Enjoy our 2020 Finalists
The River That Sings || Mekhiah Smith || Central
Beating drums as cotton spun.
Can you hear it?
Around a wheel like a record already done.
Do you feel it?
And so still are these tears in my eyes.
Then I hear it:
Guitar strings plucked,
The humming of my grandma pouring her soul
as she begins to cook,
Now I stomp my foot and hear my soul.
And if I tend to go down into the muddy deep,
Don’t worry. I come up clean,
Rock and roll coating me.
The blues sing from inside of me, a song.
I stomp.
This home I’ve known for so long
Taught me things and birthed from inside of me
A love-
They say we’re not strong,
That there’s no peace in our home.
But to them I sing-no Scream...this is the city that raised me!
What a beautiful young lady I’ve turned out to be.
The foundation of this city, Rock and Roll.
The people you see and have always known.
That’s a love you can only find rolling on the river.
And listen to the hum.
So, from the top of the highest peak, I scream
Memphis is my home,
It’s given me a song.
And I’ll sing it for all time,
until the day I flow on.
Bread Giver || Yasmeen Hourani || Cordova
Much to offer, Much to gain
But not one thing done in vain.
The children we treat,
The people we greet,
Our history grows,
With no ends to meet.
The culture, society,
But you, our priority
Named after the capital of an empire,
We too, dominate what is ours.
With care and caution, we do as we please
The music deep beneath the souls of our feet.
We educate those who dream dreams
They wish to achieve.
So, surely the 901 knows how to run,
But there is still much to be done,
Or so the story goes
But only you can know
How far our city grows
We the bread winners,
The bread givers,
The all out distributors,
We, the Memphians
Are truly the Olympians
of the south.
A Hill is Not My Home || Autumn Bobo || White Station
I live
In a city upon a bluff,
A place where the sounds and symphonies
Ringing through the streets gleam—
But never more brightly than the twinkle
Lining her bridge’s peaks,
Lights that curl and flow, carrying me and my own.
And where should I direct mine?
Do I shine my beacon down Beale?
Around the hard edges and soft corners of our melody so sweet?
Or will the shimmer be in my eyes as my home spins a tale?
A story of the city built in turmoil,
My ancestors, the same ones who raised my great city
Just as easily could have razed it.
But instead we grew,
Traveled a road bumpy and barren,
Floated down the murky Mississippi of our past,
Made a house into a home.
We took our histories and merged into our own little melting pot,
A mixture sweeter than the chocolate of my skin,
And at any time if I look around
I see a taste unique to me.
Now all I know
Through sleet and shine,
Grit and Grind
Is home.
Home Sweet Home || Veronica Holmes || Overton
Memphis is home sweet home
It’s in my DNA… in my chromosomes
I love Memphis, and I’ll scream it loud
So everyone can hear me in the crowd,
Stadium’s packed with Grizzlies pride
Walking with that Memphian stride
Sitting back thinking
On Beale Street sipping
Foot tapping, hands clapping
And the beat starts ringing
Here’s my love song to the place that raised me
and the place that made me
I’m nothing but a Southern girl
A Memphis Belle
Grew up in Midtown
Just a hop and a skip from grand ‘ole downtown
Let the music play
I have something to say
Here’s my love song
To the 901 strong
A city known for its renowned attractions
and soulful satisfactions
Immersed in arts, music, soul, and history
You can’t tell me Memphis isn’t a great city
That Great Memphis Wind || McKenna Hall || East
It’s been felt forever and will forevermore:
That Great Memphis Wind that warms the core.
It sways giddy couples to the beat
As soul singers bring them to their feet.
It whips through the hair of pedestrians walking
Along the scenic Big River Crossing.
It swirls its way into everyone’s nose
The scent of barbeque, savory and exposed.
It urges us forward on the great street of Beale,
Home to the Flippers, A. Schwab’s, and many a good meal.
It brings relief to the sweaty festival-goers
That blaze all night and refuse to go slower.
It’s been felt forever and will forevermore:
That Great Memphis Wind from years of lore.
It sang with B.B. King as he got his start
On Beale, growing the Blues as an art.
It was felt by Elvis when he graced
Our sweet town with his Graceland gates.
It spread the message of Dr. King
As he worked until the end, so freedom would ring.
It blew through Handy’s trumpet, steady and sure
With a sound so sad, yet so strong and pure.
It carried the sound from Johnny Cash’s perch
As he first shared his talents at Galloway Church.
It’s been felt forever and will forevermore:
That Great Memphis Wind that makes the heart soar.
It brings about giggles from curious tots
As they race for a peak of the Peabody ducks.
It flies with kiddos as they climb up high
In the Children’s Museum’s maze into the sky.
It laughs with teens until they grow hoarse
In the newly refurbished Crosstown Concourse.
It inspires adults as they critique every restaurant
On Madison Avenue, just as they want.
It’s been felt forever and will forevermore:
That Great Memphis Wind with its great mighty roar.
