The Finals

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Wow. I have been accepted into the finals of a poetry contest. Yes, a fourteen year old in the poetry finals for a poem I forgot about. My teacher liked it last year when I wrote it for school and entered it for me and I just got a letter today saying I was accepted and will be published into the Summer 2005 hardbound anthology, A Celebration of Young Poets. I'm so excited. The poem is an I Am poem and part of it was dedicated to my friend Melissa when she went through hard times. Here it is.


I Am

I am Evan
I wonder if I will get very far in life the way I am now
I hear what people say about me, but I just smile and turn away
I see inside people, and understand who they are instead of what they are
I want people to see as I do, looking beyond the skin
I am hurt

I pretend to be okay, but something hides deep inside of me
I feel pain every time I have high hopes
I touch other people's minds and hearts, showing them it's okay to show yourself for who you are
I worry about everyone and anyone, whether they are friend or foe, because I know it's right
I cry on the inside, never letting it out as men have always done

I am your friend
I understand what you are going through as I have a battle inside
I say it's okay, not giving any hints of my problems because I want to help you
I dream what will happen if I am not here, but I know I can't be God
I try to be there, trying to find a way passed the defences that protect your own secrets
I hope I am not at fault and that it will all be okay; don't worry, because
I am here.


There may be typoes, I don't care, I just typed it real quick for you guys.

[Burter]

Is this gonna be in a book? I'd buy it

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

Yes, A Celebration of Young Poets is the name of it.

[Burter]

Can I order it?

[The Not Cool Not Tapion]

I don't know. Check poeticpower.com

I can order a hardback copy for myself since it's me in there.

[Krillin]

http://www.winningwriters.com/warningsigns.htm

I'm in no way devaluing your poem, as it was pretty sexy, but this is merely a warning for the many guises poetry contest scams can take. Just gotta be careful, ya?