Sean was notified today that his poem "el estado latino" has received the highest award, the Gold Key, from the regional Scholastic Writing Awards.  His poem along with 10,000 other Gold Key works will be reviewed by Alliance for Young Artists & Writers judges in New York City to determine the 1,000 most accomplished young artists and writers in the nation.

el estado latino

Spiraling rebar structures silhouetted against politicians' giant smiling faces;
Bound in a continuous state of construction.
Or disrepair.

Glinting shards of glass standing as a million individual warnings to a million individual thieves
Atop walls of mud.

Half-torn posters plastered against alleyways;
A constant stream of propaganda only serving as a reminder to the inefficiencies of government.
And the people.

As little ball-capped men huddle around a flashing TV box, faults wash away as if by slow repetition.
Erosion.

The inebriated forget their troubles in this modern dystopia;
Ignoring its faults and accepting life for what it is.
A journey.

Sean McClelland, 2009