3:03 AM

Posted: Monday, January 12, 2009, 9:09 am

Presenting the winners of the 2008 Worthington Libraries Teen Poetry and Short Story Competition. Chloe Johnson, the first place winner for middle school poetry, reads "3:03 AM."

Fatigue pulls me down
An insurmountable force—
And again, I wonder
About you and your current state
Complacently drifting through
A land of dreams.

Or, perhaps,
Dare I think it—
You are also fighting futilely
Against that which threatens
To engulf you—
The seductive promise of sleep.

And, perhaps,
3:03 blinks at you
In the same over-bright hue of red
As it does at me
And I am not alone
In wondering about
My unwitting other half.

Chloe Johnson
1st Place, Middle School Poetry
2008 Worthington Libraries Teen Poetry and Short Story Competition

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