Sol Magazine
October 1999 Edition

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Sol Magazine © 1999
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SOL'S EMAIL ID:  Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net
NOTE:  IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE THE USE OF DMHT67B@prodigy.com AND Mary_M_Carlisle@prodigy.com since Prodigy Classic is no longer providing email service.  Please do not use these ids.  We can no longer access that mail service.  Our web site address remains the same.   (Please note phone number near end of edition)
CONTENTS
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Sol Magazine is looking for poetry judges for our Poet Laureate Contest.  Qualifications:  1)  You must be genuinely interested in poetry.  2)  You must be at least eighteen years old.  3)  You must provide us with a biography.  4)  You must provide us with your full name and postal address.  5)  If you have not judged for us before, you must be willing to write a short sample essay on an assigned poetic topic.  Judges are not allowed to enter the contest.  If you are interested, please contact the Managing Editor by November 15th at: Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net for more information.  For more about the Poet Laureate Contest, see the end of the magazine.

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:  Craig Calame, Judy Calheiros, Oren Hartwell, Mitch Jump, Dave Kiehl, Vivián Macías, Jerneice Perelion, Shirl Powell, Jude Roy, and Jeannette Strother. We also wish to welcome Mona Lynn McDaniel, a teacher at Ft. Worth Country Day School, and one of her students, Kate Strickland.
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Please welcome to Sol's staff our newest Assistant Editor, Jean McAllister, our former Book Reviewer.  Jean has served us faithfully and graciously for a long time, and we're pleased to add her to our editorial staff.

POETRY WORKS
"Adding Zapp!"
by Mary Margaret Carlisle, Managing Editor
What is a Conjunction?  In some languages, a conjunction is one of the parts of speech comprised of words such as "and," "but," "because," "as," that connect other words, phrases, clauses, or sentences.
 

Put more zapp! into your poetry.  Try to bury conjunctions within a line, rather than use them as the first word of a line.  This strategy strengthens the grammatical structure of your work, and begins each line with a meaningful story-carrying word, rather than a mere connection.

BIOGRAPHY OF THIS MONTH'S JUDGE:  ALAN BIRKELBACH

Alan Birkelbach's second book of poetry, "Weighed in the Balances," won the Stevens Manuscript Poetry Competition offered by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.  His recent honors also include: Grand Prize Poetry Winner at the 1999 East Texas Writers Conference held in Longview, highest over-all winner at the 1999 Austin Poetry Society Annual Awards, featured speaker at the 1999 Poetry Society of Texas Summer Conference, and in the top 100 in the Non-Rhyming Poem Category in Writers Digest Annual Writing Competition.
 

His work was recently accepted or published by the following books and magazines: Sol Magazine, Potpourri (10th Anniversary edition), New Texas 2000, and Prize Poems of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies 1999 Edition.  Alan will speak at the Mary Hardin Baylor Literary Festival to be held in January, 2000 in Belton, Texas.
 

OUTSIDE VIEW
ONOMATOPOEIA
Have We Forgotten How Things Sound?
a guest editorial by October's Judge
Alan Birkelbach
Onomatopoeia means word sounds that imitate an object.  Good examples are hiss, bark, tinkle, and splash.   What an incredible literary tool, to be able to describe something by the sound it makes!  Yet, as powerful a literary weapon as it is, almost any good poetic reference book will probably only offer a few lines to onomatopoeia.  Three possible reasons:
 

First, onomatopoeia is limited in its application.  A good example of its use may be found in Poe's "The Bells," but the very nature of the device limits its use; over-use falls toward cliché.  Second, onomatopoeia is simply one tool in the sonic toolbox.  Poets should study and try as many of the other sound devices as possible.  These include euphony, dissonance, cacophony, and echo, to name a few.  Third, most contemporary poets do not write on a sonic level, and many seem to have forgotten the basic concept that poetry has oral roots.
 

It is too easy to dismiss the study of word sounds with the new formalism, but it is a mistake to do so.  The subtle use of onomatopoeia adds to any work.

TOPIC ONE:  HARVEST.  FORM:  WHITNEY.  JUDGE:  ALAN BIRKELBACH

This month, we introduced another new form, the Whitney, named in honor of the creator, Betty Ann Whitney, one of our Assistant Editors.  Seven lines exactly.  Syllable count per line as follows:  three, four, three, four, three, four, seven.  In this case, each poet had to use the word "harvest" somewhere within the text of the poem, but could not use "harvest" in the title.
 

