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LET THE POETRY BEGIN

  • click HERE to submit your poem(s) to the 2024 Vision+Voice Poetry Contest
  • this contest is open to all K-12 students in the ACC service area
  • deadline for submissions is February 11th, 2024
  • poets may submit as many poems as they’d like
  • any topic or form is welcome (rhyming is NOT required!)
  • all submissions will be published on this website
  • winning poems selected by the ACC Liberal Arts: Humanities and Communications Division will be paired with artwork from an ACC student to create poetry posters

We can’t wait to read your poems!

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2023 Vision+Voice Literary Festival

This will be a huge event to celebrate all the K-12 poets who participated in Vision+Voice. This year for the first time, we are combining the K-12 event with the other literary competitions that ACC runs. The festival will include food & refreshments, literary goodies, music, open mic, spoken word and several writers and educators from our community.

Friday, April 28
5:30-8pm
6101 Highland Campus Drive

5:30-7pm: food & refreshments, music, open mic, spoken word and several writers and educators from our community

7-8pm: formal award presentation

Please invite your friends, family, teachers, principals. Everyone is welcome to the party. We can’t wait to see you!

Here’s a short video on how to get from the parking garage to the Vision+Voice event space at ACC Highland.

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And the Winners Are…

The judges have made their final decisions and we are thrilled to announce the winners in the 2023 Vision+Voice Poetry Contest.

As you you read these winning poems you will see that there is a lot of variety – some are funny, some are sad, some are mysterious, and some are beautifully simple. All of these poems succeed in presenting a vision or a feeling of the poet’s world in their own special way.

The poems are judged based on these 6 criteria:
Theme – Does the poem give readers a specific idea or perspective on a subject?
Originality – Does the poem offer a new or different way of thinking or feeling about that idea?
Language – Are the words precise and does their arrangement create a unified impression?
Imagery – Does the poem use figurative language (simile, metaphor) to create a vivid description and appeal to readers’ senses and imagination?
Impact – Does the poem evoke an emotional response from readers?
Technical Details – Are spelling and usage appropriate to the poem’s subject?

Judging poetry isn’t easy, and our judges take this task very seriously. There were hundreds of wonderful poems to choose from, and we are confident that these poems are a great representation of the best entries in this year’s contest.

Stay tuned for more information about the 2023 Vision+Voice Literary Festival coming up on April 28 – we’re planning a huge celebration for all the winners, and we hope you will join us!

THE 2023 VISION+VOICE WINNERS ARE:

1st Grade
I BIT MY BED by Lyric B. / Maplewood Elementary School

Fried Chicken by James B. / Homeschool

2nd Grade
Happy Days by Luna Y. / Boone Elementary School

Having Fun by Luna Y. / Boone Elementary School

3rd Grade
Thanksgiving by Everly L. / Boone Elementary School

Bubblelian by Sparrow D. / Boone Elementary School

4th Grade
I Am From These Moments by Owen M. / Brentwood Elementary School

Toledo Bend by Aida B. / Brentwood Elementary School

5th Grade
Anger by Brodie K. / Boone Elementary School

I Am by Mateo L. / Boone Elementary School

6th Grade
Paintings by Annika E. / Lamar Middle School

All Quiet by Days End / Katherine R. / Gorzycki Middle School

7th Grade
Gone by Delinah O. / Gorzycki Middle School

moments to memories by Aubrey L. / Gorzycki Middle School

8th Grade
Words by Alexandra S. / Murchison Middle School

Blue and Gray by Stella S. / Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders

9th Grade
My Grandfather’s Guitar by Ximena F. J. / Rouse High School

Car Crash in Cold Country by Josie B. / Liberal Arts & Science Academy

10th Grade
Sentimentos No encontrados by Jhoselin L. / Austin Achieve Public High School

The Power Of A Name by Victoria M. / Stephen F. Austin High School

11th Grade
Where I’m from by Caleb E. / Rouse High School

Chasing Birds by Ryan M. / Rouse High School

Only For a Season by Cicily H. / Stephen F. Austin High School

The Reality of Dreams by Claire D. / Stephen F. Austin High School

12th Grade
Ode to Dishes by Wallis B. / Stephen F. Austin High School

Dear Mother by Lani G. / Anderson High School

Congratulations to all the poets, their teachers, and their families!


