Alaskan Experience
By Kendra Awad
Rabbit Creek Elementary, Grade 6
Cold, clear night in early November,
One I think I shall always remember.
I went out on my porch to pick up a shoe
I happened to look up; the whole sky was blue!
Though it was dark, the sky was aglow,
With bright, brilliant colors of a summer rainbow.
They danced and they flickered from side to side,
It was like a heavenly amusement park ride.
I called to my parents to come out and see
This wonderful phenomenon swirling above me.
We silently watched as they danced back and forth
These bright colored lights that appeared in the North.
As we all stood and gazed up at the sky,
I thought to myself, how lucky am I?
To live in Alaska and view these great sights,
These wonderful, brilliant, great Northern Lights.
Birch Tree
By Mandy Dickey
Airport Heights Elementary, Grade 4
I stand
Still as a sculpture
Among bright green grass
Next to the bedroom window
Of a little girl who can’t come out to play.
My only friends for now
Are the squirrels, the birds, and the butterflies
That come to me each day.
What is Purple?
By Alex Jernstrom
O’Malley Elementary, Grade 5
Purple is calm
and quiet.
The sweet granddaughter of violet
the kind mother of pink.
Purple is the taste
of round, juicy grapes.
It is the feel
of your grandmother’s quilt
rubbing against your face.
It sits
in a garden with
pansies and petunias.
Purple sounds like
a cheerful whistle
amongst a crowd.
It smells like
new flowers blossoming
in the spring.
Purple is the soft warm feel
of mittens
in the winter.
The Mysterious Artist (excerpt)
By Christina Knapp
Chugach Optional Elementary, Grade 4
Early morning
Icy winds nip my window
Someone is approaching.
I duck under covers,
Pretending to be asleep.
Closer.
I peek through bed sheets,
An icy shiver runs down my back,
I know the winds did not cause it.
Closer still.
My face grows pale,
My mind screams, "Go Away,"
But my lips freeze together.
I stay
Silent
I see more clearly now
A figure approaching
Ghostly white
He seems to sit on the wind.
He glides up to my window,
Etches an image in it
A collage of delicate ice crystals,
Carefully placed in a pattern.
I stare at my window,
Enchanted.
The figure glides away.
I snuggle safely back in bed,
Waiting for sleep.
The Dream Catcher
By Israel McNearney
Chugiak Elementary, Grade 2
It twists
It turns
It catches bad dreams
and throws them out the
window…
The moon is…
By Alexandra Kate Noble
Chugach Optional Elemenatry, Kindergarten
The moon is a tasty cookie,
A circle with chocolate chip craters
Eaten bite by bite.
Full moon. Chomp.
Half moon. Chomp.
Crescent moon. Chomp.
New moon.
No more chomping.
Northern Lights
By Shana Reichlin
Girdwood Elementary, Grade 4
Out of reach of people
Racing across the sky
Threads of lights dancing
Happily light up the heavens
Eating up the sky with color
Neatly weaving through the clouds.
Lighting up the dark starry space
Interacting sheets of color
Greens, blues, violets and reds
High above us
We watch in amazement
The moving rivers of color
Lighting up houses
Seeing the outline of the mountain
Like a picture.
Hunger
By Michael Ross
Eagle River Elementary, Grade 4
Hunger is bold and fierce
like a cheetah
racing through a maze
in pursuit of his prey.
It tears at my stomach
like a lion
ripping at a zebra’s remains.
Eat a Poem
By Holly Werel
Chester Valley Elementary, Grade 4
Crunch my simile
BBQ my metaphor
Slice my alliteration
Spill my adjectives
Fry my personification
Gobble up my subjects
Scramble my pages
Munch my expression.
When you are full
Eat me again!
Winners of the 1999 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2000 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2002 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2003 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2004 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2005 Bell Benton Poetry Award
Winners of the 2006 Bell Benton Poetry Award
