Winners - Sol Magazine's March Issue

Write to DMHT67B@prodigy.com for a complete copy of March's Issue.
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Sol Magazine (C) 1999
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SOL MAGAZINE'S MARCH ISSUE -  Wind, Storm, Spotlight, Alpha Poet.
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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 winners are posted to our website at:
http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine

Our 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, and the education of poets.
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WELCOME:  SuzAnne C. Cole, Glen Irby, Carlyn Reding.
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MARCH SPONSORS:  Jim Lay, Leo F. Waltz.
BOOK DONORS:  Carlyn Luke Reding, Craig Tigerman.
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MARCH JUDGES:  Betty Ann Whitney, Craig Tigerman.
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From Jim Lay:

"Sponsored in memory of Henry Grady Lay, the big brother of Jim Lay, Kay Lay Earnest and Lois Lay Castiglioni.  He loved his country and his family, and always made us smile.  Above all, Henry Grady was our friend.

We have a lot of fun writing (for Sol Magazine). Thanks for your time and trouble!"  Jim.

Wind-driven clouds
Race across the sky
Like ghostly ships
In full sail

Lois Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's Comment:  This poet's dreamy vision inspires our own daydreams.
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SECOND PLACE - Winner of a copy of "Wight" by Tim Hahn.  (For more information on how to order "Wight" see the end of Section Two.)
Forest Song

Running her fingers
Through tall pine thicket
The wind plucks a mournful melody
Skillfully as a harpist

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comment:  Beautiful imagery of wind's fingers playing the pines like harp strings.
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HONORABLE MENTION
A Moon Amused

As the winds of March push us along,
The grin of a new moon
Smiles down on us
Like a funny little Cheshire cat.

Patricia A Tabella, Providence, RI
Judge's Comment:  I enjoyed pondering this scene.  Nicely described!
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FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $10.00 book gift certificate.
Savage Beast

Galloping at full speed
tearing things apart
The wind like a raging steed
showed it had no heart

Edie Yozgat, Gainesville, FL
Judge's Comment:  Tight writing, poetic, full of action.  Well done!
Editor's Comment:  The rhyme does not distract from the message.
Good title for this work.
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STORM - Judge:  Betty Ann Whitney, Assistant Editor
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Metaphors imply a comparison between two unlike things by substituting something or the attributes of something with another.  If you say "the wind became a lion, roaring in the night," you might picture the wind changing into an animal, and so the phrase is a metaphor.

Similes are often confused with metaphors.  If you say, "the wind roared like a lion," that is a simile.  (The use of "like" and "as" belong to similes, not metaphors.)

Personification is also a form of metaphor.

Ordinary speech is full of words and phrases no longer recognized as metaphorical, such as "nightfall" or "at break of day", and are therefore considered to be "dead metaphors."
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HONORABLE MENTION

of steel

shall we dance
to the rhythm of the storm
or watch
as the trees sway
undaunted

Pat Barber, Edgewood, Md
Judge's Comments:  The near rhyme works well.
Editor's Comments:  Here is an example of what Babette Deutsch, (writer of "Poetry Handbook, a Dictionary of Terms,") might call a "subdued metaphor", where the metaphor is implied rather than explicit.  The words "rhythm" and "sway" (terms we attribute to some form of human behavior) are applied to the storm and trees, thus giving us an example of personification, or metaphor.
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FIRST PLACE
Arboreal Responses

The tall pine sang with the violent winds,
Tap-danced during noisy tornadoes,
Snuggled under heavy blankets of snow,
But at the roar of approaching chainsaws,
Shed rosin tears.

Don Castiglioni, Austin, TX
Judge's Comments:  Humorous, with an original approach.
Editor's Comments:  Good comparisons.
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HONORABLE MENTION
The Furies

Beachcombers scatter when they see
The storm Furies riding bareback
On teams of wild stallions
Galloping toward the shore
Tossing tangled manes of white foam

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Creative use of imagery.
Editor's Comments:  Good use of personification.  Great metaphor.
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THIRD PLACE
Child of the Sea

From the sea where it was styled,
Hurries in the hurricane wild.
"I take this form,"
Shouted the storm,
"For I am El Nino's child!"

Milton Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  Clear and to the point.  Skillful use of personification.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Remembering

Brighter days, not a cloud in the sky--
sun on your face, your body next to mine.
Remembering those moments--
clouds move in dark and angry.
Raging winds ripping me apart.

