As promised, the Voice has awarded it’s first-place winner for the first monthy poetry contest. Congratulations to eighth grader Marina for your beautiful haiku.

When I sit beside

The water I can see the

World reflected there.

The objective of this last contest was to write a haiku, a three-line poem with a basic syllable pattern. The first line must be five syllables, the next seven, and the last five syllables.

For all of you who missed out on this one, the next contest will be a pantoom. A pantom is a poem consisting of a sequence of repeating lines, which creates a fun and easy-to-write poem. See the example below for the format.

1 Light shone through the window

2 Laughter sounded throughout the room

3 Words were used carelessly

4 Many things unsaid.

2 Laughter sounded throughout the room

5 Smiles lit each face

4 Many things unsaid

6 Deep feelings were hidden well.

5 Smile lit each face

7 While tears ran down beneath

6 Deep feelings were hidden well.

8 Rain fell ouside

7 While tars ran down beneath

1 Light shown through the window

8 Rain fell outside

3 Words were used carelessly.

The numbers before the lines refer to the line nmber. When this number repeats, the line in the poem repeats.

There is no theme required for this pantoom, just that the contestant successfully follows the poem format.

The contest winner(s) will have their poems posted online along with their names. The contest ends March 3, 2005, Good luck.