Our judge said, "This Whitney form is a challenge.  It almost demands the same discipline of a haiku.  The poems I chose seemed to recognize this.  The winners were concise and evocative--which is a difficult thing to accomplish in any form!"
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HONORABLE MENTION
Paying Her Debts
 

Harvest pays
a debt to spring
and summer
in gold and bronze
with silver
haze drifting on
hills of green and scarlet trees.
 

Roberta Pipes Bowman, Fort Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good personification.  I like the "payment" metaphor.
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Kinship
 

Labor reaps
the year's increase
or failure.
Harvest belongs
kin to rest
while autumn spreads
dry brown seeds of deathless hope.
 

Roberta Pipes Bowman, Fort Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good last line closes the idea nicely.
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Thanksgiving Prayer
 

Fields of gold
Yellow and orange
Brown and red
Bounty bestowed
Harvest done
Praise uplifted
Thankful for good gifts given.
 

Judy Calheiros, Alagoas, Brazil
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Nice holiday prayer.  Very easily spoken poem.
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Jack O' Lantern
 

Smiley face
Welcomes the night
Bright lit eyes
Warns away fright
Cooked insides
Yummy delight
Pumpkin pie is harvest's best
 

Judy Calheiros, Alagoas, Brazil
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I can almost taste and feel the warmth.
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Each Year
 

Crickets sleep
Summer sounds cease
Days shorten
Nights grow cooler
Nature rests
While we reap crops
Signaling the harvest time.
 

Stephen J. Carr, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Nice description of the seasonal transition.
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It Just Appears
 

We relish
Early produce
Nourishing
Signaling spring
Summer delights
Harvest work
On backs of those never seen.
 

Stephen J. Carr, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I like the way the poem starts one way and ends another.
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Priceless Gift
 

My last act
Before I go
Will be to
State, "Harvest my
Organs to
Help save the lives
Of friends I shall never meet."
 

Don Castiglioni, Austin, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Heartfelt and noble--too rare a feeling nowadays.
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Industry
 

The sight of
Morning frost sends
Mama squirrel
Scampering down
To harvest
Fat acorns to
Restock her winter pantry
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  A nicely captured "scurrying" image of nature.
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FIRST PLACE - $35.00 BGC from B&N:

Reflections
 

Sunbeams catch
Purple lights from
Mason jars
Of muscadines
Harvested
On Red River
Banks in fall's bright blue weather
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX

JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  These color images capture the season so well.  Fantastic.  An easy choice for 1st place.
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Autumn Frolic
 

Save me the
last dance of Fall,
whirling up
earth’s plenitudes,
waltz enough
to last the cold,
harvesting spring’s promised love.
 

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  A lover's entreaty.  Well done in a short form.
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Guardians
 

Under a
Bright harvest moon
Small children's
Jack-o-lanterns
Glow fiercely
As protection
Against trick-or-treater's pranks
 

Shelley L. Crabtree, Enid, OK
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  A fun and scary childish image.
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Enjoyment
 

Harvest treats
Are popcorn balls,
Applejack,
Roasting chestnuts,
Halloween
Sweets, gingerbread,
Hot cider and a warm home hearth.
 

Shelley L. Crabtree, Enid, OK
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  An enriching catalogue.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
A Beginning
 

Old sun sets
Westerly bound
Summer's race
Run out of town
Sweet air spiced
Hangs fresh outside
Harvest season waxes wide
 

Nico Crisafulli, Seattle, WA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Nicely done.  Well contained and controlled.
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Olfactory October
 

Leaves of red
Smell crisp and dry
Pie scent wends
Through shutters brown
Hazel nuts
And potpourri
Complete a harvest fragrance
 

Nico Crisafulli, Seattle, WA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  An excellent, different type of sensory poem.
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Jack O'Lanterns
 

Pumpkins roll
fresh off the vine
and into
children's tiny
arms. Hear them
laugh, clap their hands-
Harvest faces dot the land.
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Very easy to visualize this scene.
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Memories of Home
 

Warm cider
cinnamon stick
nutmeg, cloves.
Apples piled high
in Mom's pies-
ice cream above.
Harvest food, abound with love.
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  An enriching remembrance to carry forever.
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Night Quest
 

Smiling moon
Watching children
Prowl around
The neighborhood
Screeching out
Ringing doorbells
To play tricks and harvest treats.
 

