Prize Poems

This list will be updated from time to time. The most recent items will be at the bottom of the list. (Last update 24 April 2026) Poems that have won prizes or recognition: 2016 Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'The Bird Feeder' Second Place Category 35: Introduction Category 2017 Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'The English Sonnet' Second Place Category 14: Leroy Meagher Sonnet 'Those Letters' Second Honorable Mention Category 16: Vesta Crawford Short Poem 'went to the ocean' Third Honorable Mention Category 31: Haiku 2017 Continued NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) Contests 'Billy Collins' Third Honorable Mention Contest 49: The Jessica C. Saunders Memorial Award 2018 Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'Imagination' Special Recognition Category 18: Hungry Poets 'A Marvelous Hunting Dog' Third Honorable Mention Category 19: Pat Bader and Pat Kimber Memorial 'Cousin Dan' Third Place Category 27: Lloyd Murray Light Verse 2018 continued NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) Contests 'A Waist is a Terrible Thing to Mind' Third Place Contest 33: Minute Award 'Sleeptalking' Second Place Contest 37: Humorous Poetry Award 'Armchair Adventures' Third Place Contest 48: Miriam S. Strauss Memorial Award 2019 UTSPS (Utah State Poetry Society) Spring Contest 'Healthiest Town Ever Found' First Place Category 4: Betty Fowler Memorial (38 entries) 'Mother's Dream' First Honorable Mention Category 5: Webb-Kohler Memorial (48 entries) 'Taken Too Soon' First Place Category 6: Word Weavers Award (53 entries) 'My Amazing Grandpa' Special Recognition Category 15: Redrock Writers' Founders Award (46 entries) 'Old Mac' Third Honorable Mention Category 16: Wood Memorial (28 entries) 'Sail On! ' Third Honorable Mention Category 18: Von J. Barney Memorial (32 Entries) 'Dying for a Cookie' First Place Category 24: Leroy Meagher Humor (45 entries) 'Give Me an Hour's Notice' Third Honorable Mention Category 30: Love Poem (43 entries) 2019 continued NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) Contests 'Mischievous Toys' Seventh Honorable Mention Contest 9: The Children's Hour Award (118 entries) 'Wishful Fishing' Third Place Contest 33: Minute Award 2019 continued Arizona State Poetry Society Annual Contest 'Baseball in Heaven' First Place Category 8: Humor 'Dying for a Cookie' Second Place Category 8: Humor 'Terrified Taxi Driver ' Third Place Category 8: Humor 'Absolution' 2nd Honorable Mention Category 8: Humor 2020 Utah Poetry Society Spring Contest 'Marvelous Hunting Dog' First Honorable Mention Category 3: Ann C. Larson Memorial (51 Entries) 'My Mother's Sacrifice' Second Place Category 5: Verna Hartsoe Chiong Memorial (33 entries) 'Dr. Sharp' Third Place Category 10: Honoring Dr. Sheldon B. Johnson (12 entries) 'he no longer snores' Second Honorable Mention Category 12: Tanka (28 entries) 'I Love Those Country Crooners' First Honorable Mention Category 23: Alice M. Whipple Memorial (28 entries) 'I've Been Around a While' Special Recognition Category 29: Lloyd Murray Light Verse (22 entries) 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Bale of Hay? ' Third Place Category 30: Leroy Meagher Sonnet (23 entries) 2020 continued NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) Contests 'The Conversion' Fourth Honorable Mention Contest # 3 'Never-Changing Hills' Second Place Contest # 9 'My Amazing Grandpa' Seventh Honorable Mention Contest # 33 'Enchanted Princess' Seventh Honorable Mention Contest # 37 2020 continued Poetry Society of Texas Annual Contest 'The Pastor's Choice' Sixth Place Contest 3: Mahan Award (69 entries) 'went to the ocean' First Place Contest 85: Squirrel in a Cactus Garden Prize [haiku] (40 entries) 2020 continued Illinois State Poetry Society Annual Contest 'Deaf and Blind' Second Place Category 7: Morris Award (71 entries) 2021 Utah Poetry Society Spring Contest 'It Really Happened' First Honorable Mention Category # 9: