2017 Youth Poetry Competition Winners

Grades 1 & 2

1st Place – Malad Valley Welsh Festival Crown Winner:

MY FAVORITE TATER

by Hadlee Olsen

Mother tuber, mother tuber
grow the plant so well
grow a sprout, grow some leaves
may I pick a tuber please.

I love potatoes of every kind.
Mashed potatoes, hashbrowns, sweet potato pie,
red potatoes, brown potatoes, purple potatoes oh my!

Yummy yummy in my tummy
I can not eat just one
I keep eating and eating until all the taters are gone.


2nd Place:

ICE CREAM CONE

by Hope Briggs

You make my bones freeze like ice.
You taste so nice.
Vanilla is the kind I choose.
Vanilla ice cream can never lose.
Ice cream is cold
but tastes very bold.
Ice cream is a sweet treat;
in the summer it can’t be beat.


3rd Place:

SNOW

by Parker Price

Snow, snow is everywhere
The wind is blowing in my hair
My feet are wet but I don’t care
Because snow, snow is everywhere!


Grades 3 & 4

1st Place – Malad Valley Welsh Festival Crown Winner:

PIANO

by Alivia Waldron

Piano is awesome.
Piano is cool.
Piano is like a blossom;
Piano is not for fools.
Piano is a talent –
That talent is waiting for you.


2nd Place:

I AM

by Emma Bird

I am a soccer-scoring,
Hoop-shooting,
Homerun-hitting girl,
Who lives in soft, cushiony, green, grassy hills
With wildflowers,
Pink popcorn trees blossoming,
And birds chirping songs
That echo in the trees.


3rd Place:

A POEM

by Natalie Faith Webster

There once was a fish on the deck.
He cried and he broke his neck.
He fell down and
Broke his crown
Then he didn’t have his looks on the ground.

Then, I saw a ship go by,
It broke down and made me cry.
I thought the people had died
But there were mermaids on ride.


Grades 5 – 8

1st Place – Malad Valley Welsh Festival Crown Winner:

THE WELSH PRIDE

by Kristal Ford

The Welsh people knew they were in gain
Because they were ruled by Edward the First’s reign.
In the 14th century there was one man in power
His name was nobleman Owain Glendower.

Welsh pride is their flying flag as it prevails
White, green, and a red dragon are symbols of Wales.
The beauty of the daffodil describes their culture and traditions
This always makes the Welsh strong with ambitions.

Sheep farming to the Welsh is a part of their society
Many types of sheep make up a large variety.
Raising sheep is a rewarding lifestyle
Seeing baby lambs is always worthwhile.

In Welsh history mining was a very big demand
Whether for gold or coal it was hard to withstand.
Mining is a very dangerous job to do
It is not only challenging but hard to get used to.

Welsh pride is strong in their generation
It follows them from Wales to the Malad Valley location.
As you can see from century kings and queens aside
Nothing is as strong as true Welsh pride.


2nd Place:

MY TERRIBLE DAY

by Savanna Young

I was walking down an aisle
When I tripped on a big huge apple.
I fell on the floor
Then crashed in the door
Then, to get up, I had to straddle.

My bad luck that day never changed
And I felt simply deranged.
I tripped on my shoe
And spilled out my glue
Yes, my bad luck simply remained.

Soon I felt half dead;
I bet my face looked red
I fell on my face.
(That was in a race.)
And for everything I had constant dread.

All day I was in constant doom.
When I got home, I had to clean my room.
I picked up a toy
(My mom said it would bring great joy)
But after that I fell with a boom.

As you can see I had a really bad day,
And that would be an understatement to say
Everything went wrong
And I felt like I didn’t belong
But for the bad luck, there was a great array.


3rd Place:

BASEBALL

by Timmy Jensen

How do you play baseball, you may ask,
Well, baseball may not be a hard task.
It is an easy sport to teach;
You swing the bat if you can reach.
If you hit the ball, you run to first base,
Don’t forget to check your shoes or your place.
If you catch a ball, use your trusty mitt,
Don’t use your hand and don’t trip in a pit.
You may now play baseball if you like,
But don’t get hurt on your own bike.


High School

1st Place – Malad Valley Welsh Festival Crown Winner:

A SONG

by Garren Huckaby

A song is more than some notes on five lines,
It’s hour upon hour of painstaking time.
When people listen to three minutes of song,
They don’t realize what could take the writer so long.

But to the writer, it’s a work of art,
A blessing in which they merely took part.
They sweated, they cried, they laughed and they sang;
The song was a gift, they didn’t need fame.

So mock the author when you hear a dissonant key.
I didn’t write it for the critic,
I wrote it for me.


2nd Place:

SPRING

by Parker Peterson

The sun starts to melt the snow,
Life starts to grow,
Grass begins to show,
It’s lovely, don’t you know?

It’s warmer all around,
The seeds come from the ground.
Everyone tries to lose a pound,
And the birds sing a graceful sound.

The reservoirs begin to fill,
The gardeners begin to till,
Less and less people are ill,
There is no more freezing chill.

Where frost thrived
Only the strong survived.
After the temperature dived
Spring finally has arrived!


3rd Place – TIE:

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES

by Sam Poulson

If possibility took a form,
it’d look a bit like this:
a piece of wood with hinges
and a knob with which to twist.
A gateway made to keep us warm
and scare away the wind;
or to hide the pain inside,
conceal the storm within.
A single scratch can tell a tale
as long as it hath stood–
the dog that Ma and Papa bought
whose claws splintered the wood.
One never knows what lies behind
the door that guards a room;
A baby may be sleeping
or a grey and gritty tomb.
What lies behind is endless,
a killer or a kiss;
So put the fear inside your mind
and give the knob a twist.


3rd Place – TIE:

WHERE I’M FROM

by Landon Smith

This is my land from long ago.
With flag in hand, we will grow.
With colors true and song in heart,
I’ll fight for you, I’ll never part.

After I’ve traveled far away.
My roots unraveled, will always stay.
I long to go back where I’m from,
But I’m on a track where I can run

On to Malad is where I’ll be.
Just a young lad, as you can see.
Although it’s fair, where I’ll be,
I’ll always care for my Welsh country.