Emily Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  How fun!  I can just see the busy neighborhood.
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Failure
 

Farmer's eyes
Awash with tears
Searching fields.
Spring sown seeds now
Withered stalks.
Arid summer
Sucked away harvest and hope
 

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I liked this different treatment and view.
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THIRD PLACE - $5.00 BGC from B&N:
Seed Seekers
 

Grandmother
And child search fields
Harvesting
Flower seed heads
Work-worn hands
Guide plump fingers
Storing Spring in a bottle.
 

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I like the quiet, searching tone, and wonderful last line.
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Corny Copia
 

Corn chowder,
Corn on the cob,
Corn pone bread.
Corn fed cattle,
Corn that pops,
Corn white whiskey.
Corn, the harvest of plenty.
 

Milton Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Repeating device used for good effect.
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Glory
 

Emily,
Also Irene,
Granddaughters.
Apples of eye,
Light my days,
Harvest of joy.
They grow up much too quickly.
 

Milton Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Yes, they do, but what a rich harvest.
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SECOND PLACE - $10 BGC from B&N:
Grouping
 

Woodland ducks
Stirred by nature
Trumpeting
To their species
Harvest ends
South migration
Flying wedges point the way
 

Mitch Jump, Enid, OK
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I like the hint of the military metaphor.  An excellent poem overall.
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Ritual
 

Lemmings flow
Downward en masse
To the sea
As the Harvest
Moon attracts
Predatory
Packs of hungry carnivores
 

Mitch Jump, Enid, OK
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Double "harvest" in this startling arctic poem.
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Slim Pickings
 

Corn eaten
By hungry deer.
Crops to spare?
Looks rather grim.
Major drought
And so this year
The harvest pickings are slim.
 

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  The flat austere tone lends itself to the subject matter.
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Labor’s Rewards
 

Froze the corn.
Canned the red beets.
Gathered up
The squash and gourds.
Pumpkins picked.
Harvest’s complete.
Now savor its rich rewards.
 

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good sense of both form and imagery.
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Ohio Corn
 

Harvest time
In Ohio
Sublime child-
Hood memories
Riding in
The wagon watch-
Ing corn ears fly from crushed stalks.
 

Dave Kiehl, San Jose, CA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Last three lines make a wonderful image.
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Walking through Fields at Night
 

Walking through
Sawtooth cornrows
Silvered by
full harvest moon
Light silence
Save for lowing
Cows feasting on fallen corn.
 

Dave Kiehl, San Jose, CA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good word choice and usage.
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Surgeon General's Blues
 

Tennessee
Barns packed with leaf
Tobacco.
Smoke curls out from
Hot tin roofs
Preparing a
Harvest for the grim reaper.
 

James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Nicely twisted ending.
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The Gardener's Lament
 

The last of
My tomato
Harvest cling
To withered vines,
Smaller fruit,
Full of flavor.
The last is always the best!
 

James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  As every farmer knows!  Nicely done.
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Climbing Trees
 

HarVest was
different, but
the peelings
didn't detract
where they fell,
tart tasty twists
hung on vests in apple trees.
 

Vivián Macías, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  I can almost taste them as I climb.
EDITOR'S COMMENTS:  Nice play on words - HarVest.
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Yield
 

In Houston
we're harvesting
bumper crops
of writers and
artists and
soulful people
among the tall, tall buildings.
 

Vivián Macías, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Formidable and enriching.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Autumn Tumble
 

Harvest time
such a charming,
romantic
summer cool-down.
How this time
controls our love
and makes our hearts grow nearer.
 

Jennifer Camille Manganello, Boca Raton, FL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Wonderful title.  Warmth and passion shine through.
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Costly Dessert
 

Sacrifice
blood for harvest
gooseberries'
thorns to prick un-
wary the
fingers searching
green and white morsels for pie.
 

Jean McAllister, Bellevue, WA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Interesting poem,  I had to keep re-reading this one.
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Query
 

Is it fair
The peasant asked
As she gleaned
Another's field
How shall I
Feed my children
Where is the harvest for me?
 

