Each year, Highland Park Poetry issues a Poetry Challenge to spark the imaginations of poets of all ages and levels – from experienced, published authors to beginning writers; from adults to students.
For the 2025 Poetry Challenge, participants were given three options: write about The Roaring Twenties (honoring the 100th publication anniversary of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby), Ode to a Geographic Place (inspired by Diane L. Redleaf’s Odes to the States: Poems Inspired By the 50 States and the District of Columbia) or write a poem on any subject in the form of a Dodoitsu, a Japanese poetic form of four lines where first three lines have seven syllables and the last line has five. Dodoitsu usually concern topics of work or love. Winnetka poet and author of Haiku and Senryu, A Simple Guide for All, Charlotte Digregorio judged all the poems written in the form of a dodoitsu. Oak Park poet and attorney Diane L. Redleaf made the selections for Ode to a Geographic Place. Split-time Illinois/Florida author Janet Hale Tabin chose the poems about The Roaring Twenties.
We thank all of the poets who shared their writing with us. We thank the many teachers and parents who encouraged their students to participate. We thank our guest judges for their time, energy and enthusiasm for the project.
Highland Park Poetry also wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations for their support of the 2025 Poetry Challenge: • Secret World Books for hosting our Poetry Challenge recognition event for adult and high school student poets• The 112 Education Foundation for sponsoring our Poetry Challenge recognition event for elementary student poets at Northwood Middle School
Enjoy!
Jennifer DotsonEditor
"The Bees Knees," mixed media collage by Monica Cardestam

Challenge 1 - The Roaring Twenties

Three Lost Technicolor Seconds: A Shakespearean Sonnet to Louise Brooks (1906 – 1985) by Donna Kathryn Kelly

Androgynous Kansas, taut earth stretchingtoward pomegranate sky; grace goes the girlfrom fields to stage; dust-bowl far fetching,gossamer-laced sprite in summer-down swirl.Seductive soil births dreams, twirling dance,gamine ventriloquist-self without chords;cool-draped wrists, softest flight, red-curtain chance,winking gem, twister soul’s unspoken words.Flapper stars falling, reckless nights hold her,bare-midriff fields, fade takes the glimmer,lost-cardigan world, soft goes the shoulder;time, the sultry smile seizes dimmer.American Venus, draped in velvet,the world’s Pandora, girl in black helmet. --- 1st Place, Adult Non-Resident First published in The Stars & Moon in the Evening Sky: A Poetic Anthology (Southern Arizona Press, 2022)

A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You by Don Shearn

Sung by Dorothy Provine and the Music of Pinky and Her Playboys (Roaring Twenties TV Sound Track 1961)
 A Book of Verses underneath the Bough, A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness-- Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow! - from the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 1120 A.C.E.
My Roaring Twenties don't add up.The ATMs are stingy.I get and spend and buy online.IRL grows dingy.
No Great War to celebrate.But no lack of distraction,in a bubble, I'm immersed,inured to strong reaction.
But there is time to intercede,to step out of the shadow, to revel in the small delights, of a table top tableau.
I see all that is true,a cup of coffee, a sandwich and you. ---1st Place, Highland Park Resident

Alive in the Sparkle of 1920's Flame by Katelyn Cler

In the sparkle of jazz and the hum of the townLadies in dresses that swish and spin aroundCigarettes flicker, like whispers of graceWhile music and laughter fill up the space
Hats on top, sharp suits on the menGolden pockets that glint now and thenCars purr softly, sleek in the streetWhere dreams and future and present all meet
Feet tap to rhythms that call out the nightThough rules are broken, the world feels so rightGlasses are raised in the dim smoky airAs love and adventure swirl everywhere
The Charleston flows like a river so wideWhile the city beats, with nowhere to hideA time full of wonder with no end in sightWhere every moment burns golden and bright
The world’s in a hurry, but youth takes its timeAnd life dances forward, like steady, sweet rhymesIn the glow of lights, all hearts feel the sameAlive in the sparkle of 1920’s flame. --- 1st Place, High School Student

Roaring Twenties by Oliver Acinapura

Flapper girlswearing pearls.Jazz came infor the win.The parties were non-stopnot even a copcould prevent the funthat had begun ---1st Place, Elementary Student
Monica Cardestam, Photographer

The Roaring Twenties by Blake Segal

It’s the 1920s!People everywhere
 Wearing gold all over Feeling the sequins up and down.
Walking around the market Smelling delicious foods.
Necklace beads jingling from side to side.Sweet smelling perfume all over people!
Women got the right to vote.Money went up!
Everything changes, the Great Depression.Stillness and sadness
The 20s were such a great time Until the fun came to an end.
--- 2nd Place, Elementary Student

la vie bohème by Jen Meyer

oh, to live in a bohemian enclaveon the rue de ooo là là.smoke Galoises, sip la fée verteand laugh at le monde. ha! ha!
to stay all day at a street cafétrade a painting for a meal.the work may sell or it may not,c’est la vie. that’s the deal.
to share a pied-à-terre with unheated airin Montparnasse or in Monmartre.beware the likes of Pablo, though,he’s up to more than just his art.
to add your chatter to the expat patterwhat does it matter if this gen is lost?the sun also rises o’er La Tour Eiffeland F. Scott and Zelda are sauced.
to hit the Saturday salon with beret on.Henri and Henry are there and the rest.’til dawn converse about truth and love,then crash upon Gertrude’s breast.
oui! oui! to live the life bohemian,free from want and free from care.making merry and art in no small part,there was definitely a there, there. --- 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident

Eyes Like Clara Bow by Ruby "Bo" Aslinger

She stepped into the room with a flash of silverA jazz era, brought to you by the radio wavesThat sash through her dress like rainThe ribbons in her hair breezeA cigarette dangles from her lipsSmoke rising like a secret too dangerous to keep
Eyes like Clara Bow, wide and daringPromises of more than the world could giveThe jazz swirls, brass and velvet and smoke,The saxophone weeps as she dancesFlapper feet grasping the rhythmLike a dream that never quite stops
A champagne laugh spills from her throatEchoing against the marble floorsWhere the men whispered of fortunes and futuresAlthough she was already beyond them
All night her dress shimmered like broken glassCutting sharp through the nightThe visions of rebellion defying the weight of a decades silenceNo corset could bind her, no name could hold herFlickering candles through shadows across her neckWith white pearls that drip like raindrops
Familiar but unspoken promises of something left fleetingHe stands by the door, fingers tremblingAs he watched her drink the moonlight without a careWithout pause, knowing she would never be hisShe was the fire, the smokeThe shadow dancing just out of reach But when she vanished into the night,Only the echoes of the music remainedAnd the memory of a woman who knew the cost of freedomWas too much to ask for anything less
---2nd Place, High School Student

Wild Unknown

by Jan Chronister

Hard rocksquivering on the horizon,white palaces of greed.Pale flags of cloudsshade our sun-strained eyes.
We need a guide,a pathfinderto parcel out freedom,deliver us from foul dustto breath-giving air.
Behind us broodsummer’s wet marshes,a mourning wreathstands along the road.The unquiet darkness issubmerged by a persistentwail of pain.

