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Honorable Mention

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding

I'm the best man at my best friend's wedding.
It's a grand occasion--the day is balmy, the people joyous, and the bride is beautiful,
So beautiful, it hurts...

I can't exactly pin down when it happened, but explaining how and why is easier--
'Cause I can tell you that when she's sobbing into your shoulder,
Hair a mess and no makeup, eyes stormy and scared,
When she thinks she's at her worst,
She's still the most breathtaking girl that you'll ever see

And I could show you the dark blurs under my eyes,
Betrayers of all those nights we stayed up while the rest of the city slept,
Talking about everything and nothing,
Sipping tea and keeping our music low, so as not to wake the masses

And I could tell you that no matter where you are, what you're doing,
You can't help but enjoy her company
Even as you're trying not to play fool to her royalty,
Knowing you're worth a wasted moment of her time always makes your life better...

So please, temper your scorn and judgment:
It's hard not to fall for her, and harder to pull away...

Somehow, I'm smiling, at least until she sneaks a glance at me--
Her beaming, her friendly beaming, shatters my Stoicism
Lost, hollow, I scan the ground until I hit the room's beat-up Oxfords,
Despite myself, shaking my head, I'm smiling again--
Dude looks like f--ing James Bond...
I'm his best man today, but he's the best man I've ever known
Sure, he's not perfect--nobody is
But he's strong, he's humble, kind and always loyal,
The kind of guy everyone wants their son to become, that every girl wants to marry...
He's not perfect, he's not good enough for her,
But he makes her happy, and that's close enough...

Still, if he ever hurts her, I swear to God I'll beat the s--t out of him:
For her, because I promised I'd always be there when she needed me
For his own damn sake, 'cause he threw away the best thing he'll ever have
And for my own, because that's the best thing I'll never have

No, I know that won't happen,
I can see it in as little as how he takes her soft hands in his weathered ones,
How her voice sings sincerity, serenading him with her promise of forever
It's indescribable--all I can really say is that it's real,
It's real, so it'll last...
The two people I care about most, they're gonna last...
This is the happiest day of her life, the happiest day of his,
As for me...well, it doesn't matter

"If anyone in this chapel has reason why these two should not be wed,
Speak now, or forever hold your peace..."

By Max Stivers
Age 17, Santa Monica High School

"This poem is about someone who couldn't take his only opportunity and never got another--not ten years in the future, not 100 years. This is what I fear the future might hold."

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Honorable Mention

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A single bumble bee,
Lands gently to the pollen of a daisy.
(It flies gracefully)
Over mountaintops and valleys.
Slowly, quietly, freely, calmly
Effortlessly lands on fully bloomed daffodil.

A colony of ants.
(Always working together)
Gathering nuts and seeds.
So they can survive another winter.

A family of bears
(Avoid harmful predators)
A mother protects her cubs.
Never letting them walk on danger's cruel pathway.

A flock of eagles
(Fly proudly)
Over the humble world beneath them.
Escaping comforts and perils of their home.

A single bumble bee,
Lands gently to the pollen of a daisy.
(It flies gracefully)
Over mountaintops and valleys.
Slowly, quietly, freely, calmly
Effortlessly lands on fully bloomed daffodil.

By Lily Jacobius, Age 16, Santa Monica High School

"No matter what period of time it is, nature should always be constant, and I think sometimes people forget that."