Dale Ernst, Mountain View, MO
Judge's Comments:  Like a piece of sculpture, this poem slopes and curves, twisting into jagged edges.
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HONORABLE MENTION
For Eva

Grieving gusts buffeted the house
the night she died there, quietly,
her cat, Somebody, asleep beside her.
Fists pummeled the sturdy beams
as though to shake her back to life.

Jean McAllister, Bellevue, WA
Judge's Comments:  Powerful images.
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SECOND PLACE
WHISTLER

The mighty force, a fighting fist
The whistling wind, a last man's breath
In the midst of the ocean it's an exploitation
In the blinding fog it's an exclamation
And in lieu of rest it charges onward with passion.

Jennifer Camille Manganello, Lexington, Ma
Judge's Comments:  The poet used metaphor in each of the five lines.
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HONORABLE MENTION
rolling layers

Waves gathering in this
chilled path of broken images,
as a fetus in a womb, securely in water...
lingering in minefields...
sweeping into broken waves.

Leisa Pierce, Celeste, TX
Judge's Comments:  Sharp, creative.
Editor's Comments:  Strong picture, using both "dead" metaphor (waves gathering, lingering, sweeping) and simile (as a fetus).
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HONORABLE MENTION
CARLA '61

She wailed her watery way up the Coast
howling, hurling hanks of her humid hag's hair,
flashing fire from her single evil eye.
Ten tornadic talons raked the Island's back -
her last gesture of prodigal passion.

John E. Rice, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Strong images!  (I remember this storm!)
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HONORABLE MENTION
Cyber Storm

Cyber clouds crowd the horizon
Dark screens of twisting disaster
Funnel up, dip and swirl upon the
Monitors of our routine lives
Wind of a quadrillion infinite rams, scaled Y2K

Connie L. Williams, Abilene, Texas
Judge's Comments:  Creative, original voice.  Good use of metaphor.
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SPOTLIGHT: this month's guest poet is Leslie Mahaffey.  She wrote the following poem in under an hour.  See her essay, "Parking Lot Poetry," above in "Outside View."

My Sweet Angel  -  by Leslie Mahaffey

You are my sweet angel
and I love you more and more each day.
You are the stars shining nightly
the moon on high, lighting my way!
I love you with every beat of my heart
and I miss you whenever we are apart
for one second, one minute, one hour.
Angel, for you:
pretty posies, a rainbow array
with hugs and kisses coming your way
meant to bring a smile to your soft face
as I feel the warmth of your flowing grace!
Holding you tenderly within my arms,
keeping you safe, away from all harm
whispering words of love for your ears only,
I dance you down a path,
that shall never be lonely!
And my sweet angel
as I gaze upward at the sun
brightest star in the clear blue skies,
I see "The Heaven On Earth" (you)
that is there in my eyes!

(C) 1999 Leslie Mahaffey
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ALPHA POET - WINNER OF A USED BOOK FROM OUR GRAB-BAG -
Topic:  Hunger
Pat receives a copy of "Seamus Heaney, Selected Poems."
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impoverished souls

Hunger comes in many flavors, hues, tints - even the face of those
once loved.  Which is worse?  Hunger of the belly, or hunger of
the soul?  To feed a mind lasts forever, while a meal fills but
long enough to sustain a life.  And life without interest, without
a quest to know, is but existence - a force with no place to grow.
Engage the mind, the essence of the whole.  A meal is for now.
Interest is what stays beyond and builds upon the complex of the soul.

pat barber, Edgewood, MD
Editor's Comments:  While this poem was chosen for its thoughtful quality, the rhythm of the lines and the stringing together of question and answer like pearls on a necklace make this prose poem gleam like the soft smooth interior of an oyster's shell.

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ABCDERIAN - Judge:  Craig Tigerman, Assistant Editor
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NOTE:  in this "list" form, we asked for a one word title, with twelve or thirteen lines, exactly two words per line, in alpha order.   It's an interesting form, lots of fun to write, and as you can see, the possibilities are endless!  We certainly had fun reading the entries, and lining them up for publication.  Look for the clever use of "X" and "Z" words by our poets.
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FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $5.00 book gift certificate.
Husband

Amazing        Baker
Cooks          Dinner,
Elegant        Food.
Grandfather,   Helpmate;
Intelligent,   Just,
Kind,          Loving.
My             Noble
Observant      Poet.
Quiet,         Reserved.
Sailor,        Teacher.
Usually        Very
Wise,          Xerotic
Yet            Zany.

