Submit your lyrics or poetry here in the comments by October 9 for a shot at winning an electronic drum kit.
Library staff will sift through the entries and pick their 6 favorites. Those Top 6 will go head to head in a People’s Choice contest with you voting for your favorite during Teen Read Week, October 17 – 24.
The winner will be announced October 25.
The rules:
- Writers need to be 12 – 18 years old
- Material must be original, so no sampling or mash-ups
- Writing may not contain offensive language of any type (if you wouldn’t show it to your grandma, don’t share it with us)
If Home is where the Heart is,
Then here is not for me.
My Heart belongs to other places,
Places Far and near.
The city lights of Paris,
The Ancient streets of Rome,
The modern squares of Tokyo,
The places I dont know.
The Mysteries of Egypt,
The light of Northern Stars,
The Chill of air in Desert nights,
The snow of Russias Csars,
But though my Heart belongs to these,
Theres one it never leaves.
Of all the spots my Heart belongs,
It most belongs with you.
May the best poem win, miss Bell.
_The Very Best Place in the World_
I don’t want to face the world today
I don’t want to leave this place
Here it is safe, warm, and cozy
Out there is cold, brutal, and scary
I don’t want to face the world today
Not tomorrow nor yesterday
If I stay here I can never do wrong
Make a mistake, trip, or fall
I don’t want to face the world today
I’m not sure if I even can
The world is not kind to me
But my teddy bear always is
It’s a wonder with all theses reasons
That every time that shrill alarm trills
I ever find the great courage
to leave the soft confines of my bed
The very best place in the world.
unwanted
a smile like stars
lights up the unknown
do you notice?
do you know what lies beyond it?
i smile at you to hide what i feel
it’s empty and dull
never reaches my eyes
but all you see is a smile.
a laugh like thunder
fills the quiet air
you hear it
but do you know what lies beyond it?
i laugh to hide my pain
it’s empty and fake
it lacks joyfulness
but all you hear is laughter.
eyes like pools of water
full of depth
do you see what lies beyond them?
my eyes are bright when they see you
but they are deep with sorrow
the stars have departed
dull and empty
but all you see are eyes.
a heart broken in two
lies in my chest
you don’t see it
you don’t see the mark you’ve left
it is broken and forgotten
useless and beaten
it is right here for the world to see
but it is left. unwanted.
_Oh, What A World_
Oh, what a world…
What kind of world do we live in?
One so full of abhorrence and voracity,
how did it become this way?
Why did it become this way?
The answer lies within us,
so deeply obscured from us.
Mendacity imprisoning it, forever, encasing it in black ice,
blinding you!
A silent wish upon your parted lips,
a cry inside your head, telling yourself the worst is behind.
All the hatred and injustice is just a ploy
can you see the mask?
A facade so well placed, so carefully crafted, so dangerously close to being set and stone.
Pull yourself together now; grab your blade and march to the solemn tune.
Stand up! Believe in what a world should be, not what it has become.
Clash against the abhorrence, the trepidation, the deceit; what pushes us away from each other,
come together!
Oh, what a world…
Oh, what a world.
A world so ugly…
But still, you can find beauty underneath the mask of ugliness;
all you have to do is sit and look.
Close your eyes and open your psyche, your heart, and your essence to the world.
Let it enfold you in its warmth, its tenderness, its love.
Let it show you all the hurt that we have caused.
Oh what a world,
so vibrant, so beautiful.
Unpredictable, untamed; so free,
let’s bring out the real world.
What do you see around you?
A blade of grass, a cloudless sky, the wind whispering through the trees; telling us all what could be—what should be.
Oh, what a world.
Just open your true eyes and see.
Oh, what a world.
-All Goes Black-
I watch the thunder clouds drift by,
The lightning flash,
And the Heavens cry.
The wind rustles the tree tops high.
My heart is black,
Just like the midnight sky.
All hope and peace has died;
I’m a hollow shell of myself.
Love and trust washed away with the tide.
I search and search and have yet to find:
My heart and soul,
My reason and mind.
The waves thrash me round and round,
I try to scream,
But find I cannot make a sound.
My lungs swell up; my eyes roll back.
With one last breath,
All goes black.