2007-2008 Greenway High School Poetry Contest Winners


Ninth Grade
1st place -- Andrea Infante -- "The Universe"
2nd place -- Kayle Knight -- "A Hard Love"
3rd place -- Andrea Infante -- "The Golden Ship"
Honorable Mention -- Mandy Finn -- "Now That You're Gone"

Tenth Grade
1st place -- Donella Lincoln -- "Perfection"
2rd place -- Katie Darnstaedt -- "My Time With You"
3rd place -- Michelle Villaseñor -- "Aims for Success"
Honorable Mention -- Katie Darnstaedt -- "Wish I Could change the Past"

Eleventh Grade
1st place -- Danielle Dunn -- "Fear of Trust"
2nd place -- Danielle Dunn -- "Joyous Death"
3nd place -- Danielle Dunn -- "Glory Show"

Twelfth Grade
1st place -- Colleen Trompeter -- "Denmark's a Prison (Little Foot Bridge)"
2nd place -- Colleen Trompeter -- "They Know Not What They Do"
3rd place -- John Mockler -- "Adios"
Honorable mention -- Greg Diede -- "Hammer"

World Languages

Ninth Grade
1st place -- Claudia Garcia -- "The Destiny You and I" in Spanish
2nd place -- Stella Simeonova -- "Freedom" in Bulgarian
3rd place -- Anali Avila -- "Love" in Spanish
Honorable mention -- Emmanuel DeHaro -- "You are Beautiful" in Spanish

Tenth Grade
1st place -- Alexander Svoboda -- "World War II" in Russian
2nd place -- Melissa Jenny -- "Your Name is Love" in Spanish
3rd place -- Melissa Jenny -- "Feelings" in Spanish
Honorable Mention -- Ana Huitzil Cuevas -- "Love" in Spanish

Eleventh Grade
1st place -- Jorge DeHaro -- "My Best Friend" in Spanish
2nd place -- Jorge DeHaro -- "My Dream" in Spanish

Twelfth Grade
1st place -- Israel DeHaro -- "Nature" in Spanish
2nd place -- Israel DeHaro -- "Soccer Player" in Spanish


The Universe
-- by Andrea Infante

The ghastly mass of open space
The planets and the suns bright face;
A chance that one might take.

I look up with promise. Then,
Travel there and back again;
Among the moonlight's wake.

The solar winds under golden wings,
The warmth that only sunlight brings-
Luminosity of the stars.

The path that only fortune flies
Where even towers stretching up high,
Cannot reach so far.

A certain hope tied deep within,
From the time the trip begins;
A place with which we are blessed.

So I conclude that space is wide;
Contains the things that God provides-
And unpredictable emptiness.



A Hard Love
-- by Kayle Knight

Belonging to her
While wanting him
A painful mess
My heart is in.

    Knowing her
    In love so long
    Our relationship
    Has grown quite strong

Changing my life
As we met that day
His words melted
My soul away.

    Does my heart
    To her stay true?
    Or shall my love
    Be for him too?

Just one question
Asked so simply
Created these feelings
Inside of me.

    Now it is
    That I must ponder
    To whom I ask,
    Is my soul fonder?



The Golden Ship
-- by Andrea Infante

I want to sail the Western seas-
a golden ship that rows with ease.
Mightn't there be a strong, fair breeze
to fill the sails on carved pine trees?

Mightn't my ship sail current fast-
Sure the waves don't break the mast.
And, today, full sail we'll cast
With food and drink twelve months will last!

Mightn't my ship have violet sails-
And a flag that droops when our hearts wail?
And oughtn't the sharks stay from our tail,
And our shins to the sunset when we fail?

And sailing in our golden ark-
We willingly journey into the dark.
And on our map every adventure we mark,
From fighting sea serpents to shooing a lark!

For our enemies we may be bait-
and face an even greater fate.
If our pride will lead us straight,
Until that death, or victory, we wait.