(found poem from The Great Gatsby)
---2nd Place, Adult Non-Resident
Monica Cardestam, Photographer

The Booming Twenties by Levi Paul

In 1920 it was Babe Ruth’s first year on the Yanks He hit a tank and he made bank.In 1921 the Olympic ship sailed successful It was such a large vessel.In 1922 Alexander Graham Bell passed away. He is still remembered throughout today In 1923 Michael Morgan invented the first traffic signal and it also helps us continue this riddleIn 1924 the FBI was invented so lots of people would be protectedIn 1925 the worst tornado tragically hit it damaged a lot, but not a bitIn 1926, Louis Armstrong traveled a bit. It might’ve been hard, but that made him rich.In 1927 the Pez candy was invented. Some of the Pez were red and people got them and ate them till bed.In 1928 electric television was invented and it was presentedIn 1929 Anne Frank was born she was foreign and she was warned to go to hidingThis is what happened in the booming 20s --- 3rd Place, Elementary Student

Ode to My Great Aunt Jean by Lori Wall-Holloway

Jean was a flapper who loved to party in the 1920sShe took adventuresome risksriding motorcycles or going dirt biking with her cousinAt 16 years old, her Italian beauty and talent won an acting contestto allow her to travel to HollywoodBut her mother put her foot downand refused to let her go
Reckless and crazy, Jean sneaked out the back window several times in the middle of the night to go dancing. Her father tried to tie her down, but she found ways to escape to do what she lovedIt must have been during one of her escapades she fell in lovewith a drummer. They married and were blessed with two childrenBut tragedy struck when the loveof Jean’s life passed away from a brain hemorrhage
Crushed and resilient, she married a second time to someone who balanced her; but she alwaysdisplayed a wild streak that madeher enjoyable to be around---3rd Place, Adult Non-Resident

Eonian Girls by Naya Kupferer

All the little girlsLook back at youThanking each stepThanking every twirlYour willingness to tryTo vie for something newA reformation; a change in view
Those thought wiserNever understoodBut as decades marchThose youngerSmile on you
Slack jawed in aweAll the barbs and quipsTaken in strideForgotten with a hair
All the little girlsOwe it to youThose looked down uponThose now admiredThen frowned uponShining bright, winkingYou dancing flapper girls.
---3rd Place, High School Student

Wingwalker

by Jennifer Dotson

Barnum and Bailey’s advertisementasks for a woman willing to jumpoff the wing of a plane. Ethel is willing to jump all right and jump
she does leaving behind Ethel Gilmore Johnson to be reborn as “Ethel Dare.” Her outrageous stunts stun spectatorswhile Ethel Dare doesn’t seem to care
when she stares death in the eye as Queen of the Air. Ethel stands on the edge and suddenly falls backward. Her plunge stops with a length of rope
that she climbs up hand over handto do more tricks. Her specialty isthe “Iron Jaw Spin” – clutching arope between her teeth with a special
mouthpiece, she twirls in the propwash.Circling the fairgrounds, she performsdaring calisthenics. Ethel is the firstwoman to change planes in mid-air –
a trick she does thirty times. She makes more than 500 balloon jumps at statefairs across the country. Some on the ground say a woman’s place
is in the home, not walking on the wing of a Boeing-Stearman biplane. Death gets Dare during a performancewhen she falls without a parachute.
--- 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident
Photographs of Ethel Dare

Great in Remembering by Dan Fitzgerald

The Great War is over,the flu is almost done.A new decade is starting.It is time to have some fun.
The bathtub gin is made,the flappers are dancing loose.Anything goes nowin the speakeasy's secret booths.
The stock market is soaring,everyone seems to have a share.Music is playing crazy.No one has a care.
It will last forever;that is what people say.Make hay while the sun shines,tomorrow is just another day.
It will all end badly.That is what we all now know.It was great while it lastedfor those who had the illusion of dough.--- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Crazy Legs at St. Rita's Fair by Lynne Viti

Fourteen, in cotton chemise and worn-down shoesher pale face framed by childish ringlets becauseher mother wouldn’t let her bob her hairshe ran to the improvised dance flooroutlined in chalk on the concrete walk. She was no flapper but she knewfrom Saturday matinees at Community Hallhow to kick up her heelsto the music of the five-man band. This way and that she twisted her feether skinny body followed the beatshe kicked forward and backpivoted, swung her armsclicked her heels, stepped and tapped. One by one the dancers were peeled offuntil she danced alone, all eyes on her—the emcee handed her a crisp five-dollar bill,she ran home with her prize. But her mother slapped her face,took the money, called her a disgrace,said the Charleston was for wayward, reckless girlsthat she— the best little dancer in Dundalk—had made a spectacle of herself. --- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Looking for the 20s I Wanted By Bill Cushing

Let’s dance into our next decade like it’s the last century. We seek Cole Porter naughty and Gatsby glitterati. Take the appletinis; we’re going back to whiskey, straight up, no chaser, leaving low hip-hop for sly innuendo. Shun the charm of some Romeo to dance cheek to cheek with a new Valentino. Put the guys back in spats, with pencil thin moustaches,who can woo vamps who coo with throaty voicespromising sexy choices. Silhouettes of femmes fatale are back en vogue. While smoke smolders, drifting off cigarette holders, they swing Charleston, and papa goes Dada as Samba beats throb on drums that pound Tommy-gun rhythms. Trumpets blare brassy tones alongside the lament of clarinets, the doppler slide of trombones.We seek evenings of nightclubs, art deco cabarets, or passing some speakeasy’s bolted doorway, finally opened by sentriesafter whispering the password: “We was sent by the twenties.” --- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Defying Decades By Judith Stern Friedman

Brazen bobs, revealing lines,lavish lipstick, reckless times.Challenging rules, Charleston rock,flappers flaunting norms they mock.
Puffing cigs to stir up smoke,Social scandal they evoke,Lustful women for the vote,Jazz a jab in every note.
Post-war mayhem turned the tide,Yet ancient man-rules still abide.Women chase their fiercest goals:To free themselves, their strengths untold. --- Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident
"Gold Rags & Giggle Water" by Monica Cardestam, Artist

Unflappable by Carol Spielman Lezak

Dorothea, also known as Dora,a young New York City matron, circa 1923,looking every bit the youthful grand dame,gazes directly at the camera’s lens,her eyes twinkling, a half-smile curves her lips,dressed uncharacteristically in a glittering beaded flapper dress,sleeveless with a cascade of pearls.Tall and broad-boned, not a svelte slinky flapper,her chin is proudly lifted, a jeweled headbandcompete with a plume circles her forehead,as she looks through half-closed lids,in an insouciant pose, clearly enjoying the moment,captured forever in sepia tones,before she again dons her daily simple shift and apron,back to real life as a young motherleaving the ’20s to roar around heras her Cinderella moment passes And Sylvia, already called the more sophisticated Sydney,in contrast to other toddlers stands firmlyupon an upholstered setteegarbed in an accordion-pleated dress with a wide bowed sashbefitting a princess of the realm,whose stockings have slipped down her legsto pool above her black-strapped slippersas she looks solemnly but unabashedly at the camera,her dark hair cut in a perfect bob of the times,at but two years of age, the epitome of style.The hand-colored photograph awashin shades of soft peach and mochaforever captures her distinctive featuresand her incisive, resolute character. My grandmother. My mother. --- Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident

