2011 Sejong Writing Competition

Winning Entries :: Sijo

Nicholas Duncan

first place

Peeping, the single yellow head pops out of the fragile shell,
Scoping out the world for the first time, the chick peeps in delight.
Cocking her head towards me, she peeps, “Are you my mother?”

bio

Alex Griffin

second place

Sijo Sijo

As I write this Sijo
   Not a thought comes in my mind
Topics escaped, I am lost
   What shall I write? I don’t know.
The seasons? Maybe small bears?
   Won’t ever know. Sijo is done.

Manuel Rodriguez

third place

Bracelet

With comfort I membrane you with all my love held together.
On your rest I style you out, get you ready, begin your day
and what’s this!? You’ve strangled me, you don’t clean me! You lost me.

bio

AJ Arshem

honorable mention

Carefully form each letter. Struggling to find syllables.
Hopefully I don’t resort to making up random fillers.
Here it comes. Cornucopia. Oh God I’m cheating. Whatever.

bio

Zoe Bator

honorable mention

Brothers

Another day with my brothers,
Always too much fighting.
Always hogging the TV,
Never brushing their yucky teeth.
Talking about Star Wars in the night time,
I hope they’ll grow up.

bio

Elizabeth Clemmer

honorable mention

The Life of a Book

People pick me up, check me out
   I’m left broken and mistreated
My pages rip, my cover bends, I end up getting thrown at bottoms of bags
I even get judged by my appearance!
   Wow! What a life!

bio

Meklit Daniel

honorable mention

Walking through a secret garden
   I explore more of its beauty;
I see a dying rose wilting
   as other plants grow in size;
Why do I recall
   the terrifying memories from school?

bio

Brett Dolan

honorable mention

I’m a drifter, always moving with the wind. Never noticed
But always around here, sneaking through this Western town.
Tumbleweed. I cross this land in secret, swept away by the wind.

bio

Dana Jaalouk

honorable mention

The Monsters

As a kid we would lie awake looking under our beds for them.
Then we grew up and realized something even scarier.
Those monsters we were so frightened about grow inside us.

bio

Sean Manzelli

honorable mention

Beautiful black hair, blue eyes, she lies next to me staring.
Is it real? Her perfection? I do hope this lasts forever.
She is gone. I wake to no one, deceived, hurt, and alone.

Ray Smets

honorable mention

I moved from Africa to Asia to the North Pole
For the only requirement to travel was desire
And a flick; spinning the globe, dropping my finger aimlessly

Justin Whitney

honorable mention

The Wind

The wind is, what the clouds blow.
A soothing gift, not for me though.
   The wind is, something to feel,
   Like a small fish, that you can reel.
      The wind blows, on people it likes,
      For it blows on you, not me, Yikes!