Star Catcher

Star Catcher
There was once a girl who
spun silver shining silk threads
brightly,
up to the stars
and tried to rope the moon
into her own orbit.

Far away, far away,
bright lights shone
she
drank moonlight from a silver goblet
and breathed hope into being
as a fire, as a
light.
She
struck a match and
lit each star like
a candle.

Brightly,
each tiny candlelight
in the sky
shines
she
strung her silver thread
across the stars
drawing out the constellations
drawing a circle in the sky.
A star catcher
drawn by the light of the night
darkness
couldn’t extinguish her.

5 Ways of Looking at Grief

5 ways of looking at grief
(after Wallace Stevens)
1,
The chains that collapse my chest
Fill me with the poison
Of fear,
And regret.

2,
The peace that clouds my mind
The sweet, blind bliss
Of denial.

3,
The tears that hold me,
Deep in the night
Running down my cold cheek
And stabbing me
In my tired heart.

4,
The past love
Still lingering
It runs deep in my veins
And keeps their memories near.

5,
The skeleton key
Twisting the fragile feelings
Gracefully woven together
In my weak heart.

Fall

The wind flows by whispering secrets of the forest where I now walk
Telling me stories and songs of people who once lived here
With a blink of an eye a gust of wind sends leaves flying
Slowly floating down like a dream
It feels like magic arms wrap around me welcoming me home
A piece of me that was missing for so long now
Completing the puzzle that is my heart
Here is where I truly feel at home here is where I belong

Where did he go?

Then he awoke.
He was very apprehensive about it,
about you.
He didn’t know if you would even attempt
to ascend to the top,
But you did.
It was a very tiring ascent to the top floor
of the old bloody mansion
wondering
if it will be worth it?
You were close.
There were only,
Ten
More
Steps
On the blood splattered stairs
To get to the attic
Then out of nowhere
there he was,
he gave you a baleful look
as you reluctantly climbed
the rest of the way.
Step
By
Step
One second he was there
then he wasn’t.
Where did he go?
No one knows

Thinking About

I’m thinking about
CARROTS
And how their crunchy NOM
I’m thinking about
Flowers
And how they smell sweet SNIFF.
I’m thinking about
Snow
And how its soft and fluffy STOMP
I’m thinking about
Turtles
And how cute they are AWW.
I’m thinking about
Dance
Because Sloane and I’s performance is 3 days
I’m not thinking about
Babies
And how demonic they are CRAWL.
I’m not thinking about
LEVI
Because why girl staring at me? 😭
I’m not thinking about
Wren
And how she replaced me 😞

Ode to Pens

The smooth ink
The firm grip
The click sound
The professional look
The agile movements

My math saviors
Making my work illegible
Too illegible to read,
So I get points anyway

Creators of iconic doodles
Millions of smiley faces
Millions of boxes

This ode is to pens
Man’s greatest creation

Ode to Jorge Pastore AP 9097 “Tac66” End of Watch 11/11/2023

Someone calls for help, a hero stands tall,
Jorge Pastore, he answered the call.
A firefighter paramedic, brave and true,
To the sound of sirens, he rushed on through.
From Parkland to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High,

He faced the darkness, he heard the cry.
A guardian of the injured, heeding his call.
In the line of duty, he gave his all,
Then a new path he’s seen, an officer he became,

To serve and protect, to honor their names.
With courage and valor, he wore the badge no matter the day,
In the face of danger, he stood his ground,
A hero for some, forever a “dad” he will be renowned

His legacy shall live on, through the lives he touched
He shall be remembered as a hero, who has been admired so very much
With a sacrifice never forgotten, and a spirit always strong
In the hearts of many, you will forever belong

With an outpouring of tears, we must say farewell to a pioneer
“Rest easy, Officer Pastore, we’ll take it from here”

Blue

Blue

I remember when blue was my favorite color
How it filled my 7 year old heart with so much happiness
I remember looking up at the daytime sky and seeing its beautiful color

My favorite color is now green
It still gives me the similar feeling when I see it
But not the same

The reason for this is the first time for
everything is always better
The first bite
Your first steps
Your first word
Blue was my first favorite