Harlem

by Lynn West

Notorious nights of splendor as Harlem,reborn is adorn with riffs of heat Black Jazz oils the dance floorOld spirits retreat as dancing feet tell tales
“Runnin’ Wild.” Styled and beguiled the Jazz Age sizzlesA sound that swept the nation lingers on Harlem's floorsJosephine Baker tore up the townBut for glory legend bond “Rainbow Tribe” she was a motherTwelve disciples all of different color
Zoot suit swinger, pressed and dressed bows to Bessie the queenBlues play with soft shoes as they caress old boards.
The Messenger delivers as Langston Hughes’dream deferred explodes on eager earsCafes of creativity cradle new culture
Louis Armstrong croons a tune of wonderful worldsas he thumbs the green book…Not to be seen in proper places
Big bands such as Fletcher Henderson and the Duke were rebuked by Jim Crow. Royalty banned in the promised land
The beat drummer looks for some down timeNone to be found he sleeps on the ground
Sizzling feet of the elite danced at F. Scott Fitzgerald's country clubSouls retreat into classless counter culture Girls bob crowning glory as their halos slip
Hot Jazz as a sip of hot coffee is denied at a counterSouls poured on bitter grounds by fancy feetas they retreat to privilege
As the dream screams through a muted hornA country too frail to see fault feel the rhythms like a blind man reading braille --- Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident

American Mosaic by Conor Meehan

The roar of progress:Is this seat taken?There’s more food here than at the kid’s table.
The roar of the engine:Who has time to walk??The exhaust coughs; I do, too.
The roar of the lion:Bigger sets, bigger stars, bigger profits.Who needs a message with all this noise?
The roar of the saxophone:Can we join your band?The blonde flappers say nothing and dance the night away.
The roar of the trauma:Mustard gas!!The moon’s shine drowns all memory of war.
The roar of my father’s stomach:Impoverished and speechless
The roar of the bull:I am your God.Well, maybe it is.
--- Honorable Mention, High School Student

Jazz in the Shadows by Kennedy Curry

The city hums with trumpet calls.In Harlem, jazz spills from the walls.Feet tap fast, hearts beat strong.A night alive with a blues-filled song.
But beneath the rhythm, the struggle lies.In silent corners, where freedom dies.The roaring crowd may dance and cheer,But outside, the tension is ever near.
In every note, there’s a dream to chase,In every chord, an untold grace.Yet the past, with its chains still tight,Whispers of battles hidden from the light.
But tonight, the stars above us shine,As we rise, unbroken, and redefineA legacy of song, of strength, of pride.In the Roaring Twenties, we won’t hide.
--- Honorable Mention, High School Student
Monica Cardestam, Photograph

Old Twenties Love By Carly Dale

What is love? Is it the feeling in your chest when you see someone?Or is it the desire to be with them, or to protect them?Is it the desire to catch a flying bullet in their name not even caring if they are the one to hold the gun.Or is it just you trying to think of a good future in hopes that you will actually make it one day.Or is it greed? The greed to just want someone for only reasons to your own happiness.Is love just a hope? Or a whole feeling?Love is the purpose of life. Is it really just to find a person with a 50/50 chance of forever happiness? Love is both good and bad, love gives you happiness, love makes you want to try, LOVE MAKES YOU WANT TO LIVE.Live FOR that person, it makes you want to live FOR that person that you came to love. I want to have an old 20s love. I want to dance in the grass barefoot watching the stars in the night sky. I want to have that old 20s love, dancing in the living room to Louis Armstrong on a record player.I want that old 20s love.I want to listen to Jazz from an old radio in the home we built and fixed OURSELVES. I want that old 20s love that you see in movies.I want to dance in the rain to soft music with me in your armsI want to see the sun set and rise before us as we hug on the soft grass.I want to be surprised with flowers and have a loving family, I want that old 20s love.I want the kind of 20s love where you care for one another every day just more and more.That is the kind of love I want, and I’m glad to say I know I’ll have that one day.The kind of love where you can spend days together and still think it wasn’t enough time. Even though it will never be enough time. 23. I want you to look into my eyes and feel my heart KNOWING that I’m not just a special girl but your WIFE.I want to meet your friends and all of your amazing family and I want you to meet mine!“I want to touch the stars with you and only you” is what he’d say…and mean it.I want to be thought about all the time, and I want to be loved to an extent where I KNOW IT. I want us to sing together not even caring if it’s good but just ENJOYING the moment together.I want to be loved.In the old 20s love kind of way. Like in the movies where they’d sing and sway to the beat of any song,I want that old 20s love, But only if it's with you.
--- Honorable Mention, Middle School Student

The Jazzy Tune by Lincoln Caplan

From San Francisco to New York,jazz was fun to most who worked,in the towersand the minesjazz was heard throughout themind.Jazz in the speakeasiesand in the street.from the L to the Sax,trumpet was heard throughout, allwho would ask.
--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student


Janet Hale Tabin - Judge for Roaring Twenties Poems

Janet Hale Tabin has been a lover of poetry for as long as she can remember. From earliest childhood, she listened to her mother, a small town personality, prepare poetry readings for the entertainment of local clubs and organizations.
Despite that early and enduring attachment to the poetry and literature in general, Janet’s formal education focused elsewhere: she holds a BA with a concentration in economics and a Masters in Business Administration from the Booth School at the University of Chicago.
Raised in southwest Missouri, Janet has spent her adult life in the Chicago area, many years in Highland Park. More recently, she and her husband moved to a maintenance-free retirement community in nearby Lake Forest. They now divide their time between Chicagoland and Miami Beach.

