1st Place

TOYING WITH CHANGE

by Zachary
Legos, Kinects, and Playmobil,
Nerf guns, a train set, and tons of Hot Wheels,
Stuffed puppies, action-figures, a worn-out baseball glove.
These are the toys I used to love.
Finger-paint, Play-Doh, slime, and modeling clay.
Piled in a box, ready to give away.
Replaced by Ipads, Ipods, Wii, and Raspberry Pi,
AirPods, earbuds, and PS5s.
Shiny, techy, stylish, expensive and sleek.
Perfect gadgets for a teen technology geek!
I glance at the box packed for the thrift store
And, I’m not ready to be grown-up anymore.
I open the box and start to play.
I’ll stay young for another day.

2nd Place

By Jessica

Our Lives slow as Turtles
dogs barking and
birds chirping from a distance
fire crackling
Our Lives Frozen For answers

3rd Place

Before and After

By Lilia

Hurry, hurry
Finish up
Due tomorrow
Test on Friday
Work on this
But don’t forget to
Get in the car
We’re always late
Running, running
Typing faster
Nervous laughter
Anxious chatter
Still it isn’t
Real to me
Days whirl by
Busy, blurry
Weekend can’t come
Soon enough —

I blinked

— and when I opened my eyes
I had nothing to do
Worries, due dates, and obligations
Lifted, postponed, or canceled
Rainy day
Rain delay!
So much time
To do so little
I soak up the nothingness
In my own little bubble
Sheltered from
Everyone else’s chaos.

Honorable Mention

The Expressions of Change

By Bella

No shortcut, no detour.

No way to avoid the truth.

Gasping for air, as your final breath fades, longing for hope, as you shatter away. Thinking you will never reach the surface in time, as the light dims from sight.

Drowning in anger, submerged in fear. Thinking as if no one will ever hear.

But it is the unidentified beauty of what lies inside.

Like the beauty of winter falling into spring or how peaceful meadows start to sing.

Nevertheless, stand firm when change touches our lives, because hope will always be stronger than strife.

Corona Virus

By Bella M.

Confined in our home.
Ongoing fatalities on every news channel,
Ran out of supplies to keep us safe.
On and off fights for toilet paper.
Not right to make jokes about the virus.
Am I going to survive?

Vaccines are being made.
Is this going to take out half of the world?
Rationing on food and supplies.
Unable to see friends and family.
Stay safe and stay healthy.

CORONA CRISIS

By Emily W.

December 31st- A virus only nanometers big changes all 6.371
million meters of Earth forever

Cases outgrow supplies as the numbers reach 560,000 plus
Now it is not the virus that’s confined it’s us
Schools out, jobs are lost, life as we know it fades away
Precautionary measures are advancing everyday
Yesterday I could go to dinner but now I can’t and the shelves are
just getting thinner
It seems the chances of a cure are that of becoming a lottery
winner

The New World

By Emmanuel
The elk stood straight with its antlers high and sharp
Looking at the stretch of unending Colorado road, he saw not one car
The road was empty for the first time

The fish swam gracefully, scales gleaming, acknowledging the sunlight
Looking around the waters of the Pacific, he saw not a single piece of debris
The ocean was empty for the second day

The bird flew through the air, it’s black feathers staying perfectly in place
Looking at the JFK runway, he saw not a single aircraft taking off
The air was empty for the third day

Expressions of Change Poem (Free Verse)
By Matthew B.

change.
it’s always happening;
in the breath we take to the choices we make.
we are prisoners to –
change

life
seemingly never ending, but never boring.
happiness can be fleeting, depression overtaking.
seen in the face of a newborn,
the wrinkled, sun kissed smiles.
but all too suddenly, life can
change

death
inevitable. terrifying. mystifying.
always in the back our mind
waiting. for one day to claim us
there’s no escape, but the question is never if –
it’s when.
because death will never
change.

fear
we’re all victim to it
social distancing, threats of war,
global warming; an inevitability of our own devices.
we are causing
change

but not
for the better.

Art Connects Poetry Pages:

 Tk-2 Poetry | 3-5 Poetry | 6-8 Poetry | 9-12 Poetry