Winners Page
Make sure to join the Little Rabbit Trails Group on Facebook
so you don't miss the 2023 Poetry Contest.
Check out the poetry of past published poets below.
A short message from one of our past poetry Judges
Kathy Mellor
While it is an honor to judge the poetry submitted, it is also tremendously difficult to look at all the work and heart that went into each one and deem one better than another. I commend all the participants for their excellence, it is no small thing to bare your soul on paper. My hope is that whether or not you won, you continue putting pen to paper and develop your gift for sharing thoughts and feelings through poetry.
2022 Contest Winners
Grand Prize Winner
Giada
6 years old
Maryland
Night In the Shimmering Sky
The night is as black as the darkness in a cave.
The stars are shimmering, silver, gold, and yellow.
I can't wait to see them shoot high up and around me.
The wind is blowing as I walk across the mountain,
ready to see my imagination run wild.
I get to the top.
I shut my eyes.
I find the world blue.
The moon is a shimmering milky white color.
If you look at the moon as closely as I did, you might see the moon's face.
My imagination runs away from me and finds its own way.
Then I think of everything that could happen if I touch the moon.
The goddess, Chang'e; she lives on the moon forever and ever and is always waiting for someone.
The skies are as beautiful as I think.
Then I open my eyes.
I float up high into the sky.
I can't believe it; I think I will touch the moon.
Stars are surrounding me.
I look up at the moon's crest.
The wind blows in my face, but I don't care.
It gets colder and colder as I go up, but then I hear a voice that says,"Hello, hello. So you made it to the moon. Is your choice to come live with me?" the voice says.
"Yes," I say quietly, as the wind grows wild,
but then I touch the moon.
It feels warm and soft, just like bird feathers.
I sing and dance with Chang'e.
I love how it feels when my imagination runs wild.
2nd
Jennifer Zimmer
Adult
Kansas
Ode to Adventure
My Adventure, you inspire me to write
How I love the way you scare and excite
Invading my mind day and night
You are fierce and wild
Dreams of you fill my heart
I will remember you while we’re apart.
1st
Julia
13 years old
Florida
Sandy Shore
Sandy shore, rocky beach,
Crested waves, crashing each,
Swirling shells that whisper tales,
Of the sunken ghostly sails.
Whispers of, roaring of,
The arching waves, up above,
The drifting kelp, the silent sea,
This is all a part of me.
3rd
Allie
14 years old
Missouri
Lee's Last Battle
The ship was quiet, floating low
On a silent sea
Unknown to the crew sleeping below
Pirates began their spree
These pirates were a cruel gang
Hungry for loot and more
Their sudden angry shouts rang
And the sailors woke in mid-snore.
“You’re captives of Captain Lee!”
The pirates shouted to the crew
“Anyone who moves will be tossed into the sea
So don’t move whatever you do.”
While the sailors were tied fast
A young lad crept up to the deck
He hadn’t been found with the last
And there was hope to save his friends yet!
He ran up to the pirate, sure of how to begin
And without a second thought
Firmly kicked the man in the shin
And ran before he was caught.
“Get him!” The captain howled, hopping on one foot
But the scamp knew how to play foul
And dusted the pirates with soot.
They cried and rubbed their eyes
And in doing so they found
They tumbled over the side
And fell into the sea, drowned.
