Poetry Contest Winners

First Place

Cassie Jones, "Wildflowers”

There once was a woman with seeds,
Who scattered them into the weeds.
She said, "Let them grow
Where the lost people go,
For the world has such tender heart-needs."

Those seeds in their small, silent way,
Took root in the cool breath of May,
And each little bloom
Made a bit of more room
For hearts that had withered to gray.

A daisy sprang up by a stone
For souls who felt wholly alone.
It opened so wide
That the grief folks would hide
Felt suddenly less like a bone.

A poppy leaned red in the breeze,
And whispered to old memories,
"You may still feel pain
But through sorrow and rain,
Love grows in the smallest of pleas."

Then clover and cornflower blue
Came up where the shy dreamers grew.
They danced in the light
As if wrong could be right,
As if broken things bloomed into true.

The bees came in velvet and gold,
Like tailors both nimble and bold.
They stitched bloom to bloom
Through the sweet meadow-room,
Until no little heart stood in cold.

And people walked by and stood still,
Drawn up by the bright little hill.
Some laughed, some just cried,
Some stayed side by side,
As if love had been planted by will.

For wildflowers never demand.
They simply rise out of the land.
And in their soft way,
They seem almost to say,
"Your heart was made part of this band."

So plant where the earth has gone bare,
Plant hope in the ache and despair.
For each bright little start
May link heart unto heart
Until love is in bloom everywhere.