed.
Getting creative
With stocking and storing,
Time and again,
But it never gets boring.
Getting high
On smelling books,
While adding a shelf
In that one last nook.
Getting distracted
Flipping through my favorite parts,
Read five times —
Still a work of art.
My best friend is an author,
My crush is a character,
My books are my world,
My happily ever after.
Second Place
My Lullaby in the Woods
Grace Herod, Duck River EMC
The Whippoorwill calls in the distance.
The chorus of frogs starts up.
The grasshoppers chirp.
The leaves rustle.
The foxes skip in the tall grass.
And right in the middle of it,
The owl starts its hoot.
This is the lullaby in the woods.
My lullaby.
The whippoorwill is the backup singer.
The frogs play trumpets.
Grasshoppers play flutes.
The leaves hit the tambourine.
The foxes dance for me.
The owl is the lead singer.
It’s the sounds I love the most.
These soothing sounds comfort me at night.
My lullaby is the best one.
My lullaby in the woods.
Third Place
The Next Dolly Parton
Esther Khual, Middle Tennessee Electric
She’ll come like a storm
With her guitar in hand
Her voice as a bird’s song
Her guitar, melodious
She’ll be seen and known
As The Next Dolly Parton
She’ll sing the tunes
In front of the Opry
Her eyes, they shine
Her heart, pure
She’ll be seen and known
As The Next Dolly Parton
Drowning in the music
That’s ever so lovely
And gentle like a lullaby
There it will be clear
She’ll go down in history
As The Next Dolly Parton
Age 14–18
First Place
Morning Soliloquy
Reece Turner, Duck River EMC
That feeling.
Early morning fog
Rolling gently,
Across the dew-dropped fields.
A steaming mug of tea.
The soft murmur of birdsong.
A golden sunrise appears,
Cresting the top of the hills,
Turning each drop of dew
Into its own shimmering flame.
Autumn colored trees quiver
In the soft morning breeze,
Their leaves dancing
To a song only heard,
On those Autumn mornings.
The feeling is otherworldly,
Like I’m lost in some fairytale
Or Shakespearean play.
The quiet thrill of the daybreak,
When time stands still,
As I watch the world awake,
And a brand new day begin.
Second Place
The Universe in My Backyard
Roger Chen, Middle Tennessee Electric
This world was molded and crafted eons ago,
And the Book says it was done by one being alone.
And indeed it’s full of individuals,
Everywhere you look are the pinnacles
Of vie, life, of création, of évolution.
To everything bad here, there can be found a solution.
All we must do is search for the clues
That God left here for us to find and to use.
There are nights lit by abundant twinkling stars,
Swimming in space’s deep, dark reservoirs.
C’est plein de lumière,
The sun and the moon, equally fair.
And it’s all in my own backyard.
Third Place
Sunrise
Missy Hoggard, Middle Tennessee Electric
A realm of possibilities
A chance to change the world
A new day dawns, the stars fall still
The night away has twirled
The treetops glisten, daybreak sings
The fierce wind dares not blow
Dawn glimmers, lit with golden pearls
And nature seems to glow
A symphony of color plays
The moonlight’s long since set
A peace descends on all who see
But all will soon forget
A glorious morn has greeted us
We take for granted still
The beauty of simplicity
In nature’s waking thrill
Age 19–22
First Place
Sparrow in the Rain
David Smith, Fayetteville Public Utilities
My flight is interrupted by forceful
winds and frozen rain falling like
shooting stars down to the earth. The
wings I’ve trusted for a lifetime have
failed me now in the flashing storm.
And the sour taste of desperation fills
my scowling mouth. I must now fall as
though I’ve been struck by the coursing
roots of light above, as though I’ve
fallen asleep in midair, my strength has
ceased and my hopes have died. The
Earth is no comfort as it rushes towards
me. Perhaps things will be better after
I’m gone, at least my struggles will
have ceased.
