Our topics touch a variety of subjects about nature and the nature of humanity.  The purpose of our all-volunteer organization is to educate poets, and to foster the reading and writing of short poetry.  We are not a vanity press.  Not every poem submitted will be published.  We are a family magazine.  Do not advocate the use of alcohol or drugs in your poetry then ask us to consider your work.  Please read our monthly contest rules for the current themes before sending us your work.
 
 

CONTENTS:
*NOTE:  One of our poetry competitions (FRIENDSHIP) has been extended until November 15, 2001.

• WELCOME
• LETTERS
• COURAGE
• LOVE
• PEACE
• FREEDOM

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FIRST PLACE Winner of a $10.00 Book Gift Certificate from Barnes & Noble

Those Dead

The gods have whispered war, let each sane woman wonder why.
They have no say as men go forth to die perhaps today,
for men are lonely heroes all:  those dead - those still to die.

The gods destroy while women mourn a future passing by.
They have no choice as men go forth to die in disarray.
The gods have whispered war, let each sad woman wonder why.

Strange gods are seeking sacrifice, tho women hear the lie.
They have no say as men go forth to hold those gods at bay,
for men are lonely heroes all:  those dead - those still to die.

Young children wail and old men weep, yet women simply sigh.
They have no choice as men go forth to fight in fearsome fray.
The gods have whispered war, let each brave woman wonder why.

Their silence sings a sad refrain of each unsaid good-bye.
They have no say as men go forth  to conquer distant prey,
for men are lonely heroes all:  those dead - those still to die.

So let the widowed women weep, let history hear their cry.
They've had no choice as men went forth and died too far away.
The gods have whispered war, let each lost woman wonder why
their men are lonely heros all:  those dead - those still to die.

Laura Heidy (Lo),  Highland, IN

SECOND PLACE

Faces Lost   Faces Gained

Up   Th      ey   went
skyward      faces gri
m yet k      ind    Up
in   to      light  in
to dark      night  in
day  Ru      in   over
mind fi      re  reign
ing  do      wn  Words
shared       ed   pass
ing  in      the wells
Wells o      f love we
lls  of      tears wel
ls fill      ed with cou
rage un      der  fire
Bravehe      arts knew
no  dir      ection  n
or love      any age or
ability.     From many        One

JUDGES' COMMENTS:  The way some letters of the words are not "with" the rest of the word--just outstanding.  Gives the reader a strong, visceral sense of the chaos of the moment. Very effective concrete, or shaped, poem. "Fire reigning" is a wonderfully crafted image--among many others in this fine effort.  Repetition of the word "wells," each rendition carrying its own nuanced meaning, is powerful.  Collectively, these repetitions not only add resonance to the poem, they propel the piece forward.  One of the best poems featured in Sol Magazine. Interesting use of concrete poetry to depict recent events.  Very creative in visual presentation, high marks for a poem in the form of twin towers; also for the outcome, the solitary all-important word at the end.
============
THIRD PLACE

Should I call?

I dialed
wanting to know
but afraid to ask

the question
hung in the air
like dense fog
on an overcast dawn

I heard
the phone
pick up

She's O.K.
said the voice
even before hello

I sighed
as if someone
had released me
from an over-tight
corset

me too
I answered

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA

Determinations' Lesson

Jimmy almost died of drowning.
His mother faced a difficult decision:
Instill in him a fear of water,
Forbid him to go swimming,
Row in boats and ride ocean waves.

Wise woman chose a courageous path
Pushing her anxiety within, she made The Plan,
Developed a System: the familial circle of sentries.
Assigned her sisters and the older siblings,
Positions in the lake to watch him kick and splash
While they experienced her determination at work
By summer's end, Jim was a swimmer.

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX

Don’t

Don’t tell me I can’t walk,
when I have not taken a step.
Don’t tell me not to talk,
when I have not said a word.

Don’t tell me I’m not right,
when I have done nothing wrong.
Don’t tell me I must fight.
when I should love my fellowman.

Don’t tell me I will fail,
when I have not even tried.
Don’t tell me not to tell,
when you know I have the truth.

Evelyn Hall, Dayton, OH

Swallowing Courage

Peering
out in darkness,
fear gnawing my insides
I wish I had Popeye's spinach
to eat.

