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Five digits can say a lot about who we are, and for 10 years, Toledoans have been turning their zip codes into artwork. The Toledo City Paper, along with The Fair Housing Center, Toledo Lucas County Public Library and The Arts Commission, has invited residents to transform those numbers into poetry, with each line containing the number of words as the numbers of their zipcode. Now celebrating its 11th anniversary, the Ode to the Zipcode contest continues to spotlight the voices, stories and perspectives that define Toledo neighborhoods.
The poems featured here represent this year’s finalists, each one offering a glimpse into the places, people and moments that make up our city.
ADULT FINALISTS
Abby Schroeder – 43537
River town rising up
Front porch pride
Conant street lights burning bright
We stand tall
Where hometown hearts rise above it all
Abby Kohler – 43551
strolling down Louisiana Ave
the farmer’s market
irresistible bouquets and baked goods
aroma of food trucks nearby
bliss
Ashley Cambers – 43551
96.3 blaring latest hits
box fan whirring
sticky summer fingers flipping pages
counting down to adulthood and
freedom
Ashley Cambers – 43551
Words cutting like glass.
The sharp sting
of remembering my father’s anger
when I confessed, “I’m a
Wolverine.”
Ashley Cambers – 43551
Evergreens warp. Asphalt blurs.
Sun weary sky
swirls on the horizon. Passenger
seat empty, except for your
jacket.
Ashley Cambers – 43551
Snow falling on asphalt.
Car won’t start.
Waiting for you to notice
I’m not home, come find
me.
Alexandra Kania- 43614
101 year old woman
from her lawn,
watching over the rebel stadium since
1962
Beverly roots and roots.
Arianna Watkins – 43605
dirty bed bugs depression
addicts roaming around
drunks begging for money at stores
(struggles are real)
stay blessed in this world
Angelina Sanders – 43612
Brookepark views over treetops
facing golf courses
white balls shattering vinyl glass, pieces
into
the gravel
Cheri Copeland-Shull – 43528
On the west side
encompassing Oak Openings
connected to the natural world
Planes fly
connecting us to the world beyond our own
Cheri Copeland-Shull – 43528
Farm land fades away
Houses pop up
Airport Highway leads the way
Trains rumble
The sounds of progress pass through the west
Cheri Copeland-Shull – 43528
Out to Toledo’s west
Oak Openings territory
protecting the wild blue lupines
Celebrate BLUE!
1960–former Blue Zippers transition to Blue Devils!
Jodi Farschman – 43606
Old Orchard sits between
Abundance and Scarcity
The end of my street – U.T.
Beckoning to bridge the two worlds
Justine Cheedie – 43614
Undersized first Toledo home,
Nightshift dad sleeping,
Kids attempting quiet play, avoiding moldy
basement.
(Moving to different rental)
Jody Bruce – 43609
A warm summer night
Staring at stars
Hearing the lions roar from afaf.
Sax begins, music so sweet, even the lion, asleep
Joyce Sutton – 43537
Maumee fights like family
this is true
Sewers, cars, politicians, and trees
everybody’s got ideas
most are thoughtful, so let’s try kind.
Kimberly Murphy – 43607
Abandoned houses finally demolished
Mice completely eradicated
Neighborhood landscaper always smiling and waving
Smelling barbecue oldest black-owned since 1963
Lakeia Hill – 43620
What’s Kent with it
Is a phrase
The people say around my way
MOODY MANOR
(the Moody Manor apartments, 7 years I’m still here)
Lindsay Haynes – 43613
The great faucet drip
Of January 2026
Windchill bites, snowball fights, sleepless nights
Summer
She calls me
Charlene Gary – 43412
A quiet little village
near the tracks
with a post office
and
crazy lady
YOUNG ADULT FINALISTS
Aniyah Townsend – 43609
A life of girls
Going through womanhood
Sisters’ different races and backgrounds
(Finding purpose with God by your side)
Finding sisterhood on the street of Ottawa
Autumn Tant – 43604
In paint and textile
We perceive ourselves,
The underlying expanse of colorful souls
(And the depths they reach)
Vividly exhibiting our hues
Adrianna Hernandez – 43609
Four schools close by
Three houses nearby
Six kids play at the park
0
Nine buildings with murals on the side of them
Cora Householder – 43614
The old red brick
Sun warmed and flaking
Overgrown greens that take the path
Home
The place that holds
Delaney Beehner – 43615
The dark silent night
Bright street lights
Eerily silent, dark empty roads with
Nothing
But wishes of the wind.
Delaney Beehner – 43615
Feeding the stray cats,
Hidden under porches
They’re scared, so I stay patient
Hours
Sitting with grass-stained jeans
Delaney Beehner – 44870
Season passes every summer
The same familiar smell
Waiting for rides to re-open, watching the rain.
Halloweekend haunted houses, on our last visit.
(closed for the season, goodbye till next year)
Samarea Singleton – 43604
Hamilton, quiet and calm
Nobody does wrong
Everyone stays in their lane
0
No one likes fame
Adrian – 43607
Toledo Changes over time
It shines brighter
Even in the Rain healing pain
(My city burns with passion and lost)
That’s what it cost to be us.
