"Forget Me Nots" By Antonella Marie Rivas (Tied, 3rd Place Winner, Top of Iowa 9th/10th Grade - Poetry)

Sara Antonella Marie Rivas, known as Nella, is a vibrant sophomore at Panorama High School who excels as a writer, competitive dancer, cross country runner, cheerleader, and performer in school plays and musicals. Her creativity flourishes in art classes, and she’s a talented communicator, representing her school in speech contests. Driven by dreams of becoming a writer and artist, Nella’s passion, ambition, and diverse talents make her a standout member of her school community.

He bought her forget me nots in hopes she would remember him even after he left
In hopes he wouldn’t just be an old memory
A forgotten time
An old friend Who’s name she had forgotten with time
An unmarked grave with no flowers
She asked How he could ever think she could forget him
Many people already had
He didn’t want her to be like everyone else
Not when she was so special
Special to him, To the world
She bloomed so brightly
While his petals fell
The sun never shined on him
But she blossomed even in the rain
Stunning
She was his light
Now he’ll never see her again
So he bought forget me nots
On his last day he stared at them
Wishing that she would not forget him
That he would be like the flowers
That he would sit in her window of life Forever
But if he knew how much she cried
How the tears wouldn’t stop
Couldn’t
How they just kept Raining down
If he knew how much she begged
Begged for it to be fake
Begged for her not to care so much
Begged for the tears to stop
The pain to end
For it to not be real
For it to just go away
As if she never loved him
She loved him
So much so that when he was gone, she bled a river of tears that filled the
emptiness in her chest
She would lie to herself and pretend he was still there
Merely just far away
She would lie in bed Looking over to see him on the other side
See his face eyes smile
And he would laugh
Yet all she saw was a worn-out pillow
He had given her forget me nots
He didn’t want her to forget him when he was no longer here
But his memory isn’t pleasant
It’s a lingering poison
It fills her lungs
Destroying her from the inside
Making its way through her veins
Rotting away at her brain
So all she can remember is him
But not the real him
Not the happy him
But the him in the hospital bed
The him with the oxygen mask
The him beneath the dirt
His name on a stone
All that was left of him was the flowers she left
Forget me nots