Second Place
As Summer Turns to Fall
Alexandria Miller, Upper Cumberland EMC
The lakes begin to grow quiet
The green leaves begin to change before our very eyes
The blistering heat becomes a gentle breeze
Swimsuits are exchanged for sweaters
Boats become replaced with buses
And we take what we learned from the summer into the fall
As the school bell rings
There are friends to be made
Lunches to be packed
And new friends to be met
Going back to school hasn’t gotten old just yet
Third Place
Fall is a Rain Cloud of Colors
Mary Smith, Fayetteville Public Utilities
“Fall is here.” My whisper meets the brisk morning air.
I shiver.
No longer met by the suppressant summer’s flair.
“Goodbye Summer.”
He tells me sadly, that he doesn’t want to go.
But he has no choice.
Plants have ceased to grow.
Flowers aren’t blooming anymore.
They’ve wilted to die.
Seeds, no longer sprouting.
Gardeners have had time to grieve a reluctant goodbye.
Fall has knocked at the door, she knows to just come right on in.
When that first cool breeze breaks the sun’s constant heat.
You cannot loathe Fall.
You call her your friend.
Age 23–64
First Place
Where is Tennessee?
R.T. Heath, Middle Tennessee Electric
It’s in Little Green rivers
Deep in Priestly lakes
Rooted in every tulip tree
Baked into hummingbird cakes
Planted alongside coneflowers and irises
Dancing in the shadows of fireflies’
swarms
Ducking behind bobwhites’ skirt
Mixed into mockingbirds’ fickle hums
Wrapped in the coils of copperheads
It’s the hook in every smallmouth’s lip
Echoing against limestone cavern walls
It’s the wind that through great red
cedars slips
From passionflowers that fleck fescue
fields
To dry counties where whiskey’s
distilled
It’s the Lookout looking down from
mountaintops
Filling a quiet night with a fiddle trill
That’s where Tennessee is.
Second Place
Tennessee Poetry
Neat Toensing, Powell Valley EC
A window to your soul
Passionate composition has
No rules, no right or wrong
Ideas flow freely as
Intensity of expression forms
With or without rhythm and rhyme.
See the message unfold
May collection of odes
Stir the human thoughts
Read as is, in, around, and between
The lyrics
Let the meter be your muse.
Third Place
The River
Lisa Riley, Chickasaw EC
Quiet, as the river flows
Surrounded by momentous rocks
And tiny stones
Endless stretches of greenery grow
Past the waterfall
Sunlight dances and cascades
Sand and clay merge as one
Forming tiny castles
Sparkling like treasures
Floating downstream
Slowly disintegrating
Surrendering to the rapids
The river flows
Unaware of time
Oblivious to man or beast
Its inner heartbeat gives life
To all who dwell here
Age 65 and older
First Place
Changing Seasons
Carl Lowe, Middle Tennessee Electric
Already grown comfortable with the
repetitious rhythms of summer,
this afternoon I can feel a wrinkle
of unease blowing through the trees.
A slight shift of received sunlight
signals the approach of
the subtle subterfuge of winter,
an undertow that grows
more bold as each
afternoon shortens,
its flow pulling us smoothly
towards the solace of
cold thoughts that are waiting to awaken
from their warm weather nap.
Soon the memory of this summer will
drift like an unmoored dream
disappearing among a fleet of
decrepit vessels
becalmed on a sea
of abandoned expectations.
Second Place
Meditation
Sandra Fortune, Mountain EC
Find time to meditate
A quiet moment after a
day of hurry
and worry
Turn off the electronics
and silence the multitude
of thoughts racing through
your head.
Seek a peaceful place
for quietness and solitude
Search your brain cells
for harmony of the mind.
Locate the ideas that
provide relaxation
Practice using the tools
that “set the mind free.”
Breathe deeply
Keep the
“monkeys in the tree, quiet.”
Give yourself permission,
often, to have
a meditative moment.
Third Place
Jellico
Roxanna Neslund Lawdonski, Cumberland EMC
I watched a train disappear into the side of a mountain.
Chased switchbacks that chased me back.
Smelled the smoke of a hundred chimneys.
Crossed bridges made of felled trees.
Stuck my feet in the creek and watched the minnows scatter.
Stood under that old drip rock.
Climbed the magnificent incline up to Jellico.
Scaled the summit and peered through the wispy clouds.
Through the hills and hollows, I persisted.
