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Sol Magazine (C) 1998
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Note:  we have four young poets with us this issue, Emily Earnest, Elizabeth Lombardo, Tiffany Post, and Maggie Stearns, all under the age of twelve. We put their wonderfully fresh poetry together in this special section.
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YOUNG POETS
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Note:  all entries are judged blind, no names, no ages.  This poem, by Emily Earnest, won Honorable Mention in our Time and Space contest.

Time

Some think of time as money
Other a thing to waste.
I think of it as wonderful,
And I use it with joy.

Emily Earnest, Smyrna, GA

Eight year-old Emily is the grandaughter of Kay Earnest, and the grandneice of Lois Castiglioni, one of our poets, and sister to Kay.
Judge's comment: Insightful poem.  Suggestion:  consider "employed with joy" or "savor with joy" instead of the word "use."
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Martians

There was a Martian with bright purple hair,
And he lost his underwear.
He looked in vain, till he was insane
And now his body is bare.

Elizabeth Lombardo, Warren, RI
Elizabeth is ten years old.  Her aunt is Pat Tabella, one of our poets.
Judge's Comment:  A giggle, clever visually!
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Oceans of Water

Oceans of water as we see
Miles and miles,
On and on
It goes.

Tiffany Lynette Post, League City, TX
Tiffany is 9 years old.  Her mother is Lynette Bowen Post, one of our poets.
Staff comments:  a good rhythm, like a galloping horse.
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Nature's Soft Love

As the wind blows
You feel nature's warm hug
As the rain falls
You feel nature's deep love touching

Tiffany Lynette Post, League City, TX
Staff comments:  we can feel the hug, and the love of nature in this poem.
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Sea Beauty

The sea reflects the beauty of the earth
The wind sweeps along the shore
The water glistens
As the wind passes by

Maggie Stearns, Wilmette, IL
Maggie is the daughter of Libby Stearns, one of our poets.
Staff Comments:  Lovely picture painting.
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Moonlight Reverie

The silvery moonlight crosses the trees,
Over the prairie to the sea,
Moonlight passes over me,
Casting dark shadows, running free.

Maggie Stearns, Wilmette, IL
Editor's comments:  a painter's eye, and a poet's voice.
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The poem won Honorable Mention in our Nature Contest.

Sunfilled Sky

sunfilled sky makes
the flowers grow into blossoms
sunfilled sky makes my eyes
shimmer like lightning

Maggie Stearns, Wilmette, IL
Staff comments:  the vision of eyes shimmering like lightning is wonderful.
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Any more young poets out there?
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Twice a month, Sol Magazine sponsors poetry contests, and from the results, produces an electronic poetry magazine, published on the last day of each month.  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.
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This month's prizes were donated by Leo F. Waltz.  Thanks, Leo.
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SECTION TWO - WINNERS OF GENERAL ENTRIES
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HONORABLE MENTIONS - ALL CONTESTS
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Oceanliner

Heartbeats set time to the rhythm of the sea.
Ancestors spilled lifetimes onto the buoyant thruway.
Slapped them onto distant shores by thousands.
The sea, never weary, pulses to shore.

Bernie Bruster, Carthage, TX
Staff Comments:  Tells the universal history of all immigrants, using poetic language, making it an immediate experience.
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The Bee Puzzle

It takes a heap of She-Bees
To make a hive a home,
But what was Mother Nature thinking of
When she made all He-Bees drones?

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's comments:  This one hums! Staff comments:  Witty!
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My Friend Died in Hurricane Season

Those dark clouds
beyond the jetty
loom large like grief,
as fierce as fear.

J. Paul Holcomb, Double Oak, TX
Judge's Comments:  has the sense of the fierceness of the sea, reflected in the sky.
Staff Comments:  Crafted as powerfully as a Hurricane, swirling grief and fear and sorrow together in those dark clouds.  Intense message.
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Mercer Slough

Near twilight, I walked alone
treading the boardwalk through the bog
and towhees whistled down the sun
and mist enclosed the glade where rabbits posed.

Jean McAllister, Bellevue, WA
Judge's comments:  paints a picture of a specific space.
Staff comments:  Vivid vision, well-written.
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Gulls

Gray sailors scramble in erratic flight
against a cobalt sky
to soar and scream and cry
in feathered rivalry.

Marie McCubbin, Jefferson City, MO
Judge's comments:  has the colors and sounds of the sea.
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Truants

My Chinese students from the mountain schools
Were fascinated by the sea and shore.
One day they sailed to Dahliahn and back
And said they'd not been anywhere before.

Tom Padgett, Bolivar, MO
Staff Pick:  by weaving this recollection in deceptively simple but carefully chosen words, the poet transports us, making us part of his world.
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Nature Daydreams

Paul finds refuge in nature
Amid birds, trees, fish and flowers
Avoiding short-tempered stepmother
Reading books near Squaw Creek for hours

Sharon Petersen, Boise, ID
Judge's comment:  intrigues, the beginning of a story.
Staff comment:  novelistic, with a plot, characters, background.
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Changing Woman

Womb energy,
Tiniest grain of sand blooms in the darkness.
O'Keeffe's vision can heal hearts closed by shadows
Painted on the desert cliffs.

