Rich Central seniors, Sierra Smith and Spencer Smolenski, were voted the winners of the AP Language and Composition Trancendentalist Poetry Contest.  Below are the winning submissions.

The Moon Calls for Home

By Sierra Smith

The Moon calls for Home,

A place of silent hope

That the calm lakes of peace

Relive those who come mope.

A Taste of tranquility

Or sheltered solitude,

Guide fallen fawns like us

In means of gratitude.

“Let it all go,”

I heard the Wants say,

For living in distress

Wipes the Moon away.

The Virtuous spread their wings

And dive into new adventures

For the will of the Moon

Made them free from indenture.

A Promise painted pure,

Washed away with earthly pleasure

To escape the societal jungle

And retreat to the Moon’s leisure.

The Pursuit of Happiness

By Spencer Smolenski

The pursuit of happiness is dangerous

It is akin to the Sirens and the sailors demise

It is enchanting, enticing, and enigmatic

But blindly pursuing it is not wise

Meaning engenders everlasting happiness

Happiness is meaningless without meaning

Meaning is the antidote to all of life’s ailments

Happiness is but a bandage for internal bleeding

Happiness is basking in nature and it’s beauty

Meaning is knowing that you are nature and

It is knowing the inextricable connection you share

Meaning is the deepest of the deep and the grandest of the grand

Meaning reaches to the root of the human experience

What does a tree or cow have to live for?

Meaning is what separates us from our flora and fauna brethren

Happiness is expedient yet meaning is core