To serpents and dragons fight we try-
Some will live and some will die.
At that time we say goodbye,
Though we don't have the strength not to cry.

But when we finally fulfill our quest,
Or when we have done our best-
We turn our rudder to the west-
The sailors go back to their homes to rest-
And we return to the seas next year with zest!



Now That You're Gone
-- by Mandy Finn

I sit here and think of this pain
This pain inside
I remember those days when I was with you
Happily by the fire
Close to you
I felt your heartbeat
Now that you're gone
Nothing is the same anymore
Now that you're gone
This pain just won't go away
Now that you're gone
I'm sleeping alone in pain
Crying myself to sleep
Just thinking of that day
The worst day of my life
You're gone
Now that you're gone
I'll never live again
I can't think straight anymore
Now that you're gone
I have this pain inside that will never go away



Perfection
-- by Donella Lincoln

A celebrity with fake hair
Straight teeth and fans
A hot guy with blue eyes
Money and a tan

This thing we try to live up to
Its standards set high
Artificial love and affection
Swallowed by a lie

Perfection is fiction
Not real at all
It's extremely deceiving
And causes many to fall

To fulfill this dream
People strive and compete
To be absolutely flawless
In which no one can meet

Nothing but a poison
An addiction too strong
Too conceited and bold
To admit they are wrong



My time with you
-- by Katie Darnstaedt

As the wind blows away those little coos from when you were a baby.
I will always remember yours.

Time goes by, the sessions change, I kissed the booboos when u fell.

When the rain pours down it washes away the fights we had
when you rebelled.

The river flows and pushes away the tears after you left home and started your own life.
They get pulled down with the current.

Now I have the memories of your babies touch.
Soon you will be reminiscing as I do now.

Where has this life gone?



AIMS FOR SUCCESS
-- by Michelle Villaseñor

While aiming for success,
The pencils move.
Blank circles are filled.
A, B, C, or D.
Intensity fills the room
Choose your answer carefully,
For you may just be incorrect.
For some it's stress
For some it's a fast pass
However for school administration
It's far too important
Writing, reading, math and now science
In one test
We hope to excel.



Wish I could change the past
-- by Katie Darnstaedt

Ever since I swallowed those little pills that one day in high school.

Everything has changed.

My heart starts to race like the winds during a hurricane.

You told me everyone was doing it, that I'll be fine. That's what you said.
I told myself just a few times. I won't need it. I do it because I like it.

Everything has changed.

Sitting in a room where everything is moving. Full of people that are out to get me.

I should be asleep, at home, in my bed, sleeping like a baby does, so peaceful. Dreaming
of a fantasyland that I would want to go someday.
But I'm not, I never am.

Everything has changed.

My family's gone because of the life I lead down. Because of the path I took. Because of
the choices I made. Because I hurt them.
My friends lie to me. They never are really there.
I can't trust anyone. And I'm afraid I never will.

I start to shake.
I notice I'm out. I don't have anymore of what my life is all about.
I need money. I need more. I can't live without it.
I'll get it. Someway, some how. I'll get it

I start to sweat
Like when you walk out side in the middle of the summer in the Valley of the Sun.
I get what I need but a little more than before.
Time flies by, to me it's been ten minutes but in reality it's been hours.
Everything starts to go black. I guess this is the end. This is how I made it.
It's the end to the pain that I've caused my self, to my family.

Before that one moment that changed my life, I didn't see it ending like this.



Fear in Trust
-- by Danielle Dunn

Take your hand
lead away.
Guide me to a place unknown.
My trust in you
is all I have...
all I have to save myself

My eyes are shut
for I am blind.
Smoothly my
little feet glide
through the woods and up the trees
perched up above our fears.

My ears are broken
for I am deaf.
Feeling lonely,
what a task.
Through the woods and up the trees
perched up above our fears.

My heart is gone
for I am dead.
Stranded in a forgotten world.
Down the trees and out the woods
I have come to face my fears.



