=============
Sol Magazine (C) 1998
=============
Twice a month, Sol Magazine sponsors poetry contests, and from the results, produces an electronic poetry magazine, usually published on the last day of each month.  Not every poem submitted is published.

The topics are on a variety of subjects about nature and the nature of humanity.  Our purpose: to foster the reading and writing of short poetry.
============
This philosophical poem from Betty Ann Whitney won Honorable Mention in our Wetlands contest.  It lovingly reminds us of the important diversity of life in our fragile coastal ecosystems.  Well crafted and beautifully sung...we appreciate your sharing it with us, Betty Ann.  As always, you exhibit the talent that made you Sol Magazine's Poet Laureate of 1997.
============
The Unmanaged and Unmanicured Grasses

the scent of life is constant in the marshes, the shapes reshaped
determined by the shifting inches of living water...songbirds
swoop overhead...come to land the reeds of cattail stands
and the fringe of distinctively different shades of earthly beauty

Betty Ann Whitney, Land O' Lakes, FL
============
HONORABLE MENTIONS for this month - below
============
Carnival

I cannot help but chuckle
at the tease that springs in May.
The hot, the cold, the flowers,
juggled in the Vernal play.

Ron Blanton, Salt Lake City, UT
Judge's comments:  feels true; light-heartedly makes sense of spring's busyness.
============
Buoy

St. John's Wort
Kept my blues at bay
Until I began beach walking
And my worries floated away

Lois Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's comments:  nice pun in line two, ongoing alliteration in lines two and three.   A reflective poem.
===========
Beach Conflicts

Hot sun, cool surf
Divots in shadow and light
Waves of water, waves of wind
Face to the sun, back in shadow.

J C Holland, Fort Worth, TX
Judge's comments:  interesting and well-conceived.
Staff comments:  lovely contrasts.
=============
Beach

Sun, sand
Walking hand in hand
Arm in arm by the waterside
You can see forever, no place to hide

Mimi Ott, Houston, TX
Judge's comments:  Simple yet profound; the shore a backdrop enabling self-discovery and sharing.
==============
Bruneau Dunes Shelter Desert Lilies

South and across the Snake River
Many arid mile to Bruneau Dunes
Tiny desert lilies hide low in the sand
And children soar with their kites above

Sharon Petersen, Boise, ID
Staff Pick:  A poem meant for speaking aloud, with sounds that roll in and out like the tide.
===========
Raccoon Tracks

precocious prints pressed in mud
journal of night's jaunts
feasts and fun
left open for the sun to read

Lynette Bowen Post, League City, TX
Judge's comments:  poetic language, with nice alliteration and phrasing.
=================
New Beginnings

A subtle shift occurs, an internal glow,
Inspiring green growth on grey tree limbs.
Tiny buds of life awaken
Ancient rhythms in my soul.

Mary Pat Rafferty, Sugar Land, TX
============
A Salute

The crescent leaping from the pool
Stirred imaginations against a golden moon.
Shimmering sand on a fertile plane,
The trout-tail flicked his farewell too soon.

Marsha Rose, Citrus Heights, CA
Judge's comments:  Lovely picture of nature in the moonlight.
===============
Vast Beaches

the beach opens wide
the waves crash into the sand
the sea gulls gull the coquinas
click-clack when the waves rush in

Maggie Stearns, Wilmette, IL
Staff Comments:  nice rhythm, and we loved the third and fourth lines!
===========
Cover-Up

Modest jelly fish transparent blushes
Discovered by children curious
To cover her embarrassment
She stings them on their ambushes.

Beverly Steward, Santa Barbara, CA
Staff Comments:  witty, funny, fresh.
===========
Promising Fun

Tadpoles lure children quickly
With their wiggly tails and bodies
Promise on some future date
Frogs aleaping to compensate.

Beverly Steward, Santa Barbara, CA
Judge's comments:  reminder to look with the eyes of a child; may there be tadpoles luring youngsters in wetlands for many generations to come.
Staff comments:  May it be forever!
===============
Sunday Morning

Moss-hung trees among the Cypresshead and the calm light
Slanting an almost pleasant humid air, drew me into
The ankle-deep slick-green water.  Spring is my favorite
Time of year...I stayed 'til all the wings had set in glide.