Gold-hatted, high bouncing by Janet Hale Tabin

An American dreamFailsRipples down a centuryTrialsIn wedding themesAnd pets named Gatsby.A great American novel.
Switzerland, Photograph by Monica Cardestam

Challenge 2 - Ode to a Geographic Place

Ode to the Alps by Briana Wessel


 below and rolling hills over the bubbling brooks ridges that tower mountain ridges, nestled inside deep pastures lie deeplyMeadows and You and I lay sweetly nestled in a field of flowers, the only light the stars above us. Mountains. that is these. appreciate the magic we finally begin to fingers intertwining as the mountain-side, as we gaze down You hold me close O, Switzerland, how do people not rave about your beauty? Your stunning rocky cliffs encompass me. Embrace me. Protect me.
--- 1st Place, High School Student - 12th Grade

Adiós Puertorriqueňos by Bill Cushing

The enigma of a plebescite:commonwealth or state?Embracing statehood would ablatecultural roots, which would take flight.Such a vote would act as last rites.
Its people will lose, inevitably,the indigenous soul of Taino,and then isla del encantobecomes another Disney.Just ask Hawaii. --- 1st Place, Adult Non-Resident

Addis Ababa by Richard V. Kaufman

In Addis, there is more than meets the eye,and less than greets the ear.The locals talk to ward off silence.In Addis, silence is the language of the soul.We share a mother tongue.I understand their wordless cries of misery.I listen to their passive silence of indifference, resignation,hopelessness, and fear.I give ear to the unmentionable truthof unspeakable evil.I hear the soundless stench of wasted lives,the awkward reticence of death too long delayed,the speechless talk of children dying young.I learn forbidden hush-hush sounds of love.Their silence screams so shrill they split the world.I ask, "If the Beginning began with the Word,will the Ending begin with silence"? --- 1st Place, Highland Park Resident

Indiana Symbols by Lyla Smith

Symbols are so sweet,as one is the tulip treesinging with a cardinal.The state flower is a peony.Some limestone glittersalong with the Wabash River.Indianapolis stands so tall,making other cities quiver.The motto seems to reappearspreading happiness, never fearbecause it is so very true -“The crossroads of America” will never disappear. --- 1st Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

Ode to Costa Rica by Vivek Shah

Ode to my favorite vacation spot, Costa Rica is a fun place to be There are so many wondrous things and amazing places to see The wonderful hot springs of Costa Rica, make you kinda lazy Stay in too long and they’ll make your vision hazy We went into the beautiful jungle, oh look at the trees Wait, is that a sloth eating green leaves? We see a bunch of mini crabs causing mayhem and chaos We tried to go around them but they would not let us cross I surfed the waves of the vast ocean. Wait, what’s happening over there? Then I noticed the commotion and I saw monkeys everywhere We walked down a path. We tubed in a river We jumped into the cold water and we started to shiver In the afternoon we hiked. It was fun in the hot hot sun Then the dark snakes came out, so naturally we started to run Next day on the suspension bridges, the view was insane But then it started to rain, so I started to complain Pura Vida, thanks a ton. Off some cliffs we rappel Costa Rica is the best so it’s hard to say farewell So I decided one more zip line, I felt like superman flying through the sky I know I must but I don’t want to say Costa Rica, adios, bye bye --- 1st Place, Elementary Student - 3rd Grade

Ode to New York by Helena Katsuleas

Finger lakes where The thin metal rail Between us and crashing down the hillside Into the numbing water deep in the valley Fall into you, let it overtake me Migraines from diving headfirst As clouds gathered overhead I climb rocks barefoot over the ridge Reaching the top of the falls As it starts to pour The light pouring through the trees Holding my face with warm light Lying still in the hammock For this I close my eyes Rocky shores City built on the American Dream Ellis Island bringing my family to a new world An overpromise from which I was born Lady standing tall “A mighty woman with a torch from her beacon-hand” Like all the strong women in my family before Guided by aspirations through sea Changing last names like a rebirth The rebirth I felt when I first fell in love with The shattering beauty of New York --- 1st Place, High School Student - 10th Grade
Photos from Pompeii by David Dotson

The Soul & Ashes of Pompeii by Isla Ornstein

Walking through the old broken doorsImagining what was there once beforeThe poor people that got destroyed by this tragedy Once lived in this wonderful majesty
The ruins I stand before Show me the purpose of beauty in standard formThe cold stone statues were happy and lively people used to beRemind me of how this nightmare came to be.
Mount Vesuvius played some tricksNow all Pompeii is motionlessNow covered in volcanic ash Pompeii will forever be here to last
Oh the ashes and soul of Pompeiimust have been beautiful before that dayOh the ashes and soul of Pompeiimust have been beautiful before that day!---1st Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

An Unbelievable Garden by Adira Juliette Held

In Cathay there is Kublai Kahn’s walled gardenWith lakes of painted floating barges.They are filled with the rarest blooms.Rustling forest under the moon.Fountains with basins full of fish,Gold and orange and purplish. I can imagine, Marco Polo strolled and thought,”My brother and uncle will never believethis outstanding majestic fantasy.”The forty foot green mountain is guarded By piney smelling evergreens his men planted.If I climbed with Marco all the way to the top of the pavilion I bet I could see homes, trees and people by the millions.--- 2nd Place, Elementary Student - 3rd Grade

The Eiffel Tower by Avery Watson

Eiffel engineer. Iron framework. Famous. France. Elegant. Low skyline domination.
Towering above the city. Outstanding features. World famous landmark. Elevators and stairs lead up to the first and second platform. Rises up tall in the sky.
--- 2nd Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

United by Maren Greenhouse

Wind, rain, sun, and a breeze of cold,each state different, yet bold.We're a puzzle. A complicated one, butyou can’t complete a puzzle without apiece, and if you're missing oneyou’ll be without ease. As stateswe are the same. If one of us wasmissing we’d start to blame. Aftera fierce fight our whole worldwould be in flames. Even after thefight, you’d still need that piecebecause without it, our puzzle isdeclared incomplete. But luckilywe are not missing a piece, yetour puzzle still remains incomplete.You may ask why, whileconfusion fills your eyes. We actas though we are independentbut as a country we need to bedependent. Even through thetoughest weather, we have tostand together. We are all different anddivide, but your state is still connected tomine. Alaska and Hawaii areso far apart, but still we areconnected by heart. We are thestates, united as one, and webelieve our country can benumber one.---2nd Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

Ode to Hot Springs, Arkansas by Lucy Whited

I don’t know you for your gunmetal.Only your springs shooting up likefire from colder stones.
I know you for your horse ranches,your lake mansions, your rundown hotels,your million dollar spas.
Arkansas: wealthy or not, we're all rich in spirit.
Roller rinks and bowling alleyswhere we felt like a family again.And in a summer that hadnever heard of a dry heat,(friends for 31 years…she can’t remember not knowing you)at Betty’s gold gate house, we talkedabout lonely over fruit parfaits.
I’ve never met your falls.But in winter, where it never snows,Uncle Mark still looks like Santa Claus.And the same three restaurants are openevery year at Christmas.
His memory isn’t what it used to be,but he still tells the best stories.And laughter bubbles up like water.
I didn’t know you in ‘69,when Papa was still riding andmy grandmother Bonnie quitveterinary school to raise a boy, but since I was born we’ve made
the twelve hour drive down here for Christmas.And I’m not about to stop now--- 2nd Place, High School Student - 10th Grade

