Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists

Flash contest #21: Write a poem about your favorite place to be The week commencing August 17th (Daily Creativity Prompt #106) was our twenty-first week of Flash Contests. The prompt asked our entrants to write a poem about their favorite place to be. The over-fifty entries we received ranged from poetry about the comfort of one’s own room, to vacation spots in Hawaii, to family homes, to the peacefulness of nature, and much more! We greatly enjoyed reading all of the entries we received, as well as the happy feeling that accompanied them. Well done to all of our entrants; and a special congratulations to our Winners and Honorable Mentions, listed below. Read on past the list of winners to experience the Winners’ work for yourself!   Winners Hawaii by Analise Braddock, 9 (Katonah, NY) My Favorite Place To Be by Georgia Marshall, 11 (Marblehead, MA) Cherish the Temporary by Reagan Ricker, 13 (Coto de Caza, CA) My Favorite People by Chloe Song, 12 (Lexington, MA) A Place Yet To Be by Anushka Trivedi, 10 (Silver Spring, MD) Honorable Mentions In the Mountains by Quinn Peacock Brush, 10 (Denver, CO) The Observation Deck by Nicholas Buckley, 13 (Wilmington, MA) Winter in my Bed Nova Macknik-Conde, 8 (Brooklyn, NY) My Room by Julia Marcus, 13 (Culver City, CA) Perfect For Me by April Yu, 12 (East Brunswick, NJ) Analise Braddock, 9, Katonah, NY Hawaii Analise Braddock, 9 Where sunscreen is your friend, Smells of salt and coconut invade your nose, Crish, crash goes the waves as you bravely venture out into the sea, To relax and feel good vibes. The place to escape from all your thoughts and worry To find new outside old, lemonade ice cream and fruit punch swamp the area. Cool breezes mounting over you, Water flooding around in the grotto, The perfect places in Hawaii Georgia Marshall, 11Marblehead, MA My Favorite Place To Be Georgia Marshall, 11 There are many places I like to be. I like the Victorian mansion that is my grandparents’ house. With its richly painted portraits, its cozy, lively rooms, its tree filled backyard with shafts of honeyed light. I like the friendly country home that is my cousins house. With its green backyard pond, you can hear the frogs singing for you. Its cool river across the street, you jump off rocks and float into the chill-boned depths of water. Its bountiful berry bushes, you stick your hands in, then pull them back with handfuls of sour-sweet berries. I like the hot sunny continent that is Australia, With its creek-filled camping trips, Full of warm crackling fires, singing their songs of smoke and flame. Its marching band of that is the morning birdsong, making my head thrum. Its people who I get to see, with their twangy Aussie accents. I like the rickety, old-fashioned town that is my home. With its rich history that fills every household. An old barn attached to our house. The one my mother and I dream of fixing up. Its empty parking lots, where my brother and I ride in his brand-new, bright-green kiddie car. Its friendly village roads, full of window boxed flowers and mossy trees. But the place I like most of all, is wherever my family is. My family is my kind-hearted mother, always around to give me a hug and a kiss. My strong, friendly father, who brings us on adventures. My sweet, dimpled brother, a lively bundle of energy, always ready to play and stick up for me. They are the place I like most of all. Reagan Ricker, 13Coto de Caza, CA Cherish the Temporary Reagan Ricker, 13 Even though there’s a mysterious beauty in the the way a crinkled leave flirtatiously brushes against your shoulder a last, yet oddly cheerful goodbye the quiet warble of a bird trembling with raw power the soft, grainy texture that oozes its way into tiny toes sand being kissed by the playful ocean again and again the hardened moon a sphere of cheese hanging by a slim thread or even the way the mountains strain and reach the light of dawn just so it can be bathed in a shimmering golden light only for a few seconds before the peach rose blossom fades back into a fake blue I’ve learned that I most enjoy the quiet comfort of my room glow in the dark stars placed by careless hands painted light switches a rainbow made of acrylic paints old seltzer cans overfilled with dull pencils and crammed with stubby erasers Empty cups stained with very berry smoothie on my nightstand A tapestry hides a crack in the wall where I threw my phone just a little too hard and too far My bookshelf is filled with worn, feathered pages marked with thoughtful dog ears I only own one bookmark and it’s missing A teddy bear When I squeeze it I can smell days in the park and the lilac scent of softener and it’s simply the best when I crack my shutters open and see a soft pattering of rain The thunderstorm’s hand tapping on my window My hot cocoa cup has 4 marshmallows I’ve eaten one and the other 3 melted down into something unrecognizable My doodle notebook reminds me that I wanted to be a Astronaut, explorer, archaeologist, race car driver, video game designer my dad says I should get a corporate job See, Nature will stay as long as we take care of it But no matter how many times we nurture childhood it fades away Like it never was there in the first place. Chloe Song, 12Lexington, MA My Favorite People Chloe Song, 12 I sit here in my favorite place Not by any oceans Not floating in space But with my people of connected emotions Cross Country season bibs Nights in bed Telling fibs My sister and I Changing in fitting rooms Sunday drives to the mall Checking price tags in fume My mom and I Sitting in