Jean McAllister, Bellevue, WA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  A sad feudal-surf type lament unchanged over the centuries.
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Sowing Love
 

Harvest hugs
Count those kisses
Heap them in
Bushel baskets.
Pass them on
To slighted friends
Patching hurts they make amends.
 

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, Texas
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good metaphor.  It sounds almost like a "Poor Richard" type of proverb.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Ripe
 

Ripe is this
Love he planted
In my heart.
Ripe now to pick.
Gardener
Of my heart, now
Receive your harvest from me.
 

Allyson Noyes, Longmont, CO
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This got richer with each reading.  Timeless.
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Jack O'Lanterns
 

In the field,
pumpkins waiting
to be carved
for Halloween -
left over
from the harvest -
covered recently with frost.
 

Janet Parker, Lunenburg, MA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This leaves a nice October chill.
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My Bounty
 

In the chill
of a winter
past--a seed
of love was sown
and blossomed
within my soul.
My harvest - a baby boy!
 

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  One of the nicest bounties of all!  Well-expressed.
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The Moon of Autumn
 

A watchful
eye you keep o'er
the golden
fields of autumn.
Your wisdom
calls the harvest
to commence its yearly dance.
 

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good personification and apostrophe.  Much wonder in only two sentences.
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Winter Worries
 

Weary geese
veeing across
butter face
of harvest moon
give wing to
autumnal days
and wake grim winter worries.
 

Jude Roy, Madisonville, KY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good choice of adjectives, especially the unexpectedness of "butter."
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Family Celebrations
 

Gathering
faces aglow,
Opening
hearts long closed tight.
Returning
home from afar.
Harvesting soul rich bounty.
 

Marsha Rose Steed, Citrus Heights CA
---<--{@
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good job capturing an image of heritage.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Leaf Pile
 

Childish smile
impish intent.
Satisfied,
Newly raked pile.
Running start
Dad's mouth agape
Leaves fly.  New harvest. Joy wins.
 

Marsha Rose Steed, Citrus Heights CA
---<--{@
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Excellent last two words.  Lots of fun and skill here.
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Feline Woes
 

Orange, black
Dirty fur ball
Itching fleas
Blood sucking ticks
Bloodshot eyes
Curled up doughnut
"Harvest! Time for vet's office!"
 

Kate Strickland, Ft. Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Poor thing.  Well-chosen descriptive words bring pity in the plight of the kitty.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Shifting Lives
 

Changing leaves
Drifting downwards
Golden brown
To rusty red
Hushed, soft winds
Part them from life
Harvest time is getting near
 

Kate Strickland, Ft. Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Autumn captured in seven lines.  Great job!
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October
 

Go buy seeds;
Plant them with care;
Watch them grow.
They need water!
Fence them in;
Pick from vines as
Plump pumpkins for harvest time.
 

Kate Strickland, Ft. Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Almost has the tone of a "found" poem on a seed packet.
Editor Note:  Kate is in the 8th grade at Ft. Worth Country Day School, and a member of the school poetry club.
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Transition
 

Summer crops
absorbed the sun
to climb strong
and to root deep.
Blossoms end
as fruits complete
their seed to harvest's journey.
 

Jeannette L.Strother, Mansfield, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  "Root deep" is descriptive.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Farmer's Market
 

Pumpkin men
sit at roadsides
to pander
summer's harvest
of orange orbs.
Globes, large and small,
wait to be pies or decor.
 

Jeannette L.Strother, Mansfield, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Great first line hooks the reader.
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Sow To Reap
 

Spring tilling
perfect weather
with summer
growth help ripen
autumn crops
for fall's bounti-
ful harvest ripens the crops.
 

Jeannette L.Strother, Mansfield, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Rich visualization of all the seasons connected.
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Memorium
 

Red leaf sits
There on that grave.
I miss you
And take it home.
Something else
Harvested now
Something that once lived, like you.
 

Claiborne Schley Walsh, Montrose, AL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good image of carrying the memory home.
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Hells Gate
 

Faces watch
Molded in rock
Stretched on high
For better view.
Warriors
Now harvest the crops
As Africa disappears.
 