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
Judge's Comments:  Excellent writing, wonderful tribute.
Poet's note:  "'Xerotic' describes my husband Milton's wit to a 'T'."  ("Xerotic," found in the A to Z Comprehensive Crossword Dictionary, means dry.)
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Lois

Amicable,       Beguiling,
Comical,        Dashing,
Effervescent,   Funny,
Gorgeous,       Happy,
Invigorating,   Jovial,
Kind,           Lovable,
Mysterious,     Nutty,
Observant,      Perky,
Quaint,         Racy,
Salubrious,     Tenacious,
Ubiquitous,     Xylotomous,
Yeasty,         Zealous.

James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
Editor's Comments:  Wonderful description.  The "Lois" of the title is one of our poets, Lois Lay Castiglioni.
Poet's Note:  "You should see Sister Lois in her Galveston yard cutting down shrubbery like crazy."  ("Xylotomous" comes from the Greek words "xylo" meaning wood and "temnein" meaning to cut.)
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SECOND PLACE - Winner of a $5.00 book gift certificate
Harvest

      A   bright
country   day
  earth   farm
  grain   harvest
     in   June
 Karla?   Mike?
 Nancy?   Octavia?
   Papa   queries.
   Run!   Stop!
  Truck   unload
 volume   wheat
    you   zoom!

Wynell Merrit, Medford, OK
Enid Writer's Club
Judge's Comments:  Makes me smile; cleverly written, well thought-out, endearing story.
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HONORABLE MENTION
StephenKing

Awesome         bogeyman,
Clearly         devilish,
Exceptionally   fiendish,
Ghoulishly      handicapped,
Incredibly      Jeckyl-and-Hydish,
Keyword:        lunatic,
Morbid          nuance,
Ominously       perfect,
Queerly         sensual,
Terrifyingly    unique,
Viciously       wicked
Yoga            zombie.

NinaNightraine, St. Louis, MO
Judge's Comments: Creative and well-spoken; rich diction. ============
THIRD PLACE
ZOOLOGICAL?

Bereft       chimpanzees,
depressed    elephants,
furious      giraffes,
held         in
jails        kept
locked;      many
not          outdoors.
Pointed      queries:
results      stupefying!
Tourists     undulate
via          walkways.
Xenophobic   yammering
zoo          animals.

John E. Rice, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Well stated and pointed commentary.
Editor's Note:  We allowed the use of the "a" word at the end, even though technically the letters are not successive unless you read the poem again...which we did.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Nonstop

Attacking           Blithely,
Creating            Designs,
Energy              Focused,
Gracious            Helen,
Immersed            Jovially,
Kaleidoscopically   Living,
Motivated           Nurturer
Offering            Painting,
Quilting,           Resourceful
Sister              Tackling
Untold              Vagaries
With                Zeal.

Patricia A Tabella, Providence, RI
Judges Comments:  a lively ode to a spirited sister.
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POETRY WORKS - "Poetry and Song" - an editorial by Craig Tigerman,
Assistant Editor

Does a poem have to rhyme in order to become a song?  In his recent excellent book, "Tunesmith," Jimmy Webb, who wrote "MacArthur Park" and "By the Time I Got to Phoenix," notes: "...wonderful songs have been written without rhyme.  John Lennon's 'I am the Walrus' relies...on percussive alliteration and repetition of consonance."  Other non-rhyming songs are Paul Simon's "America," and "White Room," by Cream.

Here is an example of non-rhyming song lyrics from George and Ira Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm":

I got rhythm
I got music
I got my girl
Who could ask for anything more?

Most songs have a certain rhythm and/or rhyme, so we say that the poem being sung has a "lyrical quality."  Lyrical poems are good candidates for tunes.  The boundary between poem and song, or the creation of a tune that aptly expresses the poetry, is crossed on the strength or the tenacity of the author's creative imagination.  A poem is simply a song waiting for a tune.  The possibilities are endless.
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SUNSHINE - personal stories and poems - Topic:  Untold Kindness
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FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $5.00 book gift certificate.
Brotherly Love

In the days before home air conditioning, Henry lay dying in a
stuffy room.  His brother, Jim, secretly paid for a giant window
fan.  Each time Jim came to visit, Henry teased him about being
too tight to buy a fan to cool his own home.  Illness could not
dry up the spring from which Henry's sense of humor sprang.  The
white curtains danced in the continuous breeze pulling his
laughter through the house.  Jim sat silently with eyes as blank
as the moon.

