Central Bucks East HS Senior Named 'Poet Of The Year'

DOYLESTOWN, PA — A senior at Central Bucks High School East is being honored as the 2019 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year.

The works of Alesandra “Sasha” Temerte, beat out a field of 127 entries in the contest organized by Bucks County Community College.

“To me, words in a sentence are more than beads I string together with a pen," the 18-year-old Jamieson resident said in an interview with the college. "They’re vehicles for stories that elicit powerful emotions, raise awareness, inspire generations, and save lives,” . "As such, the topics I gravitate towards most in my poetry are love, mental health, and politics/social issues."

One of her winning entries, titled "a poem about heartbreak or climate change," especially drew the attention of judges.

“I believe this poet was born a firecracker," wrote Bucks County Poet Laureate Carly Volpe, one of the judges, referencing the openign line of Temerte's poem. "The line breaks are intuitive. When read out loud, the spacing makes sense. This is incredibly important when writing and reading poetry – especially if you want to be sure that it is just as powerful as you intended and can also translate your message in someone else’s hands. It has."

Temerte, who was the third-runner up in this contest as a junior in 2018, won a $300 prize this year.

Several other Central Bucks School District students were named as finalists, including Sharleen Banatte, Amelia Betancourt, Stella Garwood, Emma Hodgson, Katie Jenkinson, and Sophie Kolditz.

The contest, in its 32nd annual year, is put together by the college's Bucks County Poet Laureate Program. A reception celebrating runner-ups and finalists will be held at the Newtown campus on Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m.

The full text of Temerte's "a poem about heartbreak or climate change" is included below:

You were born a firecracker,

birthed in flames

and smoke that smothered

your mother when you spoke.

You burned every building

you stepped foot in

without ever lighting a match.

You were born a graveyard,

clutching lives like

the wings of birds,

running across rapid rivers,

just the tips of your toes

brushing the water.

You never drowned.

But the birds' wings

floated as shredded feathers

to the ground.

You were born a paper cutter,

slicing lips with your tongue,

your sharpened nails

carving your initials

into everybody's jaws.

You knew how to destroy.

And I wish I could say

you destroyed everyone but me.

You were born a construction machine,

tearing everything to pieces

and pretending

that when the earth

is nothing but gravel and dirt,

you will build something new.

Something better.

Something actually worth

your attention—

you didn't have much attention.

You were born a black hole

to devour,

to devour,

to devour,

and devour—

you devour

other black holes.

I let you

devour

other black holes.

You—

you were born to burn,

and now,

you're taking me with you.

Sincerely,

Mother Nature