Athenaeum announces poetry winners

Athenaeum poetry winners, left to right, seniors Cacey Hall and Brady Ellis, sophomore Brittany Lewis. Arianna Ashcraft, a junior, was not present for the photo.

Out of seven Colfax High School student entries, four students won honors at the annual Athenaeum poetry contest.

Cacey Hall won first place, Arianna Ashcraft won second, Brittany Lewis received third. Brady Ellis received an honorable mention. All the winners received monetary awards, according to Athenaeum member Marilyn Harder.

Integrity

Integrity

How do we grasp it?

How do we hold on to it?

How do we make sure to never let go of it?

Sometimes we walk along side it,

other times it is left in the dust

to rot away like a ripened fruit

fallen from a tree

forgotten.

The power to be discerning and courageous

in each action

is the power to have integrity

true integrity is only grasped

by those that grasp

the Lord first.

Unchanging, steadfast,

indescribable love

is what we seek.

When sought

its the birth of

passion, discernment,

wisdom, peace

and above all

Integrity

Solitude

by Arianna Ashcraft

Step down from the pedestal you have been placed upon

By the mindless mutterings of the voices

Within your own deranged mind.

Reality is only what you perceive it to be in your world;

The world of darkness and controlled chaos

In which you choose to live.

You let your mind roam free for a moment outside the darkness,

But the comfort is missed, and you return

To the place you know you belong.

The world outside your mind is a hell that has broken free.

It is not safe for you, not safe for anyone,

But we continue living in this twisted reality that is the world today.

Take a look around you and take in the senseless evils of the world.

Compare it to your own altered universe within your mind.

More things are different than are the same.

Can’t you see that it is hopeless?

Yet still you try venturing out from time to time,

Only to have the same results as the time before.

Stay where you belong.

Stay inside yourself.

Do not try to be part of the chaotic world beyond your inner walls.

Stay safe within the rooms you have built for security.

Seclude yourself inside the solitude,

For only here you are free,

Only here you are safe.