Deborah P. Kolodji, Temple City, CA

Diagnosis

I'm sorry - he says. No need - say I.
Thanks - he says. Then I - You're sure I'll die?
No doubt - he says and stands
to go out - another patient. I nod my head,

try deep breathing, try to stand, look for someone
to hold my hand, and find only my own, to calm
my seething fears. I think of Darwin, I don't know why, and
suddenly begin to cry. And stop myself: no tears

for that great god of Nature's orders. Been back and
forth across those borders - more afraid of fear than
Death. I draw another tainted breath. I find I'm staring at a
door for which I have a key and, what is more, this whole

thing stinks. Who really cares what Darwin thinks!
The receptionist gives me a Hollywood smile as she
arranges the rest of my life in a file - and winks.
Have a nice day - I see her say.

One step,
another -
I walk
away.

John E. Rice, Houston, TX

America's Courage

New York City was brutally attacked,
The twin towers reduced to rubble.

Manhattan was destroyed
And innocent people lost their lives.

Horror gripped the nation;
The President ordered high alert.

Military troops geared up
As trained rescue people worked.

Americans watched the TV news as
They called loved ones far and near.

All our patriotic citizens showed the colors
With flags of red, white and blue.

A nation banded together decided that
Those nasty terrorists were through.

We waited for them to surrender
When they didn't, we decided to attack.

On a Sunday in October the President declared war.
As a nation we watched, cried and prayed

An ugly war was not what we wanted
But it was the only thing we could do.

Eileen Sateriale, Bowie, MD

E Pluribus Unum - Sept 11, 2001

My heart ached. I was tired of crying,  tired of hoping.
Exhausted from feeling, the day Americans came to my aid.

I stretched to place a coin into an offering, and I read,
"E Pluribus Unum, In God We Trust."

I saw a lone man waving a flag on the overpass of the freeway.
A young boy looking on as his father in a ponytail lovingly smoothed
a flag bumper sticker to the back window of their car.
A woman burying her face in the flag,
and another whose tear sizzled against the wick of a flickering candle.
I listened to those who  too often argued bitterly
about who is wrong and who is right say "we".

I too heard, a president who listened, and who prayed.
I healed a bit, as exhausted rescuer choked up with
"I'm only doing my job."

and I closed my eyes and hugged my child when he whispered,
"We'll be better tomorrow mom."

Tonight, I am not white or black, or yellow. I am not a Jew or a
Christian or a pagan.
I am not Japanese, or French or Danish.
I am not a mourner or a survivor or even a rescuer.
I am, an American just like them, just like you.

In many, we are one.  E Pluribus Unum.

Marsha Rose Steed, Roseville, CA

What Is Courage?

What is courage? Absence of fear?
A resolve without trembling or pause?
No; without fear, courage means nothing.
Courage is the conquest of fear.

What is courage? The will to do?
The strength to press on to the end?
Yes; but not that alone; without principle,
Will becomes just destructive cruelty.

What is courage? The noble heart,
That sees what is right and then acts,
That goes head-on with fear and subdues it.
Courage is the strength to do good.

Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX

Citadels

Here a grandson stands beside me
bravely waving a flag he is just learning.
My hand upon his curly head
I stand tall, chin jutted, look
determinedly to the east.

Here a free air whips our hair about
like red, white and blue in the wind.
We stand tall and unafraid like flagpoles.
The sun picks a gleem from our eyes.

Here and there is where you find
tonight orphans, those who
weep themselves to sleep
through plights not of their own making.
This is where East meets West.

If look you into our eyes, you see
the look of eagles.
If you look closer, you will see
also the tears of doves.

Here is where we feel no fear.
Here is where we feel courage and sorrow.

Claiborne S. Walsh, Montrose, AL

FIRST PLACE Winner of a $10.00 Book Gift Certificate from Barnes & Noble.

Language of Love

Universal Love
So powerful and mighty.
Everyone knows that
When love speaks, the world listens
To one, single dialect.

