Published poets roam the halls of Judah.
On October 17, 2021, Catie Henry published her first poem, a haiku, in the CU Poetry section of Champaign County’s News-Gazette. She has since published a second poem, also a haiku, through the American Library of Poetry.
Now, Judah Christian School has two newly published poets: Brelyn Riesberg and Keira Aardsma. Their haikus were published in the CU Poetry section of the News-Gazette on February 26 and March 5.
Catie’s first poem touches elegantly on the image of a willow weeping and yearning for love:
crying in the wind the willow tree mourns for love cold words blow above
Her second haiku compares the comforting qualities of lanterns and stars:
lanterns float freely
bringing comfort to the lost
stars in the darkness
Brelyn wrote her poem on the infamous “no-snow day,” when students were promised seven inches of snow but got seven-tenths of an inch and a warm welcome when they arrived at school:
dreaming of sledding
down a big mountain of snow
school cancels the thought
Keira found inspiration on the no-snow day as well. Her haiku explores the way snow cloaks the world with its whiteness:
as the flurry falls
all the world obscured in white
a winter disguise
Other published poets may soon be walking the halls as well. Jovona Neely was told by the editors of CU Poetry that her poem showed “keen observations and subtle humor”:
the snow falls down white
like the mind it begins pure
until a dog comes
Be sure to keep a watchful eye for Catie, Brelyn, Keira, Jovona, and other rising Judah poets in the News-Gazette.
— Grant Ipsen, class of '24
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