Selected by juror Tatiana Figueroa Ramirez from 132 entries by 88 students, the work of the ten winning poets will be printed on colorful placards and displayed prominently on Arlington Transit’s ARTbuses, enlivening the ride for thousands of commuters. The poems were selected from each of the following categories: K-2nd, 3rd–5th, 6th–8th, and 9th–12th.
Read all 2021 Student Moving Words winning and honorable mention poems below!
2021 Student Moving Words Winning Poems
Hannah Montoya-Schons (7th Grade, HB-Woodlawn)
I remember the desert that never ends with mountains scattered all around.
I remember waking up to the adult’s chatter and the morning light.
I would have endless play dates with my cousins there.
I would ride a horse into the dark.
1:00 am was the curfew and just before then I’d have fun.
I’d end my day being tired from all the activity.
Emilio Mucchetti (5th Grade, Nottingham Elementary School)
Victory In Sight
I emerge from COVID
Like the sun rising after night,
Taking the moon's place.
Finally, I can see my cousins again.
I feel lighter.
Even the air feels sweeter.
Ellie Leichtman (6th Grade, Kenmore Middle School)
Tree
Arising from the earth new and fresh
Wriggling free from the ground
New life and new leaves
Taller, taller, and taller it grows
Reaching the sky
Spreading its fingertips wide
Green and plentiful it grows and flourishes
One day shedding its leaves and fading slowly away
It’s seeds soak into the earth creating new life, sinking roots into the ground
And one day sprouting from the soft wet dirt it begins anew
Heili Shattuck (6th Grade, Kenmore Middle School)
the list is posted,
think back to 2 weeks ago you were Michael Jordan on that court,
Lionel Messi on the field,
Simone Biles on the floor,
everyone else had those Jordan Air's and cocky smiles,
not you no sir,
you,
on the varsity boys basketball team,
you,
a girl
Anatoly Rodriguez Veizaga (6th Grade, Kenmore Middle School)
Crucial
Overwhelming
Veil
Infection
Depressing
Charlotte Fletcher (7th Grade, HB Woodlawn)
The hours of late
The Great Crater Lake
My eyes have it too
The shade that rhymes with clue
If my soul was a color
It would be none other
Than the one that’s always true
What do they call it?
Isn’t it...
Blue?
Samuel Jackman (8th Grade, Dorothy Hamm Middle School)
I stare in awe of the sun's grand exit
as it declines into the sea—
like Helios joining Persephone in the underworld,
the evening light enchants me like fairy dust—
so beautiful that my jaw
falls
to
the
floor
at the sight of it.
Nicola Beaumont (9th Grade, HB Woodlawn)
Home
At the end of the well-worn path,
Traversed by the weary and the alone,
What lies at the end but home?
Home remains the same throughout time,
Whether it be made of earth or stone,
No matter the place or the price to be paid,
It is a shelter that you call your own.
Come in, come in,
Take in the warmth from light and from flame.
Live and grow and change.
Erick F. Corzo-Valle (10th Grade, Wakefield High School)
I can say it in English,
or in Spanish, maybe in German,
in Arabic sounds beautiful,
and French isn't left behind, but
I just wanted to let you know,
that you look beautiful today.
Rain Varela (11th Grade, Wakefield High School)
always trust someone whose mouth is lined with insects
who makes frogs out of beeping and glowing clay
and feels joy to hear the screech of grinding metal
because the trust and love of someone who spends all their days
listening to the thrum of the universe's heartbeat
and thinks that all smells are about the same
cannot be rivaled by all praise that comes from
the beast that wants to give people their names
2021 Student Moving Words Honorable Mention Poems
Julia Green (7th Grade, HB Woodlawn)
a thought lingers in my brain
It brings me pain but it wont go away
Is it really a thought or is it a memory
A memory of a very bad day or a way,
A way i was treated long ago
By a person with a rather large ego
A person Who made me feel worthless and belittled
The feeling stays there strong,
Without the memory there in my brain,
the sun can shine for another day
Tyson Walther (7th Grade, HB Woodlawn)
I drop down my board
I don’t want to try this again
The scary set of stairs starts to stare at me
The battle begins
So I push as hard as I can
harder than a fighters punch to the face
I take three huge pushes
I knew I could do it
I look down at my board
Then I put my head up I see the stairs
I pop my board, POW and I roll away
Shaina Broudy (6th Grade, Kenmore Middle School)
Wish
A wish is something to hold on to
Cast one upon a star
A wish is the blow of a dandelion
That takes it’s seeds so far
Blow out your candles on your birthday
Just like you always do
A wish is a hope, a dream
And one day it just might come true
Lili Demerdjieva (11th Grade, Wakefield High School)
You are art.