Ontario by Matt McGee

No one told Mandythat Canada in Januarywould mean frozen nostrilsand four layers just to step outside,three of which were a complete waste;they were every bit as cute as the top onebut no one would ever know becauseall this stupid cold, everywhere.
They found a shop calledCanadian Tire, its racks filled with double-lined flannel of twocolors, primarily red and yellow check. “If I wanted to look like a pair of matchingketchup and mustard bottles I’d have foundsomething on Temu before we left,” she said.Nonetheless, he got red and Mandy got yellow,since she’d seen a sassy woman on YouTube with a farm full of useless animals; shealways wore yellow-check flannel,and she somehow looked cute, even modestly beautiful.
The final straw came when he saidthey had big social plans for that night, so she got as dolled up as winter allowedonly to find they were meeting another couple to go to a minor league hockey game. Not onlywas it a sport she didn’t follow and it had nosocial-media redeeming value at all, but it was still cold in the arena. Lucky for her, she’d booked on Virgin Airwaysand there was only a fifty dollar fee to bump her flightup a day. “A small price to pay,” she said at the curb,“to get to LA, thaw myself out, and just get to where the scrolling’s good.” --- 2nd Place - Adult Non-Resident

Paseando por la avenida Michigan - oda a la avenida Michigan, Chicago, Illinois by Olivia Maciel

La avenida Michigan, matraz de alquimias destiladas. Sueños y esperanzas diluidos en su gran mar de agua dulce, entre brisas. Chicago realza moradas de concreto, ilusiones líquidas azul turquesa.El boulevard polígloto… ¿se habla español?
La avenida Michigan se adorna de tulipanes rojos, anaranjados y amarillos.Los novios cultivan flores, los amigos de repente se encuentran.Padres e hijos despliegan tangentes de luz sonrientes en las terrazas.La avenida sabe a café, mermelada de cereza, chocolate y castaña.Y entonces el interminable desfile de harapos, uñas sucias, y desasosiegos.
El filosofar va herido de sombras. ¿Cómo nos veríamos en Buenos Aires, paseando por La Costanera?Beso tus labios con mi pensamiento. Imaginando surrealismos en Ciudad de México, Roma, Tel-Aviv o Barcelona; milagro oculto, el amor espera.
Recuerdas Humboldt Park, Pilsen, tiroteos en el sur, el oeste, el norte de la ciudad…El cambio climático, la brisa de agosto, el canto de las chicharras.El arrullo de ese grillo de oro, la voz de la conciencia.Ciudad de inmigrantes, de corazones grandes, de ferrocarriles. Te recordamos, ¿y tú?
Las redes sociales, los bipolares, los narcisistas, los mediocres, los indiferentes, el Chat GPT, los paraísos fiscales. ¿Quién se llevó tu alma poeta?
Algunas miradas comprenden al otro, otras huyen, otras no…Ignorando el bullicio de la calle, esquina de Michigan con Chicago, me desprendo, me elevo y vuelo a una distancia cada vez más alta, más lejana de mi cuerpo… vuelvo a la infancia, a los cabellos blancos de mi madre que yace en agonía… Tantas manos sobre mi cuerpo…
Paseando por la avenida Michigan me remonto, epifanías en mi aliento.Su energía espiritual se esparce, poliniza, más allá del Gran Lago y los rascacielos. Elevándose, me elevo, nos elevamos por azulados cielos, por la ciudad corazón-abierto…
--- 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident

Strolling on Michigan Avenue - Ode to Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois Translation by Olivia Maciel

Michigan Avenue, flask of distilled alchemies.Hopes and dreams diluted in its Great Sea of sweet water, in its breezes.Chicago highlights concrete dwellings, liquid illusions in blue turquoise.The polyglot boulevard… ¿se habla español?...
Michigan Avenue adorned in red, orange, and yellow tulips.Brides and grooms cultivate flowers, friends serendipitously encounter one another. Parents and children display tangents of light, smile in the cafes.The avenue tastes of coffee, cherry marmalade, and chestnut.And now and then, rags, dirty nails, disquiets in endless parade.
Philosophizing is wounded by shadows.How would we be holding hands in La Costanera, Buenos Aires? I kiss your lips with my thought. Imagining surrealisms in Mexico City, Rome, Tel-Aviv, or Barcelona; hidden miracle, love awaits.
You remember Humboldt Park, Pilsen, shootings in the South Side, West Side, North Side…Climate change, August’s hot breezes, cicadas’ song.The lullaby of that cricket of gold in our heart, conscience’s voice. City of immigrants, city of big hearts, city of railroads. We remember you. Do you?The social networks, the bipolars, the narcissists, the mediocre ones, the indifferent ones, Chat GPT, tax havens. Who stole your soul, poet?
Some gazes comprehend the other, others flee, others don’t…Ignoring clamor of the city, corner of Chicago and Michigan, I detach myself, rising and flying farther and farther from my body, far away… return to my childhood, to the white hair of my agonizing mother… So many hands over my body… Strolling Michigan Avenue I soar, epiphanies in my breath… Spiritual energy spreads, pollinates beyond the Great Lake and skyscrapers. Rising, I soar, we soar, through the azure skies of a big-hearted city, we soar… --- 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident
Copenhagen by Monica Cardestam, Photographer

Maine by Caden Hartsburg

A state, distant and far away.In a corner, covered in trees, you canexplore the wide expanses of nature. You canhide away. Be careful. Yourun across the endless trails, but youmay lose your way home.Don’t want to lose sight of the lighthouse.The lobster may find you. --- 2nd Place, High School Student - 12th Grade

Blink by Jayne Jaudon Ferrer

Maybe it’s the angle,the way it’s wedged in there between Broadway and Seventh, like some inconsiderate teenager, allknees and elbows, smack in your face, saying hey, look at me! I’m hot! I’m cool! I’m what’s happening in this town! And you have to look, because it’s up there flashingthe latest fashion, dropping names in lights, every day and night, America the Beautiful right here.Thisis the be all toend all, the Ball, the buzz, the bustle, the hustle, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, yet lingering to see who’s king of the world today. Coast to coast, thisis the most memorable mecca for a good time hadby all on vacations, celebrations, and senior trips,for honeymoons, anniversaries, championships. Throughdepression, recession, death threats and bad debts, it’s New York, it’sa helluva town, and the lights! Oh, the lights! Though you walkthrough the valley of the shadow of death, Life is always bright in Times Square.
--- 2nd Place, Adult Non-ResidentFirst published on www.YourDailyPoem.com, April 29, 2018

Driving the I-74 Bridge by Julie Isaacson

Twin arches of gleaming gloryconnect Iowa and IllinoisGraceful as a yoga poseSolid and anchored, bearing trucks and trailers
They span the Mighty Mississippiwhere the river runs east and westcapturing isochronous modernity and history
I traverse them in awealways fascinated by such soaring structurescontemplating real and metaphoric foundations
I envision my grandfathers on riverboats from Galvestonand what they anticipated on these waters,fresh from Russia, sans language, sans dollars, sans home
These men built a life, step by stepjust as these bridges were built phase by phaseDear Zaydes, thank you for your fortitude, for growinglives and values in the Mississippi Valley
where my friends and I canoedwhere we sandbagged during floodwhere we learned to live in a communitywhich you helped forge over a hundred years ago
I wish you could see these sparkling beaconsbridging states, an icon of the Midwest.I call this passageway the Spans of David for each of you---3rd Place, Highland Park Resident

