The following is a selection of poems from this year’s Richard Eberhart Night of Poetry. The poems are written by students in Austin Public Schools. For more poetry look to the People’s Quill each week in the Herald’s Sunday Spotlight.

El Camino (The Path)
By Bob Sherman

Judgment comes from the landscape, I was told
an arboretic state for the ages
and too, the Ages.
To be anthemia, or a motionless provocateur
Where to begin
how It ended, I recall.
Space for its own sake is just a matter of perspective
or perception, if my memory clears
what It brings
no, what It would bring.
Solitude in its jovial form, more common than not
my arrhythmic expectations, not shattered, more obscured.
Apropos of a vast antiquity
lost inside itself for a Time.
To bear questions is only half of It.

Ode to an Old Friend
By Ben Kinney

Each spring the familiar fit of my glove,
Triggers memories of the good times we’ve shared.
The sound of the ball striking the bat,
The sweet sting of contact and off I dash.
Diving and sliding, I scoop up my red-stitched friend.
I watch as my throw races the runner to the finish line at first.
Cheers, chants, and words of encouragement,
Echo in my ears long after we call it a day.
Sweat, dirt, and grass form a medley of sweet scents.
I don’t’ want to remove.

Monster in the Bushes
By Steven Conradt

I was walking through the woods as happy as could be,
When a great shroud of mystery fell upon me,
There was something in the bushes just over there,
It looked like a monster with it coat of white hair,
I was wondering what that monster could be,
Maybe a monster that lives in the sea,
The monster came closer and all I could see,
Were its dark red eyes and its big white knee,
It was waiting in the shadows just waiting to lunge,
And make me take a terrible plunge,
It was advancing on me with nowhere to go,
It was quite fast while I was quite slow,
Once he made his attack it wouldn’t be funny,
He came out of hiding to reveal … a Bunny.

My Family
By Rory Pollock

My sister is very small
But she’s loudest of them all
My dad spends time with me
And he likes sailing on the sea.
We sometimes ride our bikes
And Samantha has a trike
My mummy is really funny
She likes when it is sunny
My cousin Aoife Rose
Loves to bite her smelly toes
My family is good fun
But I am the best, number 1.

Animals
By Cortney Espe

Snakes, snakes, sleek and sly.
Eagles, eagles, fly up high.
Cheetahs, cheetahs, run so fast.
Turtles, turtles, come in last.
Leopards, leopards, have some spots.
Jaguars, jaguars, have the dots.
Dolphins, dolphins, have the skills.
Ducks, ducks, have the bills.
Elephants, elephants, big and tall.
Humans, Humans, have them all!!!

Basketball is Best of All
By Jackson Goetz

You don’t have to be tall to play basketball,
I should know because I’m small.
You take your best shot,
You might make it, you might not.
I love basketball the most of all.
Because it’s fun, it’s tough
It’s really rough.
You can play it in your yard
But you have to work really hard.
A three point shot,
You get really hot.
You never stop to rest
Because you play your best.
There is only one second on the clock.
I hope I make this shot — that would rock!