Jack Rosebrock – 43615
Casting my line down
A tug arises
We fight for dinner all night
Got’em!
Fishing on the Lake Erie
Jack Rosebrock – 43615
Explosions light the sky
Smoky smells linger
The damp grass brushes my ankles
Patriotism
A holiday we can’t forget
Jack Rosebrock – 43615
Owls hoot, stars shine
Dinner roasts beside
Six tents circle ‘round the fire
Camping
The bonding of lifelong friends
Jennessa Scholtz – 43605
The town is dark
None is there
In the sky tonight there lies
(We don’t talk about that)
The birds and cats cry
Penelope Miller – 43606
Walking along the sidewalk
Wind pushing me
But some of those sorrowful homes
(such a beauty once, now poorly treated)
All silently beg, saying, “Help me.”
Koa Graybeal – 43620
Then we were four
Sitting in traffic
On the way to neutral road
And houses
(What I won’t say is how scared I was of new beginnings)
ShayNa Fonseca – 43609
Four corners raised me
Three streets known
Six summers shaped who I am
0
Nine reasons I will still call this place home
Sophia Maeve Ploeger – 43604
Abandoned North Summit
Rosy brick Italianate
Bay windows, cement crowns, crumpled chimney
(she solemnly watches over earth Coffehouse)
An umbrella of history
Sophia Maeve Ploeger – 43402
No more spring tulips
Along Wallace Avenue
Tawny speckled twin fawns
(petals between their teeth)
Munching softly
Sophia Maeve Ploeger – 43571
I want to scoop
Oak Openings algae
Into clay mugs and pretend
It’s sweet matcha, sprinkled with unfurling lotus
Blossoms
Sophia Maeve Ploeger – 43605
The Ribbon ice rink
Snowflakes dotting eyelashes
Friends’ laughter spilling into winter frost
(my brightly lit city shimmering like static)
Skating along the loop again
Stella Bouyer – 43613
Walking through the neighborhood
Drummond Woods Park
Between Spring breeze and Autumn leaves
Gone
Are those days
YOUTH FINALISTS
Sawyer Donley – 43616
I can hear Louie,
see Dairy Depot,
and people driving from and to.
I
smell grass and feel ice cream.
Ty Watts – 43605
I live in a
place where birds
sing, sun is bright, and better
.
yet, I have my family
Jonas Stininger – 43616
sitting by a campfire
singing Christmas songs
telling my friend my dog’s name
clyde
he asked why that’s his name
Paxton Phillips- 43616
Quiet and peaceful neighbors.
peaceful quiet ponds .
nicest houses with ponds and fish.
my.
backyard is big with a hill.
Cole Mack – 43412
John deer skid steer
sitting by a
dumpster. the Water treatment
plant
is nearby.
Mia Cannon – 43616
Maumee bay is three
minutes away so
sometimes I go swimming for fun
but
I like to play the arcade
Harper Duris – 43616
I live in Oregon
lots of stores
there is also the Oregon Rec
and
a Kroger, Walmart, and dairy depot
Gracie Kitzler – 43616
birds tweet, dogs bark,
also get free
there are many fun places like
parks,
and a school nearby to learn
Graham Seibert – 43619
The kids ride bikes
Cars drive by
We get out of the road
Trees
An awesome forest of trees and grass behind me
Annabel Leis – 43616
Cars always driving by
people walking dogs
trees swaying in the windy air
sunny
Stars shining in the night sky
Vicente Becerra – 43616
There are kids playing
It’s fun watching
sometimes I go play with them
Now
I go back inside my house
Peyton McCaskey – 43616
houses, fields, cars, roads
tweets, barks, howls
bright loud days, dark peaceful nights
neighbors
parks, Buckeyes, schools, restaurants, birds, lavender
Ahna Balonek – 43613
I saw a bird
at the park
because I want to see nature
outside
then it flew
Talonna Bey – 43607
Cats looking to feast
No kids outside
Library offering children food to eat
.
Park now safe for kids to meet
Kylie Stout – 43616
The sun is shining
Birds are singing
Kids are playing with friends outside
soccer
The nights are quiet and peaceful
Lenna Sasikirana – 43604
In TSA, winged pigs
fly above normalcy
creative minds full of ideas unparalleled
(none)
shall feel unwelcome here
Lenna Sasikirana – 43609
Highland Park hills are
tall and wide.
Tumbling down with friends is fun
(Until you get a bad case of poison sumac)
I guess we’ll stick to the park playground now.
Lenna Sasikirana – 43609
the local libraries smell
of fine aged
paper, mature, like fine aged cheese.
(but even better)
No wonder people’s noses are always burrowed in books.
Sophia Mitchell – 43537
Chlorine fills the air
My hair wet
The park is never empty
Snacks all around
The neighborhood is filled with joy today
Rhaymoun Villolovos Jr. – 43612
Life a inspirational thing
I feel blessed
I also feel I don’t belong
Here
I live
WINNERS ANNOUNCED! LIVE IN-PERSON READING!
Join us as we reveal this year’s top entries and feature winning poems! Winners selected from youth, young adult, and adult categories.
APRIL 18, 2026 FROM 2-4PM
325 N MICHIGAN ST, MCMASTER CENTER (inside the Downtown Toledo Library)