The Ocean Tides by McKenzie Shreeman

I can’t seem to rememberas the wistful waves whisper my name
The touch of the sea tide so saltysummoned me from beneath,as I could finally breathe again
Sand hotter than a matching flameI burn myself thinking of you again
The waves angry crashing into meas I'm the one to blame
I come here to the waterso salty, saving me again --- 3rd Place, High School Student - 12th Grade

Ode to New York by Ayan Khomaj

With the solid bedrock that keeps their buildings standingAll the way underground into the subwayWhere people reside and live with no place to call homeAbove trash sleeps on the surface of their streetsPeople walk, talk, plot, and trot as the trash dances beneath their feet
Buildings that reach into the sky and disappear into the fogWith billboards brighter than the city's futurePeople walking out with suits and ties holding cases filled with unknown papersFrom businesses you've never heard of or seenThey stay on the floors of the tallest buildings
The city that never sleepsBut the people sleep on the streetsIn houses they can barely affordOthers in the tall buildings you look up atComforted in their white sheetsWhile the city around them weepsThis is the city that never sleeps --- 3rd Place, High School Student - 10th Grade

Good Ol' Texas by Ray Samson

Texas cowboys guiding the ramEating sandwiches made of hamThe sun quite sunnyAnd animals kinda funnyWith football team not too good this seasonTexas is great, gimme a reason
--- 3rd Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade
"London" by Monica Cardestam, Photographer

Oh London, Oh London by Julia Kiefer

Oh London, Oh London what a great place to beOh London, Oh London what a great sight to seeBig Ben, Big Ben as tall as a skyscraper Buckingham Palace, Buckingham Palace as long as the sea.
The Tower bridge up so high, It could possibly touch the skyOn those stormy daysSome rain showers might pass by.
Oh the Tower bridge is so long, in fact 800 feet Oh the Tower bridge, you are as pretty, nothing can beatOh the Tower bridge, you look like cherry blossom treesOh I could stare at it for hours, I might have to take a seat.--- 3rd Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

Montana Life by Lucia Roberts

The cities are small, there are no malls.We hike up mountains or see some fountains.We swim in a pool or watch a duel.Then we will settle down to hear the sound of an owl hooting in the moonlight.We woke up to find the sun in our eyes.Then, I hear a noise so loud, so loud, I sit up in bed. As my mom said, "Holy guacamole! What is that noise?"Is it a stray cat or a young bat?"It is the morning bell," my sister says.Now, hurry up you’re starting to swell.We get out of bed as my sister said and start getting ready for the morning.---3rd Place, Elementary Student - 3rd Grade

New York City Life by Shaan Poddar

I get around by subway train,or go to see a Broadway play.
I go to Strand bookstore,or go on a bus tour.
I go to see Miss Liberty,on a boat tour through the sea.
I walk through the street in Union Square,as my legs carry me everywhere.
I bought lots and lots of gifts,and walked on the Brooklyn Bridge.
I went to Serendipity,yum, yum, yummy.
New York City, fun, fun, fun,all the food is yum, yum, yum.
I really love New York City,it is so very pretty!---Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 3rd Grade

Weighted Waters by Mia Acharya

The river, the river, it gives me goosebumps and makes me shiver,
Oh the unnatural maroon,
Unknowingly, did not remember the bright, bright, moon.
Dark and ominous,
Flowing like thickened blood,
The riverbed was filled with dead rudd.
The fishes bloated, and floated,
While those who drank from the river howled and even some gloated.
The Nile river, once a symbol of life, turned to yesterday’s decay within a day.--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade
"The Canadian Rockies" by Monica Cardestam, Photographer

A Walk on the Beach, A Poem about Falsterbo, Sweden by Isabel Cederqvist

As I walk on the beach I realize that this is home. I feel the sand grabbing my toes. As soft as a big ball of fur. I quietly whisper, “Brrr.” The cold breeze stings my face. Walking down the beachI see a pier.I take a deep breathandexhale the cold breeze. Beautiful sunset. End of the pier,looking down clear, blue water, little fish. Playing in the water walking back to the sand, enjoying this moment. I walk back to my bike and whisper, “Goodbye beach.” Biking home.--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

Florida by Ella Levin

Florida is the best, Mexico lies to the westFlorida is an interesting state, here’s why it’s so greatOn Islamorada’s sunny beach, wildlife is within your reachDolphins, manatees, fish galore- there is plenty of sea life to exploreNear Miami’s winding streets, go to a beach cafe to get some treatsThere are so many gorgeous flowers, you can enjoy them for hoursFlorida is an amazing place, you feel so good when the sun hits your faceDrop some pebbles in the water and watch them sinkI love FloridaWhat do you think?--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

The Peacefulness of Iowa by Avery Siegel

The breeze is gentle,The waves are still,my mother laughs,and soon I will.I tend to the field,All so boring indeed,if only I had stead.It would carry my books,tend to the weeds.
So many soybeans, yes indeed,For soon we will have more beans.Oui, oui
Iowa is peaceful,quiet indeed.--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

California by Desmond Rochon

Oh, California, so good and old,used to be full of gold.Then James Marshall came and everybody was told.Birds chirp, hyenas cry, as rain barely comes from the sky.Humid nights, dry days, sparkling oceans of life.People wander, animals wonder when rain will come.Oh, good old California, what a wonderful place,even though it moves at a fast pace.---Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 5th Grade
"Canal Park, Duluth, Minnesota" by Deb Tillman, Photographer

Ode to Illinois by Nehemiah Herrera

A region full of wonders, holds a place to view the starsA place to view the works of creative minds on this EarthLand where streams and rivers meet and part, a cycle of lifeAncient people thrived on your soilThe echoes of your Natives still remainYour rich soil brought your rich history throughout the agesHow could your precious city not flourish in wealth?The steel and smoke rising from your industryThe famous Chicago, home of manyMuseums and wonders lie here to amaze your peopleYour skyline shines throughout all the MidwestLike a spider’s golden web spun of wondersYour prairies are a special remnant of the pastOf a beautiful land of opportunityOf farmers manifesting their crops of your terrainViolet flowers bloom all over youLavender sprouts in your dew covered grassI wake in the afternight rain, in the midst of your cloudsThe goldfinch sings in your sunny summer mornings,Through the light shining through the leavesChildhood memories of lying on your sunshineSweet scented grass along the sidewalkAs I look to your baby blue skiesGazing upon your canyons surrounded by natureSuch beauty is so natural for youEvery step I take, I look aroundTo see the next thing you want to dazzle me withAs I look back to my visits,Every moment is a memory encased in bliss---Honorable Mention, High School Student - 10th Grade

Ode to Wisconsin by Mathilda O'Looney

My dear Wisconsin infused with life,Growing from your farmland plains,Bustling in every forest,Swimming in your glacial lakes,And coming to your summer homes,Each inch of you, a different story.
My friendly neighbor in the Midwest.You tailgate at Lambeau,Take a dip in the Lake,And savor some cheese.I wish to spend each day with youUnder your shining sun.
You started in log cabins,And grew to towering cities.From Milwaukee to Green Bay,And Madison to The Dells,You shine as an example,Of what we strive to be.
Ice cream in your tourist towns,Orange leaves as crisp as a fall day,Blankets of snow that keep you cozy,And blossoms as bright as the sun.You have everything a person could want,My dear Wisconsin.--- Honorable Mention, High School Student - 10th Grade

