About the Competition
Last month, we asked Gravitas students to earn points for their houses by participating in a Shakespearean sonnet competition. Though all the submissions were great, our judge, a distinguished poet named Peter Lilly, settled on one winner and two runners-up.
1st Runner-Up
Our first runner-up is Aithan (7th grade). Here is his sonnet:
When sounds of music vanish from the world,
When nature’s smile has turned into a frown,
When joy has disappeared, all, from the world,
Then what are we whose hearts are tinted brown?
When roots of love have withered in despair,
When voices of the birds have gone all hoarse,
When death has claimed the last who dare breathe air,
Then what should happen to our Earth now coarse?
When frost has froze the heart once soft and warm,
When sounds of chaos echo through the Earth,
When greed shatters the last of life’s great charm,
Then what can we but shiver by the hearth?
So value every moment of your life,
And live the beauty, always, of your life
2nd Runner-Up
Our second runner-up is Adenike (10th grade). Here is her sonnet:
Oh where’s the warmth of a warm summer day?
Please ask it why it has deserted me
The sun will no longer come out and play
He’s hidden from me, so him I can’t see.
Behind the clouds whom I can’t understand,
And yet they cry for me, they feel my pain
And when the wind sighs I am truly scared
For she airs what I tried to hide in vain
But must she be the bringer of bad news?
Oh why must she tell me it’s in the past?
The trees’ moods change off my moods that it views
And yet I know ‘cause the birds move so fast
However I know it’s not truly gone
Once more on the Rose your smile remains drawn.
Winning Shakespearean Sonnet
Finally, our winner is Avery (10th grade). Here is his sonnet:
Upon the canvas of life, I paint my view
With colors of dreams and hopes so bright
Each stroke tells a story, every hue
Reflects the tapestry of day and night
Yet shadows creep when the sun dips away
And dreams may wither in life’s harsh demand
But still, through twilight’s gentle, silver-gray
The soul’s resilience, like stars, will stand.
Eternal artistry in every heart
No eraser, nor time, can it erase
And even in the dusk, we play our part
Creating moments, love, and boundless grace.
So long as hearts can feel and spirits see
In life’s masterpiece, we’ll be forever free.
Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to all our winners and thanks to our Humanities teacher, Landon Loftin, for organizing the competition and supporting our student poets. At Gravitas, we believe in holistic education that prepares students with the wisdom and virtue needed to pursue what is true, good, and beautiful. These sonnets are excellent representations of our mission in action.