National Poetry Month Contest Winners 2025

Congratulations to this year’s winners of the Monroe County Library System’s National Poetry month poetry contest!

March 2020: Hope

By Brandy Dixon

the little black bird with drops of red on his wings

sits in the ordinary backdrop of a world in the labor pains of spring

while everything is still bleak

and brown

and dirty

flowers—and all their colors—have been long forgotten

buried in winter’s coffin

the brightness of the sun is hidden behind clouds

it played hide and seek so long we forgot it was even there

we forgot the warm kisses of light upon our cheeks

the songs of the birds, too, have faded from our ears

replaced by the deafening silence

of long, cold hours of isolation

spent wondering if spring will ever return

we look around and see only death

darkness

brown-ness

the virus of hopelessness hovers in the air like a mist

it infects all of society

how quickly we forget!

but you, little red-winged blackbird,

you didn’t forget

you brought back the song to our calloused ears

you remind us to

HOPE

for spring will come again

Pigeon

By Landon Warshefski,

There is a pigeon
standing alone
braving the pure
ferocity
of New York

The amount of
courage
this pigeon holds
is truly
spectacular

He
is not afraid
of the huge crowds
and the speeding
cars

A true example
of a relentless
fighter
Nikola Tesla knew.

Irish Spring – A Haiku

By Leo Lievens

Emerald fields bloom,
Trapezoids of light dance bright,
Joyful spring awakes.