Neihardt Young Poet’s Contest

Third Place-Middle School/Jr. High

Carmen Blum, Irving Middle School, Lincoln

El Jardin

Sitting in a sheltered adobe garden Nestled in the middle of a bustling town

Although not beside the ocean
I hear the seals call each other from wharfs The soft wind laced with salt

Inside the flourishing Spanish garden
Colored wild vines, rosy pink lilacs
And plots of lavender line the dirt path labyrinth Embedded with abalone, winds around fruit trees

From my shady spot
Beneath a blossoming orange tree
I vaguely hear horns from the presidio drift

throughout the afternoon air Signaling the approach of five

Nonetheless, I close my eyes
And let myself drift into the serenity of this little haven