Joyous Death
-- by Danielle Dunn

go away.
i hate your face.
that smile, that scowl.
they're all the same.

deep down inside,
you know there's no hiding
the fact that joy
comes from my suffering.

"don't look, don't touch!
don't speak, don't smell!"
don't hear my cries,
don't hear my woes.

i ask you not
of any help.
dependent, yes,
but not on you,

my bruises grow
across my skin.
hand-like bruises
strangling my soul.

yes, you love me,
but let me be.
let me live, let me love,
let me not live your life.

i'm nothing like you,
and i'm not soft enough to mold...
to mold a better you,
for you are the last to go.



Glory Show
-- by Danielle Dunn

Lacerations scar my mouth,
a worthless contest without a doubt.
Never fear, never hear, never say my name.
Never dance, never sit, never laugh.

Know me? No.
The answer is clear.
The plug has been pulled and
the water drains out.

Or maybe it wasn't
water at all?
I thought it was clear,
but bubbles start to emerge.

Do my flaws show through my eyes?
Adamant, yes, but ridiculous, no.
I feel despondent, hopeless, and gone.
Somebody tell me what's wrong with me.

Fake, fake, look around,
what do you see?
A smile here, a smile there,
even on me.

But no one said I
wanted it there.
You have to do this and you have to do that
to survive.

Somebody tell me what's wrong with me.



Denmark's a Prison (Little Foot Bridge)
-- by Colleen Trompeter

I let my idol go
I let my friends keep walking
I let the strangers ignore me.
They cross the bridge in record time
And frolic along the streets,
Investigating the buildings,
The hordes and the vehicles
Whirring all around.
I remain on that slippery little foot bridge,
My hands wringing themselves
On the icy railing,
Feeling the fresh rainwater
Beneath my palms,
Breathing the wet, chilly air into my lungs
Like it's my final breath.
The crowds pulse around me -
Talking, chattering, bickering,
And the words wash over me like a din,
A raucous clamor.
Yet I linger on that drenched little foot bridge,
Watching the sun sink behind blue-gray storm clouds,
Parted just enough to reveal
Pink, orange, and cerulean glowing in the sky -
The quintessential sunset
Before my awestruck eyes.
As I loiter on that freezing little foot bridge,
I wonder silently
Whether heaven resides
Within the thunderheads,
Looming ominously on the horizon,
Or within the pastel embers of the sun,
Glittering as they ripple and dance in their reflection
In the murky waters of the river.
Would I choose one over the other?
Sunset sans rainclouds?
No, I decide, slowly leaving that charming little foot bridge,
I want them together,
Now and forever,
Making a contrast that amazes the synical me
And plants seeds of doubt in the faithful me.
I want them both because they show
There's no heaven or hell, just Earth,
Just us,
And life is exactly how we wish it to be.
(And for now, as I glance back at that lonely little foot bridge,
Teeming with bustling mobs,
That's enough for me.
After a sunset like that,
Words have no meaning at all.)



They Know Not What They Do
-- by Colleen Trompeter

Splinters, thorns, broken nails
Greet his bracken eyes;
Mothers, friends, apostles
Voice his inner cries.

Shards, blood, closing doors
Within his howling mind;
Thoughts disappear into shadows -
Peace he cannot find.

Fury, rue, transgressions
Compelled him to act this way;
Never once did he think they would
Think their love betrayed.

Please, tears, lonely hours
Dog his shuddering soul;
All great plans to set them right
Slipped out of control.

Gold, silk, threaded marble
Fill his bracken eyes;
Purple finery calls him forward -
Perfumed air, arise!

Growls, clangs, angry protests
Trail him as he flees;
Thirty silver coins spill down
Like rain upon the seas.

Splinters, thorns, broken nails
Reflect in bracken eyes
As he swings from a twisted rope
Beneath those rowan skies.

Like-minded men on different paths
Who once could the future see
Yet for all these lies, they could surmise:
"I know he still loves me."



