Bay Farm Middle School sixth grader Lydia Merrit-Derieg's poem, “The Silent Turning,” was selected as one of the ten best in the fourth- to sixth-grade division of the Fall 2022 Creative Communication poem contest.

Creative Communication received thousands of poem submissions from student writers throughout the U.S. The contest is eligible for students in grades kindergarten to ninth grade. Judges from Creative Communication selected the top ten poems in each of the three divisions (grades kindergarten through third, fourth through sixth, and seventh through ninth).

The winning poets will receive special recognition in the poetry anthology, A Celebration of Poets — a select few poems will be included in the anthology book. Winning poets will also receive a copy of A Celebration of Poets and a check for $25.

Poems were selected for their literary merit, creativity, and social significance. Creative awards thousands of dollars to schools each year in classroom supplies with its Classroom Rewards Program to further encourage young people’s writings, and over the past 20 years has given over $1 million in awards to students, schools, and teachers.

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"The Silent Turning" by Lydia Merritt-Derieg

Those brilliant eyes
And that golden hair
In that crisp morning;
And that frosty house
With a crimson door
In that silent turning

And those autumn sounds
And those red warnings;
The fall won’t live forever
Soon the snow will chill

The turning clock is moving
Soon autumn will end

But that smiling face
And those ragged clothes
In that silent turning
The fire will never die
But soon the snow will come
The crimson door is opening

And soon it will become;
The silent turning