FIRST PLACE
Jenna Delmar, 12 grade
Kingsway Regional High School
Greenhouse
Summer sun sits in the window sills,
chases the floors and the flower pots,
lifts the delphiniums and hydrangeas.
Do you watch the summer sprout
through the glass pane?
I hope everyone, one day, has
a greenhouse with an open
roof so that the rain can soak
the soil of those orange geraniums,
allowing them to germinate,
a greenhouse with a door cracked open,
permitting the bees to come and go,
spreading pollen as the sweet scent
of gardenias and lavender
drifts through the backyard –
With clear glass, one can see
thriving, magnificent nature
or needy little plants
that may just need some help
in order to flourish…
transparency –
isn’t that something?
____
SECOND PLACE
Leah Lentz, 12th Grade
Shawnee High School
handing down
i prepare my blessings in
advance, i tuck twenty dollars in my mother’s
coat pocket, knowing that when i pull it out
come sunday, i’ll have forgotten i ever left it,
and feel a small glimmer in my soul, something in
my heart that still twinkles, like glitter
stuck in the cracks of oak floors,
long desecrated by avocado oil and egg whites.
when my father finally gets to remodel the kitchen,
he will find the casualties of childhood crafts and remember
how he hated the stuff. and in the same breath,
he’ll remember how we loved it,
how we swore to clean it up, but never could’ve finished the sisyphistic job!
once his children have emptied the nest,
he’ll uncover love persevering in funny ways,
artifacts middle hidden under hardwood,
shimmering hexagons hanging on through static.
look! look! it’s 10:18; in atlantic city,
a plane is touching down; in woodlynne,
the children are at school, streets are quiet; in my hometown,
a man is looking at the digital clock on the oven,
his daughter at the analog on the white walls,
they’re waiting to run off somewhere,
they’re itching for something to do with their hands,
they’re thinking the same thing,
“it’s 10:18, it’s your birthday, something is slated to begin.”
___
THIRD PLACE
Maggie Cody, 12th Grade
Haddonfield Memorial High School
When I Am Underwater
Throwing my heat-exhausted body into the water, I float under the heavy element. I am underwater, feeling all the orbs of air tickle my face as they rush from my nose and swim to the surface. I don’t paddle. I don’t even move. I am underwater and the deafening silence makes me feel calm. I open my eyes and watch the sun’s rays dive through the slick surface. The beams dance in the deep end. My eyes feel so dry though they are devoured by the wetness. I am underwater yet the distinguishable music of the seventies is clearer as I push all 70 pounds off the bottom of the crater. I cringe the moment I leap off the ground. My wrinkled toes rip, opening a warm pinkness that stings like my eyes. I don’t care though. I can finally breathe. I open my eyes and gasp for air as I never had before. Now, not where I cherished, I move my toes in my shoes to make sure I forget that everlasting feeling. To dismiss the only part I ever hated about being underwater. I know all the words to the music now. “Come and get your love” peels off my lips. I remember when I am underwater. But I yearn for the moments, I come from the bottom, gasping for air at the top, opening my sore eyes, and being able to look at each and every one of them sitting at the white table set with the glass top and floral cushions strapped to the matching chairs. When I am now underwater I don’t want to take the first breath. Light, delicious air seconds from me, yet not all the people I love, will be waiting for me.
___
HONORABLE MENTION
Anna Sisco, 10th Grade
Kingsway Regional High School
Juniper Lane
I came from the end of Juniper where we sold lemonade,
The corner of the pavement filled with pastel sidewalk chalk.
I’m from elating deep-end jumps and adventures in trees,
Unknown broken bones and late night heart-to-hearts.
I’m from smoked kielbasa, the sweetest babka, singing “Sto Lat” every year,
The taste of buttercream icing and blessed baskets in a realm of motley glass.
Sunday gravy, violations, “Hail Mary” in the candle-lit dining room,
Wishes on oplatek, strawberries on pound cake, and sweet pea perfume.
I’m from serendipity (happenings, achievements, heartbreaks),
Shiny dimes from the blue above, a person I’ll one day get to meet.
I’m from the very back pew, Sunday school, Nickelodeon at night.
A reckless love that lives inside, however unbelievable I think it to be.
I’m from a chaotic type of calmness, distraction in moderation,
Losing my voice at every meet, forever stained with the scent of chlorine.
I’m from saying grace, “Glory Be,” and “God be with you.”
I’m from that corner house on Juniper, the one where we sold lemonade.
____
HONORABLE MENTION
Keelyn Shim, 12th Grade
Haddonfield Memorial High School
I Notice
I notice when you wander the kitchen
Circling the mess of papers
While I try to solve limits
Cursing the limits of my own ability
You scour behind toasters and TVs for things to clean
Just so I do not have to venture the late-night alone
With my calculator as my only companion
I notice your careful eye
Spinning an apple in your hand
Placing it delicately in my lunch bag
Holding it like a bubble you fear will soon pop
Protecting this small sanctuary of sweetness
So you can ensure that every day there will be something beautiful in my life
I notice the small hum of your voice
Your mind recognizing the songs you have heard over and over
Possibly hoping for a radio malfunction but never uttering your wish aloud
Giving me full control over every selection
Sondheim, Brown, Webber blaring through your speakers
Songs that do not float your boat
But you listen because for me they have been an entire ocean
I notice the nickname you have given me
You whisper “butterfly”
A soft greeting that mellows the harsh blare of my alarm
Wishing me a wonderful day
So that I emerge from my cocoon brighter than I started
I do not think you know the power you wield with your actions
But to me
You are the sun, shining a light on every day
You are the waves, washing away all that is wrong
You are a wall, protecting me from the wind
You have shown me endless amounts of care
When you believe that I do not notice you are there
___
HONORABLE MENTION
Isabella Carle, 12th Grade
Kingsway Regional High School
Entitled Girl
Focus.
Your future.
Lunch with Ashley! In the city!
New shoes. Yellow summer dress.
Climb up. Out of the subway station.
Bleak stairway. Dirty. Grime. Avoid slipping in whatever that is.
Up and out. Into the sun.
Walking with purpose.
To my pal and one great chicken Caesar wrap.
Unstoppable. Must get there. Running late. Dumb train.
Restaurant. Other side of the park.
Sunny. Warm. The dress looks great. I sure can pick ‘em.
Snarled traffic on Locust Street.
Not my concern.
I’m on foot.
Truck blocking traffic. Hazards blinking madly.
I can almost see the restaurant off in the distance. I can almost taste that wrap!
Focus.
Get to her.
Approaching two interferences. One man. One woman.
Man.
Early thirties. Jeans. Work boots. Delivery man? Yes. Logo says so. It’s his truck.
Woman.
Diminutive. Spry. Silver hair. Great cut! Animated. Helpful expressions.
Man pointing.
Double doors to building. One open. One shut.
Tarped delivery four feet wide at three-foot opening.
Not looking good.
Woman concerned.
The square tarped object is on the wrong side of the opening.
And it is not getting through.
Blocked drivers not honking?
Huh?
Drivers understand. The delivery man is troubled.
Woman says, “It won’t open.”
Man says, “No, I’m going for the building’s manager!”
I’m thinking, “I’m late for lunch.”
I stop. Woman looks at me. She smiles.