. Fourth Place Winners . A Poem for Someone I Didn’t Know by Abigail Gilman, Steubenville High School, Ohio, 11th grade You died a million deaths in all the heartsI hope you knew how loved you wereThe world has shattered in two separate partsThe life they knew has now become a blur The posts and tributes flood the page and eyesFrom those you hardly knew and those you didYour heart inspired many, you were wiseYour voice the darkest shadows it could rid Your husband, how I feel for his great griefTo know the deepest parts of someone’s soulI hope one day that he can find reliefAnd happiness that finally makes him whole I didn’t know you, but I still will grieveA talent with the kindness there as wellIt’s sad when any person’s forced to leaveDiseases drive our worlds right into hell The strength of art that makes us feel we knowThese people, even when we’ve never metA testament to musicals and shows:These memories we won’t soon forget I watch your old performances and smileI hope you always hear the music chimeThough your time on here was a short while,I know you’re living life on ‘Greenwich Time’. . . Cui Lamentati Sumus (latin which translates roughly to ‘for whom we lament’) by Kinlie Gililland, 11th grade, Texas no tragic hero, who fulfilled his fate, could scarce have deigned to suffer for his flock; Crucified that they might see his face, Hearts of stone his blood alone unlocked. Profligate affinity for apostate, Adulterers of all things divine; “oh ye of little faith” who fickle, fell unmitigated mercies now refine. Capricious, craven carapace extolled,Recumbent shadow of a past deific.Erstwhile liberty, depravity prolific. The hero’s curse—salvation seems the foe:His epic only gaudy wrap will tell; All hail the immolate Emmanuel. . . Moonless Night at South Side Cemetery by Grace Folkers9th grade) at Liberty Common High School, Colorado It was an army of cracked cobblestone,And six feet under soulless corpses lie.Most are forgot but some remain unknown;‘Tis a lonely place to go when you die.And on a cold and moonless night like thisNo living soul roams the cemetery.The decaying tombstones fall damp with mist,And hopeful dreams, like the dead, are buried,But in the dark, lost souls come out to playThe veterans drink and tell a storyAnd although the night skies have now turned grey,The lost souls had their grand night of glory,And still their distant vintage voices sing, And through mighty mountain tops they shall ring. . . The Consolation of Despair — an English Sonnet by Niva Cohen, 10th grade, Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, Pennsylvania For most, this isolation breeds despairThe dull uncertain stretch of nothingness Our crumbling fragile world in disrepairWith only fleeting memories of bliss Beneath the gloom, we feel a pulsing fearOur jobs, our friends, our lives hang by a threadAn ominous force risks those we hold dearHow can we cope while precious blood is bled? But then we see a nurse headed to serveTo sacrifice her safety for the weakA young man dons a mask as we observeNot for himself but others past their peak In all the hardship, death, disease, and plightWe all unite against our foes and fight . . Honorable Mention . As the Wind Blows (A Ghazal) by Alyssa Horng, 11th grade, The Nueva School, California Across the still lake the wind blowsTumbling and swirling it blows Cool under the long shadowsWater ripples as the wind blows Soon the sky turns a shade of roseClouds drift away as the breeze blows The sun retreats as darkness growsAnd through it all the wind still blows With the cold night the stars aroseWarmth within the cool draft that blows No one knows where the wind goesOnly caring that it still blows I sit, weighed down by life’s sorrowsTold in whispers as the wind blows . . New Dawn by Austin Ruan, 9th grade, Wayne Hills High School, New Jersey When a bright new dawn appears, I shall willingly embrace A blood moon, blue sky and stars, Messengers of grace. When the dark clouds drift apart, Light glimmering in your face, Rejoice! For a bright new Sun Has been set in place! When the dust and gas combine, An unyielding carapace, Rejoice! For the blood-red moon Has been formed in space! When all else is created, Something seems so out of place, Blue and green entwine to form, A haven for our fates. When life is breathed into the Earth, An apple tree is newly birthed. . . To Reap and to Sew by Shayna Faul, 11th grade, Kang Chiao International School, Taiwan Alas, I have used up this mortal coil,Should it be cast into the writhing sea?Will there be nothing left for memory?I rage against this death I cannot foil,For all I strived turned now to wasted toil.Santa Muerte, reaper of souls, leave me!Begone! Put down thy scythe and let me be!My body hath no place beneath the soil. “My friend, is it redemption that you seek?Des’prado, drink down this red elixir!Though taste be foul, gain immortality!Prey, Pray! And soul might meld to thy physique!By thread divine, hem tight thy frail fi’sure;Sew soul to body, cheat temp’rality!” . .