Celebrating a Small Town Childhood (26 entries) 'Old Baldy and Me' Second Place Category # 24: Dixie Poets Award (15 entries) 'I Love Those Country Crooners' Second Honorable Mention Category # 25: Rhyme & Reason Award (32 entries) 'Shopping Tips from an Old Pro' First Honorable Mention Category # 26: Martha Morrise Memorial (18 entries) 2021 Continued NFSPS Contests 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Bale of Hay? ' First Honorable Mention Contest # 36: Mississippi Poetry Society Award (88 entries) 'Pirate Jean LaFitte' First Honorable Mention Contest # 48: Maine Poets Society Award (125 entries) 2021 continued Arizona State Poetry Society Annual Contest 'Sittin' ‘Round the Campfire' Third Place Category 2: Cowboys 'Old Mac' Second Place Category 5: Humor 'The Streaker' Third Place Category 5: Humor 'My Uncle Paul' Second Honorable Mention Category 5: Humor 2021 continued Poetry Society of Texas Annual Contest 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Bale of Hay? ' Tenth Place (32 entries) Contest 2: Qamar Award 'King George' Eighth Place (22 entries) Contest 30: Clement Ellison Memorial Award 'Looking Forward to Tomorrow' Sixth Place (46 entries) Contest 40: Sisters Prize 'That Explains It! ' Second Place (19 entries) Contest 83: Faux Pas Award 2021 Continued Illinois State Poetry Society Annual Contest 'Brief Encounter' Third Place Category 5: The Alan Harris Appreciation Award 'When I Am Gone' First Honorable Mention Category 7: Formal Verse Award 'Forever' Third Place Category 10: Shakespearean Sonnet Award 2022 Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'Impossible Mission' Third Honorable Mention Category 38: C. S. Watts Memorial (16 entries) 'My Legacy' Second Honorable Mention Category 35: Leroy Meagher Sonnet (22 entries) 'Languishing in Jail' Third Place Category 34: Lloyd Murray Light Verse (19 entries) 'Happy Hollow Nursing Home' First Place Category 31: Meagher Memorial (31 entries) 'The Pastor's Choice' First Honorable Mention Category 28: Eric Read Memorial (39 entries) 'It Really Happened' Special Recognition Category 22: Celebrating a Small Town Childhood (24 entries) 'Tail of a Skunk' Special Recognition Category 3: Betty Fowler Memorial (32 entries) 2022 Continued National Federation of State Poetry Societies Contests (Convention held 23 June to 26 June 2022 in Columbus, Ohio) 'Tree to Tree' Fifth Honorable Mention Contest 15: Land of Enchantment Award (125 entries) 'Forever' FIRST PLACE Contest 40: Mississippi State Poetry Society Award (80 entries) 2022 continued Arizona State Poetry Society Annual Contest 'Languishing in Jail' FIRST PLACE Category 3: East Valley Poets Award [Humor] 'Healthiest Town Ever Found' Second Place Category 3: East Valley Poets Award [Humor] 'A Marvelous Hunting Dog' First Honorable Mention Category 3: East Valley Poets Award [Humor] 'Happy Hollow Nursing Home' Second Honorable Mention Category 3: East Valley Poets Award [Humor] 'Mischievous Toys' Third Place Category 10: Rhyming Poem for Children Award 'Pokey Pete' Third Honorable Mention Category 10: Rhyming Poem for Children Award 2022 Continued Poetry Society of Indiana Annual Contest 'Ben Franklin, while visiting Dublin' Second Place [28 entries] Category 4: Premier Poets Prize [form = limerick] 'Sorry Sibling' Second Place [28 entries] Category 9: Barbara Ann Award [line limit = 5 exactly] 'Smart Plants' Third Honorable Mention [37 entries] Category 14: The Viola Award [subject = plant life] 'Miracle Man' First Honorable Mention [17 entries] Category 24: Traditional English Sonnet [subject = life in crisis] 2022 Continued Florida State Poets Association Contest 'When I Am Gone' Second Place Category 6: The Rondeau Award 'Bound Together' First Honorable Mention Category 10: Alfred Von Brokoph Award 'Nice to Meet You. Marry Me? ' Third Honorable Mention Category 30: C H B Publications Award 'Changing the World' Second Honorable Mention Category 32: The Josephine Davidson Memorial Award 2022 Continued Poetry Society