A St. Patrick School sophomore recently won first place in her division in the Kentucky State Poetry Contest.

Olivia Poczatek won the contest in the freshman-sophomore division after answering an extra-credit assignment given to her class by English teacher, Sarah Bowers.

“I encourage students to enter a lot of creative writing contests throughout the year,” Bowers said. “One that I always do is the Kentucky State Poetry Society Contest.”

Bowers said she is passionate about poetry and she encourages her students who want to get involved to submit something.

“She [Bowers] has a problem of the week every week for extra credit,” Poczatek said. “We can choose whether we want to do it or not. It was up there one week and I thought ‘I have a bunch of free time, I can write a poem, type it and send it and it won’t be a big deal.”

Bowers said that she has had students place in past contests, but Poczatek was the first to win.

Poczatek said that she doesn’t write poetry very often.

“When I get the inspiration to do so I will occasionally,” Poczatek said. “I also do art, and when I get an idea for a drawing or a painting I’ll do it and I’ll write when I get the push to write.”

Her poem, aptly titled “The Storm,” is about a fierce storm and its aftermath.

“It’s a description of a storm that passes through and how everything is left after the storm,” Poczatek said.

Poczatek said that her inspiration came after a rainy day.

“I love the way that rain looks on stormy days,” Poczatek said.

When she found out she won, Poczatek said she was surprised.

“I didn’t really think it’s all that great,” she said. “I read through it and thought ‘Oh, it’s just a normal poem.’ It wasn’t anything special in my eyes.”

Poczatek said when she submitted the piece it really went off her radar until she found out she had won.

“I wasn’t nervous because I thought they were going to look at it and go ‘eh’ and move on,” Poczatek said.

Bowers said that Poczatek’s art, both poetic and visual, are beautiful.

“As a teacher you think it’s good but you have no idea what the judges will be thinking,” Bowers said. “So I was just so excited when we found out she won. I’m really proud of Olivia and what she has accomplished. I can’t wait to see what she does next.”

Poczatek’s poem:

———

The Storm

By: Olivia Poczatek

The storm approaches,

Faster, faster.

The black clouds draw closer,

Each fighting to get on top.

They block out the sun’s beautiful rays,

And the world is swallowed by darkness.

The trees begin to sway and bend

As the wind rips through the valley.

Rain begins to fall,

Heavier, heavier.

Light only appears for a matter of seconds,

With rolls of thunder following close behind.

The sound is overwhelming:

The rushing rain, the roaring thunder,

The howling wind.

Impossibly, the rain comes down harder,

And barely anything is visible.

But somehow,

Everything soon calms down.

The wind slows to a gentle breeze,

And the dark clouds move away.

It all returns to normal.

It may not be the same as it was before,

But it will survive.

Poczatek
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Damon Huff

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