Poetry 99: junior high winners

First place

The Art of Being Late

Visualizing a confident eagle hovering

Resting my head on a bitter pillow

The curtain pleasantly swaying in the morning light

I watch as the sun slowly progresses up the sky

Thinking of being late, I roll over and hit the snooze button again

like I was learning a new martial arts strike

I focus distinct dreams for eight more minutes

-Cedar Bailey, 12, Chico

Cedar is no stranger to the CN&R’s writing contests. The Chico Junior High seventh-grader has had his work chosen so many times for both Poetry 99 and Fiction 59 that it’s hard to keep track of it all. And this year he’s taken both first and third place! To round out his résumé of radness, the young Renaissance man also enjoys skateboarding, soccer and playing electric guitar.

Second place

Jasmine Tea

the whistle of the teakettle both

throbs my forehead

and embraces thoughts of home,

a type of déjà vu.

curtains on the kitchen window

the sunrise awakens our shadows, it is 5:00.

steeping jasmine tea creates steam,

the hot air diffusing into the morning.

-Annabelle Feller, 12, Chico

As might be expected, Chico Junior High student Annabelle’s favorite subject is English, and in addition to submitting her writing to Poetry 99, she’s also done creative writing for Muse magazine. When she’s not writing or drawing, she says she likes volunteering to work with cats at the animal shelter.

Third place

The Clicking of Numbers

The overjoyed clock

seems to stare at me.

It ticks relentlessly,

never giving up.

The hand speeds up

as I dread to go onstage

to play my part.

Anxious and hesitant,

waiting for my time.

Finally it comes,

going by like a blur.

The crowd explodes

with applause.

-Cedar Bailey

Honorable mentions

Badlands

As vultures circle around a carcass

dingos watch from afar waiting for

the vultures to leave

From even farther a group of documentarists film them

The badlands are a beautiful place

-Ari Bays, 12, Chico

The Websites and Apps

YouTube is red

Yahoo is blue

Google is rainbow

and eBay is too

Firefox is fast

Explorer is slow

Amazon is expensive

And Letgo is too

Facebook is social and

so is Twitter

Snapchat is self-centered

and Instagram too

and these are all on

your computer, tablet and

smartphone, so use these websites

or apps wisely

-Zander Renzi, 11, Chico