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Winners Page

Make sure to join the A Year of Poetry of Tea Time Group on Facebook
so you don't miss the
2023 Poetry Contest.


Check out the poetry of past published poets below.

A short message from one of our past poetry Judges

Kathy Mellor

While it is an honor to judge the poetry submitted, it is also tremendously difficult to look at all the work and heart that went into each one and deem one better than another. I commend all the participants for their excellence, it is no small thing to bare your soul on paper. My hope is that whether or not you won, you continue putting pen to paper and develop your gift for sharing thoughts and feelings through poetry.

THE 2023 Gold SPONSORS

2023 Contest Winner names will go here.
It could be you!

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2022 Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Hope

6 years old

Maryland

Night In the Shimmering Sky

The night is as black as the darkness in a cave.
The stars are shimmering, silver, gold, and yellow.
I can't wait to see them shoot high up and around me.
The wind is blowing as I walk across the mountain,
ready to see my imagination run wild.

I get to the top. 
I shut my eyes. 
I find the world blue.

The moon is a shimmering milky white color.
If you look at the moon as closely as I did, you might see the moon's face.
My imagination runs away from me and finds its own way.
Then I think of everything that could happen if I touch the moon.

The goddess, Chang'e; she lives on the moon forever and ever and is always waiting for someone.

The skies are as beautiful as I think.
Then I open my eyes.
I float up high into the sky.
I can't believe it; I think I will touch the moon.
Stars are surrounding me.
I look up at the moon's crest.
The wind blows in my face, but I don't care.
It gets colder and colder as I go up, but then I hear a voice that says,"Hello, hello. So you made it to the moon. Is your choice to come live with me?" the voice says. 
"Yes," I say quietly, as the wind grows wild, 
but then I touch the moon. 
It feels warm and soft, just like bird feathers.
I sing and dance with Chang'e. 
I love how it feels when my imagination runs wild.

2nd

Jennifer Zimmer

Adult

Kansas

 

Ode to Adventure

My Adventure, you inspire me to write

How I love the way you scare and excite

Invading my mind day and night

You are fierce and wild

Dreams of you fill my heart 

I will remember you while we’re apart.

1st

Julia

13 years old

Florida

Sandy Shore

Sandy shore, rocky beach,

 

Crested waves, crashing each,

 

Swirling shells that whisper tales,

 

Of the sunken ghostly sails.

 

Whispers of, roaring of,

 

The arching waves, up above,

 

The drifting kelp, the silent sea,

 

This is all a part of me.

3rd

Allie

14 years old

Missouri 

Lee's Last Battle

The ship was quiet, floating low

On a silent sea

Unknown to the crew sleeping below

Pirates began their spree

 

These pirates were a cruel gang

Hungry for loot and more

Their sudden angry shouts rang

And the sailors woke in mid-snore.

 

“You’re captives of Captain Lee!”

The pirates shouted to the crew

“Anyone who moves will be tossed into the sea

So don’t move whatever you do.”

 

While the sailors were tied fast

A young lad crept up to the deck

He hadn’t been found with the last

And there was hope to save his friends yet!

 

He ran up to the pirate, sure of how to begin

And without a second thought

Firmly kicked the man in the shin

And ran before he was caught.

“Get him!” The captain howled, hopping on one foot

But the scamp knew how to play foul

And dusted the pirates with soot.

 

They cried and rubbed their eyes

And in doing so they found

They tumbled over the side

And fell into the sea, drowned.

 

The boy became a captain and from that day on

The pirates steered clear, remembering his brawn

Published Poets

Adult

Jennifer Zimmer

Kansas

Ode to Adventure

Lucy Becker

Kentucky

The Wind and I

Melissa Crowther

Utah

Sailing Adventure

Teen

Allie - 14 years old

Missouri

Lee's Last Battle

Makayla - 15 years old

Arizona

Finding Purpose

Ella - 15 years old

Tennessee

When a Shadow Lies Over the Path That is Ahead

Middle School

Julia - 13 years old

Florida

Sandy Shore

Silver - 13 years old

Utah

On Adventures

Kiralee - 11 years old

Utah

A Drop of Rain

Elementary

Hope - 6 years old

Maryland

Night in the Shimmering Sky (Grand Prize Winner)

