As you know each season we host a Poetry Contest, to encourage writers of all walks to exercise their pens for a chance to win some pretty cool prizes. This Spring 2019 we challenged writers to dive into what they believed "The World Needs Most Right Now," we got submissions in from a few people here in Arizona and the Los Angeles Area. The competition was pretty tough, but we are proud to announce the winners!
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Artist Bio:
Hi! My name is Ishanah Steele, and I’m a sophomore at Arizona State University majoring in communication! I enjoy writing, painting and music and look forward to growing and improving in all aspects when it comes to what I create, and my future endeavors.
Prompt: During these trying times, what does the world need most right now?
Poem:
What the World Needs by Ishanah Steele
In these trying times people need to start trying to see eye to eye instead of going head to head so often but wonder why nothing gets resolved
No one knows how to listen
The world needs for people to stop thinking that they know what the world needs
Because people who think that they know it all don’t really know shit
More than anything else we need to slow down and listen
Too many people are too busy trying to prove to other people that they know the answers but aren’t posing new answers to questions centuries old but never answered
Shut up and listen
Some of the best lessons are learned in silence
If you try hard enough you can hear it
You may think you know the answer,
But someone else’s truth leads them to a different answer
And instead of compromise you choose fight
Too stubborn to budge
Too ignorant to see that part of the problem is you
What we need to do is get humble and listen
I won’t pretend that I know how to solve the world’s problems
Because if it were that simple
They would’ve been solved by Martin
Or all the other martyrs remembered and forgotten
We’ve been here before
The most recycled thing on earth is conflict
Same track as four score
But we think we know how to solve it
Problem is
we don’t know how to listen
all we know to do is fight and defend
But you can’t find peace through conflict
You can’t kill people to love you
And expect some open arms
You’ll get your arms they’ll just be the ones they’re armed with
You can’t drive away the problems
Global warming’s speeding up
You try to win this race by running
And we won’t find the key to solve it
Scored 41 out of 60 Possible Points