Toledo City Paper joined The Fair Housing Center, the Arts Commission and the Toledo Lucas County Public Library in asking Toledoans to submit short poems inspired by their ZIP code — with the number of words in each line of the poem determined by the corresponding digit in their zip code. The contest, which began in 2016, received over 250 submissions this year. Here’s a small selection of those which scored highly with our judges.
Hear from these poets, and see which poems are named the best by our panel of judges at The Ode to the ZIP Code celebration Saturday, April 20, 2 pm to 4 pm in the Toledo Main Public Library Large Glass Community Room. 325 N Michigan St.
Adults
Mary Brandon
43608
I left a child
and returned grown
fireflies, bikes, grandma’s red ripe tomatoes
nothing
like the taste of Stanley’s kielbasa at Christmas
____________________________________
Lydia Horvath
43609
Asbestos-sided rental house
Colburn Street, 1983
neon forever flashing ICE COLD BEER
(nothing there now but a broken slab)
greasy piles of railroad ties exhaled creosote all summer
____________________________________
Ellie Cheedie
43528
Feeling the summer breeze,
Enjoying the trees,
Soft serve at Mr. G’s.
More, please.
More days just like this one–brain freeze!
____________________________________
Erin Lenfestey
43614
Full service wixey bakery
Sweet treats galore
You will find something to eat
Celebrating
Local business since 1930
____________________________________
Heidi Strobl
43612
Gazing beyond my porch
Library Village surrounds
Historic homes steeped in manufacturing history
Revitalized
Families thrive
____________________________________
Molly McDonagh
43537
graying muzzle, brittle bones
old mabel grace
she sits in the window
remembering the years
she could chase, and chase, and chase
____________________________________
Bianca Caniglia
43528
I imagine us sitting
side by side
honeysuckle between our teeth, outlines
glowing emerald
like the pond we swam in as girls
____________________________________
Lydia Horvath
43604
I’m biking Adams Street
past Handmade Toledo;
“dude calls out, “”You an artist?”””
(I nod, then he shouts -)
“””You paint grannie panties?”””
____________________________________
Christina Shephard
43607
Near my grandparents home
a creek flowed.
On warm days, we’d explore it
–
shrieking in glee at the sparkling minnows.
____________________________________
Justin Longacre
43613
Newborn mantis nymphs swarm
the lilac bush
each leaf, a tiny alien riot.
Spring
hatches my heart.
____________________________________
Lydia Horvath
43620
OWE winter wind storm
rants, screaming obscenities
at my Edwardian house’s wrinkled
old face
(she is not impressed)
____________________________________
Angelina Sanders
43623
the first fourteen years
i carved myself
out of LaGrange st, only to
find myself
right back here
____________________________________
Justin Longacre
43613
The racist bowling alley
suspiciously burnt down.
I bet they got insurance money.
We
got more Nothing.
____________________________________
Justin Longacre
43613
The sidewalk on Grantwood
gently curves around
the trunk of an old tree.
I
too must bend.
____________________________________
Angelina Sanders
43623
there’s a hole in
the city where
my mom has forced herself into
four blocks
from our home
Youth 12-17
Chloe Lard’e
43605
4-A symbol of stability
3-Unity and connection
6-A balance between work and play
0-reasons not to stay
5-watch as our community grows
____________________________________
Akosua Brenya
43560
A beacon of books
Drawing you in
Like light in the dark
Providing you with a way out
*
____________________________________
Jordyn Wright
43607
A bright lively neighborhood
never ending noise
where playing games will always stay
0
happiness shall never die when you’re in paradise.
____________________________________
Lydia Snyder
43537
A quiet June night,
Sitting out front.
A mosquito is shooed away.
Peonies bloom nearby.
Kids play with sparklers, dancing among fireflies.
____________________________________
Emerson Willingham
43615
as I pass Yorkshire
growing pains pang
to hear the solemn sound of
youth
condensed in a cricket’s creak.