Adios
-- by John Mockler

Dear indifference,
is this what failure looks like?
Is this what failure tastes like?
Is this the feeling
all sinners withhold,
or am I a vision of beauty
amongst the wretched and blind?
Am I the scarecrow to my own
devoured fields of mistakes?
Gazing at the reflection
becoming the daggers in my spine.
Using straw to fill the endless hole of guilt,
and yet I still remain hollow.
My stomach acids are
churning in imperfect rhythm.
I'm trembling each step
down this beaten road.
am I alone?
Dear Adam,
is this path familiar?
Do I look like you?
Did you look like me?
Will I decompose into dust?
Excuse me,
the Devil has left Arizona,
and he's taken me with him.



Hammer
-- by Greg Diede

Should have never gone there,
Blood pouring from my lifeless corpse.
Should have never teased the stranger,
Automobile stranded on the roadside.
Should have never dug deep,
Clanging surgical utensils foreshadowing demise.
Should have never tried to escape,
A stranger rustling in the back.
Should have never tied my own noose,
No trouble in dismemberment.
Should have never distracted God.



El destino tu y yo
-- by Claudia Garcia

Por tanto tiempo he esperado
Conocerte, en mis suenos estabas
y al despertar te borrabas, y
A veces a mi lado te imaginaba
Casi enloquecia al ver que no era nada
Pero el destino ya lo tenia escrito.

Tu y yo una hitoria que ni el tiempo
Ni nada borrara este sentimiento
Que antes de verte aparecio en mi mente
En mi corazón siempre estara
Este juego que el destino pinto y
Que ahora el viento se llevo.

The destiny you and I

I've been waiting a long time
To meet you, you were in my dreams
But when I woke up you were gone
Sometimes I could see you next to me
But it wasn't you, I was going crazy
Fate was already written.

You and I are a story the time
And nothing can't erase
This feeling before I saw you appear
In my mind in my heart always will be
There this game that destiny painted and
Now the wind took away.



SVOBODA!
-- by Stella Simeonova

Svobodata e svetovna mechta
Da izlezesh navun I da pochustvash che si svoboden
Da vzemesh glutka vuzdoh da pochustvash svejiq vuzdoh
Da chustvash cvetqta, da chustvash slunchevata svetlina
Da budesh svoboden da sledvash mechtite si
Pomogni na choveka do teb
I gospod shte pomogne na teb

Vinagi si spomnqi za horata koito sati pomagali
Zapali svesht i se pomoli na gospod za tqh
Na dobroto otvyrni s dobro
Na zloto s oshte po dobro

MIR!

FREEDOM!

The freedom is the world's dream
To go out and feel that you are free
To take a breath and feel the air
To feel the flowers, to feel the sun light
To be free to follow your dreams
Help the person next to you
And God will help you

Remember for the people who are helping you
Light a candle and pray to God for them
When they treat you well
You treat them well too
When they treat you with spite
Kill them with kindness

PEACE!



AMOR
-- by Anali Avila

COMO TE PUEDO OLVIDAR
Si siempre estas en mi mente
Como puedo no quererte
Si te quiero dentro de mi
Como puedo dejar irte
Cuando no te quiero ver
Apartado de mi.
Como te puedo amar
Si tu conrolas mi corazon
Y mi alma entera
Con mis ojos llorosos y
llenos de lagrimas aparece
tu rostro en mi.

LOVE

How can I forget you
When you're always on my mind
How can I not want
You when you're all I
Want inside
How can I let you go
When I can't see you apart.
How can I not love
You when you control my heart
In my whole soul
With my eyes full of tears
I see your face in my heart.



Eres Bonita
-- by Emmanuel De Haro

Eres bonita eres
Coqueta eres un
Angel en bicicleta.

Eres bonita eres
Coqueta tus ojos
parecen paleta.

Eres bonita eres
Coqueta para mi
Tu eres mi princesa.

You are Beautiful

You are beautiful
You are flirt you are
An angel in a bicycle.