Snapshots of Arizona by Calvin Missen

Riding out west, for the heat on the back of your neck-Arizona calls with the dog days of summer and the hum of humble cattle
Canyons, copper, cowboysRiding in the cool of the nightGolden sunlight filters throughand the winding reds of canyons grow hot
The old live in their consistent warmth, and the young wonder how they’ll move forward, how they’ll change but stay the same
Thinking of the cool cacti that defied the oddsand kept on after all these years
Hopi, Apache, Chiricahua, the culture that still lingers-the vibrance of the past bleeds on into the present
How I wonder how they used to ride freeOn their steady steads, strong stallions pushing forward
Blazing Phoenix, life ever returningYour western song of air beneath wingskeeps singing.---Honorable Mention, High School Student - 10th Grade

Tranquil, Timeless, Desert Dream by Kanyon Becker

The Sahara's heart, where the sun never sleeps,Golden dunes stretch far, where the sands do sweep.Winds that whisper ancient tales,Of caravans on the desert trail.The flaming desert floor pierces bare feet,The same ground camels and gazelles come to meet.At night though the stars like diamond gleams,A tranquil, timeless, desert dream.In Sahara´s heart, a mystic lore,A world of wonder to explore. ---Honorable Mention, High School Student - 12th Grade
"Bourbon Street, New Orleans" by Terry Loncaric, Photographer.

Pantoum in a Japanese Garden by Tim Callahan

Trickling down in talkative cataractsflowing waters ever freshenponds wide and shallowenclosed by a garden of many levels.
Flowing waters ever freshen reflecting pools through which the koi swim.Enclosed by a garden of many levels,these waters serene invite meditation. Reflecting pools through which the koi swim, the hunting grounds of dragonflies, swift and silent, these waters serene invite meditation, as I sit entranced by the play of light and shadow. The hunting grounds of dragonflies, swift and silent are the playgrounds of fluttering swallowtails. As I sit entranced by the play of light and shadow I see them glow golden, flying through sunbeams. Are the playgrounds of fluttering swallowtails always untroubled, always serene in all seasons? I see them glow golden, flying through sunbeams, as the koi, orange and white, glide through green waters. Always untroubled, always serene in all seasons, the garden encloses the still silent pools, as the koi, orange and white, glide through green waters fed by streams ever flowing from a hill lush with ferns. The garden encloses the still silent pools ponds wide and shallow, fed by streams ever flowing from a hill lush with ferns, trickling down in talkative cataracts.--- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident1st published in Altadena Poetry Review, 2019

Ode to Wicklow Mountains by Barbara Saunders

Amtrak train slogs across Sacramento Valley after a stormWater clouded with goat scat ferries debrisRises to the mouths of abandoned tents
I ponder where the recent inhabitants have floated As I listen to a podcast on Seamus Heaney's Poetry about the bog people
Murdered or sacrificed to Iron Age deitiesStaked to land, peat-dyed soft parts outlasting boneDisinterred, dissected, displayed in museums
I close my eyes and think of Wicklow MountainsClouds parted, clear viewBlanket of heather and moss, glacial lakes
---Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

The Keys

I Christmas morning, 51 years ago,at the deep-water shorelineof this Sugarloaf motelyou saw a softball-sized octopus kneading itself along a sea walland an orange dollop of seahorseputtering about its micro-businessand you gleaned something about nature’s joyful creativity.

by Rob Baker

II New Year’s Eve, in this motel parking lot,you, your older brother, and two cousinsstrode, arms linked over shoulders,legs crossing with each synchronized step,belting out, “Here we come, walking down the street,”when, seized by a random burst of tweenage energy, your brother darted forward, dashed between two cars, and tripped on a hidden parking block,ripping open his chin and breaking his arm,and you grasped something about joy’s fragility.
---Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
"Key West, Florida" by Monica Cardestam, Photographer

Diane L. Redleaf - Judge for Ode to a Geographic Place Poems

Diane is a lawyer, non-profit leader, child and family policy advocate, legal educator, mentor, mediator, wife, mother, and grandmother from Oak Park, Illinois. She is the author of the non-fiction book, They Took the Kids Last Night: How the Child Protection System Puts Families at Risk (ABC-Clio, 2018). She suddenly and miraculously started to write poetry in July 2019 after attending a reading by then National Youth Poet Laureate (and fellow Oak Parker) Kara Jackson.
Diane published her first chapbook in 2022, entitled What Can be Held Briefly, inspired by and dedicated to her grandson, Julian Libgober. Her collection Odes to the States, ebook (June 2024) and paperback (January 2025) was inspired by a 50-state legal research project she supervised for the non-profit, Let Grow, and a Poetry Foundation workshop she attended on Odes, led by Maggie Queeney. Diane is currently finishing her full-length collection They Take the Kids and Call it Helping, a project that puts her life’s work as a family legal defender into her voice as a poet.

Illinois by Diane L. Redleaf

Dear Chosen Homeland, mid-America’s Prairie Cauldron, Great Incubator, second to none.You keep me locked in Great Debate with you. You drive steely skyscrappy bargains.You stride over poetry’s foundations, bridge back-flowing rivers.You coalesce rainbow coalitionsbut hog-butcher my corpulent dreams.You provide lyrical tastings and rowdy conventions. You are a flat inland for everything.You’re fun and greasy—your brows high, foreheads low, mouths foaming. You croon the blues and love trouble(hoping no one notices your leaders’ flair for jail).You center backyard pleasures with da guys and da gals, home-based, deep-dished, ready to bulk up on weekends.You are Midwest sensible,but for your bad budgets and hidden videocams.I’ve had forty years to make a go with you,find a life in you,see my crossroads cross through you, my choices open up in you.
Jennifer Dotson, Photographer

Challenge 3 - Dodoitsu

Homeless by Paul Buchheit

Bleak the howling swirls of snowthat whip around the old man,his face a ghostly paletteof icy bristles.
---1st Place, Adult Non-Resident

Global Friendship by Julie Isaacson

Israeli teens traveled herebrave, cleft hearts needing to heala journey of renewalfriends sampling bagels
--- 1st Place, Highland Park Resident

Promises by Tracy Davidson

he tells me he'll wait for me, that I'm his one and only... his words of love sound hollow through these prison bars
---1st Place, International Adult

Is Anyone There? by Ella Maxfield

Darkness has become my friendMy thoughts won’t leave my dark mindThe people refuse to leaveHelp me with my mind
--- 1st Place, High School Student

The Last Leaf by Quinn Gillespie

One red leaf on the mapleBut as the leaf fluttered down,A new beginning came thereof equal beauty --- 1st Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

The Himalayas by Shay Simpson

Snow leopards jump and bears climbWhile Himalayan tahr runCold weather that is extremeWill you get frostbite? --- 1st Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade
"Jynx in a Box" by David Dotson, Photographer