Eileen Sateriale, Bowie, MD

Love Must Not Be Choosy

If we want the most from loving, it won’t do us any good
If we base our love’s criteria on a creed or neighborhood.
If we want to use our love to make the world the best we can,
Then our love must be "whatever," not "because" or "if" or "and."
Even fools can love their own kind; even scoundrels love the one
Who thinks like them, and looks like them, and does things that they
want done.
But the truly noble spirit is the one that reaches out
In compassion to the stranger, and the oddball, and the lout.
If we keep on hating others, even our worst enemy,
Then the best that we can hope for "yes, the best there’ll ever be."
Is a world no worse or better than the one we live with now.
Do we want to make things better? Then why balk when this is how?
If we want a world where hatred and its sorrows are no more,
We must open up our hearts and let all others in the door.

Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX

Cinnamon Feet

In corners where oppression lives
Love of life helps sufferers survive
On farms, in fields and dusty plains
In deserts too remote
It's love and kindly charity, caring people must promote.
We hear
Sandaled cinnamon feet on cobblestones and pebbly dust,
Trample on in fields of wheat-filled plain,
Enveloped soon by bellowing winds of dusk
Driving ochre gusts of softly biting pain.
We hear
Hunger whispering with a longing lust.
Insidious, it's there in fields abloom
Where only hummingbirds can feed
On nectar drawn by blossoms sweet perfume.
We see
Sullen amber eyes soon seek the moon
Hidden in some swiftly moving cumulus clouds,
Oh, indigo sky of such celestial dreams
I lay me down beneath umbrella trees of glistening green.
We feel
Barely sheltered by abundant leaves of woven shroud
Alone in cardboard box to lie unseen.
And wither there with hunger like a flower dried
Once salient figure full of life, to testify
That life is cruel ...we simply live
No quality of life to satisfy
And then we die.

Corrine G. Schlessel, Woodbridge, CT

Bi-racial

Asia ...
With his almond eyes
His burnished skin
His gifted, artist's hands

Asia ...
Slight in the arms enfolding him
Holding him tight and
Shuddering against his tense form

Asia's gift is
Growing relentlessly in my
Taut, Caucasian
Belly

Soon to be round
With the result of
Our uncompromising
Love

SJ Baldock, Lancaster, TX

All You Need Is Love

I caught myself
humming again
in the library,
then looked about
to see
if anyone noticed.

Last time I sang that song
was a thousand years ago
on one of those
scout overnights
where everyone
hangs out around the fire
eating chocolate bars
and burnt marshmallow
wedged
between graham crackers.

Funny
how old songs
come back
when we need them.

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA

It Doesn‘t Matter

Your skin is different than mine,
Yet, our skin feels like silk.

Your hair is blonde,
My hair is black.

Your lips are small,
My lips are full.

You have broad shoulders,
I have broad hips.

Your heart beats,
My heart skips a beat.

Your love is unconditional,
My love is too.

Eve Hall, Dayton, OH

Ribbons

Can we share one's selfish pain with the wearing of purple ribbons?
This, a sincere and empathetic gesture.
Emotions fathoms deeper, than our eye's view.
There's no greater loss, no more dastardly harm, inflicted.
No meaningless significance, the insanely inhuman evil, portray.
We, are with anger, compassion and vengeance.
All these, not will misfortune, reverse.
In alliance, our spirit invulnerable, setting goals for
a courageous victory over tyranny, discovering
the solutions for everlasting peace and good will.
Peace will prevail, historians have quoted wisely.
No such profundity, by itself, will ring forever true.
Omnipotent Love, as is inherent to life.
The whole of its entirety, suggests a gathering for world unity.
Criminal terrorists, their submission, unfailing.
An era of human empathy and vigilance be our goals.
Reinforced and sacrificed by our hero's bravery,
The world listens to cries and cries with relentless compassion.
Ribbons of empathy, turning to a glorious rainbow for peace.
We need heed to our "Omnipotent"
legacy, ever guiding in our efforts.
Peace will have reigned, and forever kept guarded.
Holding within the boundaries of human decency,
securing our immortal love for a unilateral,
universal family....

Louie Levy, Thousand Oaks, CA

Actions Speak Louder

I failed my Spanish test
Again.
I can't get the hang of this,
using foreign words for things
I know only in English.
I want to work in the Peace Corps
someday,
a day that seems will never come.
And it won't, they tell me, if I don't
have a second language
that I can use.
But I do have a second language,
I tell them.
There's no test for it, and they don't
teach it in school,
but it's universal, just the same.
I know how to love.