The boy became a captain and from that day on
The pirates steered clear, remembering his brawn
Published Poets
Adult
Jennifer Zimmer
Kansas
Ode to Adventure
Lucy Becker
Kentucky
The Wind and I
Melissa Crowther
Utah
Sailing Adventure
Teen
Allie - 14 years old
Missouri
Lee's Last Battle
Makayla - 15 years old
Arizona
Finding Purpose
Ella - 15 years old
Tennessee
When a Shadow Lies Over the Path That is Ahead
Middle School
Julia - 13 years old
Florida
Sandy Shore
Silver - 13 years old
Utah
On Adventures
Kiralee - 11 years old
Utah
A Drop of Rain
Elementary
Hope - 6 years old
Maryland
Night in the Shimmering Sky (Grand Prize Winner)
Kaiya- 10 years old
Colorado
Bird in My Backpack
Jaban - 10 years old
Canada
Miniaturized
Mara- 9 years old
Colorado
The Red Panda Explorer
Authors Pick
These poems will also
be published
Maya - 11 years old
Utah
My Closet
Ella - 13 years old
Utah
I am an Explorer
Isabela - 14 years old
Kentucky
Hike in the Woods
Mary - 14 years old
Florida
Wonderlust
Maigan - Adult
Florida
My Adventure
Luke- 9 years old
Washington
Under the Sea
Bethany - 10 years old
Oklahoma
Graceful a Swing
Kiralee - 11 years old
Utah
Harry Potter's Glasses
Grand Prize Winner
Jake
10 years old
Utah
As I Wander
As I wander through the pine trees,
I reflect on those who lived here long ago.
Native Americans blessed this region;
I hear their tales in the wind as it blows.
Flying eagles, colored rocks, wild flowers, untamed horses,
Winding rivers, arrowheads, smokey fires, and buffalo grass.
The indigenous American spirit,
Is freedom and hope in the trails that I pass.
Grateful to live in this country,
Which today we all call “Land of the Free!”
American Indians heritage lives on,
Amongst you and me.
2nd
Ella
12 years old
Utah
The Rose of Freedom
The rose petals soft,
Smells of sweet dew.
The flower petals velvet,
And red like the sunset.
The flower chosen,
For our nation.
For the Soldiers,
who gave us freedom.
For the flag of rights,
That waves of privilege.
The rose is special to our hearts.
We honor the dead with the rose.
Chosen for honor and devotion,
Chosen for love, life, and liberty.
Adult
Lucy Becker
Kentucky
Choice
Juliette Hiller
Washington
The Land of the Free
Nellie Boyer
Virginia
Glimpses
Middle School
Ella - 12 years old
Utah
The Rose of Freedom
Mary - 13 years old
Georgia
Reign of our Voice
Isabel - 13 years old
Kentucky
Going to America
Brock - 8 years old
Utah
Freedom
Louise Dyson - Adult
England
Dual
Melissa Crowther - Adult
Utah
Meadowlark
Amelie - 6 years old
Malawi
Country of Malawi
Elijah - 16 years old
Michigan
Patriots Parade
2021 Contest Winners
1st
Anika
15 years old
Utah
The Picnic Battle
The people gather on this eventful day,
Gray against blue,
Father against son.
The citizens and reporters and watchers.
They come with sandwiches and nice suits and dresses.
They hold up their glasses
To watch the skirmish,
To see the side that they are sure will win.
“Oh I’ll wipe up all the blood that is to be spilled today
With my pocket handkerchief.”
And they did not find what they expected.
They did not anticipate
The grief or sadness,
The regret that comes with any fight.
The battle much bloodier than expected,
The dawning realization:
War, this war, all war, is no picnic.
They started to move, to get up, to run.
To get away from the war that was no picnic.
The panic to see the other side winning,
The horror to see the lives that were lost.
Gray against blue.
Brother against brother.
Father against son.
Never again see any dispute as a reason to party.
Never again see any conflict as a joke.
War is no picnic.
3rd
Lucy Becker
Adult
Kentucky
Choice
Ignorance is bliss,
Because there's only you
What do you know to seek?
There's no burn to be better
It's survival of the fittest, might makes right
Responsibility isn't acknowledged, isn't owned
Because there isn't knowledge
Because there isn't knowledge.
Responsibility isn't acknowledged, isn't owned
It's survival of the fittest, might makes right
There's no burn to be better
What do you know to seek?
Because there's only you
Ignorance is bliss
CHOICE
Knowledge is power
Because you have learned
What is the good and the beautiful
It ignites a quest, a desire
To start another's fire, because
With great power comes great responsibility
Because there is knowledge.
Because there is knowledge
With great power comes great responsibility
To start another's fire, because
Ignited is a quest, a desire:
What is the good and the beautiful?
