The Wood County Committee on Aging has announced the winner for the 15th Annual Poetry Contest. Submissions were accepted from Wood County residents 50 years of age and over, with a theme of “Your Legacy.” A total of 13 poems from 9 authors were submitted, and a BGSU writing professor read the poems and selected a winner and an honorable mention.
Cindy Adcock from Bowling Green received first place with her poem entitled “The Legacy of Kindness,” winning a $50 gift card sponsored by Bowling Green Manor.
Adcock has been writing poetry for about 10 years, but had not previously entered the WCCOA poetry contest. She typically writes on growing up, the garden and other topics. “I’m not a gardener, but I know how to describe a tomato,” she said.
Adcock wrote her poem specifically for the poetry contest, wishing to convey her daughter Amy’s legacy after she committed suicide. When speaking about winning the contest, Adcock said, “I knew my poem would be the best. What I didn’t know is if the connection of kindness and my daughter killing herself would be too jarring for other people.”
Honorable mention was awarded to Dru Cunningham with the poem “Thoughts on Leaving.”
All of the submitted poems can be read on the WCCOA blog at: https://woodcountycommitteeonaging.blogspot.com/
The mission of the Wood County Committee on Aging is to provide older adults with services and programs which empower them to remain independent and improve the quality of their lives.
For information on programs and services, please contact the Wood County Committee on Aging at 419-353-5661, 800-367-4935 or www.wccoa.net
The winning poems are included below in their entirety.
The Legacy of Kindness
By Cindy Adcock
My Grandmother was kind.
My Mother was kind.
I used to be kind, but I’m not any more.
I’m too old. I’m too tired.
I’m 68, I don’t like it.
Soon 69, but no better.
And 70, who wants to be a zero?
Maybe 71, maybe I’ll be kind again when I’m 71.
My Amy used to be kind, but she’s not any more.
She killed herself when she was 22.
She’ll never be 71, she’ll never be kind again.
My Amy used to be kind to Ashley, and Ashley remembered.
She named her baby “Amy” in memory of my Amy’s kindness.
Thoughts on Leaving
By Dru Cunningham
Inside of me is a story,
All the memories of my life,
A picture of all the events
Excitement…contentment…unwelcomed strife.
What shall I leave behind,
A story or a song?
Many things done “right”?
Or lots of things done “wrong”?
My legacy lives on
In the people that I know,
A living, moving stream,
A river with a flow.
Perhaps, the best I might leave
That I think of, might be,
An unwritten, continuing,
Story of…
Good times and laughter,
In spite of a fall,
A generous heart and caring strength
To answer the call;
To leave a mark on the world
That I did some good,
Just to be remembered
When I did what I could.
That the time I spent here
Was used in such a way
That I appreciated people,
And was thankful for a simple, ordinary day.
May I leave this world
Having shared a gift from above,
That my journey on earth
Chose the pathway of Love.
