First Annual Poetry Contest in Arcade!
Twenty-two poets participated in Arcade Free Library’s First Annual Poetry Contest! Held during April to highlight National Poetry Month, the contest was sponsored by the Teen Advisory Group (TAG) and designed for all ages and all levels of expertise. Poems were submitted in the following categories: Fantasy, Humor, Nature/Human Nature, Romance/Relationships, and Other and were judged by the teens, two English teachers, the newspaper editor, and a local writer.
TAG members held a reception on Tuesday May 19th to announce the winners, honor the participants, thank the judges and share the poetry! The Poetry Reception was very successful. Approximately 35 people attended (10/15 young people and 20/25 adults). A Certificate of Participation was given to each poet and Arcade Area Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificates were awarded to the first, second and third place winners. Several poets read their own work, while several others read other’s poems. Pink Lemonade Punch, Texas Sheet Cake and Peanut Butter Sugar Bombs were served (recipes available!).
CONGRATULATIONS TO
ARCADE FREE LIBRARY’S FIRST ANNUAL POETRY CONTEST WINNERS
FIRST PLACE: $20.00 Gift Certificate/Arcade Area Chamber of Commerce
Patricia M McGillivray for "In A Row"
SECOND PLACE: $15.00 Gift Certificate/Arcade Area Chamber of Commerce
Cyndel Weber for "Rare"
THIRD PLACE: $10.00 Gift Certificate/Arcade Area Chamber of Commerce (3-way tie)
Judy Feine for "Horse Thoughts"
Desiree Miller for "Teenagers Are Amazing"
Chelsey Smith for "My Mermaid Love"
CATEGORY WINNERS
FANTASY: "The Might of a Knight" by Brett Sanders
HUMOR: "Grandmother, Grandmother" by Julia Hartung
NATURE/HUMAN NATURE: "In a Row" by Patricia McGillivray
OTHER: "Basketball" by Gabrielle Darling
ROMANCE/RELATIONSHIP: "My Mermaid Love" by Chelsey Smith
WINNERS BY AGE GROUP
5 – 10 year olds: Julia Hartung
11 – 15 year olds: Gabrielle Darling
16 – 21 year olds: Cyndel Weber
22+ year olds: Patricia McGillivray
Two unexpected yet delightful long-term outcomes of the contest are the formation of a writers group to begin in July and three new teens recruited for TAG. Thank you to Dona and her teen group for all their hard work.
@ ARCADE FREE LIBRARY!!! 
Come and join us for this year’s summer reading fun, "Be Creative @ the Library." Beginning June 29th children from preschool through sixth grade (Fall 2009) may participate in summer reading programs! Register at the Library between June 15th and July 9th.
Call (585) 492 - 1297 for more information!
Good News re: 'Tweens and Books!
THIS YEAR'S 
WINNING POEMS
IN A ROW First place poem by Patricia Middaugh McGillivray
In a row the crosses stand,
Pristine white against the green
Evoking scenes from distant lands,
Of lives laid down upon command.
Proud to serve; afraid to die
Silent now in rows they lie
And Mothers come to kneel and pray
Remembering the long, gone days.
Of little boys, and little joys
Now silent in some foreign land
While proud the markers call us now
Remember me and take a vow.
To treasure dear this proud, great land
For which we fought and took a stand
And gave the ultimate sacrifice
By laying down our very lives.
For freedom now our crosses stand.
RARE Second Place Poem by Cyndel Weber
True friends are like diamonds,
They’re rare and can hardly be found.
I’m lucky I even found one –
sitting there so sound.
I just bumped into her one day, while skating
When I helped her up, I looked at her debating.
Can this be real?
Is this true?
Is she for me to hold on to?
At the first moment I saw you –
I was selfish.
I said to myself you are mine –
I’m not going to share you!
But, through the days you have been my friend,
I realized I’m, going to have to bend.
There are so many people in this world –
and keeping you from them;
is like keeping the rarest diamond from the world.
You are one of my best friends,
and a best friend to me –
is just like a rare diamond.
So to the world I’m giving this diamond, to share.
With one caution……. BE CAREFUL --- IT’S RARE
HORSE THOUGHTS Third Place Poem by Judy Feine
Morning and night
Hay, water, grain,
Pick, shovel, sweep
Morning and night
Horse eat and excrete
While I, tired, hurried, or sore
Pick, shovel, sweep
Morning and night.
Why the routine,
Why not the gym?
The trip to the mall?
The soap opera screen?
From the depths of their eyes,
From the warmth of their coats,
With soft nickers of welcome,
They answer:
"We give you our trust.
Handle with care."
MY MERMAID LOVE Third Place Poem by Chelsey Smith
Upon the deck I kneeled, a worn rag clutched in my sweaty, aching hand.
Working my hardest to scrub the deck free of grime and sand.
Down my chest did trickle a thousand beads of sweat.
And each knuckle upon my hand, each joint I had, in agony wept.
The skin on my neck gained pink as the sun rose high above me.
And no breeze blew by me to relieve my blistered skin from its harsh rays.
But minded I not, carrying these burdens and woes.
For I knew in mere minutes less, a sight I would see that would surely miss my rich foes.
And as I thought, I stared into the endless, mysterious sea,
Waiting to see the miraculous sight that would be bestowed upon only me.
And waited I not long when a dark head appeared above the water.
A quiet giggle emerged from her lips: her form of chatter.
Out onward I looked and mine eyes caught those of a brilliant aqua blue.
They dazzled like stars in the night, and dazzled ME too.
My pains numbed and clearer I could see.
All this because of this wondrous beauty before me.
And forward she swam, her beauty intoxicating me.
I smiled a lazy smile and inside my chest my heart beat wildly, struggling to get free.
I opened my mouth, ready to call to her, perhaps for once pronounce my love.
But a swish of a tail and gone was she, as invisible to me as was He above.
I returned to my work and my woes returned to lay upon me.
I worked on through the night and I dreamt but of the hour tomorrow that again my
beautiful mermaid love I would see.
I dreamt but of the hour tomorrow that again my beautiful mermaid love I would see.
TEENAGERS ARE AMAZING Third Place Poem by Desiree Miller
Teenagers are amazing,
I wish the world could see,
Just how beautiful we are,
How compassionate we can be.
Notice how we change,
Each and every day.
Wanting to leave childhood,
Yet desperately wanting to stay.
I wish they could remember,
How tough our lives can be,
The promises that are broken,
The violence that we see.
I hope the world will notice,
What some have already seen.
Teenagers are amazing people,
Striving to follow their dreams.
December 18: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
