Winner of TSR Poetry Scholarship
|
|
comments (175)
|
We want to thank all the students who submitted their poems for consideration, our supporters who make the scholarship possible, and Jan Beatty who volunteered her time and talent to judge the submissions for Tess's Poetry Scholarship.
"Prodigal Thought" is a wonderful poem about the "circus" of the mind. In a clear, strong voice, this writer scripts the life of ideas in fresh, surprising ways. – Jan Beatty - author of The Switching/Yard, published by the University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013. Other books include Red Sugar; Boneshaker, and Mad River - all published by the University of Pittsburgh Press.
The winner, Rachael Houser, is a senior at Quaker Valley High School. Her poem will be featured in Bittersweet Literary Magazine published by Quaker Valley High School. Rachael has also been nominated for the Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater in the category of Best Actress. Congratulations Rachael!
Prodigal Thought
In the wild circus where ideas breathe and perform
Alternatively dazzling and frightening,
There is a place I hide you:
Sometimes against your will,
Sometimes to my own dismay.
You’ve made a home in my dreams.
Some days I run to visit.
Some days I leave you alone, letting my eyes linger on
The place you—sometimes—insist is a cage.
Some days, I kick you out.
And you come and go, unbidden—
A prodigal thought that runs free,
Chasing a wild life outside my head
Before returning—tentative—to the nest where I’ve always held you.
And some days I lock myself out.
Though I keep the keys closeby,
I need to run from the circus—
Even from you, my dear.
But I return, the prodigal son,
The ringmaster and dream-maker,
And the only one who has ever been able
To keep you.