Claiborne Schley Walsh, Montrose, AL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Strong image of a fading culture.

"IN PART --- VIEWS ON THE ISSUES, DRYING UP THE WETLANDS."

We asked our poets to write a prose poem, devoting up to fifty words to "the problem" and as many as fifty words to "the answer." Additionally, to add a free-form poem (no longer than five lines) to bolster the argument.  Titled.  One Prize: A new or used chapbook, anthology, or how-to writing book.
 

"Prose poem: a passage of short, to the point, one topic prose, the poetic quality of which is self-evident, with a prominence of rhythm and a rich connotation of language." (Written from one side of the page to the other, as prose is written.) Quoted from "Poetry Handbook" by Babette Deutsch.
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Soft Mud
 

The soft smelly mud sticks to everything.  Sweet, rotting grass islands seep with each breeze blown ripple.  Birds, fish, crabs fight to keep their peace, but once again "Our" will be done.  Bury, cover, rip what convenient fun.  In the name of pleasure, entitled, we destroy you!
 

Knowing your fragility, I seek your strength and rebirth.  You are my home too, wetlands.  I'll leave you, loving you.  Must I miss your lonely beauty?
 

Walk only, no motor, no shelter
Look, smell, listen, feel alive
No need to spoil with a remembrance
Enter softly and leave quietly
Let it and them prosper as we wish to,
Undisturbed
 

Stephen J. Carr, Houston, TX
Judge's Comments:  Good descriptive words.  Final poem is especially evocative. I like the terseness and startling images.
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Wetlands, Hah!
 

Get in Homo Sapiens' way, suffer consequences, disappear.  Other humans populated earth before we emerged... wiped out. Animals, birds, trees, plants or fish challenging us for space... all goners.  High or dry lands?  Ours.  Keep off!  Soon the wetlands.  We cannot be stopped. Homo Sapiens, ultimate survivors!  Rah!  Rah!  Rah!
 

What might stop us from totally spoiling the planet?  Why shooting stars, as one did dinosaurs or BEMs from mars, or germs that kill humans...microbe sublime, that we cannot stop in time. It will have to be soon and hopefully quick.  This tired old world is pretty darned sick.
 

Someday will come along, the bug me loves and be so strong and willin', devouring supercillin.  We'll crumble like that cake left in the rain, this human strain and who'll remain?  Ants and frogs (pollywogs) will take our place.  Will we be missed?  You kidding?  Not by those on the extinct list.
 

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
Judge's Comments:  Strong statements, especially the first  stanza.  Muscular and vivid.
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FIRST PLACE - WINNER OF "Writing America"

Caution, Turtle Crossing
 

Stopping to read the handmade sign, I smiled, and nodded at the swampy stream that passed beneath the country road.  Lined with cat-o-nine tails and thick grass--it seemed the perfect place to raise a brood of slow moving reptiles. Until the mall came.
 

Save the turtles, said the signs that neighbors carried through the site, as slowly they began to hatch just beyond the parking lots. And so a turtle bridge was made connecting both their watery beds.
 

Think about the choice you make
and take a minute to appreciate
the parts of nature we seldom see
and let us live, in harmony.
 

Diane Davis, Chelmsford, MA

Judge's Comments:  Quiet and gentle, yet still made the point.  Nicely done! I like the metaphoric feel of it.
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Nesting in Sacred Shadows
 

Night lights would be first clue man invaded nature. He sees the calm serenity and wants paradise.  He may share secret.  Soon more people living with nature stresses the boundaries for needs.  Water, electric, laws concerning who and how one lives.  No law present to protect innocent those without a vote, voice.
 

We need to look past the quiet solitude.  Realize there's balance
in what we see and imagine.  The difference stays cradled in the nest.  Must be protected from intrusion.  This too is sacred native American.
 

The nest must remain unspoiled
not moved, nor touched.
For a parent can only teach
when the pupil is present
the unmapped landscape constant.
 

J C Holland, Watauga, TX
Judge's Comments:  Good opening, and strong following statement.  Excellent closing poem.
===========
Preservationists Only
 

The urban dwellers come, seeking country idyllicness; yet wanting all the ease of city life.  Fill in this muddy bog, they say, robbing the turkey and geese of the place they call home. "Can't the game preserve just take the beavers away," they beg, disturbing nature's balance for convenience's sake.
 

