Fingers tapping, legs shaking, eyes wandering, mouths jittering and heavy breathing all can only mean one thing­—an audition. Not just any audition, but a school-wide competition leading the winners to finals for the National Recitation Contest.

This is Poetry Out Loud.

On Jan. 23, 15 students stepped up to the plate (or microphone, in this case) to perform two poems. Literary works include names such as Poe, Henley and Melville, as well as others including Louis Jenkins and Emily Bor.

After performing the first poem, the hard part is over. The contestant can breathe again.

As the second round begins, two thoughts flutter through the minds of the contestants: Do better and possibly, Is there a drum in here? Oh wait, that’s just my heartbeat.

Some walk up front and center with smug smiles and a little swagger in their steps. These are the confident. They might even think, A’ight, I got this. Others slowly approach the stand with a stern face and clenched teeth. These are the nervous. A thought of theirs may be, Time to make it or break it.

Two people indeed did make it and tied for first place. The winners include junior Nicole Doornink and last year’s winner sophomore Ryan Serfas. Sophomore Emily Swanson took the first runner-up spot.

The winner’s methods of preparation are all nearly the same, whether it is constant recitation or “hours of practice” in front of a mirror the method that Serfas used. This is something that requires work and has a reward of pride.

“Excited,” said Swanson as she described how she felt after her name was announced. For others, the feeling they felt was disappointment. Some do not emote this as much as others, but it is a normal feeling.

Choosing a poem is often times a challenge for competitors because part of the recitation is the interpretation.

“I saw ‘The Paradox’ and thought [my second poem] was really cool. I didn’t really understand meaning of it at first, so I looked it up and I really liked what it was all about,” said Serfas as he discussed the Paul Laurence Dunbar poem.

Doornink chose the poem Famous by Naomi Shihab Nye because “it talks about how you can be so famous and how you can mean something to someone by doing simple things day-to-day.”

All three finalists will advance to the regional competition at AltonHigh School on Feb. 7, 2013. For more information on Poetry Out Loud visit poetryoutloud.org.