2017 Anthology Book

51

Sarah Koop
Mrs. Tokoph
Bridgemark Center for Learning - Tyler, TX

Music is like the Wind

Music is like the wind
You can feel its effects but it chooses not to be seen;

You can hear it rush through crowds of people
Like a breeze through the trees.

And if you ask me who I want to be,
I’ll tell you

Music lives in the heart of every being
So let me use my talent to express its true meaning..

Tenth Grade Second Place

52

Mikel Feliciano
Ms. Ashcraft

UT Tyler Innovation Academy, Longview - Longview, TX

First World Problems

Here are my problems as they appear–
A soda with too much ice,

An iPhone that seems to have lost all life.
A cashier that takes too long to return my penny of change,

And a Big Mac with pickles instead of tomato slice–
Oh why is life such a pain.
I know others have it worse,

But the ending of Lost was as useful as a dead horse.
And I realize

That there are people who starve
But what am I supposed to do

When Sonic gives me tots instead fries?
I suppose I could stop complaining
But what else would I say,
For me it’s always raining.

Oh, it looks like I’m running out of time,
The Kardashians are about to come on at nine.

Tenth Grade First Place

53

Jamie James
Dr. Guerrero
Woden High School - Woden ISD

The Wind Blows

The wind blows through the trees.
Telling stories of where it has been and what it has seen.

The wind tells the tree of the people it has met.
The wind whistles like a bird and is as soft as feather.
The wind picks you up and sets you down on your feet.
It runs through clouds and hits the ground and moves the land.
But the wind does not speak of how lonely the sky can be.

At times, the wind has only itself to converse with.
The wind is ever so lonely, so he reaches down to tell the trees

Of distant land and beautiful people.
The wind talks about wavy waters that wash upon the shore
And the great, ginormous green hills and the green leaves turning brown.

With all the trees and animals the wind is still lonely.
The wind can come and go when it wants but when it is gone,

The wind is alone.

Eleventh Grade Third Place

54

Jacob Watson
Mrs. Alfaro

Beckville High School - Beckville ISD

The Journey

The starting line awaits
Music slowly begins to flow throughout my ears

My journey has just begun
Feet begin to crisscross at an opposite pattern

The speed begins to pick up
Darkness is all that is near except for the few light poles around

The feet continue to pound at the hard concrete surface
The tempo of my breathing begins to increase
In through the nose and out through the mouth

The heartbeat continues to function at a rapid cadence
Cold air conjures the ghostly breath out of my body
My leg strength begins to diminish
I must not stop
The finish line is close but seems far
Breaths flow in and out rapidly without control
Sweat beads have begun to drip across my face
The feeling in my feet is of nothing but pain
In my face appears the finish line
Just a few more steps
I slowly pass the line ahead of me
The strenuous journey has finally come to an end
My feet slowly come to a halt
Now the journey is over
Strength is finally regained
Now I wait for my next journey ahead

Eleventh Grade Third Place

55
Korbin Davis
Mrs. Davis
Pine Tree High School - Pine Tree ISD

The Language of the Soul

As my fingers grace the keys,
As the strings are coerced to ring,

Music, Measure, Melody.
Of darkest nights and deepest seas,
Of brightest skies and feathered wings,

Of many different things it sings.
Heat of Summer,
Green of Spring,
Leaves of Autumn,
Winter’s Sting.

Requiem or Fantastique,
To me the Music seems to speak.
Not simple words or human vocation,
But with the soul’s own elucidation.

It speaks of Love,
It speaks of Grace,
It speaks of Pain, Distress, and Plague.
A conduit of raw emotion,
I pour my Heart into it with devotion.
My Music is my jubilation.
My Harmony is my Communication.

Eleventh Grade Second Place

56

Dawson Cunha
Mrs. Alfaro

Beckville High School - Beckville ISD

River in the Distance

I can hear the roaring water
The splashing of the rocks

Water spraying the sides of the landscape
Digging the soil beneath its wake
I can feel the river in the distance
Next to the edge, I begin to walk in

My waders on and water up to my knees
The river has slowed becoming so nice and peaceful

Casting out for a trout, hoping I get one
Only to see the river in the distance

Dreaming of the day I can walk once more
Just to get near the river’s shore

Seeing the trout and salmon jumping every which way
Moving up shore for a new home for spring

If only I could see that river in real life and not in my dreams
One last cast is all that I ask

I thought I would go back after I took off this cast
If only I knew this would be my last time
To see the river
So beautiful and divine

As I sit with the cabin to my back and with my morning cup of joe
Thinking about all the times that we had

All I ask is for my grandchildren to see the world
Especially the one of its own
The river in the distance

Eleventh Grade Second Place

57

Malis Dachelet
Dr. Guerrero
Woden High School - Woden ISD

Sunflower

A girl is a sunflower
Standing tall as she
Turns her face to the sun.
She finds sunshine wherever she goes
Her lips are as soft as petals,
Her eyes big and brown
The breeze silently cheers her on
And the crickets serenade her.
The grass tickles her feet
One day she’ll grow
And see more of the world
That belongs to her.
The clouds watch over her, and
Cry so that she may grow.
Standing steadfast in a storm
Or dancing in the wind
A girl is a sunflower
And she is grounded in her roots.

Eleventh Grade First Place

58

Claire Simmons
Mrs. Egan

Cushing High School - Cushing ISD

It’s About Love

That sound,
that sound of Canon in D,
as you play the violin with a broken string,
that sound holds a whole new meaning,
beyond the scratches and screeches,

I can hear it,
it’s about Love.

That sight,
that sight of an upturn at the corners of your mouth,

looking at you now I finally see,
with fresh eyes a smile really wipes a soul clean,

not politeness or white teeth,
I can see it,

it’s about Love.
That feeling,
that feeling of rested butterflies and four o’clock cups of tea,
holding hands and brown eyes make lines easily read between,
these extraordinary daily routines,
it’s not boredom or resigned fatigue,
I can feel it,
it’s about Love.

Rusk County Poetry Society

Scholarship Winner
2 017

Twelfth Grade First Place

YOUNG AUDIENCES OF NORTHEAST TEXAS

Young Audiences of Northeast Texas is honored to be able to
continue the great tradition of Northeast Poetry in Schools.
The literary arts are critical to the development of students
and provide the opportunity for them to find their voice.

Young Audiences is committed to using all art forms to enrich the
lives of children and enhance their education. We believe in a three
part approach to a comprehensive education in and through the
arts; Arts Education - the pure teaching of the arts; Arts Integration
- using the arts to reinforce non-arts content; and Arts Exposure -
helping students to see that art is all around them. Our experienced
teaching artists partner with teachers and administrators to
bring the arts directly to the students - right in their schools and
classrooms. Our artists bring arts instruction to schools where not
all forms are taught. They also work with teachers to integrate arts
learning with other content, expanding understanding in both the
art form and the paired content. Additionally, we pair with other
arts organizations to expose students to all forms of art in their
communities.

Research has proven that investment in arts education results in
improved academic, social, and civic outcomes. In addition to those
outcomes, access to the arts is invaluable in helping students gain
the life skills necessary to find their passions.

The poems presented here are a vivid testament to this.

We join you in celebrating these talented students.