You are beautiful you are
Flirt your eyes look like
A loli-pop

You are beautiful you are flirt
For me you are my princess.



Vtoraia Mirovaia Voina
-- by Alexander Svoboda

Eto bila ochen' jectokaia voina, liydi voevali
Mnogie ludi ymirali, no drygie ne cdavalis'
Oni nadeialis' I verili v pobedy
Mnogie ludi poteriali cvoih blizkih
No oni borolis' za nachy svobody
Mi doljni chtit' etih lydei oni bili cil'nimi I hrabrimi

Mi ne mojem obveniat' germanckih soldat,
Oni me mogli ostonovit' etot terror. Mnogie
germanckie coldati ne hoteli ybavat' lydei
No oni doljni bili ybivat' chtobi cpactic' camin
Vce lydi na etoi voine - geroi
Oni cpajalic' za cvoiy strany, svoi I nashi jizni.

World War II

It was a very cruel war, people were in war.
Many people died but another don't despair,
They hope and believe in victory.
Many people miss their kinsman
But they fight for our freedom.
We must honor these people, they were very strong and brave.

We can't charge Germany's soldiers,
They couldn't stop this terror.
Many Germans soldiers didn't want to kill people
But they had to do it, they all died if they don't submit.
All people in war - heroes!
They were at war for their country, their lives and our lives...



Tu nombre es amor
-- by Melissa Jenny

El amor yendo y viniendo
Rompiendo corazones pero reparando otros
Volviendo a sentir aquella soledad o esa felicidad
Algún dia la tuvimos pero la perdimos
Volviendo a sentir, vivirlo otra vez?
Vas y vienes como las olas del mar.

Cada dia sorprendiendome más
A veces con un triste gesto o alguna sonrisa imborrable
Pensamos que no te tendremos más pero sabemos que eres inevitable
Sin ti no vivimos, no reímos, no lloramos, no compartimos
Puedes ser lo mas grande e importante cuando realmente juncionas
Pero te puedo odiar si me haces llorar a media noche con me soledad

Sigue yendo y viniendo
Sigue rompiendo o reparando corazones
Pero nunca nos abandones
Sigue tu trabajo, sigue dándonos vida
Porque tú eres vida, tú nos das día a día
El sentir, el vivir, al tenerte cerca.
& nosotros te llamamos AMOR.

Your name is love

Love is going and coming
Breaking hearts but fixing others
I can feel again that loneliness or that big happiness
Someday we had you but we lost you too
Feelings again, can we get that again?
You go and came like sea waves.

Each day surprising me more
Sometimes with a sad gesture or some smile inerasable
We think that we don't have you more, but we know that you are inevitable
Without you we can't live, we don't laugh, we don't cry, we don't share
You can be the biggest and most important when you really work
But can hate you too if you make me cry in the middle of the night
with my loneliness.

You can keep going and coming
You can keep breaking and fixing our hearts
But you never can abandon us
Keep doing your work keep giving us life
Because you are our life, are here day by day
When we feel, when we live, when we have you close to us
And we call you LOVE.



Sentimientos
-- by Melissa Jenny

Sentimientos encontrados buscando un porque de las situaciones,
Sentimientos que piensan ir a ningún lugar
Por que realmente en ningún lugar encontraran la respuesta
Alguna buena razón de el porque tantos sentimientos nos atacan
El porque de la necesidad de sentir cada momento de la vida, a recordarlo y vivirlo,
Después todos nuestros sentimientos se encuentran en
aquel ningún lugar mencionado, para volver a la misma historia del sentir.

Feelings

Confused feelings wondering why
Looking for an answer
But there is no answer to be found
Feelings are the reason of emotions and life itself
And when all those feelings get together
They melt into one to make the story of our lives.



