2013 Sejong Writing Competition

Winning Entries :: Sijo

Roberto Santos (12th grade)

first place

Still American

They say go, return to land that I don't know. It makes no sense.
Born and raised American, so Mexico is still foreign.
Culture kept, but this is my home. Immigrant, no: Hispanic.

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Hannah Pohl (12th grade)

second place

A pool of ink spillled across the floor, spreading and spreading.
Glitter tipped out a mason jar that sparkles in the light.
A universe made of glittering stars and an ink black sky in seconds, creation simplified.

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Brandon Harris (11th grade)

third place tie

Pulaski, Tennessee

The vast, white fields of snow fly by as I awake from a nap
In surprise, I wonder if it is all a dream or reality.
As I come to my senses, I realize it is cotton fields.

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Brian Lok (12th grade)

third place tie

Beauty in a Black Pond

The shimmering moonlight glistens on the dark black pond.
A beautiful dragonfly peers down into the abyss.
Its wing falls into the water, making the pond glow with glee.

Amy Malo (11th grade)

third place tie

Cancer

Childhood memoires infest my head with splendid visions.
In my parents' room I was impervious to sorrow.
Now it is smothered in disease and Death peers in the windows.

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Elise Breaux (12th grade)

honorable mention

The antique, majestic house sat on the beach watching the ocean for decades.
It saw families come and go as generations pass and children turn to parents.
Gone in minutes, a tidal wave erased walls and memories in one sweep.

Rebecca Dyer (12th grade)

honorable mention

Transformation

A midsummer's day shades to night, leaves me to my crystal refuge.
My stomach full of earth's fruit, I tuck myself safe and snug.
The moon slivers out, I cover my head. When I wake, I will fly.

Bennett Graves (12th grade)

honorable mention

Too Long

Did Adam stop and wonder
     when he saw Eve start to age?
Was he surprised to see
     the skin around her eyes
begin to sag, like that of an apple
     left too long in the sun?

Phillip Kim (10th grade)

honorable mention

Lone Wolf

I wander in the white forest, trying to find others like me.
Hunting prey gets trying and loneliness consumes me.
I sometimes ask myself out loud, “Am I the only one out here?”

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Jeanna Qiu (9th grade)

honorable mention

The Cellist, The Emancipator

The bend of the aged wood
fits snug in my chest: it and I are one.
Wound metal against soft hair—
that was once wild, organic,
that is now tame, synthetic—
it frees doves from their monochrome cage.

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