Each summer, 400 students gather at Governors School East at Meredith College to study a variety of disciplines in an intense, residential setting. Together with Chuck Sullivan, head of the English department at GSE, and Todd Shy, a teacher at both Cary Academy and GSE, we held an on-campus poetry contest. Open to all students, the contest brought entries from across disciplines. The winning poem appears on the Read pages on July 20. The runners up appear below. In addition to the poet's names, we have included their area of study at GSE and their hometown.
"Genesis"
by Jacquelynn Berton
(Poetry, Bunn High School, Franklin County)
It is the beginning,
The time before time
when the sky is being watered down
into oceanic night.
Mmm, my seven sisters
you’ve been neglected
but gravity lifts your shroud
and ends the great
wordlessness
that is the day,
that has been my paper
these last seven months.
This is creation
night is the master
and sunrise if only
the death of the stars.
I know Carme need fear
no earthly serpent;
I breathe
the breath of Nature’s cosmos
and find flaws in nothing.
Elara, it is time
for physics to silence the universe
for a little while,
All galaxies illuminating the dull earth
for twelve ethereal seconds
as God himself draws his bow across
the vast violine of space into 3:4 time
catastrophic perfections
and even in my delinous state of mind,
of heart, of soul and voice
I realize
I should have made my pilgrimage
to you white mecca.
"Conquering Writer’s Block"
by Sara Moreland
(English, Northampton High School, Northhampton County)
After a crazed autumn’s afternoon
I hike to my secret retreat:
A weathered bench on a grassy hill
Overlooking the sapphire sea.
Caressing the worn whiskers of wood,
I fall into the depths of my mind,
Escaping from the corrupted world
And returning to my own kind.
My courage is restored as I hear
Inkhorn bugles sound in the east
Summoning me to my sacred task:
To slay writer’s block, the dreaded beast!
With a sharpened pencil as my sword
And my notebook as my shield,
I mount my wyvern of fantasy
And soar off towards the battlefield.
Long after the golden sun has gone
And the day is finally spent,
I return from an exhausting fight
Beaten to the bone but content,
Because now the tale of my triumph
Has been sung in the right melody.
So I sheath my weapon, cap my pen
And sink back into reality.
"Erase"
by Tierra Alston-Johnson
(English/Screenwriting, Gaston College Prep, Gastonia)
Is it that simple to erase me from your memory
To burn all the mental pages from your diary
To purge your heart of all the love once owned and shared
To lose the forget-me-nots for which you dearly cared
Is it really that simple to forget me
After all the love songs that reminded you of me
After seeing my face everywhere you went
After pledging that you and I were each other’s complement
The betrayal did not begin when we parted
It began when all of your erasing started
When memories of me were no longer kept
And your heart became numb whenever my soul wept
For even if we wee together today
A part of your heart would be yearning to throw away
Each memory of me and my face
Which you would so readily replace
With that of one you deem much fairer than mine
For whom you had already made a shrine
In case of a foreseen end to our love
Your deepening feelings would be more than enough
To erase every moment, every memory of me
And case my own feelings into an abysmal sea
"Dirge"
by Michael Beach
(English, Durham County)
And as the red sun sets
And the light is fading
Watch the gold moon rise
Shining down on the sea
And they’re too young to know what life is
And they’re too innocent to see beyond the stars
Although memory splinters into fragments
I’ll still remember you as you were
Step into the moonlight
Let the waves crash down
Feed the fires inside you
And reach for that star-struck sky
And as the stars begin to fade
And the moon falls from the sky
The night grows tired
Of bearing witness to this life
And you’re too young to know what death is
And you’re too innocent to see this grave
Although memory burns to cinders
I’ll always bear this scar
And now we say goodbye
To all your drams and wishes
The fire’s only coal now
And you can’t touch that star-struck sky
And as the sun begins to rise once again
And you’re still just a stranger
I saw the end of your dreams
And your final destiny
And now I know what pain is
And now I know the truth of mortality
Although life is fleeting
Memories linger on
I’ll step into the ocean
Staring at the sky
And I’ll keep my fire burning
And I’ll dream ‘til the day I die
Remembering those before me
As I touch that star-struck sky
"Sands of Time"
by Kate Martin
(English, Hibriten High School, Caldwell County)
Upon the sunset when daylight sleeps,
Fires rage ‘round oceans deep.
Embers glow near morning haze,
Long forgotten the midnight blaze.
A boy wanders in slumber’s sleep
Upon the sand where he weeps.
The water of the endless sea
Reflects the sorrow of what is to be.
A fate too tragic to endure,
Like the untimely call to war.
In the trenches, hidden from sight,
In the earth, begins the fight.
In misty twilight of dark December
To autumn rays of bright September.
He mourns within, slowly dying,
A fate begotten, never lying.
Totally forgotten when April comes,
From windy beaches to August sun.
Slowly learning the rules of life
Through a hunger that becomes a strife.
Now a man, alone, stands tall,
Unafraid of all he saw.
Long ago, on a beach, he slept,
Forgotten, forever, the summer he wept.
"Ode to a Girl"
by Daniel Cryer
(Choral Music, Orange County)
Wherefore does a man, as yet unworthy,
Stumble upon inspiring beauty such as this.
And how does she allow herself to be plucked,
Thrown bodily into tumultuous strife
A whirlpool within which power is lost,
And all things, reserved though they were.
Rise to place as obstacles against her one true devotion.
But now, with devotion challenged,
This man shows naught but hunger lust,
Stumbling in his weakness, only to rise and see her face anew.
Is he worthy?
Should she take his head in her hands,
Telling him only that she is devoted to him?
This question, perpetually renewed in his mind,
Torments, Tortures, Terrifies
He is unworthy, that is clear.
But she, beautiful, trustworthy, kind,
Still holds him, and for that he knows his place.
Student Poems from Governor's School
Thanks for sharing these poems. I'm glad to know these students have a showcase for their work. When our daughter Corinna was in Governor's School at Salem College in 1995, she wrote a stunning poem, which I was lucky enough to be in her class as a visitor to hear. She was asked to read it again. The room was silent for a good while afterward. If only the News and Observer had been publishing Governor's School poems then! I would often read her poem at my readings in the years that followed, and my audience nearly always commented on hers and not mine.
I invite readers of this blog to visit our ncarts.org site to read more student poetry, as well as my new laureate blog--ncpoetlaureate.blogspot.com, on which I'll be featuring student poetry.
Kathryn Byer