Previous Contest Entries

December 2007 Cricket League Poetry Contest
Beautiful Winter Moment

Honorable Mentions

Erica B., age 13
Durham, NC

Winter’s Favorite Dream
In my favorite dream of all
My friends and I are on the field.
An ice-cold blast of chilly winter wind
Bounces off my cheek
Then hits my friends’ cheeks
As if playing pinball.
The frigid frost of early winter
Dances among us
Freezing our fingers and noses
As we pass the soccer ball to one another
But we do not mind.
A light, star-shaped snowflake
Touches my face gently
And I laugh.
The first snowflake of winter.
Dead, brown leaves crunch underfoot
As I run
Just because I can.

Emily B., age 11
Portage, MI

An Indent in the Snow
I let the door click slowly behind me,
Slipping to the edge of our garage.
And then I close my eyes,
Breathing in the frosty air.

It’s like fairies I can’t see,
Tickling my nose
With tiny frozen needles.

I look into the still,
Early morning,
Seeing a sheet of white frosting
Covering everything in sight,
Keeping the grass safe,
Until the sun would reach its arms out,
Sweeping the bitter winds,
And icy snow,
Away.

I lift my foot and
Gently,
Softly,
Place an indent in the flawless picture,
Leaving my mark.

Kendra B., age 11
Roseville, MN

The Swing in Winter
Oh, to fly like a bird!
Whirling above the cold that is fluffy
Being lifted off the rope swing
Hurtling into oblivion
Onto a cushion of snow.
Chanting the flight spell
Twirling the freezing rope with numb hands
While your friend gets a turn
At the magic of soaring.
Hitting the deck
To avoid being bashed
While your partner’s legs
Act as a club.
Spinning crazily
Like a planet out of whack
The swing gives up.
The flight will end now.
An unceremonious thud
And a minor explosion
Signals the end
Of your friend’s turn.
You sit on the swing
Preparing to be spun.
In winter, you can fly.

Rachel C., age 9
Chicago, IL

Snow Magic
A silver wintry wand
casts a shivering spell
to make
the snow
fall in silent curtains.
Falling slowly
landing softly
on the winter wonderland.
Not one moment
stopping in midair
to check
which way
the path is leading.
Trudging slowly through crisp air
silent
watching it slowly fall.
Walking home
through the whiteness
of the wind.
The spell is now broken.
The snow has stopped.

Emma F., age 11
Okemos, MI

Winter Is . . .
Winter is
a glittering snowflake
falling from
a sky unexplored.
Winter is
the icy chill
of Father Wind’s
frozen breath.
Winter is
a skeleton tree
with heavy snow
upon its branches.
Winter is
Now!

Ellie G., age 9
Birmingham, AL

Building a Snowman
Many years I go to Maine
There, snow falls down like rain
We roll up balls of icy snow
It’s cold, we want to let it go
We stack them up to the form of a man
We work as hard and fast as we can
An orange carrot for a nose
His hat is flopping like a hose
The nose for him is crooked like a forest trail
But his arms are as smooth as a polished rail
We make him children, he is the dad
When we are finished, we are very glad
Building a snowman is very fun
I recommend it to everyone

Max L., age 10
New Hampton, NH

Snowflake Wonder
Gazing up to the sky above me
Packed with clouds
The pastel colors of
Gray and white
Wandering across the heavens
As a breeze pushes them
Myriad white specks
Drifting serenely
Down to Earth
Chasing each other
To land on my face and melt
Watching these snowflakes come down
I turn slowly on the spot
Wishing I could stay
And watch Nature’s miracles
All day

Riley L., age 9,
Holly, MI

Winter’s Warmth
When it is cold,
And the frost bites your nose,
Come sit by the fire!
The glorious fire!
Down at the bottom,
There’s a hot indigo-blue glow
And above it orange flames with yellow at
The tips leap and roar like
A lion pouncing.
The fire’s warmth shines upon our faces,
Making shadows jump and dance on the walls.
Everything is cozy,
Especially with hot cocoa.
So when it’s cold,
And the frost bites your nose,
Come sit by the fire,
The winter fire.
Winter’s Warmth.

Aberdeen L., age 9
Stuttgart, Germany

Cozy Christmas
The fire is blazing and bright
The Christmas tree covered in light
I sit and read Christmassy books
While sweet hot chocolate Mother cooks
I listen to Yuletide stories
Tales of angels and their glories
Christmastime full of coziness
A time to stop work and to rest
Of all the different times of year
Christmastime has most of the cheer
Christmastide is great fun for me
I recall the holy Baby
Have happiness on Christmas day
And spread the joy in every way.

Stephanie M., age 11
Radnor, PA

My Sledding Hill
I have a steep and icy hill;
To sled on it is such a thrill.

If we’re not careful to look around
We’ll end up in the snow, facedown.

To this thrill we have the key.
Look out for that big pine tree!

Try to coast right through the briar
This indeed is my desire.