You are a combination of everything.
Of people you love,
Of people you do not talk to anymore,
Of people who hurt you.
You are a walking mural,
A combination of everything you once knew or once loved,
Or still know,
Or still love.
You are art.
Juhud Abdulkadir (11th Grade, Wakefield High School)
A pond of water
A forest full of beautiful flowers
A city full of people
House full of people
Yet we can’t find our comfort
The feeling of love rare
Yet the phrase is a trend
Oh my life
What have you stored for me?
Tarek Khalifa (8th Grade, Swanson Middle School)
What is paradise, what can it be?
Is it the same to you as it is to me?
Is it a place where one forgets their problems for a while
somewhere where people just stop and smile?
Or is it something deeper? A place that doesn’t end
where you have the rest of your life to spend?
Is it a place where you are happy with who you are
where all is good and bad is a far?
A place where calmness runs from your head to your toe,
where relaxation and comfort are all that you know.
What is paradise, what can it be?
Is it the same to you as it is to me?
Brandon Kaplan (8th Grade, Dorothy Hamm Middle School)
I am from concussions,
From leg injuries,
From hip injuries,
All of which made everything tougher
I am from Mom and Dad,
I am from pickup Basketball or Football games with my friends,
I am from Xbox and 2k, wagering and toxicity, winning and cheering
But most importantly…
I am from the people who believe in me
Josie Clayton (8th Grade, Dorothy Hamm Middle School)
I am from DC, the Kennedy Center, and Nationals games
I am from Saturday trips to mini golf and ice cream
I am from Cinnamon Toast Crunch, from PB&J in princess sandwich boxes
I am from social media and viral videos and funny challenges
I am from the cherry blossoms and daffodils and honey suckle
I am from the long drives with loads of movies
I am from because I said so and don’t ask again
I am from Oliver and Avery’s backyard
I am from the soccer fields and basketball courts the high school theaters and band concerts
I am from an age of masks and fear and death, but also hope and justice and ingenuity
Lane Samowich (8th Grade, Dorothy Hamm Middle School)
the sun is saying goodbye
but don’t worry the scattered stars will be here soon
as the damp grass reaches up to tickle our feet
we watch as the sun is devoured by darkness
and while we wait for the stars
driving in divine cars
eating homemade ice cream bars
as strawberry sweetness drips down our arms
we prepare to say goodbye, to everything and nothing
and as sun finally drifts away I close my eyes to say, goodbye
Emma Hemsch (8th Grade, Dorothy Hamm Middle School)
Evening light frowns upon shoes;
In fact, all our feet are bare
As the sun turns her cheek to look the other way
We make the rules in her absence
Walking across town to the beach
Through sandy yards and across cooling pavement
Extraneous clothes are shed like fake skins;
We have no need for our shields
When the harsh, cruel judgement of the world is gone for the night.
Helena Connel (8th Grade, Williamsburg Middle School)
Almost
I feel it in my finger
A blister forming from my pencil
My head hurts
My brain almost an empty pool
Almost
I almost quit
Almost
But change isn’t easy
My words almost didn’t make a difference
Almost
Juliet Connel (4th Grade, Tuckahoe Elementary School)
Blossoms
When the wind blows
they fall out into the wind
till the next spring