Mary Pat Rafferty, Sugar Land, TX
Judge's comments:  flows, encompasses nature and self.
Staff comments:  Crisp, succinct, clear.
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Seascapes

Extraordinary colors flashing by
Rainbows of gills and fins gratify
How less imaginative am I
Than the Creator whose crayola box never runs dry

Marsha Chantaclair Rose, Citrus Heights, CA
Judge's comments:  all those colors!!!
Staff comments:  The tools of a child and the tools of the Creator...wonderful image.
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Fathoming Depths

Softly, salty sea conceals its mystery;
I gaze and wonder what's beneath those waves.
How water wears away with time, yet saves;
Microcosm of life and all of history!

Craig Tigerman, Moline, IL
Staff Comments:  internal and external alliteration, rocking rhythm, interesting rhyme, precise word choice.  Well done, Craig.
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Here and Now

Keep feeling each moment
There's nothing to fear
every second that comes your way is
Your happening, right here

Craig Tigerman, Moline, IL Judge's comments:  upbeat!
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Missing Moments

Switching calendars, turning back clocks,
Conforming to an executive decision
Made by the Council of time.
Where are the days and hours we've lost?

Jade Walker, Lake Worth, FL
Staff Pick:  Thoughtful questioning.  We liked the almost rhyme of "clocks" and "lost," also the cadence of long syllables in the first three lines, then the quick crisp last line.
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THIRD PLACE - RETURN TO THE SEA -
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Marine Tiara

Ocean tides with endless churning
revolve and roll around with sound
but billows bold are often honored
by seaweed wreathes crest-crowned.

Beverly Steward, Santa Barbara, CA
Judge's comments:  Shows us the soft rolling of the sea, small shining breakers glistening in the sunlight like diamonds
Staff comments:  Uses alliteration beautifully, underlining our desire to read this aloud.
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THIRD PLACE - NATURE CONTEST -
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Eek!  Oh, System!

From cave to grave, we pave the land.
Behave, be brave, and save the grand
Creation into which we're bound:
In balance birthed, in garbage drowned.

Craig Tigerman, Moline, IL
Judge's comment:  Man's call to heed and protect nature.
Staff comments:  Well done rhyme upon rhyme, internal and external.
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THIRD PLACE - TIME AND SPACE CONTEST
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First Time Facing Blank Canvas

With thirsty brush, numb fingers tight,
I thaw in sudden surge of might
To dip and swirl rainbows of light
And overcome my fear of white.

Marie McCubbin, Jefferson City, MO
Judge's comments:  flows nicely, looks at the topic from a new perspective.
Staff comments: Gives real insight into overcoming fear of any kind.
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SECOND PLACE - RETURN TO THE SEA CONTEST -
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Water Sign

Waves echo inner rhythms and crash against my soul,
Surf sprays salt into my eyes and nose,
Feet wade in wet caresses, squishing sand between my toes.
The sea slaps gently, welcoming me home.

Mary Pat Rafferty, Sugar Land, TX
Judge's comments:  feeling, sensing, touches all.
Staff comments:  Physical, emotional, balanced in form and tone.
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SECOND PLACE - NATURE CONTEST
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Flight of Fancy

From a puff of white,
Amid a sea of yellow flowers,
Dandelion seeds, caught by a chill spring breeze,
Glide like fairy folk through morning sunlight.

Patricia A. Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's comment:  nature singing, beginning and ending rhyme pulls this together.
Staff comment:  Lovely language, with a clear cadence.
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SECOND PLACE - SPACE AND TIME CONTEST
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Division by Three

Hands move over a dial
dividing into portions of duration:
the memory of past mingling the present
while serving the sense of forever.

Betty Ann Whitney, Land O' Lakes, FL
Staff comment:  Thoughtful and complex.

A hint of sulfur on the wind
is harbinger to the sea.
Waves and surf imagined
welcome the prodigal, me.

Ron Blanton, Salt Lake City, UT
Judge's Comments:  succinct, holds the theme well, beckons with a sea scent.

Sandstone with its strata-stacks
communicates Cenozoic traces
Shattered shards tell ancient sagas
translate creations inventive phases

Beverly Steward, Santa Barbara, CA
Judge's Comments:  balanced, a short history of nature.
Staff Comments:  Uses precise words in a careful way, paints with alliteration, and when read aloud it rings like stones dropped from a great distance.

I play reticulum to the universe
heeding code from the helix norm.
I play the cosmic packager,
a cog inside of cogs, another virus born.

Ron Blanton, Salt Lake City, UT
Judge's Comments:  Good flow, use of language and subtle rhyme.
Staff Comments:  Send this poem directly to Analog Magazine!  Great!

Though the temperatures still drop
The edge of summertime approaches
As warmer May begins to stir
The gardener's urge to till.

Betty Ann Whitney, Land O' Lakes, FL
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Betty Ann: a copy of NIMROD, International Journal, is on its way to you.

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