We all must learn to live in peaceful harmony, preserving the natural habitat that still remains.  The mountains and the valleys, the rivers and the creeks are essential to the rural way of life.  Let's maintain the forests and the swamps or stay rooted to our blacktop covered worlds.
 

Welcome to paradise:
Preservationists only
To ensure God's country
Never ceases to be.
 

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
Judge's Comments:  A good description of the shallow, greedy grubbiness of man--and a prayer for the future.
============
Who Will Be the Loser
 

If drying up the wetlands means exactly that...If breeding land is
violated...Who will the loser be...Beast or fowl or man himself...I have seen results of wetlands dried...a fantasy of lopped off trees...weird in their standing...stumps and more stumps...with nothing more to offer.
 

Where once the fish spawned...and the dawn woke nesting birds...and the sun set over the vultures' roost...let us hope man has a plan...to finish what he began... because I'm sure a God we cannot see...has washed His hands of mediocrity.
 

Wetlands must be saved -
surely it is not hard to see
that creatures living there
deserve that right - and blessed
are those who carry-on the fight.
 

Janet M. Parker, Lunenburg, Ma
Judge's Comment:  First two stanzas are good, but the last stanza is a very good closure.  Good sight and sounds.
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HONORABLE MENTION:
Keeping and Sharing
 

Walking together, my son pointed to an empty nest.  "Mommy, where're the babies," his cherubic face questioned.  I walked here as a girl.  What could I tell him?  I looked around,  where once were miles of fields, trees and a pond for skating, now were roads, cars and telephone poles?
 

"Maybe the mommies took the babies to a better place."  He seemed satisfied, but I was not.  Perhaps this mommy can find ways to make a better place for her babies?  We picked up the remains of another creature's home, walked to ours to make phone calls. "Hello, Mayor's office. . ."
 

Memories will fade into the past
if what we had
no longer exists
to make more memories.
 

Marsha Rose Steed ---<--{@, Citrus Heights CA
Judge's Comments:  By making the tragedy more personal--you have intensified the meaning. Good device and good job!


 
GLOSSARY - IMAGERY
by Betty Ann Whitney
http://pages.prodigy.com/dandelionsoup
Haven't we heard that a picture is worth a thousand words?  Word pictures communicate directly with our senses, providing a concrete visual experience. Imagery may represent sound, odor, touch, taste, or even an internal sensation, such as hunger, thirst, happiness or fear. Imagery can convey shape, texture, color, motion.  Imagery helps  describe an experience in the following poem:
 

Midst Daily Routine  by Betty Ann Whitney
 

Some of us don't keep ever mindful
Muddle the way
Of heart set dreams.
 

What was it we lost?
Or did we neglect
The rising of that sparkling tide
 

Once shimmering inside.
 

Enliven your work.  Try out one or more of the many sensual tools of imagery in your next poem.


 
 
SPOTLIGHT
"Curiosity Gave Me Wings"
an Interview with Lynne Remick
by Mary Margaret Carlisle
Have I first touched down on this earth in Brooklyn, New York, without anything but the name "Lisa." I was shortly thereafter adopted and moved to Suffolk County, Long Island. I still live on the street where I grew up, across from my beloved adopted parents, in a wonderful little house that was once owned by my adopted Great-Grandparents.
 

Although I did not have the time to devote to pursuing my writing career, I always considered writing my primary occupation, because I loved it so.  I am a romance writer, but the first full-story I remember writing was from the third grade.  Horror would probably best describe that story.  It was about a girl who was abandoned by her parents while on a picnic in the wilderness of Tasmania.  The setting was dark and predatory--as a result the girl was deathly afraid of being eaten by Tasmanian Devils and other vicious creatures.
 

I remember my parents were called to the school to discuss why I would have written something so disturbing at such a young age. I suppose that the school hadn't had much experience with adopted children with huge imaginations, who were destined to be writers.  I don't really write any horror now, as I feel that life is horrifying enough sometimes, and I would rather fill my world with other things.
 

My family was not particularly creative, so it wasn't easy for them to understand my need to paint pictures with words.  They always praised my writing and poetic creations, but didn't promote writing as something that "people" do for work.
 