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY

FIRST PLACE Winner of a $10.00 Book Gift Certificate from Barnes & Noble

Supplication

Turn away
from the fearsome, fanged faces
of Mars and the celebrated
Stars of War.

Feed fresh corn to
carrion crows and ragged rooks
who last fed on rotted flesh
in the killing fields
of eden.

Let the last lingering
terrible sound
be that clash and crash of
downed arms: sheathed swords,
helmets, halberds and hauberks hurled
into a bottomless bomb crater. Buried!

Take my hand. Stand with me
and sing -
sing the sweet songs
of forgiveness and
Peace.

John E. Rice, Houston, TX

The Rookery

Ribbons of fog rise from the swamp
Encircling a canopy of tallow trees
Covered with nests of wading birds.
Gregarious snowy egrets preen
Flowing breeding plumage.
Spoonbills rise on extended wings
To fish for their brood.
Tri-colored heron fledglings rehearse
Their scraping-grating call notes
The bucolic scene is a prime example
For non-feathered folks
Of creatures of varying gene pools
Living in close proximity
In peace.

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX

The Same God

If instead of
Dropping bombs
Enemies would
Fly kites
It might be
Easier
To remember
We are
Children
Of the same
God

SJ Baldock, Lancaster, TX

We Will Prevail

Be the hand that steadies ours if we should falter.
Be the sun that lights our way when days seem dark.
Be our eyes that we may see our lives renewed past shifted steel.
Be our breath that we may smell the earth beyond these acrid fumes.

Be our voice when we are thunderstuck by terror still unseen.
Be our ears that we may hear some sweeter song than sirens in the night.
Comfort us as whistling winds weave through this now sacred place.
Embrace us with a calm yet fierce resolve to triumph past this gloom.

We are all the stalwart hearts on earth and will not fail
Whatever cost to humankind,
we will prevail!

Corrine G Schlessel, Woodbridge, CT

Peace Defined

Peace
is a quiet moment
reflecting on beauty
which is all about.

Peace
is the courage to face
problems without fear
of overcoming trouble.

Peace
is the blessing of love,
sharing pleasant hours
with precious kin and friends.

Roberta Pipes Bowman, Fort Worth, TX

The Kindergartener

In uneasy anticipation
We watch from the kitchen window
Until the yellow bus stops by our mailbox
Out pops Alicia, backpack bouncing, arms akimbo
Rushing up the driveway, bursting into the quiet house
Announcing, "Mimi, I'm home.
Papa, I'm hungry."
Peace bubbles up from the wellspring of our hearts.

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA

A Sure Promise

No more sadness,
No more badness, soon.
No more lying,
No more crying, soon.
No more tears,
No more fears, soon.
No more death,
No more theft, soon.
Wars will cease,
Complete peace, soon.

Evelyn Hall, Dayton, OH

More Than Enough

Peace--
may be short in length,
but it's tall in spirit.

Peace--
may be soft in sound,
but it's loud in sentiment.

Peace--
may be a precious gift,
but it's easy to give

Peace--
may be divided many ways,
but it will never run out.

Give peace to all,
there's more than enough
to go around.

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY

Dove of Peace

Dove of Peace
Beautiful Bird
Spreads his wings.
Flies all around.
Olive branch
Falls from his beak
Eternal symbol of peace.

Eileen Sateriale, Bowie, Maryland

Starting Small

We won’t have peace between nations
Until we have peace within nations.
We won’t have peace within nations
Until we have peace between neighborhoods.
We won’t have peace between neighborhoods
Until we have peace with our neighbors.
We won’t have peace with our neighbors
Until we have peace within ourselves.
We won’t have peace within ourselves
Until we stop resenting others.
We won’t stop resenting others
Until we stop thinking so much of ourselves.
We won’t stop thinking so much of ourselves
Until we realize that we aren’t perfect,
That we don’t always know best,
That every human being deserves respect.
If you grieve over hatred in the world,
Beware lest your own heart is contributing its share,
For even the smallest resentment can grow
Until it breeds destruction and tragedy.

Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX

FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $10.00 Book Gift Certificate from Barnes & Noble.

Freedom Is Not a Prize

Freedom is not a prize for the strong.
It is the right of all.
Freedom is not the whims of the majority.
It is the obligation to hear the minority.
Freedom is not the right to keep others down.
It is the responsibility to lift others up.