We’ve made it through, oh what a joy!
This really is my favorite toy.

Wait! Stop! Halt! Freeze!
We’re headed toward my neighbor’s trees!

We didn’t crash, what a relief!
That could have caused much pain and grief.

Looks like this driveway’s slippery with ice.
Let’s not hit it. That would be nice.

Whoa! We’re slipping, sliding, for sure.
I really feel quite insecure.

Oh great! We crashed into the fence!
That ride was certainly intense.

My face is red from the rush of cold air,
But, in the winter, this isn’t rare.

Now we have two yards to climb through,
And my hat is rather askew.

Alex N., age 11
Santa Rosa, CA

My Birth
In the Darkness, not knowing what exists,
I find myself kicking, screaming, dying to get out, eager to obtain knowledge, to learn . . .
To be able to join the real world, to share and bring joy to everyone on it,
What a gift! To be able to become one of them. If only I could, just for a second . . .
A slit of light appears suddenly from above, kissing my head like flowing liquid gold
A force pulls me out of the blackness and toward the light, but I am too eager to resist
I am ready.
I am ready to join the vast world.

David N., age 10
Chester Springs, PA

The Slingshot Sled
As the ice and snow hit the ground,
Happily a steep icy hill I found.

I took my sled out, ready to go fast,
Hoping to break a record from the past.

All set to make a running start,
I felt a strong beat in my heart.

As I jumped on the sled and started down the hill,
Unlike any other ride this one gave me a thrill.

This was unlike an amusement park ride,
This hill had a valley that wasn’t very wide.

The sled climbed up one wall, then the next,
More fun than in school reading a text.

The sled started going faster and faster;
It was then I realized the real disaster.

At the end of the hill an icy mud puddle, “Eek!”
I certainly was not at the hill’s highest peak.

I hit the puddle; boy, it was fun,
I liked that so much; I liked it a ton!

As I ended the ride, in my head I said
Wow, that felt like a slingshot sled.

I think I’ll do that another times ten.
Oh, but first I have to climb up again.

Tessa P., age 9
New York, NY

With Christmas bells ringing
I stand here, cold, singing,
As powder puffs
And big white bluffs
Swirl around me
Like tornadoes

Walker S., age 13
Lawrenceville, NJ

Cold and Warm
The Flame
Dancing
Merrily,
On the wood,
Eating away,
Growing bigger,
Emanating
A soothing light,
Warming the bones of a child.
The snow,
Falling
Gently,
All around,
Soft and feathery,
Muffling the sound of the forest.
Everything is still and silent,
Except for the flickering,
Flashing,
Flame.
The boy looks up,
Losing himself
In the infinity
Of white.

Clair T., age 10
Bloomfield, NE

A Christmas Remark
Christmas comes but once a year;
Santa’s laugh and sleigh bells are all I hear.
The shepherds who saw the star with fright
came rushing to the stable through the night.
Baby Jesus born in the stable,
mighty, young, strong, and able.
We thank the Lord for guidance and shepherding,
and to make this merry season last never-ending.

Julia V., age 12
Ames, IA

Snowshoeing
Quietly
I’m walking
Through the white winter wilderness
Leaving tracks
Behind me.
A flash of red darts quickly past
The pine tree
To my left.
Cardinal, red against the snow.
I look down—
Rabbit tracks
Lace through the snow in front of me.
I’m happy,
Snowshoeing.

Heather W., age 9
New Bedford, MA

Wintertime
Winter
Hibernation begins
Clouds replace the sun.
They shiver,
getting ready to drop snow
which turns the world white.
Shimmering snowflakes fall,
like little mirrors
making a chorus of sounds.
Humans travel with each other
getting tossed by the wind.
For once man cannot control the world.
Yet we seem to love this season
the most.

Connor W., age 12
Orange, CA

Home
A memory rings loud and clear,
Louder than the airport rush.
Of family on Christmas morn’
Of family that has come and gone.
“Gate 29 that’s from Atlanta,”
Says an automatic voice
Over the growl of airport noise.
I stand waiting for my party,
But many people have come and gone,
Some with hats tall as Christmas trees,
Others wearing none at all.
I look at my watch,
It’s nine o’clock now.
The airport is empty,
Wall to wall.
The members of my greeting party
Start to yawn.
One falls asleep,
One leaves,
And eventually, it’s just me
In the empty airport here.
I see a leather-banded foot . . . they’re here at last!
My cousins, uncle, aunt, they’re here! And the airport
Is not empty now.

Benjamin W., age 11
Cleveland, OH

Snowball Fight
Dashing through the snow,
Leaping fences,
Crossing driveways,
Flying snowballs
All over the street.
Pow! Splat!
An East sider is hit!
Splut! Whock!
A West sider is hit!
A volley is thrown
From the east side of the street.
West siders reel back.
The counterattack!
Snowballs are launched,
Knocking down some East siders.
The white flag is waved,
And they all retire for some hot chocolate.