It is the time of the year to select the winner of the second half of 2023.

Please read the poems below and click on the link below to cast your vote.

Voting will end January 15th, 2024.

 

Fear is Tradition

By: Kristen H

 

 Where I come from

people are afraid

of both failure and success.

 

Stagnation is where we all stay.

Get a safe job.

Live in a safe home.

Have a safe family.

 

No one takes risks

and those that do are

criticized and shamed

into falling back.

 

I decided to give up.

 

I gave up my fears.

I took the risk.

 

Joined the army,

Moved across the country,

Got a tattoo, or 10,

Fell in love,

Moved again,

Went to college,

Had kids,

Moved again,

Went to a trade school,

Moved again,

Got a job in a major city,

And now??

Well, now…

I’m as happy as I could ever hope to be.

 

Meanwhile,

Where I came from...?

It’s exactly the same as when I left.

 

Hot Summer Nights

By: Clentin

Hot

Sweating

Hard to breathe

Keeping me up

Tossing and turning

Keeping my mind awake

Thinking about my life’s goal

What is it that I should review

What actions will I choose to explore

Before the heat takes me back to my dreams

 

Sister Pauline

By: Ruby Lord

I was dressed in school colours, bottle green

On my first encounter with Sister Pauline.

The habit she wore and her stare intensive,

In making me silent, I grew defensive.

 

The courage I had, was pulled straight from my soul,

with Sister Pauline demanding control.

In her weird sayings, she was purposely hard,

And the words that she spoke, I’d disregard.

 

‘Girls, if you’re at a party and the lights go off,

Jump up on the table, yes boys, they’ll scoff.

but tell them the truth, loud and without fear,

I’m a good catholic girl, don’t come near’

 

‘And if a boy asks you to sit on his knee,

Don’t agree without a phone directory.

Better practice is to use two such books,

Bad boys want you tight upon their hooks.’

 

I figured out why she’d stand by her word,

Sister Pauline’s statements, cried, I’m absurd.

Clear frustration in this woman that I knew,

And resentment, because her lovers always withdrew.

 

Success is What You Make It

By: M. Browne

 

To me, success is more than a seven letter word

For finally, no more failure is heard

In the silent echoes of dawn

I feel as free as a bird

Success whispers, a journey drawn

 

To me, success is a painted canvas with colours unseen

Breaking the comfort of everyday routine

Becoming bold towards something new

It's growth within, more than a dream

For failure had never alone grew

 

To me, success is what you make it

Through tough times, I'll never quit

Recalling when they told me to abort

But I won't give up, I will commit

For it's their words that I had fought

 

To me, success is an old-told tale

It is a journey ready to set sail

Practise and not giving into fears

I've worked so hard, I mustn't bail

For I've given my blood, sweat, and tears

 

To me, success is not a distant goal

For I have given the depths of my soul

Repeat and repeat until well polished

I sit by my phone awaiting the call

Soon I will see all that I've accomplished

 

Make Me Laugh

By: Ruby Lord

Start with a smile,

And tell me a joke,

make me laugh,

my funny bloke.

 

Tell me again

fill life with fun

reel them off quick

until I am done.

 

Laughing my socks off

take to the stage

honing your humour

my comedian sage.

Vote Here