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
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SECOND PLACE - Winner of a $5.00 book gift certificate.
Angel of Mercy

Claire walked among the sick like warm summer breeze. With few
supplies at her disposal, she offered kindness and soft touches to
those in pain. A hand held. A sip of water.  A cool cloth.
Emaciated from disease, the patients pleaded for some sort of
release.  She gave them what she could, knowing modern medicine
had failed them. These were the incurable, the abandoned, the
dying.  The halls of this hospital ward knew her presence, and
welcomed it.

Jade Walker, Lake Worth, FL
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IDENTIFY THE FORM

Two of the most difficult forms for a new poet to master seem to be "Simile" and "Metaphor."  We thought our Quiz Contest might help poets really look at the differences between the two forms.
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"...the human soul entire, squeezed like a lemon or a lime, drop by drop, into atomic words."  Langston Hughes.

Our quiz for March was, "Is this a simile or a metaphor?  Or a combination of both?   Why?"
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SECOND PLACE
From Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA:

This quote is a combination of one simile and two metaphors.
Describing the soul as "being squeezed like a lemon or lime" is a
simile because the specific word, "like"  is used.

"Squeezed....drop by drop" implies the individualism of the human
soul which is made up of many elements. Further, it is implied
that the soul can be described in atomic, or minute words.

Thus, the quote has one simile and two metaphors and I stand in
awe of the poet capable of developing such "atomic words squeezed
from the human soul entire."
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THIRD PLACE
From Mary Ann Enslow, Houston, TX:  The use of the word "like" suggests simile, but the story telling aspect seems like metaphor.
Editor's Note:  A succinct, yet very complete answer.
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FIRST PLACE - Winner of a copy of "Wight", a chapbook by Tim Hahn.
From Jean McAllister, Bellvue, WA:

The quotation is both a simile ("like a lemon or lime") and a
metaphor, in the soul" squeezed"; a further metaphorical reference
may be in the word "atomic," although it is probably not being
used in the sense of explosive, but rather, atomized, particular,
elemental, tiny.

It is a peculiar concept, that seems to need considerable
unpacking.  The tartness of lemon or lime, the flavor-punch--both
of these can be considered part of the simile/metaphor, but
"squeezing" indicates pressure, compression, perhaps suffering
--even, with "atomic," a picture of spraying rather than
condensing.  The whole phrase speaks of the process and content
and power of words, especially addressing the incarnational aspect
of words, as embodying human experience.
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Send comments, questions, advice to:
DMHT67B@prodigy.com or Mary_M_Carlisle@prodigy.com
Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037
Phone number:  (281) 333-3741  call week days 8-5 CST
Website:  http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine
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Write to above address to be added or deleted from this list. Include the id that needs to be deleted, please.  Some folks have more than one.
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So you want to be judge, guest editor, interviewee?  Tell us.  We may have just the spot for you.  Judges are asked to write a guest editorial on a topic we set before being asked to judge a contest.
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All poetry remains the property of the poet, except Sol Magazine reserves the right to publish all poems (once) at a future date, 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.
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See our contest website or last contest for current guidelines. We do not accept entries that make use of graphic language, touch on partisan politics, or support particular religious views.
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Words like "Tis," "Thine," and "Thou" are no longer in common usage, so if you wish to be featured by Sol Magazine, and want to use the language of a Century earlier than the 20th, you must submit proof you were born before 1900, or be one of the four charter members of this organization.
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We correct grammar and spelling errors and sometimes change punctuation without asking for permission or forgiveness.
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Angels in 1999:  Leo F. Waltz
Angels in 1988:  Lois Lay Castiglioni, Leo F. Waltz

Sponsors in 1999:  Emily Katherine Earnest, Sharon Goodwin, Jim Lay, Brad and Mary Millar, Carlyn Luke Reding, Leo Waltz.
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Sponsors in 1998:  Steven Cox, Sharon Goodwin, Jean McAllister, Sharon Murphy, Drs. Stella and Bogdan Nowicki, Joan Reeves, John Rice, Kathleen E. Schaefer, Rita Smithuysen, and Patsy Williams.

New sponsors and angels always welcomed.  Thanks for your support.
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Sol Magazine (C) 1999
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