of Texas Annual Contest 'Adoring Books' Third Place Category 2: Qamar Award [32 entries] 'King Collins' First Place Category 24: Villanelle Contest [26 entries] 'King George' Tenth Place Category 31: Clement Ellison Memorial Award [12 entries] 2022 Continued Illinois State Poetry Society Annual Contest [ISPS did not reveal how many entries were in each category] 'My Pet Buffalo' Third Place Category 3: Animal Thoughts Award 'When I Was Young' Third Place Category 7: Formal Verse Award 'End of the Chase' Third Honorable Mention Category 12: Compassion Award 2023 Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest (Sponsored by WyoPoets) 'Pilfered Peanuts' Second Honorable Mention (188 entries) 2023 Continued Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'Swimming Naked in Snapping Turtle Pond' Third Honorable Mention (56 entries) Category 4: Valley Winds Award 'The Blue Pill' Third Place (25 entries) Category 6: Joseph K. and Orby Ann Crapo Memorial 'Good Life at the Rest Home' Second Honorable Mention (36 entries) Category 13: O. William Asplund Recognition 'How Pretzels Were Invented' Third Honorable Mention (28 entries) Category 19: Wes Vogler Appreciation Award 'Mystery Solved' Third Honorable Mention (37 entries) Category 32: Meagher Memorial Fund UTSPS 'Lingering' Second Honorable Mention (26 entries) Category 36: Leroy Meagher Sonnet 2023 Continued NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) Contests 'Brief Encounter' Fifth Honorable Mention (133 entries) Contest 2: NFSPS Board Award 'My Father's Garden' First Honorable Mention (141 entries) Contest 11: Lucille Morgan Wilson Memorial 'Fur Elise' Fourth Honorable Mention (87 entries) Contest 21: Mildred Vorpahl Baass Remembrance Award 'The Ultimate Villanelle' Seventh Honorable Mention (110 entries) Contest 23: Jessica C. Saunders Memorial Award 'Two Chipmunks' Third Place (105 entries) Contest 34: Iowa Poetry Association Award 'Pistol Packin' Pete' Sixth Honorable Mention (80 entries) Contest 37: WyoPoets Award 'Many Wonders' Second Place (98 entries) Contest 40: Mississippi Poetry Society Award 'Feeling the Pressure' Second Honorable Mention (37 entries) Contest 49: Miriam S. Strauss Memorial Award 2023 Continued Poetry Society of Indiana Annual Contest 'Always Good for Something' Second Place Category 12: Oberlin Prize 'Still Mostly Working' First Place Category 13: Million Award 'Great Uncle Robert' Third Honorable Mention Category 22: Fruit of the Spirit Award 2023 continued Illinois State Poetry Society 2023 Annual Contest 'Adoring Books' Second Place Category 5: ISPS Formal Verse Award 'The Pastor's Choice' First Honorable Mention Category 9: Humor Award 'Without You...' Second Place Category 11: Jack Griffis Edwards Award 2024 Utah State Poetry Society 2024 Annual Spring Contest 'Fur Elise' First Place (27 entries) Category 13: For Tiny 'Ant Highway' Third Place (34 entries) Category 26: Kolette Montague Memorial 'the wolf at twilight' Second Place (33 entries) Category 31: Haiku 'At the Breakfast Table' Third Honorable Mention (30 entries) Category 33: Meagher Memorial 2024 Continued NFSPS Contests (National Federation of State Poetry Societies) 'Happy Hollow Nursing Home' Fourth Honorable Mention (179 entries) Contest 4: Donald Stodghill Memorial Award 'The Fortune Teller' Seventh Honorable Mention (154 entries) Contest 13: Arizona State Poetry Society Award 'Shall I Compare Thee to a Bale of Hay? ' First Place (66 entries) Contest 26: Nevada Poetry Society Award 2024 Continued Arizona State Poetry Society Contest 'Miracle Man' Third Place Category 19: Sonnet 2024 Continued Florida State Poets Association Contest 'Today I Danced' First Honorable Mention Category 13: The Henrietta and Mark Kroah Founders Award 'Changing the World' First Honorable Mention Category 25: The Josephine Davidson Memorial Award 2024 Continued Poetry Society of Indiana contest 'Gift of the Walnut' Second Place Category 13: Linda Bannon Memorial Award (42 entries) 'Looking Forward to Tomorrow' Second Honorable Mention Category 14: Debra Sue Lynn Award (28 entries) 'Grandma's Corncob Pipe' First Honorable Mention Category 17: Grands (29 entries) 'Fur Elise' First Place Category 22: Pets (40 entries) 2024 Continued Poetry Society of Texas Contests 'Eating Severed Limbs' Fourth Place Contest 93: The Hurley Award (34 entries) 2024 Continued Illinois State Poetry Society contest 'Unhurried Ride' Third Honorable Mention Category 3: Any Subject & Form Award 2024 Continued Poetry Society of Tennessee annual contest (Their awards festival was not held until 26 April 2025.) 