May
2011 Winning Poems
Featured Reader: Riva Dunaief
First Place:
We All Live Here
by
John Vincent Palozzi
Every little town has its finest citizen
one
who lives in the largest home
who owns the most cattle or pigs or
oil
Every little town has its poorest
the beggar or bastard
sleeping on the street
combing garbage pails for breakfast
Every
little town has a fair maiden
with perfumed hair and honey smiles
tugging
at the hearts of many men, and a few women
Every little town has
its dandy
the gay and happy man who dreams
of one day finding
his husband
Every little town has its drunk
a pitiful man who
tries his best
to drink away his pain
Every little town has a
child
who looks at the world and wonders
if he will be president
someday
Every little town has the best mother in the world
The
best father in the world
the most loving child
Every little
town has a grandmother and a grandfather
who are better raising their
grandchildren
after some practice the first time around
Every
little town has a mean old man
who hollers at the kids
and shoos
them off his lawn
Every little town has its poet
and that be
me
Second
Place:
Antelope Slot Canyon- Page, Arizona
by Beth
Morris
Eyes struggle to shift
from searing light to
darkness.
We enter
the canyon; my fear
of caves yielding to
the
silence and comfort
of the Navajo stone.
We move forward
along
the path, shafts
of sun piercing the rock,
streaming through
the
portals overhead: a
kaleidoscope of sand,
from gold to
red to purple
forming the shape of
tulips, lilies, roses that
float off the canvas of a
Georgia O'Keefe painting-
the
mouth of Mother Earth
opening and closing,
brushing the canyon
walls.
I stop for awhile beneath
a craggy slot watching the
clouds
pass above me, the
cobalt sky. Sand begins
to rain down on us.
Our
guide shouts out, 'Take
shelter from the storm.'
Ignoring
her warning, I stand
under the opening. The desert
comes in
like snow: pellets of
sleet, then gentle flakes. My face
turned
upward, I invite the sand to
caress me, cover me, cup my open
hands
to receive the ancient blessing.
Honorable
Mention:
Long Island, Once My Home
by Janice Fine
I'm
stunned with your losses.
When it's your neighborhood,
your
loved ones,
you're caught in the steel of a chain link fence.
Unlike
the beach, boardwalk, crowds,
the stalker hides in the high reeds,
ready
to pounce on the vulnerable.
A victim's sister challenged him, heard
his threats.
But steel
chain link fences
keep her safe,
keep
him out
In time, the serial killer
will be thrown in solitary
more desolate
than empty distances,
and all his ritual burial
grounds
will be reclaimed.
Honorable
Mention:
24th Street
by Shirley Kent
his
elbow folds
her soft hand wraps
gently arms brush
charmingly
they stroll
his tight coils bound
her ringlets bounce
lightly
eyes touch
charmingly they stroll
his denims hang
her
print dress clings
in measured steps
charmingly they stroll
is
this young love?
I only saw
that Saturday
how charmingly they
stroll
Special Contest: Trimeric
Age
of Technology
by Cyndee Bowdoin
We are the walking dead
Wrapped
in self imposed isolation
Sending our words into cyberspace
We
let our fingers do the talking
Wrapped in self imposed isolation
We
long to connect to others
From the safety of our rooms
Sending
our words into cyberspace
No need to touch or be touched
Since
we can Facebook or IM
We let our fingers do the talking
Too
afraid to say what is in our hearts,
"I am here. I am alone. Hold
me."