Winners
First Place
A Tiny,Brown Seed
by Louise Zhuang,Age 12
On a sunny,clear day
in the dawn of spring,
A child looked upon
a small,brown “kernel.”
Since she was very bored,
she dug a minute hole
and put the little object
inside,
burying it moments later.
Turning around
and seeing her favorite toy,
she quickly forgot
about the tiny “kernel.”
Swiftly she ran away
and did not come back.
Storms came and went,
and nothing odd seemed to occur,
but suddenly,one day,
a green stem popped from the ground.
Like the speed of light,it grew,
and bright green leaves
appeared.
By the end of spring,
the plant had grown a bud,
and a child and her siblings
happened to come by.
Upon noticing a plant,
they cried aloud with joy.
Each day they visited,
and the bud grew larger
until finally it opened
to reveal
a rose flower.
The years passed.
The rose grew
and left seeds for the young children to plant,
but to the young ones’ dismay,
it died
on the eve
of winter
one year.
There will always be others,though.
Other roses
that will bloom
in a variety
of different colors and sizes,
just ready to be picked
or admired.
Second Place
Saying Goodbye to Granddad in Ireland
by Rhetta Power,Age 8
One day when I was at school,the telephone rang. They wouldn’t tell me what it was about,but I knew it had to do with me and it wasn’t good. When I got home,I found out that my granddad in Ireland had died.
My dad was gone by the time I got home,but my brother,my mom and I got on a plane the next day and headed to Ireland. It was a terrible trip. I had a raging earache that made me cry all the way there. The Irish flight attendant tried to help by giving me some strange home remedies,but they didn’t work.
When we got off the plane in Dublin,my dad was waiting for us. My four-year-old brother threw a tantrum that sounded like an elephant with a giant thorn stuck in his foot.
My uncle Gerry drove us to my nana and granddad’s house in Dun Laoghaire. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful roses blooming outside their house — the roses that my granddad took care of all the time. Pink,red and yellow flowers are what I remember so well from all the times I visited them.
There were people going in and out of the house all the time. The phone was ringing off the hook. I still had my earache,and my head hurt from all the noise.
The morning of my granddad’s funeral,we picked roses from his garden to put on his coffin. I rode with my cousins in a big,black,shiny car. I remember chewing peppermint gum. He was buried in the same plot as his little son,my dad’s brother,who died when he was very young. The weather seemed to reflect how we all felt — cloudy,rainy and miserable. Each of us a dropped a yellow rose into the hole in the ground on my granddad’s coffin.
There were tons of people,lots more than had come to the house. I didn’t even know most of them. My granddad was generous,nice and kind,and that is why so many people came to his funeral. He understood people from all kinds of backgrounds,and he devoted time to people like he tended his roses. I think the roses were an important part of his life,and he liked it that we put roses on his coffin when we said goodbye.
Third Place
Roses Delight the Senses
by Allison Shaver,Age 9
Is there a sight more glorious than a rose,
Of course not,answers the nose.
The scent of a rose refreshes the soul.
Unfortunately the thorn can cause a thumb hole.
But I don’t care I love the velvety feel of a rose,
But I don’t think I will ever eat a rose.
Honorable Mentions
Katie Wiliams,Age 9
Roses are my favorite type of flower
Orange roses are beautiful
Sunny days make me happy when I can look at roses.
Excellent spring is here and roses are out.
Kelly Houghton,Age 9
Now spring has sprung so it is time for flowers to bloom in the white clear rain and the bright yellow sunlight. Flowers help by making our Earth prettier,let’s have a cheer that spring is here. So take care of the flowers that have bloomed.
Madeline Gentile,Age 8
Ravishing beauty
Optimistic
Serene Colors
Eminent Patterns
Entries
McKayla Lay,Age 10
Rain is on my flower.
Orange flowers are pretty.
Spring makes flower.
Every color like a rainbow.
PJ Peters,Age 9
I love roses. You should too. They come in so many kinds of hues. And they are very colorful.
Katlyn Hanna,Age 9
Roses bloom so beautifully,
Water helps them sprout and grow,
So plant them in rows,
And you can see the beautiful hues.
DeeDee Edgell,Age 10
Roses are in bloom
Our noses are delighted
Since
Every rose smells wonderful.
Lauren Sartin,Age 9
Rainbows colors
Obsorbants
Springtime makes them bloom
Everyone is most beautiful
So with the smell of perfume.
Bethany Hoover,Age 9
Red as blood
Over the limit of colors
Smelling elegant
Everyone is unique
Shockwaves are beautiful
Richard Boyce,Age 9
Rasche
Oxygen
South African
Excellent
Kylea Summers,Age 12
Let’s Cheer for Flowers
Now it’s time to cheer
Let’s all shout “Spring is here!”
Give a hoot and holler to all our friends and families
“Flowers are family here?”
Neighborhood to neighborhood
Flowers grow around our world,
So take care of our flowers now that they have bloomed.
Courtney Evans,Age 6
Once upon a time there was a boy that grew roses. One rose grew too big and he climbed up the rose. He found a house and he lived in it.
Charlie Harman,Age 5
I get a rose sundae and it tasted like chocolate and rose and it had chocolate chips and chocolate with a cherry on top. It was red and it had thorns. It smelled like cherry.
Sara Gates,Age 6
My flowers have little cupcakes for the petals and they have some whip cream and they have cherries. And they have a wedding cake with flowers. My flowers also have stems.
Jadyn Fisher,Age 6
You can grow roses.
You can put sun on it.
You can put roses in a pot.
You can put roses in a box.
Daizy King,Age 6
Daizy’s mother’s rose is pink and it looks like a tulip.
It’s read then rain came and the sun came and then a rainbow has let the bright colors come.
Joslynn Smallwood,Age 7
The roses are liking each other.
The roses are red.