The following are three of the winning poems from the 2011 Verses in the Valley contest put on by the Scotts Valley Arts Commission. The winners were honored at a recent Scotts Valley City Council meeting, and the first-place poem from each division will be published in the Press-Banner over the next several editions.

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves By Shannon Lussier (kindergarten through third-grade age group)

Scarves, Scarves, Scarves

Long scarves

Short scarves

Pretty, cool, colorful scarves

Tiny, awesome, green scarves

Thick Scarves

Thin Scarves

Sassy, great, funny scarves

Giant, exciting, wonderful scarves

Interesting scarves

Itchy scarves

Puffy, stringy, amazing scarves

Cute, goofy, ugly scarves

Loveable scarves

Silky scarves

Your scarf

My scarf

Last of all

Best of all

I like most scarves

Books By Tyler Germany (fourth- and fifth-grade age group)

The wild world inside a book,

Will surely make you want to look.

You could read about a sprinter,

Or a deep snow in the winter.

Do you fancy mystery?

Or perhaps everyday history?

So go on open a book,

It won’t hurt to take a look.

My One True Love By Mei Manzo (middle-school age group)

My precious heart

My strained, stressed heart

Love from you is love from me.

All my guilty pleasures

Of butters and beef

Kill you slowly

Kill you with love.

My precious muscles

My strained, stressed muscles

Work from you is work from me.

All my sitting around

And lying on the coach

Kill you slowly

Kill you with love.

My precious brain

My strained, stressed brain

Thoughts from you are thoughts from me.

All my days of watching T.V.

And playing games on the computer

Kill you slowly

Kill you with love.

My precious soul

My strained, stressed soul

We’re meant to be together

Because when you die,

I will die

Our love will last

Forever.