By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

STUDENTS from Mount Carmel School and Marianas Baptist Academy topped the fourth annual poetry competition held at American Memorial Park on Wednesday night.
Mt. Carmel ninth grader Ryan Ortizo won first place in the senior division with his poem “Our Land.”
MBA’s Mathew Cabrera and Tinian High School’s Anthony Randall, both 12th graders, placed second and third.
Eight grader Alicia Yen of MBA finished first in the junior division with her poem, “This is home.”
Jeremiah Tuazon and Joycelyn Atalig, eighth graders from Rota High School, won second and third places.
The theme of the competition was “Cultural identity in the CNMI.”
Scott Rusell of the NMI Council for the Humanities said judges looked at the contents of the poems, which comprised 70 percent of the score, and the quality of the recital, which counted for 30 percent.
Launched in 2003 in honor of the late Valentine Sengebau, a Palauan poet who lived on Saipan, the annual competition aims “to encourage poetry as a literary art form in the commonwealth.”
This year 19 young poets from eight schools on Saipan, Rota and Tinian competed in the two divisions.
Honorable mentions were See Hee Im of MBA and Kevin Esteves of Marianas High School in the senior division; and Doyi Lee of Mt.Carmel and Svahn Tured of Saipan International School in the junior division.
Other contestants in the senior division were Isabel Matsunaga of Mt. Carmel; Caroline Lochabay, Saipan International; Genesis Ranjo, Calvary Christian Academy.
In the junior division: Yanni Lee, MBA; Tori Brown, Ladera International; Shane Jones, Saipan International; and Billie Ocampo, Mt. Carmel.
Two competitors, one from Ladera International School and the other from Marianas High School, were not able to show up for the contest.
Prior to Wednesday’s competition, schools were asked to hold their own contests and select the top students in each division.
The judges who evaluated the content of the poems were Humanities Council board member William R. Barrineau, a former English teacher; Northern Marianas College sociology professor Dr. Debra Cabrera; NMI Museum director Robert Hunter; and Pacific Star Center for Young Writers head, Kathryn Tuten-Pucket.
The panel of judges who scored the quality and effectiveness of the recital were Katherine Perry Anderson of the governor’s office; cultural preservationist Lino M. Olopai; non-profit fundraiser Kodep Uludong; and retired educator Frances M. Sablan.

Our land
From its beautiful
calming shores
like the smile of a child,
to the shady palm tress
like a fisherman’s
net overshadowing
the sea,
to its ancient mountains,
cliffs,
hills
towering above…
touching the sky
like a might sentinel From the deep, mysterious depths
of the Grotto,
A gleaming ray of sunlight
pierces through rhythmic waters
like our people in this
vast, stirring ocean
To the beautiful
isolated islet
of Managaha
With its view
parallel to the
hue-striking sunset
of the orange-red sky
This is our land…
Friendly faces
everywhere
soothing,
relaxing,
like the wonderful
aroma
of the Plumeria.
Or warm,
vibrant,
inviting
like the bright patterns
of the Flame Tree

The gentle wind
blowing through the trees
whispers silently
the stories of our past.
From the ruins
of a long gone war,
to the ancient latte stones,
and from each of our faces,
something new
can be learned
We are many,
different,
unique,
like every tiny
pebble
washed up
on the beach
but we,
from many —
are one
United in beautiful,
Peaceful,
harmony with our land
This is our land.
This is our life.
This our future.

— RYAN ORTIZO