By Sydney West

for Juan Felipe Herrera and my mom

Because she gave birth to a ten-pound baby
And carried it around until it stood on its own and refused to be picked up
Because she cooks chicken soup when I’m sick
And delivers it to my bed on a tray
Because she doesn’t force me to eat tomato soup
And still lets me have the grilled cheese
Because she line dries all of my clothes so that they don’t shrink
And perfumes them with a sweet honey lavender
Because her soft blue eyes are always warm
And her smile lines are always stretched wide
Because she thinks I’m beautiful
And refuses any contradiction
Because she bakes the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
And pretends she doesn’t notice when I steal spoonfuls of the cookie dough
Because Santa still comes every year
And eats all of the Christmas cookies
Because she makes me tea when I’m stressed
And sits with me until it’s gone
Because she helps me clean up my messes
And never forgets the paper towels
Because she let me sleep in her bed when monsters attacked my fairytale dreams
And rubbed my back as I fell asleep
Because she serves herself dinner last
And would give it all to me if I asked
Because she sends the heart emoji with every text
And an exclamation point too
Because she kisses the clock at 11:11
And says rabbit rabbit on the rst of every month
Because she fed me carrots daily
And kale every night
Because she sat through 3-day volleyball tournaments for 5 years
And managed to act like she legitimately enjoyed herself
Because I love her to the moon and back
And she loves me all 92.96 million miles to the sun

Third Place: Sydney West
Sir Francis Drake High School (Teacher: Mary Kitchens)