Marley's untitled poem was selected by a team of judges and U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón as the best entry in the K-12 category of the UCSB Arts & Lectures/Santa Barbara Independent poetry contest.
Marley was presented the award at the Ada Limón event on Tuesday, April 25, at UCSB. What an incredible honor, Marley. We are very proud of you. Ada Limón was on campus this Tuesday talking to the 9th graders and answering questions about her life and writing. View the Instagram post here.
Marley's Winning Poem:
What about the wanderers. The lost. The endlessly curious yet never entertained - the forever-inspired with no song to sing. Clipped wings, razor-sharp talons tied down with rope. What are you to do when not even the glorious expression of emotions-turned-words can touch your soul, when a tree is just a tree, and the sun-crested horizon no longer paints your face but caresses your back and the footprints left behind. Remember, I say. Sacred moments of serenity slipping like silky water through limber fingers. The moments spent on your back - soft grass and a crown of daisies - instead of your feet, blue sky replaces chalky-grey concrete. The way fallen raindrops mingle with tears and slip towards a ground not yet green with the gifts of spring. Still dry and cracked, silent and broken - but healing.
Santa Barbara Middle School cultivates in our students passion for life and life-long learning, a deep sense of trust in themselves, strength and courage to succeed at life's challenges, and compassion and respect for others.