Hello everyone, we are very proud to announce the winners of the MIS poetry contests!
The two winners for the senior school are Jacqueline Lanzrein in first place, and Sophia Gerst in second!
The three winners for the middle school are Mia Bohlman in first place, Inez Kaur in second, and Rania Wallenstein and Kaia Lemmers in third!
Below are all the wonderful poems by these talented students:
November Fools – Jacqueline Lanzrein, first place SRS
must be a cruel joke.
maybe april came early
maybe I will wake up tomorrow and you will be there. maybe.
but the colourless flowers,
the dirt I shovel
and hopelessly try to dust off my skin, the icy glow of the candles,
the church organ haunting,
like those living room evenings ringing in my ears
are as real as your fragile shell.
they cling to my skin and hollow my mind, snaking through my thoughts, creasing them like wrapping paper,
etching your cigarette breath into my lungs.
that same smoke, shielding my eyes as the rain pitter patters, darkening the ground to a murky pit where your song was drowned.
you said a surprise would come.
i didn’t think it would leave me this alone.
Forgotten surprises – Sophia Gerstl, second place SRS
inspired by rupi kaur and surprises
i remember the way it used to be
everyday awaited a new surprise
waking up seeing the weather was a surprise
overnight fallen snow was a magical wonder
the first warm day after a frosty winter was an enchantment the first blossoms of spring brought colorful delight
the rainbows that appeared in the sky were a joyful serendipity
then we grew up
now we wake up and look at our phone we watch the weather in an app
see the flowers, rainbows on social media the weather is no surprise
we know in advanced what lies ahead
marveling at the beautiful unexpected gets harder
are we surprised to see the flowers bloom like we did?
are we surprised by the first snow, the first cold, the first warmth? we are not surprised by the small things any longer
they are casualties they are tedious everyday things
what surprises us now?
when did it get so hard to be surprised?
when did we start to neglect the small wonders in life? when did the small things become ordinary?
There were originally three winners for senior school with Sophia Gerstl in third place, but the original second place winner has been disqualified due to academic dishonesty, moving Sophia up to second place!
Surprises – Mia Bohlman, first place MS
I loved Surprises
The tension and wait
I never thought it could cause a heartbreak.
It was sudden and surprising just like one should,
But it didn’t make me happy, it left me sad and shook.
It came sudden full of surprise.
Delivered by my Mother, tears in her eyes.
So I ask while sitting at your grave why you left so sudden, trying to be unfazed.
And I try to lie,
That you wanted to go, but you had still much to learn, And much to show.
I hate Surprises.
Not knowing what will come.
I wish I loved them, like when I was young.
Surprises.
A surprise – Inez Kaur, second place MS
surprise: a beautiful emotion,
so unexpected and unforeseen,
a salty sea but of great beauty,
can’t be measured using mass/volume.
surprises, they are everywhere like particles of air,
in things as simple as a game of chess,
next move a mate, or maybe just a check?
every moment’s something different for me,
a new experience: pleasure or tragedy?
we are actors in the play of life,
this play a sea of possibility,
every action, every speech,
causing a difference for you and me,
this variability continues the equation of life.
surprises are important, surprises are key,
they are the wheels making us free-wheel,
their excitement is what drives us down,
the rocky road of life.
Surprises – Rania Wallenstein and Kaia Lemmers, third place MS
An astonishing thing or event Like an unexpected descent
Ding! Dong! The doorbell rings. A parcel the postman brings.
A big box
With the logo of a Fox
It jiggles and wriggles. It squiggles and giggles.
I opened the door,
Placed the box on the floor, And closed the front door.
I went to do my chores,
While the box snored and snored
The sound drove me crazy, The box made the air hazy,
I wondered what was in the box. A fox?
A block?
A clock?
Finally, I opened the parcel. What I saw made me cheerful It was a small bear.
He had chocolate coloured hair.
Two minutes later,
The bear looked like he had used an inflater. The bear was huge,
Had the character of a Scrooge.
He was alive.
And skydived.
from the top of my House.
To terrorize the rest of the world Through the air he whirled
When he landed, he unfurled.
Who is he?
Who sent him to me? I love him.
And on a Whim
I adopted him.
Under my care he flourished, I kept him well nourished We worked well together Like bird`s feathers
This was a surprise It fell from the skies,
But every surprise is an opportunity They define your identity
They give you immunity to shock.
Use them wisely.