LOVE
-- by Ana Huitzil Cuevas

Que es el amor es algo que se va dando entre
dos personas enamoradas. Es como andar
volando en las nudes. Es algo muy especial
que vas sientiendo poco a poco. El amor se
va dando primero como amistad en que dos
personas se empienza a conocer mas y asi es
como se va dando el amor y la confianza. El
amore es algo maravilloso del mundo que
poco a poco vas sientiendo. Cuando estas
con el que nunca quieres que se acabe ese
monento cuando estas con el quisieras estar
toda la vida cerca de el.

LOVE

What is love? It is a feeling that blossoms
between two people. It is like floating in
clouds. It is something special that is felt
more and more. Real love starts off as a
friendship. Two people get to know each
other more and more and begin to trust each
other and love comes from both these things.
Love is the most wonderful thing in the
world. I fell well when you stay with him
you never finish this moment with him. I
feel stay with him all the life close of him.



MI MEJOR AMIGO
-- by Jorge De Haro

El esta siempre conmigo,
El siempre me ayuda con
Mis problemas, el siempre
Esta alli cuando yo mas necesito
A alguien, el es mi mejor amigo.

Si el me dejara yo lo
Extranaria, si tuvieramos algunos
Problemas yo estaria triste,
Si el muriera yo moriria tambien
Porque el es mi mejor amigo.

MY BEST FRIEND

He is always with me,
He always helps me with
My problems, he always
Is there when I need someone,
He is my best friend.

If he would leave me I would
Miss him, if we have some
Problems I will be sad,
If he dies, I would died too
Because he is my best friend.



MI SUENO
-- by Jorge De Haro

mi sueno es ser un
jugador profecional de futbol,
mi sueno es jugar en un
equipo profecional de futbol,
mi sueno es ser tan bueno
como David Beckam, mi sueno
es seguir jugando futbol.

MY DREAM

My dream is to be a
Professional soccer player,
mi dream is to play in
a professional soccer team,
my dream is be as good as
David Beckam is, my dream
Is to play in Europe, my
dream is to continue playing soccer.



LA NATURALEZA
-- by Israel De Haro

LA NATURALEZA ES NUESTRA
MADRE ELLA NOS DIO LA VIDA.
LA NATURALEZA NOS ALIMENTA
CON SUS FRUTAS Y PLANTAS

LA NATURALEZA PARA MUCHOS
DE NOSOTROS PARESE COMO ENEMIGA,
LA NATURALEZA LA POBRE NATURALEZA.

LA NATURALEZA ESTA ESTA MURIENDO,
POR LA ABARISIA Y GANAS DE PODER
DE EL HOMBRE.
LA NATURALEZA LA POBRE NATURALEZA.

NATURE

NATURE IS OUR MOTHER,
SHE GAVE US OUR LIFE.
NATURE FEED US
WITH HER FRUITS AND PLANTS.

NATURE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE
LOOK LIKE THEIR ENEMY.
THE NATURE, THE POOR NATURE.

NATURE IS LOOSING
ITS LIFE BECAUSE OF THE HUMAN.
THE NATURE, THE POOR NATURE.



FUTBOLISTA
-- by Israel De Haro

YO QUIERO SER FUTBOLISTA.
ES ALGO MUY DIFICIL DE LUGRAR,
PERO TRATARE.

YO SE QUE ANOTAR GOLES
ES ALGO MUY DIFISIL DE LOGRAR,
PERO TRATARE.

YO SE QUE HAY MUCHAS PERONAS
QUE TAMBIEN QUIEREN SER FUTBOLISTA,
PERO TRATERE.

YO SE QUE ES CASI IMPOSIBLE,
PERO TRATARE.

SOCCER PLAYER

I WANT TO BE A SOCCER PLAYER.
IT IS SOMETHING REALLY HARD TO BECOME,
BUT I WILL TRY.

I KNOW THAT SCORE
IS SOMETHING HARD,
BUT I WILL TRY.

I KNOW THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
THAT WANT TO BE SOCCER PLAYERS,
BUT I WILL TRY.

I KNOW THAT IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE,
BUT I WILL TRY.