Contests

Poetry Contest: Opposites

Richard Wilbur, who wrote “Opposites,” got the idea for his poem from a game he and his wife played with their children. There was no scoring and no winners or losers. The game was just for fun. Someone might begin by asking, “What is the opposite of light?” One person could answer dark. Another might suggest that serious would be a better reply. And a third could wonder, what’s the matter with heavy? When the players ran out of opposites, they would start another round by asking for the opposite of uncle, or whale, or flat, or anything they liked.

Does everything have an opposite? Maybe. Wilbur even found funny and surprising opposites for armadillo and echo. Perhaps you didn’t know those words had opposites until you read his poem.

For this month’s contest, Ladybug was not opposed to reading lots of clever poems about opposites. It’s a bit of April foolishness that appealed to everybuggy. So, give it a try! Send us your very best poem--24 lines or less, please--about opposites. You can include more than one set of opposites, if you like. (H’m. What could be the opposite of Ladybug?)

  • (Show Rules)
    Here are the only rules: (Hide Rules)
    1. Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied.
    2. If
      you're 14 years old or younger, your entry must be signed by your
      parent or guardian, saying it is your own original work, that no help
      was given, and granting Cricket permission to publish
      prizewinning entries in the September 2008 issue or on our Web site. If
      you're older than 14, you must sign your own work, verifying that it is
      original.
    3. Be sure to include your name, age, and full address on your entry.
    4. Only one entry per person, please.
    5. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for each entry.
    6. Incomplete
      entries cannot be considered. Your entry will be incomplete if you
      forget to include your age or a signature verifying that your work is
      original.
    7. Your entry must be received by 25 April 2008.
    8. Send entries to:

      Cricket League
      P.O. Box 300
      Peru, IL 61354