Washington by Cadence De Oliveira {Inklings Book Contest 2024 Finalist}

Today, we are featuring Inklings Book Contest 2024 finalist Cadence De Oliveira! She finished 9th grade this past school year and wrote a vividly imaged free verse poem titled “Washington.” Our judges called Cadence’s poem a “moving, inspirational journey,” and praised its evocativeness. Continue below to enjoy her work in digital book or plain text form.

I am from the peak of Mount Rainier

I am from the stems of the Douglas firs crowning the rich soil surrounding the base of such honour

I am from peeking out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the place I call home

I am from my thick curly hair protecting me from the reflection of sunlight off of the winter’s first snow

The near-freezing weather still filling me with an unexplainable joy, especially when it makes others run

I am from the rich persistent rainfall responsible for composing a dense symphony of robust trees

Trees that I could look up at for years and never see the top of

Trees that fill my memories and hopes with such pride I would never dare to disrespect

Flora that fill my future self with a place to return to when I have nowhere to go

A place which will welcome me home with open arms, and a place for me to feel with pure abandon

I am from 100 inches of yearly rainfall turning every day into a gorgeous array of respect for forces and beings greater than myself

The enigmatic colours and textures soothing my brain of any discomfort the day had put forth

I am from the bluest of skies and the most breathtaking display of stars

Every star having its own purpose, its own story, its own lessons to share

Every cloud shining down its advice, its guidance, its wisdom

Every glow of a planet reminding you of how small you are, in the most humbling way

And the moon reminding you that no one is insignificant, when you realize how insignificant you are

When I see these stars, these trees, these temperatures, the mountain, the rain, the sunlight, the soil… I am home

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