'Shrinking' First Place Category 6: Southeast Region Contest (form: Nonet) 'Old Enough' First Honorable Mention Category 10: West Region Contest (form: Dorsimbra) 'Surely I'm Not Obese' First Honorable Mention Category 15: Strauss Memorial (form: rhymed, metered) 'Lying on my Back' First Honorable Mention Category 20: Double Judge (form: free verse) 2025 Mississippi Poetry Society contest 'I'm All Shook Up' Third Honorable Mention Category 6: Mississippi Heroes Award 'There is a God' Third Honorable Mention Category 13: Believe it or Not Award 'The Rescue' First Honorable Mention Category 17: Dan Olive Memorial Award 'At the Breakfast Table' Second Honorable Mention Category 21: Shelton Award 'Reluctant Hero' Third Place Category 23: Chester Terry Jr. Memorial Award 'Widow Brown and the Cricket' First Place Category 24: Primrose Award 2025 Continued Utah State Poetry Society Spring Contest 'The Rainmaker' First Honorable Mention Category 3: Verna Hartsoe Chiong Memorial 'Eternal Gift' First Honorable Mention Category 4: Matthew Limburgh Christ-Centered Poetry 'Cattle Drive' Second Place Category 8: Orville Webb Cowboy Poetry 'Thank God for Weeds' First Honorable Mention Category 18: Ben Lomond 'Tail of a Skunk' Second Place Category 23: Betty Fowler Memorial 'tobacco worker' Third Place Category 29: Haiku 'Pilfered Peanuts' First Place Category 31: Meagher Memorial 'Tit for Tat' First Place Category 34: Lloyd Murray Light Verse 2025 Continued National Federation of State Poetry Societies contests 'Happy Hollow Nursing Home' Second Place Contest 39: The Barbara Sykes Memorial Award (159 entries) 2025 Continued Arizona State Poetry Society contest 'At the Breakfast Table' First Honorable Mention Category 7: Humor/Satire 'Pokey Pete' First Place Category 17: Rhyming Poem for Children 2025 Continued League of Minnesota Poets contest 'My Uncle Paul' Second Place Category 11: The Yarn Spinner Award 2025 Continued Poetry Society of Texas contests 'King George' Fourth Place (10 entries) Contest 32: The Clement Ellison Memorial Award 2025 Continued Illinois State Poetry Society contest 'Musings of an Octogenarian' (sestina) Third Place Category 1: Elizabeth Bishop Award 'Mystery Solved' First Place Category 12: Curt Vevang Humor Award 2025 Continued Poetry Society of Tennessee contests 'Eternal Gift' Second Place (tie) Contest 4: President's Award 'Lying on my Back' First Honorable Mention Contest 5: Summer Storms 'His Name was Rex' Second Place Contest 13: Richard Tillinghast Honorary Award 'Old Enough' First Honorable Mention Contest 17: Dorsimbra 2026 Utah Poetry Society Spring Contest 'Floppy Sue' Second Honorable Mention Category 9: Pat Bader's Celebration of Living (Poetry for Children) 'He's Part of Me' First Place Category 12: Norma Asplund Memorial 'Old Paint' Third Place Category 16: Vera Isadore Pearce Spears Memorial 'Snakes in School' Third Honorable Mention Category 18: Ben Lomond Chapter Award 'Keeping Secrets' Third Place Category 22: Meagher Memorial 'Time for Ice Cream' First Place Category 24: Lloyd Murray Light Verse 'Don't Let Me Linger' First Honorable Mention Category 25: Short Poem --- Vesta Crawford Memorial 'Dying in the desert' First Honorable Mention Category 26: Redrock Writers Founders Award 'A Majestic Creature' First Honorable Mention Category 26: David F. & Robert H. Balph Memorial 'A People Betrayed' Second Place Category 28: American Indian Heritage Award