Sol Magazine's
Poet Laureate 2005 Edition
© 2005 SOL MAGAZINE
http://www.sol-magazine.org


HONORABLE MENTION

Maryann Hazen-Stearns
Ellenville, NY, USA

Maryann Hazen-Stearns

Maryann Hazen-Stearns, author of Under the Limbo Stick, has been a member of Sol Magazine for five years.  Her poetry also appears in many international print publications and in 400+ electronic publications.  She is Associate Editor of MindFire Renewed, and member of the Woodstock Poetry Society, and Poets & Writers.  She says, "I write poetry because I love poetry; I am not a performer or an actress. I became so concerned over performance and physical appearance, that it robbed me of the pleasure of sharing my poetry, so I stopped making appearances. So far, no one has complained."
EDITORS’ & JUDGES’ COMMENTS:  An expressive presentation of lyrical and melodic, effectual and descriptive language.  Mary Hazen-Stearns is a sensory poet whose fine poetry sizzles under a controlled intensity and is marked by rich and compelling metaphors.  This is a strong writer, whose complex ideas are well worth sharing with a greater audience. Memorable work meant to be read aloud and then read aloud again.  Writing that touches the inner core of us all.


 
When One Does Not Return
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us." - - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The dead red leaves rest in a pile.
There will be fresh bacon for breakfast
and new brown eggs. The table is set.

Jimmy is gone, Nellie is sleeping.
Sap drips from the maple's veins
slowly into the pail.

Acorns fall, monarchs fly.
This morning a male cardinal
sits on the white fence.
He is clearly waiting.
When I glance again, he has vanished.

Nellie tends the fire beneath the iron pot,
stirs the sap as it simmers.
The very air about us sticks
to our flannel sleeves and jeans,
sweet with possibilities
and the drunken dance of wasps.

© 2005  Maryann Hazen-Stearns

COMMENTS:  A touching narrative matter-of-factly sets the world a stage where feelings seem to have been withheld.  Despite the "silence" the reader is aware that the title reveals the something that is happening.  Fresh, poetical images enliven a lovely setting.  That which is not said is instead felt.  This poem is rife with sensory detail: the colors and pictures, the taste and smell of bacon and eggs; the sound of bacon cooking, maple dripping, acorns falling; and the feel of flannel sticking to the skin. The foreshadowing in the stanza with the cardinal is poignant. Much lies beneath the surface of this poem.  Great storytelling.
snow crystals melt
cardinal song rises on mist
seeds fall

© 2005  Maryann Hazen-Stearns

COMMENTS:  Contrasting images refer to this poem’s theme.  This picture of hope shows the duality of falling seeds and rising songs, melting snow and forming songs. Lovely writing.  Beauty expressed in sight and sound.  Exquisite.
barrio steams
blacktop sprouts telephone poles
oil slick rainbows

© 2005  Maryann Hazen-Stearns

COMMENTS:  Vivid description. Although this excellent poem has the feel of nature, all its elements are manmade. A delightful paradox of images.  Thoughtful urbanscape that forces the reader into the picture.  Well done!
 

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