Because you have learned
Knowledge is power
Published Poets
Teen
Anicka - 15 years old
Utah
The Picnic Battle
Elijah- 16 years old
Maryland
Heavy is the Crown
Thomasin - 15 years old
Washington
Revolution
Elementary
Jake - 10 years old
Utah
As I Wander (Grand Prize Winner)
Annabel - 10 years old
North Carolina
Unsung
Pawpaw
Lily Hall - 10 years old
Texas
Love of my Homeland
Authors Pick
These poems will also
be published
Mason - 10 years old
Missouri
D-DAY
Maddox - 12 years old
Japan
Freedom Fighters
Alitsa - 11 years old
South Carolina
The Music, The Song, The Faith
Joshua - 11 years old
New Jersey
We Are America
2020 Contest Winners
Grand Prize Winner
Reagan Dregge
Adult
Minnesota
Nessie
The Loch Ness Monster's
shape was born
In shadow-shrouded chasms
Long thought to haunt the
misty deeps
Of cold and lightless fathoms
Some say she is a
fairy beast
A figment spun from tales
While others claim a
dinosaur
Or remnant kin of whales
Myths multiply and
theories mount
But just the other day
I watched her swallow
up the sun
Then wink and float away!
2nd
Elena
14 years old
Utah
A Plea to the King
How could the earth be a boring abyss
With all the people such as this:
The soldiers who never say a word?
Or the dancer whose music is always heard?
What of the storyteller whose shows are worthwhile,
Bringing to the children smile upon smile?
Or the workers who seem not to have names
Yet always have time for the children’s games?
Or the little toddlers with two left feet
Who follow their parents like little lost sheep?
They might seem like stepping stones in the ground.
But with them here the earth is crowned.
Not with the metal that you may believe
But with all of the things that they can achieve.
So, I ask of thee- right here, right now,
If thou wilt hear my pleaded vow;
To see the world as it really should be
Not things in the way of thy decree.
And while they need not show their worth-
(As that has been useless since their birth),
I ask of thee, O’ King O’ Mine,
If thou wilt see this as a sign-
To have error is human and that's all we can be,
To change is divine so that's what I ask of thee.
Published Poets
Adult
Reagan Dregge
Minnesota
Nessie (Grand Prize Winner)
Faith
Melissa Crowther
Utah
Sanctuary
Winter's Wait
Juliette Hiller
Oh, Smiling Moon
Middle School
Elena - 13 years old
Virginia
A Still River
Grace - 13 years old
Nevada
Opportunity
Caden - 12 years old
South Korea
My Sweet Little Sister
Teen
Elena
14 years old
Utah
A Plea to the King
Lily
17 years old
Louisiana
Quarantine
Adison
14 years old
Utah
When Imagination Takes Role
Elementary
Kathryn - 9 years old
Arkansas
He is Coming
Cayden - 10 years old
Indiana
A Seed I Sow
Jordan - 9 years old
Winter
Kylie - 10 years old
Texas
Deadly Dreams
Isla - 11 years old
ZAMBIA
The Killamanine
Cambry - 12 years old
Virginia
Seaside ABC's
Max - 5 years old
AUSTRALIA
Best of the Best
1st
Elaena
13 years old
Virginia
The Still River
The river is still,
as still as a painting,
yet just as a painting,
it is full of motion.
Upon the still river,
the round orb like shape of the Moon,
leading the stars
like a shepherd leads his sheep.
Then once a month,
when the shepherd goes to sleep,
the stars twinkle
and dance across the night sky.
Then, when the night turns to day,
the sun appears, a fiery maiden,
her golden hair rippling behind her.
Her dress and shoes made of gold,
riding in a orange chariot
pulled by fiery birds,
leading her army of clouds
against the armies of rain.
Just as they start to win the battle,
her own forces betray, and banish her.
All this reflected on the still river.
3rd
Kathryn
9 years old
Arkansas
He is Coming
When the sky is dark,
And the thunder claps.
He is coming.
When the trees tremble,
And the earth quakes.
He is coming.
When the wind whirls,
And the rain falls.
He is coming.
When the rain stops falling,
And the earth stops quaking.
He has come.
Authors Pick
These poems will also
be published