Kaiya- 10 years old

Colorado

Bird in My Backpack

Jaban - 10 years old

Canada

Miniaturized

Mara- 9 years old

Colorado

The Red Panda Explorer

Authors Pick

These poems will also

be published

Maya  - 11 years old

Utah

My Closet

Ella - 13 years old

Utah

I am an Explorer

Isabela - 14 years old

Kentucky

Hike in the Woods

Mary - 14 years old

Florida

Wonderlust

 

Maigan  - Adult

Florida

My Adventure

Luke- 9 years old

Washington

Under the Sea

Bethany - 10 years old

Oklahoma

Graceful a Swing

Kiralee - 11 years old

Utah

Harry Potter's Glasses

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Grand Prize Winner

Jake

10 years old

Utah

As I Wander

 

As I wander through the pine trees,

I reflect on those who lived here long ago.

 

Native Americans blessed this region;

I hear their tales in the wind as it blows.

 

Flying eagles, colored rocks, wild flowers, untamed horses,

Winding rivers, arrowheads, smokey fires, and buffalo grass.

 

The indigenous American spirit,

Is freedom and hope in the trails that I pass.

 

Grateful to live in this country,

Which today we all call “Land of the Free!”

 

American Indians heritage lives on,

Amongst you and me.

2nd

Ella

12 years old

Utah

 

The Rose of Freedom

The rose petals soft,

Smells of sweet dew.

The flower petals velvet,

And red like the sunset.

The flower chosen,

For our nation.

For the Soldiers,

who gave us freedom.

For the flag of rights,

That waves of privilege.

The rose is special to our hearts.

We honor the dead with the rose.

Chosen for honor and devotion,

Chosen for love, life, and liberty.

Adult

Lucy Becker

Kentucky

Choice

Juliette Hiller

Washington

The Land of the Free

Nellie Boyer

Virginia

Glimpses

Middle School

Ella - 12 years old

Utah

The Rose of Freedom

Mary - 13 years old

Georgia

Reign of our Voice

Isabel - 13 years old

Kentucky

Going to America

Brock  - 8 years old

Utah

Freedom

Louise Dyson - Adult

England

Dual

Melissa Crowther - Adult

Utah

Meadowlark

Amelie - 6 years old

Malawi

Country of Malawi

Elijah - 16 years old

Michigan

Patriots Parade

2021 Contest Winners

1st

Anika

15 years old

Utah

The Picnic Battle

The people gather on this eventful day,

Gray against blue,

Father against son.

The citizens and reporters and watchers.

They come with sandwiches and nice suits and dresses.

They hold up their glasses

To watch the skirmish,

To see the side that they are sure will win.

“Oh I’ll wipe up all the blood that is to be spilled today

With my pocket handkerchief.” 

 

And they did not find what they expected.

They did not anticipate

The grief or sadness,

The regret that comes with any fight.

The battle much bloodier than expected,

The dawning realization:

War, this war, all war, is no picnic.

 

They started to move, to get up, to run.

To get away from the war that was no picnic.

The panic to see the other side winning,

The horror to see the lives that were lost.

Gray against blue.

Brother against brother.

Father against son.

Never again see any dispute as a reason to party. 

Never again see any conflict as a joke.

War is no picnic.

3rd

Lucy Becker

Adult

Kentucky

Choice

Ignorance is bliss,

Because there's only you

What do you know to seek?

There's no burn to be better

It's survival of the fittest, might makes right

Responsibility isn't acknowledged, isn't owned

Because there isn't knowledge

Because there isn't knowledge.

Responsibility isn't acknowledged, isn't owned

It's survival of the fittest, might makes right

There's no burn to be better

What do you know to seek?

Because there's only you

Ignorance is bliss

CHOICE

Knowledge is power

Because you have learned

What is the good and the beautiful

It ignites a quest, a desire

To start another's fire, because

With great power comes great responsibility

Because there is knowledge.

Because there is knowledge

With great power comes great responsibility

To start another's fire, because

Ignited is a quest, a desire:

What is the good and the beautiful?