Freedom is not the license to do as we please.
It is the liberty to do as we should.
Those ruled by desperate clinging to their possessions and privileges
Or by hatred and contempt for others
Are not truly free - they are slaves to their own selves.

The truly free spirit recognizes truth
And is passionately concerned for justice
And knows there is no real freedom for anybody
Until there is freedom for everybody.

Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX

Freedom Rings

On the outside,
I am caged
in a society full
of intolerance.

On the inside,
I am free
in a place empty
of hatred.

And though I am
not big enough
or strong enough
to erase hatred and intolerance
I am free to wage
my own battle,
free
to smile,
to say a kind word,
to offer a helping hand,
and to show others
they are free to do the same.

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY

Declaration

You may take my Rights
with Laws - all Wrongs.
You may burn my books
and still my songs.

I may spend my nights
on hard stone floors,
locked behind your
Faceless Doors

where naked bulbs
shine fierce above
this cold, dark Place
devoid of Love.

Yet deep inside where
you can't see,
I feel my heart still
beating free.

Use all your
evil Chains That Bind -
you'll never imprison
my soul
or my mind.

John E. Rice, Houston, TX

Rain

Isolated, but nonetheless aware, I
Always knew that elsewhere skies exist
Without thermals ...

My mother's belly was
A comforting ether surrounding me
Until in response to fate I was released

To join with brother paratroopers
And spiral through polluted air
Intent upon a kamikaze flight trajectory

Cleansing heaven of its degradation and
Sacrificing all -- including individuality --
I find myself obliterated

In a community of grimy puddles on
Gritty sidewalks
In grotesque cities far from home

The adversary stretches taut its canvas shield
Protectively against our onslaught and
Carefully sidesteps the minefields of our destruction

Scurrying this way and that and
Ducking for cover to enter the sanctuary of
Tall edifices piercing the horizon

He remains oblivious to our sacrifice
-- what we have gladly given up --
That he might have

He only knows that he is getting wet and
-- head down -- he fails to recognize
That we are giving rainbows

SJ Baldock, Lancaster, TX

Free

Seagulls overhead
Gliding gracefully above
No cares in the world.

Evelyn Hall, Dayton, OH

Freedom

Fearless military troops awaiting word to
Fight terrorism in Afghanistan and
Fiendish enemies hiding behind Islam.
Friends and neighbors all over the world
Fight willingly to help bring down these
Felons who have attacked America.
Freedom is for all, not just for the strong.

Eileen Sateriale, Bowie, MD

Sol Magazine will mail no book prizes to poets outside the United States of America.  Book gift certificates from Barnes & Noble will be substituted.  No exceptions.
============
Have a comment?  Want to be added to our list?  Want to be taken off our list?

Write to us at:  Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net

Or at:
Sol Magazine
P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037
Phone number:  (281) 316-2255 weekdays 8-5 Central Time.

Sol Magazine's Website:  http://www.sol-magazine.com

It's never too soon to register for the Austin International Poetry Fest, to be held in April 2002.  For more information, contact Midge Kocen, Festival Director at registration@aipf.org or go to their website http://aipf.org and read more.
============
So you want to be judge, guest editor, interviewee?  Tell us.  Judges are asked to write a guest editorial on a topic we set before being invited to judge a contest.
============
All poetry remains the property of the poet, except Sol Magazine reserves the right to publish all poems (once) at a future date, and/or to post them to a web page.  NONE may be reproduced without permission of Sol Magazine.  Electronic forwarding is permitted as long as no portion of this magazine is changed and all credits are given.
=============
Sponsors in 2001:  Texas Poet, M. G. Angel, Mary Margaret Carlisle, Lois Lay Castiglioni, SuzAnne Cole, Jim Lay, Cliff Thomas Roberts, Marsha Rose Steed.
============
Angels in 2001:  Texas Poet, Leo F. Waltz.
============
Book donors in 2001:  Paula Marie Bentley, Debby Cochran, Katherine Elmore, Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Glynn Monroe Irby, Peggy Zuleika Lynch, Carlyn Luke Reding, Cliff Thomas Roberts, John Salacan, Kathleen Elizabeth Schaefer, Craig Tigerman.

Corporate book donors:  Barnes & Noble, Bookstop.

New sponsors and angels always welcomed.  Thanks for your support.

---

Home