Shakespeare By The Sea Festival

Winners of the 2011 Contest

Adult Category – Winning Entry

On the Tongue

My lips part in anticipation, pet.
Your nearness stirs my yearnings: quicks my breath,
pinks my cheeks, sparks my heartbeat, and begets
my sigh, your sizzle, a French 'little death'.

You work upon me silently, discern
No 'sweet nothings' need I – just to savour
the dreamy notes of fantasy nocturne
your spirit conjures.  O, you enslaver!

A nip, a grin, a laugh, a lick, a kiss –
you land me like a fisher with his pole.
Such muscle!  Then a metamorphosis
reveals your deeply, sweetly softened soul.

You're the one I long to meet for luncheons,
Pan-fried in butter and served with scruncheons.

By Wendy Rodgers

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Adult Category – First Runner-Up – Tie

K-T & Me
 
A sudden blinding flash then all was still;
A hundred million years of story told.
She did her best but such was nature's will
To start the new and wipe away the old.
 
And I, her new and rightful heir, observe
Long struggling bones from sandstone tombs, emerge,
To face a world she could not hope to serve
As she had done so well before the purge.
 
My life began the day the siren sang;
That now I should get on my knees an bless
These bones that now on pipes and cables, hang
So something more was made from something less.
 
I know that on that day the price was paid
And thank her for the sacrifice she made

By C.B. O’Brien

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Adult Category – First Runner-Up – Tie

Dervish at rest

Her eyes, like crescent moons, sweetly closed to light,
Fanned out on cheeks, her eyelashes flutter at sound,
This is surely the most bless’d time of night.
Stuffies blink from shelves, her mind at last unwound,
No longer dervish, whirling through the day.
Cards flung, songs sung, toys strung about the room.
The floor obscured by clothes in disarray;
A trail of crumbs, which just escaped the broom.
No time for self: her wants, her needs come first;
A drink, a book, a kiss on a bruised knee.
As bedtime creeps up, the demands are worst-
“My snack!”  “My doll!” “Mom, get it now! For me!”
This is a life I would never replace-
Gazing upon my angel’s dreaming face,

By Rosemary Norman

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Adult Category – Second Runner-Up

Square

One day the moon decided to be square
And rose four-cornered in to night’s black dome.
He caused the people to take stock and stare:
“Why, moon, do you shine square upon our home?”
The moon did not appreciate their moan.
Next night he rose still square and also green,
When up from earth there came an anguished groan:
“This is the most horrific sight we’ve seen.
You look just like a block of mouldy cheese;
Your putrid light fills all our hearts with dread.
Return to your round self, we beg you, please.”
“Accept me as I am,” was all he said.
He sunk and vanished with a scornful grin,
Returned next time with hair upon his chin.

By Catherine Mason

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High School Category – Winning Entry

Time

Why does time, long and weary, drift away
like falling stars that touch the planet’s rim?
Why, grimly, does it wither through each day,
each week and month like whispering winds that skim.
Why can’t time be an endless gentle dream
that soothes the mind, is generous to soul?
Short are our lives but time is long. It flies
and crawls yet seems to block us from our goal.
If time can pass unfelt by glowing stars
then why cannot it be unfelt by man?
Why must man be restricted by the bars
of hurrying time, like dunes of shifting sand?
Time passes from us like a wind once proud
Why can’t we float serenely in its cloud?

By William Power
Grade 12
St. Bonaventure’s College

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High School Category – First Runner-Up

The Secret

Among the stars, bright ancient secrets lie,
Their whispers mild, unknown to naked ear.
Their comfort from untraceable disguise,
They share their tales, yet no one seems to hear.

They watch and wait as people scramble 'round,
And no one questioned what their stories mean.
Their words fall meaningless along the ground,
And so the wise advice remains unseen.

The hush'd tones turn to the impatient call,
They tire as no one hears them, not a word.
They want to share their messages with all,
Unless one listens, it just won't be heard.

All's needed is for you to glance above,
Their secret you will learn is that of love.

By Chelsea Ireland
Grade 12
Prince of Wales Collegiate
 

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High School Category – Second Runner-Up

untitled

Reciprocated love is but a gift
A treasure only some can understand
The boy who makes the butterflies all shift
Is with another, so my love is bann’d
Their woven hands abuse my longing heart
Their long embrace prevents my nightly rest
Unspoken thoughts all flow into my art
My voiceless heart in which my face confess’d
He is but blind in filthy games she plays
Her fingers wrapped around his naïve core
Her selfish words against his selfless ways
My shamed affection becoming a chore
At last her fatal lust thee hath forgo
I found my gift; you know I love thee so

By Jane Walker
Grade 12
Prince of Wales Collegiate

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Junior High School Category – Winning Entry

Slumber Deep

It's always her, crying herself to sleep
Why is it always her getting the hate?
She wants to fall into a slumber deep
To save her, tomorrow will be too late

She hold the sharp razor to her pale arm
She watches the red blood slowly seeping
Maybe these little pills will do the charm
She looks in the mirror, silent weeping

She swallows the pills and drops to the floor
She feels darkness slowly swallowing her
Suddenly her mom barges through her door
But the darkness has now taken over
 
This young girl could still be breathing in air
But the haters had no clue how to care

By Kylie Hynes
Grade 8
Mount Pearl Intermediate
 

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Junior High School Category – First Runner-Up

Sing

When listening and sound are intertwined
What we want to hear is our decision
For when our lives make minds and hearts go blind
Music never fails to give them vision

Yet lyrics of a song can make us think
And creativity begins to soar
Into our brains the words we hear do sink
They open up a new linguistic door

An artist paints a joyous symphony
A microphone gripped tightly in their palms
One voice creates a sweet epiphany
A damaged reckless mind it soothes and calms

The universal language among all
An ageless melody, centuries tall

By Jack Etchegary
Grade 9
St. Paul’s Junior High School
 

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Junior High School Category – Second Runner-Up

Simply Sweet Seduction

Wake up to a feed of bacon and eggs.
What a perfect way to start off my day!
I’m still half asleep and can’t feel my legs,
A coffee to go and I’m on my way.
Driving down the street, a scent fills my nose,
Reminding me of old Grandma’s cooking,
Like cotton candy, sweeter than a rose.
Slowing by the bakery, just looking,
My mouth starts to water as I drive by.
Sugar and sweets are my favorite treats;
If anyone asks I might have to lie.
My new diet won’t dictate how I eat
Carmel covered candy corn on French fries.
Death by chocolate will be my demise.

By Lesley Kendall
Grade 9
Leary’s Brook Junior High School