Cats by Elliott Popovich Schuh

Cats are very beautiful.Their fur is soft to the touch.They climb trees with their sharp claws.I love cats so much --- 1st Place, Elementary Student - 2nd Grade

The Song of My Mother's Life by Adira Juliette Held

I do chores to help motherBecause she works very hardReading to me is her way I love my mom so--- 2nd Place, Elementary Student - 2nd Grade

Summer by Weston Barton

summer’s coming to the landget ready let’s throw some sandsplashing in coastal, clear wavescome on, let’s go play --- 2nd Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

Gramps by Gabriel Alvarez

Always there when I need youA candle burning for lifeWarmth for everyone aroundNo more warmth, no more
--- 2nd Place, High School Student

Hawaii by Sean Collins

Lying beneath the palm treesEnjoying the warmest breezeCoral reefs, cities of fishMountains of lava
--- 2nd Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

Young Love by Patrizia Catiglioni-Fanucchi

Strolling hand in hand, barefooton the golden sand. White surfrushing forward cools their toes,yet smiles warmly glow.--- 2nd Place, International Adult
"Hawaii" by Monica Cardestam, Photographer

Farming Dreams by Candace Kubinec

farmer dreaming of beacheswith white sand between his toeslooks at the field he’s plowingand sees only dust --- 2nd Place, Adult Non-Resident

Tuxedo Cat by Jennifer Dotson

black and white tuxedo catloves being carried outsideto chew on big blue stem grassdreams of catching birds

--- 2nd Place, Highland Park Resident

Flamingos by Howard Moon

Flamingos glide through the skyFilling swamps with bright colorsShades of pink dot the landscapeGators lick their chops --- 3rd Place, Adult Non-Resident

The Seeds by Carol Spielman-Lezak

The seeds are planted, waitingfor splashes of water andthe warmth of the sun to grow,to thrive, to blossom. --- 3rd Place, Highland Park Resident

The I.T. Team by Amoria Mazibuko

Click, Clack, Click, Clack, Click, Clack tapThe sound of working fingersSlouched backs Bright screens Cold coffeeslave away, I.T. --- 3rd Place, International Adult

The Land of Opportunity by Naya Kupferer

Small town children leaving homeThey pack their things, off they goRun, fast, to the vast unknownGoing, going, gone--- 3rd Place, High School Student
"Keyboard" by Amoria Mazibuko, Photographer

Lightning by Shay Kessel

Lightning, a beautiful sightOn a long warm summer nightWe hold each other’s arms tightWon’t forget that night --- 3rd Place, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

A Day in the Snow by Eloise Davidson

Through snow in the winterlandFluffy, white falls from the skySnowballs splashing in your faceMake a snow angel--- 3rd Place, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

My Precious Sister by Ilanit Zahava Held

I make sister laugh so muchShe plays hide and seek with meShe is one and she is funShe is so clever--- 3rd Place, Elementary Student - 2nd Grade

When Snow Falls by Lucy Hansen

Snow falling onto the ground.Lucy loves snow in winter.Snow is amazing to watch.Snow is soft and cold.
--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 1st Grade

Cats by Naiya Bhatt

Cats are so friendly and nice.Cats are the best in the world.I love cats so, so, so much.Cats are fluffy, soft. --- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 1st Grade

Stars in Night by Lilliana Kristall

Space is so great, the stars are so bright in the Milky Waylet’s see the stars now at nightwhere’s the Sun tonight?
--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade
"Ivy" by Jennifer Dotson, Photographer

My Baby Brother by Abiya James

giant beautiful brown eyesgiggles and laughter, so funwhen you’re sad he’s always theremeet my monster boy --- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

Mice by Maisy Wagdy

Love to jump and hide in wallsReady to run for the cheese.But you caught the mouse with easeThe mouse squeaked with please!!
--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 4th Grade

Snow by Elif Setbest

Snow, snow, what a sight to seeAs beautiful as can beYou see the snow in the treesSwishing in the breeze --- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

Friendships by Jillian Weisz

Laughter, bonding, hanging outlaugh so hard, can’t help but shoutSleepovers, we spill the teaYou are my bestie.
--- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

Summer by Zoe Ring

The summer sun feels just rightThe birds soar high with great heightthe sunshine fills me with lightwhat an awesome sight --- Honorable Mention, Elementary Student - 5th Grade

BFF by Erin Knofsky

A friendship started at schoolDistant laughter playing tagWait for me in Heaven, yeah?Best friends forever.
--- Honorable Mention, High School Student

Dinner Party by Cori Stewart

listening to my friends talkhoneymoons and pregnancyall I want is someone toplease pass the cheesecake --- Honorable Mention, Highland Park Resident

Lunch Breaks by Cynthia Gallaher

on lunch breaks, store workers strolledunder Wabash Ave’s “El” trackswhile shoppers brunched on State Streetwe grazed from brown sacks
--- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Broken by Elizabeth Stanley King

a line begins a journeywhere the pen is mightierthan the sword, and where your wordsare just as hurtful --- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Young Love by Phyllis "Pip" Patterson

Petals plucked one at a timeHe loves me, he loves me notFrankly, it doesn’t matter‘Cause I’m all he’s got.--- Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident

Boxes by Lori Wall-Holloway

All around me are boxesbig, small, tall, even long onesSome contain books, others glassnow sift through my past
---Honorable Mention, Adult Non-Resident
Vintage postcard from the internet

Charlotte Digregorio - Judge for Dodoitsu Poems

Charlotte Digregorio, honored by the Governor of Illinois for her literary achievements, has won 81 poetry awards. Nominated for four Pushcart Prizes, and with poetry translated into nine languages, she’s authored nine books including the classic, Haiku and Senryu: A Simple Guide for All. Her forthcoming title, Wondrous Instruction and Advice from Global Poets: How to Write and Publish Moving Poems and Books and Publicize like a Pro, is a comprehensive, coffee table-size book for beginning and experienced poets. Digregorio’s books are adopted as university texts, and some have been Writer’s Digest Book Club “Featured Selections.” A retired professor, she runs “The "Daily Haiku" and other poetry, featuring writers from 61 countries at www.charlottedigregorio.wordpress.com. Charlotte can be reached by email at artfulcommunicators@icloud.com.

Dodoitsu by Charlotte Digregorio

as he writes his fingers oozecrimson rust, his palms sweatywadding his smeary parchmentwith sappy sonnets

"The Cat's Pajamas" by Monica Cardestam, Artist

Monica Cardestam - Featured Artist & Photographer

Monica Cardestam became interested and dabbled in poetry in college as an English major where she was inspired by poets such as Langston Hughes and his poem “Hope” and Robert Frost and his poem “Stopping by the Woods on A Snowy Evening". After years of setting aside her creative passions working long hours in the business world, she is now creating art, dabbling in photography, and writing poetry. She loves the beautiful serenity of freshly fallen snow in winter and the hope for new life nestled under the snow to come in the spring.
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