Betty Ann Whitney, Land O' Lakes, FL
Judge's comments:  Delightful scene, poetically described, linked to the poet's senses.
=========== 

Crabs jitter along the beach,
Looking all the world like tiny mechanical creatures,
Strutting sideways,
Menacing and comical, all at once.

Patricia A. Tabella, Providence, RI
Judges' comments:  made me smile.  Great diction (jitter, strutting, menacing, comical.)
============
THIRD PLACE - Spring Contest - below -
============
Giant Leopard Moth

Yawning caterpillar she wakes from a long winter's sleep
Warmed hungry by spring sun eats a dandelion and plantain feast
Spins around red striped black bristled body a cloak with dancing feet
Wakes to fling silken wings airborne in the tender evening's heat

Lynette Bowen Post, League City, TX
Judge's comments:  nice alliteration and internal/external rhyme; beautiful description of one of nature's fascinating miracles.
============
THIRD PLACE - Wetlands Contest - below -
============
Seafood Buffet 4/8/98

While I'm queuing outside of Joe's Crab Shack,
Laughing seagulls seem to squawk at me,
"Oh, non-feathered friends, can't you see,
Our fish is fresher, and what's more, it's free?"

Lois Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judges' comments:  humorous:  contrasts nature's apparent simplicity and the complexity of human civilization.
============
SECOND PLACE - Beaches and Dunes Contest - below -
============
Hydro Spirits

Like buoyant decoys floating unnoticed,
One-eyed pelicans stare at me
As we share the salt and brine of the ocean
While merging our fluid natures.

Mary Pat Rafferty, Sugar Land, TX
Judge's Comments:  Delightful, with a touch of the mystical; deep reflective scene.
============
SECOND PLACE - Spring Contest - below -
============
Joy

Birds sing all the day long,
Flirting and courting, collecting twigs and grasses.
This is the time for building home and family
And singing all the glorious day away.

Patricia A. Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's Comments:  Captures the spirit of spring, renewal and the circle of life.
============
SECOND PLACE - Wetlands Contest - below -
============
Retrospective on a Friendship

I wish to walk again the boards by Palo Alto's bay
Where terns swing wild on winds swept southward from the sea,
Where he and I talked long and earnestly
And saw our paths diverge before the end of day

Jean McAllister, Bellevue, WA
Judge's Comments:  leaves a lingering impression. 

Sea shakes her seashell rattles on the shore
And raucous gulls compete above the roar
Sun warms the spiders sunning in the sands
While Moon holds running tides tight in her hands

Lynette Bowen Post, League City, TX
Judge's comments:  Beautifully descriptive words and alliterations; a complete beach picture. 

and the sun on the water
glistens the wing of the swan
wild beauty, the heron in blue
watches spring's advance

Pat Barber, Edgewood, MD
Judge's Comments:  Serene, lovely picture of interplay between the elements and wildlife. 

Solo flight
A landing in watered grass
Returning home to his own
Nature's wetlands.

J C Holland, Fort Worth, TX
Judge's comments: sparse, terse, says so much in fourteen words.
Staff comments:  nice internal rhyme. 

Something's missing from these long days of April--
Fritillaria imperialsis show off beneath the trees in bloom,
And bees stop by each new spring flower,
But a summer home in the evergreen awaits our wayward robins.

by Pat Tabella

What a lovely poem!  A copy of "Peninsula Poets," provided by Ted O. Badger, editor of "Lucidity, a Poetry Journal," is on the way to Pat.
============
For more information about Lucidity, a softcover Poetry Journal, e-mail: tbadger@ipa.net
===========
For more information about Sol Magazine, an e-zine Poetry Journal, e-mail:
DMHT67B@Prodigy.com
===========
This magazine is edited and published by Mary Margaret Carlisle.
===========
Send comments, questions, advice to:  DMHT67B@Prodigy.com
Snail mail:  Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037
Phone number:  1-281-333-3741
Website:  http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine
============
Write to the above address to be added or deleted from this list.
============
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.
=============
See our contest website for current guidelines.  We do not accept entries that make use of graphic language, touch on partisan politics, or support particular religious views.
=============
Sol Magazine (C) 1998
=============

Back to index: http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine