Grades 10 ‐ 12
2013 Youth Poetry Contest Dry Spell I hadn’t had much To write of lately. My inspiration has Forsaken me. I know this happens From time to time, Still I shall try To slit open my poet’s mind And try to make it bleed. I shall use a knife Of loneliness And hatred for the world. A pick‐axe bearing All the names Of each useless Boy and girl. I shall gather the blood With a basket of love, Scrape it in with a tool Of the missing in my head. Only a little Shall I take— For I want not to be dead! Some liquid punk To thin the blood And turn it into ink. Some old roots of a past To make it turn black And tears to help me think. I shall put it all In a pen of passion, Processed and ready to write. And to make sure I don’t fall asleep… I have confusion to be my light. I will pour it all On a paper of compassion, Ready to take My troubled mind. Oh how much of my whining It has endured… But how it helps me All the time.
Yes, It’s been quite a dry spell. Nothing to write about These past couple days. I really don’t know What’s the dilemma— I must be in some sort of haze. So I am off to cut My writer’s mind… A small stream of blood Is all I really need. Just a trickledown effect To begin a gushing Creativity.
Kennedy Lawver Grade 10, Jackson High School
Cheyenne Payne Grade 11, Jackson
Emily Ribaudo Grade11, Jackson
Stark County District Library ~ 2013 Youth Poetry Contest ~ Page 87