____________________________________
Jordin Harris
43623
Both physically and emotionally
I find myself
Between the pages of
books at
Barnes and Nobles
____________________________________
Catherine Kerber
43604
Dunkin’ right before school
Late to class
“Cat, do you have a pass?”
(My grades will suffer for a vanilla latte)
Coffee in my hand
____________________________________
Lydia Snyder
43537
Facades of the river:
Sluggish murky brown,
Fast shimmering in late sun,
Full of stars,
Fresh with the first light of dawn.
____________________________________
Jordin Harris
43615
Getting lost in the
Toledo Botanical Garden
is like finding myself in nature.
Serenity
stands alone in the flowers.
____________________________________
Ryan Donaldson
43416
I have never seen
a swan at
the place they call
Swan
Creek. Funny isn’t it that name.
____________________________________
Finn Olsen
43566
One hill is in
the city of
Waterville, kids from 2 to
17 sled on it, not because
it’s good, there’s just one hill.
____________________________________
Leah Komperda
43617
Sunlight slants through leaves,
sparkling, swirling, merging
with the trickling, pure, marbled brook.
Pastimes
always spent playing in Saint James Wood
____________________________________
Emerson Willingham
43604
this forest of brick
whispers soft song
even the sidewalk cracks breathe music
(as I prepare to leave)
behind striding students past.
____________________________________
Emerson Willingham
43623
this street bleeds motherhood
one stricken face
of four generations of women roosting
that fate
has wrenched apart.
____________________________________
Jordin Harris
43607
We planted ourselves here,
deep under cement
and pollution, and learned to grow.
[Though we were set up to fail,]
We grew between the cracks and flourished.
Youth (up to 11)
Lincoln Mockensturm
43537
Classmates can be annoying,
With chatting issues,
With blaming other innocent classmates,
With angered classmates
And with lots of not necessary arguments.
____________________________________
Ellie Cheedie
43528
Giving Christmas cookies to
Spread Christmas cheer
Knocking on doors and singing
Christmas carols
For all to hear. A jolly Holland holiday.
____________________________________
Ellie Cheedie
43528
I play with my
neighbors and swing
on the swing, I go
to the
backyard to bounce and jump on the trampoline.
____________________________________
Parker Bertsch
43537
Inspiring to observe it
Getting pretty dark
See it setting at west
Slowly falling down
Watching our beautiful and creature filled world
____________________________________
Lincoln Mockensturm
43537
It is ok kid,
When something happens,
When a loved one passes,
We are here,
To cheer you up with memories together.
____________________________________
Evelyn Thoma
43532
Liberty Center Tiger Pride
Family, Friends, Community
Sports: Soccer, Football, Basketball, Volleyball
Dream Come True
LC Love
____________________________________
Hudson Guy
43537
Snow days are fun
Shoveling the driveway
Going sledding with my friends
Shoveling the sidewalk
Making a snowman with family and friends
____________________________________
Parker Bertsch
43537
So high and bright
Up so far
In the freezing night sky
Into the heavens
In the never ending expanding large universe
____________________________________
Ellie Cheedie
43528
Soccer at Homecoming Park
Fireworks after dark
Stayed up late with a
library book,
then a thunderstorm came, and the house shook.
____________________________________
Honor Savage-Edwards
43614
Swan Creek Park at
sunset has the
most beautiful light on the leaves
my
heart skips a beat
____________________________________
Ellie Cheedie
43528
The backyard birds always
sing to me
whenever they get bird seeds
while I
watch from the swing in the sycamore tree.
____________________________________
Wiley Kelleher
43620
There are parks here
We play on
We walk to Museum to look at
Art stuff
-OWE
____________________________________
Jayden Santibanez
43537
This typewriter is rusted
Also very old
And is probably forgotten too
Because of computers
But in my head it’s a classic
____________________________________
Parker Bertsch
43537
Walking around the woods
Finding several prey
Darkness consuming its little ears
Lost finding way
Waiting to finally meet a new owner
____________________________________
Jayden Santibanez
43537
Where I’ve been living
My whole life
Always been my safe space
People are right
Home really is where the heart is