California Coastal Commission

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2010 Coastal Art & Poetry Contest Honorable Mentions

GRADES K-3


Soft summer breezes
Caressing the sandy shores
Salty, sea god's breath


Siena Davi
3rd grade, Monterey




Seagulls on the Seashore
"Seagulls on the Seashore"
Ryan Chang
2nd Grade, Irvine




"Tidepools"

Bumpy sea stars cling
Tickly hermit crabs dance
Cold, wet, filled with life.


Jonathan Cole
3rd grade, San Francisco




Two Seals in the Sea
"Two Seals in the Sea"
Yuna Song
3rd Grade, Irvine




The seagulls
took our
chips away
and we got
them back.
They were not
OK, we threw away
the sack.


Julianna Abraham
Kindergarten




Nap-Time
"Nap-Time"
Layla Lee
3rd Grade, Fullerton




"The Ocean"

Ocean is the beautiful place
The sunset is so pretty
It changes colors all the time
The waves go crash by crash
I want to tell the ocean
"I Love You"


Camille Kenyon
Kindergarten, San Francisco




The Happy Seals
"The Happy Seals"
Nicole Tarantino
1st Grade, Laguna Niguel


View the 2010 Winners








GRADES 4-6


The Great White Predator
"The Great White Predator"
Kevin Huo
Grade 5, Foster City




"The Seagull"

(Based on Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven")

Once upon a sunny day, I went down to the beach to play.
A bird on the rocks was no majestic eagle,
but rather a filthy and bedraggled seagull.
Soon I nodded, nearly napping,
when the seagull, with wings a-flapping
Dropped with a sick, splattering, smacking,
his droppings into my Cheeto packing.
Ah, so clearly I remember
My splattered lunch in late September
My anger raging like a flaming ember
The seagull I wanted to dismember,
Then I thought the smell grew worse,
I turned to the seagull and began to curse,
"Seagulll" said I. Thing of disgust.
Flying rat who earns no trust!
Go away like the other animals of the shore!"
Said the Seagull, "Nevermore."
The seagull had been there longer than I.
"What right do I have?" I thought with a sigh.
Other animals had been forced away before.
The seagull was right, and nothing more.


Isaac Goldstein
5th grade, Ventura




Water Waves
"Water Waves"
Evan Juan
4th Grade, Irvine




"A Beautiful Beat"

The ocean is like a drum.
It plays for all the animals.
The waves crash
like a heartbeat.
It fills the ocean
with beautiful music
and fish sing along.


Alma Meckler-Pacheco
4th grade, Sebastopol




Crashing Waves
"Crashing Waves"
Ektaa Tendolkar
6th Grade, San Diego




"Undefined"

Over hills as sharp as knives
Across the brinks of waterfalls
To the top of a distant, ocean side cliff
Where the view is so tremendous, so awe-inspiring, so breath-taking, that all of the words
        feel like fools trying to describe it.
Beautiful takes off as fast as her feet can carry her dainty body
Gorgeous runs away for fear, pulling her lovely gown to her knees as she flees.
Stunning makes a hasty retreat.
Handsome vanishes into the shadows, fiddling nervously with the tails of his tuxedo.
Exquisite and Exotic, the extraordinary twin sisters, bolt.
Wow finally summons up the courage to make himself heard, but only comes out as a
        shaky whisper.

The viewer is forced to accept the view the way it is: undefined by any word.


AJ McCalla
5th grade, Sebastopol




Moray Eel
"Moray Eel"
Theo Saarinen
5th Grade


View the 2010 Winners








GRADES 7-9


Playful Otters of California
"Playful Otters of California"
Ivy Yijia Liao
8th Grade, Pleasanton




"Sandy Sunday"

Out in the dunes
    playing in the sand
    running with a dog
    or tossing a ball,
You will always have fun.

The waves on the beach
Almost reach out to you
    calling you
    whispering in your ear.

Forget the ever-tumbling sand castles
Run to the waves
    Faster! Faster! Faster!
    with your dog right behind you

Get wet, is your first thought,
So you do.

(What is that you hear?
Already your mother is calling.)

Clothes now soaking,
you trudge home
Away from the
    Soft dunes and
    damp beach
But there is still part of them with you
In your pockets and shoes.


Rowin Breaux
7th grade, Fort Bragg

First appeared in The Christian Science Monitor on Feb. 14, 2010.




Sea Lion
"Sea Lion"
Kaitlyn Hahn
7th Grade, La Crescenta




Laura's Day at the Beach
"Laura's Day at the Beach"
Kelly Guo
9th Grade, San Gabriel




"A Day For the Ocean"

Calm with the sunrise,
The hiss of waves on the beach,
The cycle begins.

Seagulls crying out,
Swooping down to catch their meals,
Sun slides off broad wings.

Footprints in the sand,
A toddler runs to the shore,
Laughing with delight.

Sun rising higher,
The waves grow, hungry for sand,
Eating at the beach.

Crash! The waves' fierce roar,
Reaching higher in the air,
Grabbing for the sun.

Footprints in the sand,
A man walks towards his car,
Sighing with regret.

All traces washed away,
One last bird circles the sky,
And flies to the sun.

Orange sky, blue sea,
The calm of infinite time,
The waves have no end.

The sun slowly sets.
The waves are a gentle hiss,
Saying "Shh, hush, hush."

Sun swallowed by waves,
The California coast sleeps,
Waves rock us 'till day.


Patti Buck
8th grade, Oak View




A Day on the Beach
"A Day on the Beach"
Jennifer Mou
8th Grade, Fremont


View the 2010 Winners








GRADES 10-12


Red Octopus and Brown Sea Nettles
"Red Octopus and Brown Sea Nettles"
Marisa Franz
11th Grade, Folsom




Snowy Plover on a Stroll
"Snowy Plover on a Stroll"
Erin O'Neill
10th Grade, California Hot Springs




"Lightness"

Cinderella with glass slippers on her feet

        Twinkly, crystal, fluid glass

I run through the water

        Just an inch that tugs at my toes

Spinning like a ballerina

        The water recedes, then returns

Chasing my shadow across the sand

        Alone on the beach


Clara Hartman
10th grade




Sunset Snacking
"Sunset Snacking"
Eileen Lu
11th Grade, Cupertino




"Tempt of the Ocean"

Shell by my ear
Whisper of the sea
Imploring my name
A bewitching melody

Waves crash shore
Bringing ships home
The dancing kelp
Dumped on sandy beach

Sea lion bark
Playful as ever
Salty breeze caresses
My longing soul

A surfer skimmed
Ocean waves with ease
Yet the ocean calls
Shouting my name

The luscious fascination
Of another shore
A place to explore
Away from home

The shrill call
Of leaping dolphins
Blithely teasing me
"Join us please"

Each roaring wave
Hollers for me
"Sail out on a current
To see this beautiful sea"

The seagull's strident cry
The sea elephant's trumpet
Sounds lost in the crashing waves
Blown off by the ocean's breath

The ocean's seductive tune
That keeps begging me
To ride its blue waters
Forever tempted by the sea


Meera Kumar
10th grade, San Ramon




California Spiny Lobster in the Coral
"California Spiny Lobster in the Coral"
Amy Wann
12th Grade, Piedmont



View the 2010 Winners