California Coastal Commission

Right Column

2005 Coastal Art & Poetry Contest Honorable Mentions



“Beach Ball Day”
Stephanie Chang
Grade 3

Whales

Drifting, blowing, gliding, sounding
Jumping, spouting water
Playing with each other
If only I were a whale

By Jackson Bursch
Grade 2




“Splashing Dolphins”
Allie Chomeau
Grade 1


Good Times at the Beach

Hot day
Warm water
Smiling faces
Happy people
Together
at the beach

Apeksha Kanumilli
Kindergarten




“Palos Verdes”
Kevin Sato
Grade 3

A Big Whale

Whales have babies
In the warm water
In the hot weather
Of Mexico
Then they migrate
Back north
Happy whales take care of their
babies

Ivana Lopez
Grade 2

LAGUNA BEACH

I like the seaside
The gulls
The stores
Our house
Nighttime drives
All the fun we had on walks
Echoes in the tunnel
The beautiful rocks
I love the museums by the beach
I love the beach too
I love the sunsets
And the view

Lauren Ring
Kindergarten



“Seal (Bubble Bubble)”
Esther Baek
Grade 6

Great White Shark

Great white shark swimming
in waters of the continental shelf.
Pacific predators
with tissues of cartilage
and terrifying teeth
prey on pinnipeds
sup on salmon
dine on dolphins
crunch crustaceans.

Conservation conquests
halted hunts.

One powerful premier
captured in a fishing net,
contained in ocean pen,
carried from Malibu,
captive in Monterey
continues to survive.

Carcharodon carcharias of the California coast
Once attacked, now protected.

Michael Burks
Grade 6



“Jump To Fantastic World!”
Yuuka Koreda
Grade 6

LIGHTHOUSE

I stand alone on the ocean's crest
I do my best to guide you
The waves crash
The fog rolls in
But my light will never dim.

As time goes by
Day by day
I shine my light upon the bay
In hopes to guide you through the night
And watch the ships float out of sight

Dylan Camargo
Grade 5



“Coastal Region”
Wei-Chih Wang
Grade 6
Rocky Shores

Hiding crabs and hermits,
sculpins, fish so small,
monkey face eel, so quick,
inside the rocky wall.

Clinging mussels, snails and stars,
with feet and arms and legs,
splashed and splashed again,
covered by the surging waves.

Drifting jellies, kelp and krill,
nudibranchs of rainbow color,
move with grace and glow,
all so bright, like no other.

Changing tides and seasons,
over all the earth,
listen to the ocean,
for renewal and rebirth.

Matt Hannas
Grade 6



"Be Careful!"
Ruby Oh
Grade 6
 

 


Tide Pool Party

Sun Bathers on the rocks
prickly sea urchins
chat with star fish
whose long legs cling to their base
hermit crabs scuttle around
snapping claws in defense
anemones trying to make friends
barnacles invading space
all until
the tide comes in.

Greg Sianu
Grade 6




“Seals”
Sarah Cohen
Grade 9


California Coast

California
Beautiful, blue, green
Salty, big, deep
Windy, sandy, pretty
Waves, sand, boogie boards
Makes me feel free
I love the sea
I love the sand underneath my feet
And the water between my toes
I love the wind in my hair, I don't dare let the tide
snatch my feet
Coast

Ben Blanchard
Grade 7


“Grey Diver”
George Kuvshynov
Grade 7


Dancing The Seas

Night has come, and still they play
Graceful creatures, sleek and gray
Out in the moonlight they spin and twist,
Only to fade through the foggy mist.

Perhaps they've gone to ride a wave,
Or maybe they have gone to brave
The towering whitecaps, the rocky shores
Where tasty fish abound galore.

Ever so bold they only fear
The cold-blooded killer when he is near.
Many a time I've thought I've seen
The water flash, a silver gleam
The surface break, a puff of steam
Then they swim away, dancing the seas.

Melody Clark
Grade 7



“Sanderlings”
Emily Claire Mason
Grade 8





“We are the World”
Chris Chien
Grade 11


Sea Glass

Kindred spirits we,
fall upon the floor
like broken glass
and search for belonging
in the sand.
And we,
taken out to sea
scratch our nails way down deep
grasping nothing
but sharp flakes
in meaningless handfuls

And we,
hands down deeper
sinking in
as each grain pulls
to slip our grip.

Breaking we,
crash upon a darkened foam
and sink into the blue
where our frozen hearts
give into the waves,
and let everything
drift alone.

Forever lost
we will not be,
for broken glass
as shattered as we,
will become a treasure
of the sea.

Lindsey Biddle
Grade 12



“Blue Rush”
Noelle Perez
Grade 12

Archaeology

Trace fossils imprinted in soon to be sedimentary rock;
Chicken bones strewn about;
A half-buried plastic shovel;
All are reminiscent of a picnic at the beach long ago.
But now, nature obscures this evidence of a playground;
The sun bakes the sand that children once used to build exquisite castles,
Their spires and flying buttresses having surrendered to the incessant siege of the tide.

Megan Luecke
Grade 11



“Ballena”
Elena Vargas
Grade 12

The Reunion

Waves come to greet me—wild and fast
Like a child who has missed a parent as the day hours had passed
Seashells come tumbling
Waves go on rumbling
A reunion takes place on the shore

When the greetings completed—transformation begins
Peaceful blue water beckons me in
Sparkles and glistens like diamonds on glass
The moment is gone all too fast

Waves bid good bye—tranquil and serene
As I watch it depart, there's a peace in my heart
Waves drift out to the sea
Like a frozen moment in time
Soon to return as from the very start

Waves come to greet me—wild and fast…

Megan Pencek
Grade 10



“Garabaldi, California’s Light”
Stephanie Vinson
Grade 10