Announcing the Winners of the Frog Hollow Poetry Prize for Young Writers

Read their awesome poems!

I’m thrilled to announce the winners of the inaugural Frog Hollow Poetry Prize! The prize was open to all writers ages 13 and under, and we received almost fifty entries. Judges were current Frog Hollow students — no adult opinions weighed in. (Some of the contestants including some of the winners were also Frog Hollow students, but students had to choose one role or another, and poems were judged blind by students from all Frog Hollow classes.) After great deliberation, we have our winners! We also have a deeper understanding of how incredibly subjective poetry judging is. More on this in another post soon. For now, please enjoy our winning poems!

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1st Place:

Ballad of Eli

By Eric Cisyk, age 11

All he does is sleep all day,
Why can't he get up once and play?
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

He should chase a mouse,
He should guard my house.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

He's wasting his life doing nothing,
He could try doing a little something.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

Oh how I wish
That he would catch a fish.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

He is such a lazy beast,
He should prepare me a fancy feast.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

"Feed me! Feed me!" Why-oh-why?
Does he constantly so loudly cry?
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

When I read my book at night,
He comes near and snuggles tight.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

He eats my LEGO pieces,
And then they come out in his feces.
Oh-Eli-the-Cat.

In the middle of the night he cries,
But I hope that he never dies.
Oh Eli-the-Cat.

You are my best friend.

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2nd Place:

Plastic Pirate

by Anushka Garg, age 11

I sail the Pacific Ocean,
Vanquishing my foes,
If you dare defy me,
Off the plank you go!

My days are filled with looting,
And nabbing jewels and gold,
We fight beastly sharks-and win,
Knocking them out cold.
 
We then sing songs and play music,
We tell stories a lot!
We eat dry bread and rum,
With the remaining teeth we’ve got.
 
I don’t use weapons-no spears for me,
I instead use a swordfish,
His name is Jaws, and we’re best buds,
Well, I wish.
 
I actually live in a house,
A boy plays with me,
I’ve never had these adventures for real,
I’m a toy, you see.

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3rd Place:

The Prophecy of Rain

By Niren Madhan, age 11

Wind, fire, ash, rain
One shall end in grief and pain
Find the endless maze of Bones
Find the secret of the stones
Search through the deepest depths and highest heights
To find the orb of brightest lights
Death shall rise and Life shall fall
Unless they can end the eternal brawl 
Beware, a rival hidden from time
Beware, a bell waiting to chime
Watch out for a traitor hidden unseen
Watch out for a monster lurking in your dreams
Stop that if you can; if you can’t you will Fail
And out of the sky will fall the black Hail
One shall face the forgotten evil at last
If they survive their mystically monstrous past
Then victory shall rise and they will win 
But only if they can beat the cruel sharks fin

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Honorable Mentions:

Unicorns in Distress

By Cassie Atwood, age 10

In a land far beyond the rainbow’s end 
Where magic always seems to mend
Lives many creatures pure as gold
Unicorns have a story to be told.
Twenty years ago, peace came
But the storm pierced them apart all the same.
Find the secret, recall this tale
Beware, unicorns will be hard to hail,
With manes rich as gold,
Hooves polished like diamonds, freezing cold.
With horns so fine,
The unicorns are looking for a sign
A sign of help, of persistence
They need friends and assistance
If the unicorns don’t thrive
They can’t survive.

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Spring

By Cora Bolick, age 10

The frogs croak loudly, but not louder than the chirping birds.
The blanket I lay upon is soft and floofy.
Looking behind me, I see a spider climbing across its web, silent and beautiful.
The blue blanket of sky above me holds up the glistening sun, which keeps me warm, calm and protected.
The bright yellow dandelions stand out from all of the dull green grass.
Our broken woodshed still has wood inside it, wood long forgotten. There are few dandelions to make a wish upon, for it is only the start of spring.
The fire pit, overgrown with weeds, still stands strong and proud, unlike the beehives, which have fallen down.
A butterfly whizzes past, a reminder that summer is nearing.
I notice a helicopter flying past the moon, which has been out all afternoon. 
Laying at the bottom of the hill, I feel like a part of the earth itself; like my spirit has connected to the sky, the sea, the ground and the air.
The trees, standing still, like they always have, remember nothing different ever happening.
Everything is the same to them.
The sky is clear of clouds, and is a bright blue.
Against it, the birds swoop from tree to tree, graceful as they can be.
My pen glistens in the sunlight; this wonderful pen that allows me to write this poem; this wonderful poem that allows me to express my feelings; my wonderful feelings that allow me to love, to hate, to cry wonderful tears of joy and sadness, of fear, and just simple tears.
The tears that we have all wept, the tears we have all felt, and the tears we all fear, embrace, and need to be human.

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The loop 

(the donut) 

By Ilha Grace Chen, age 10

An endless line, thicker than my thumb,
A sugary threat, filled with fun.
Scattered on it, small confetti,
Welp, here it goes! Get ready!
It enters the cave, giving it a sugary wonder,
And it's always perfect, no blunders.
You eat them to celebrate someone's raise. 
It can be dipped, covered or glazed!

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In The Mirror

By Erin Han, age 11

In the mirror,
I see a girl.

Walking towards me,
As I
Walk towards her.

I smile; I laugh.
She smiles; she laughs.

We embrace.

Tears of happiness
Streak 
Down my cheeks.

We weep 
Together.

Finding 
Our true love. 
Who was there
With us
All along.

Even as others 
Broke our hearts,
Over,
And over,
Again.

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I Come From

By Yolilizatl Olvera, age 10

I come from stardust.
	Magical being and
		Lore.
I come from music.

	Happy darkness,
		Lively shadows.

I come from mythology,
	Gods and goddesses.
		Deities and ghosts.

I come from the trees,
	The branches,
		The roots,
			The sky.

I come from adventuring, road trips, home cooking.
I come from Mexico and Europe.
I come from the farside and playin’ it rough.
I come from brain teasers and puzzles.
	Complications and results.
I come from bullying and family support.
I come from snow and sunny beachside resorts.
I come from epic. Fine detail coloring. Tryin’ not to rhyme, tryin’ not
to be ghetto.
I come from mic drops, smiles, and wondering what to do
Next because
	Now
	I
	Have
		Writers
			Block.
		(and i’m hungry)

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My Day

By Charlee Worcester, age 13

Today I woke up late 
I bet you can relate
I drove to the market
To grab myself a plate 

Of all the food I love 
That you probably hate 
Then I went to the gym
And tried to lift some weight

It didn’t work out
So, I went to my freind Kate’s 
She only speaks Spanish 
So I used google translate

Then I went back home 
I took a nice nap 
And my cat gave me a slap 
Now my face is red

And without eating dinner
I went back to bed
And slept with my shoes on
And a bump on my head

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