Because you have learned

Knowledge is power

Published Poets

Teen

Anicka - 15 years old

Utah

The Picnic Battle

Elijah- 16 years old

Maryland

Heavy is the Crown

Thomasin - 15 years old

Washington

Revolution

Elementary​

Jake - 10 years old

Utah

As I Wander (Grand Prize Winner)

Annabel - 10 years old

North Carolina

Unsung

Pawpaw

Lily Hall - 10 years old

Texas

Love of my Homeland

Authors Pick

These poems will also

be published

Mason  - 10 years old

Missouri

D-DAY

Maddox - 12 years old

Japan

Freedom Fighters

Alitsa - 11 years old

South Carolina

The Music, The Song, The Faith

Joshua - 11 years old

New Jersey

We Are America​

2020 Contest Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Reagan Dregge

Adult

Minnesota

Nessie

The Loch Ness Monster's

shape was born

In shadow-shrouded chasms

Long thought to haunt the

misty deeps

Of cold and lightless fathoms

Some say she is a

fairy beast

A figment spun from tales

While others claim a

dinosaur

Or remnant kin of whales

Myths multiply and

theories mount

But just the other day

I watched her swallow

up the sun

Then wink and float away!

2nd

Elena 

14 years old

Utah

 

A Plea to the King

How could the earth be a boring abyss

With all the people such as this:

The soldiers who never say a word?

Or the dancer whose music is always heard?

What of the storyteller whose shows are worthwhile,

Bringing to the children smile upon smile?

Or the workers who seem not to have names

Yet always have time for the children’s games?

Or the little toddlers with two left feet

Who follow their parents like little lost sheep?

They might seem like stepping stones in the ground.

But with them here the earth is crowned.

Not with the metal that you may believe

But with all of the things that they can achieve.

So, I ask of thee- right here, right now,

If thou wilt hear my pleaded vow;

To see the world as it really should be

Not things in the way of thy decree.

And while they need not show their worth-

(As that has been useless since their birth),

I ask of thee, O’ King O’ Mine,

If thou wilt see this as a sign-

 

To have error is human and that's all we can be,

To change is divine so that's what I ask of thee.

Published Poets

Adult

Reagan Dregge

Minnesota

Nessie (Grand Prize Winner)

Faith

Melissa Crowther

Utah

Sanctuary

Winter's Wait

Juliette Hiller

Oh, Smiling Moon

Middle School

Elena - 13 years old

Virginia

A Still River

Grace - 13 years old

Nevada

Opportunity

Caden - 12 years old

South Korea

My Sweet Little Sister

Teen

Elena

14 years old

Utah

A Plea to the King

Lily

17 years old

Louisiana

Quarantine

Adison 

14 years old

Utah

When Imagination Takes Role

Elementary

Kathryn - 9 years old

Arkansas 

He is Coming

Cayden - 10 years old

Indiana

A Seed I Sow

Jordan - 9 years old

Winter

Kylie - 10 years old

Texas 

Deadly Dreams

Isla - 11 years old

ZAMBIA

The Killamanine

Cambry - 12 years old

Virginia

Seaside ABC's

Max - 5 years old

AUSTRALIA

Best of the Best

1st

Elaena 

13 years old

Virginia

The Still River

The river is still,
as still as a painting,
yet just as a painting,
it is full of motion.
Upon the still river,
the round orb like shape of the Moon,
leading the stars
like a shepherd leads his sheep.
Then once a month,
when the shepherd goes to sleep,
the stars twinkle
and dance across the night sky.
Then, when the night turns to day,
the sun appears, a fiery maiden,
her golden hair rippling behind her.
Her dress and shoes made of gold,
riding in a orange chariot
pulled by fiery birds,
leading her army of clouds
against the armies of rain.
Just as they start to win the battle,
her own forces betray, and banish her.
All this reflected on the still river.

3rd

Kathryn  

9 years old

Arkansas 

He is Coming

When the sky is dark,

And the thunder claps.

He is coming.

 

When the trees tremble,

And the earth quakes.

He is coming.

 

When the wind whirls,

And the rain falls.

He is coming.

 

When the rain stops falling,

And the earth stops quaking.

He has come.

Authors Pick

These poems will also

be published

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