Live Poets Society of NJ
P O Box 8841
Turnersville, NJ 08012
info
WINTER
2020-2021
BEST OF ISSUE WINNER
WINTER 2020-2021
on driving through an american city
east on exit 8b, and mile 3 of highway-faded concrete,
carried on s p a c e d, swiftly crumbling pillars [over the
neighborhoods they decimated]. | | | / / __ you c-r-e-e-p in
at dusk—and downtown is deserted.
* tycoons hold court only from 9-5.
then, harsh raps on the filthy window and a reeling
man staggers across barkley/4th. “spare a dime, a
quarter?” + begging with clouded eyes, he rounds
the dim corner—and d i s a p p e a r s.
(i think of those huddled tonight, swathed in
thin blankets, shivering below rusted railroad
underpasses that snake out to desolate suburbs.)
onward… past decayed liquor shops, drab asphalt lots.
dark rowhouses punctured by gaping, grassy tracts—
like grotesque rot, these relics of defunct
prosperity, ravaged hulks littered with shards of glass
gleaming—scintillating in murky moonlight.
(i think of those fortunate enough to depart, leaving
nestled in warm cars; i think of those neglected,
abandoned—to the cruelty of : : unrelenting Time.)
Henry Hsiao, NJ, West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North
EDITOR'S CHOICE WINNER
WINTER 2020-2021
in light of
you breathe like an accordion, shuddering, your body emptying, because you
hate knowing he’s the sun to your icarus, feel the wax dripping, and
the sensation is a wisp of smoke you won’t find this
way and you’re a moth drawn to this flame, but you know
that you’re also a black hole, the darkness in
smiles submerging all light, and this, you can’t let this go, he
can -will- hurt you but you’ll close your eyes, and you
burn because you know this won’t matter.
Amy Liu, NY, Hunter College High School
ALL OTHER CERTIFIED NATIONAL WINNERS
WINTER 2020-2021
Man, We Chowed on Tsunamis - Edwige Ghembesalu, MD, Montgomery Blair HS
Hills - Benjamin Tchang, PA, Pennsbury High School
Under God - Bria Cox, IA, Johnston High School
The Vagrant of Athens - Donoven McAllister, CA, Loyola HS of Los.Angeles
heaven's gate - Trini Rogando, VA, Jefferson HS for Science & Technology
Satan in Satin - Georgia Slavec, MN, Delano High School
Abort - Kristina Pham, TX, Memorial Senior High School
dancing on heavy stones - Kendra Black, WA, Roosevelt High School
Feeling Anxious - Kennedy Suber, MD, North County High School
Renascence - Jennifer Chiu, TN, White Station High School
Requiem - Drisana Bhatia, CA, Mira Loma High School
Zeus Wept - Vi Pham, TX, Pasadena High School
trainsong - Jacklyn Vandermel, NJ, Northern Valley Regional HS of Demarest
Dan - Katherine Vandermel, NJ, Bergen County Academies
In Stillness - Eileen Chen, CA, Foothill High School
Mother as Sea Monster in America - Sarah Yang, NJ, Academies@Englewood
Culminations - Rylee Spencer, AK, A.J. Dimond High School
Survivor - Angel Jordan, GA, Augusta Christian SAchools
Pompei - Trinity Richardson, FL, First Baptist Academy
The Lack of Summer Shadows - Sompour Wolfe, CT, homeschool
Copyright 2020 JUST POETRY. All rights reserved.
Live Poets Society of NJ
P O Box 8841
Turnersville, NJ 08012
info