Poetry is a wonderful form of expression. It is a valuable channel through which we can release emotions, both favorable and unfavorable. I am all for it being taught in grade school. Children should learn sensitivity and self-reflection.  Also, I think it is important that children be taught that they have an outlet for these emotions and don't always have to "act" upon them at all, or possibly until they have had the time to get them down on paper and put them into perspective.
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Curiosity Gave Me Wings
 

Full of intrigue
Enthralled, enraptured.
In love with all
the dreams I've captured.
Being of a curious mind,
Life is
One big treasure find.
 

Full of wonder
inspired, enamoured
by desire, romance
discovery and laughter
Along with all these precious things,
Curiosity
gave me wings.
 

(C) Lynne Remick, 1999

Lynne Remick is a freelance writer who lives with her son Kevin, her Schipperke Dante, and her feral cat, Sahara, in New York.  There she reads, writes stories, book reviews and poetry and runs an on-line writers group called Writer's Ink.  She has been published in Writer's Journal, Romantic Bower, Scottish Radiance E-zine, and many other publications, and her credits include poetry, non-fiction articles, photographs and short short stories.
 

In her words:  "If I could, I would wear words around my neck. I think that words can be as beautiful as any gemstone and as powerful as any rune."
 

You can see Lynne Remick's work at:
http://www.PlanetL.com or at http://writersmoon.virtualave.net
 

OOPS!  WE'RE SORRY!
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We made a mistake back in September.  When posting the winners, we found two poems by the same name in the Heavenly Pets Contest and accidently put THIRD PLACE by the wrong one.  We apologize to both poets for the confusion.  Here is the actual September Heavenly Pets Contest Third Place winner.
 

Retriever
 

Limping on the heels of age
Old Red passed on to heaven
Ravaged by the hands of time
He lived four years past seven
Now he stretches out his legs
and runs in fields of green
Swims in holy water ponds
His coat a lustrous sheen
Forever he'll be hunting free
The way he used to do for me
 

Shelley Crabtree, Enid, Ok
Enid Writer's Club
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ON THE WEB "Porkfur's Domain!" 
by Craig Tigerman, Assistant Editor
http://sol-magazine-projects.org/prodigy/craig_tigerman
---
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Cafe/1773
A truly delightful web site is "Porkfur's Domain," the cyber-home of one of Sol Magazine's Assistant Editors, Paula White.
 

This is a small sampling of what may be found on her pages:
"European Jaunt & Journal" - Paula's detailed account of a six-week British Literature course in Cambridge, England, during the summer of 1998.  You'll enjoy her prose as she describes encounters with French and British waiters and other adventures during her visits to Paris, Scotland, and England.
 

"Poetry" - the true treasure within Porkfur's Domain.  From "The Last Morning" to "Avalon," Paula White's words will move and inspire you.  For beautiful poetry, look no further.  One visit made me bookmark Porkfur's Domain.  Visit soon.  I think you'll enjoy this unique site.
 

OCTOBER ALPHA POET: Beverly Steward, WINNER OF A BOOK FROM OUR GRAB-BAG

Conspiracy Capers

October moon tilts milky way
unleashing scads of stars to stray
across the heavens for this night.
All Hallows Eve must have some light
for witches, goblins, pirates, ghosts
who door to door go asking  hosts
for goodies, hoping they can't guess
they're just children in fancy dress.
 

Beverly Steward, Santa Barbara, CA

ABOUT THE POET LAUREATE CONTEST

We're choosing Sol Magazine's Poet Laureate 2000 very soon.  Only poets who have won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in any of Sol Magazine's contests between December of 1997 and December of 1999 are qualified to enter.
 

Prizes:

Poet Laureate:   $50 U.S. Savings Bond, 2000 Poet's Market, plus a subscription to Lucidity Poetry Journal
Second Place:    $25 U.S. Savings Bond, 1999 Poet's Market, plus a subscription to Lucidity Poetry Journal
Third Place:  Subscription to Lucidity Poetry Journal
1st Honorable Mention:  $10 Book Gift Certificate from Barnes & Noble
2nd, 3rd, 4th Honorable Mention: bookmarks.
Part One:  Form:  Haiku  $5.00 BGC from B&N to First Place
Part Two:  Form:  Cinquain  $5.00 BGC from B&N to First Place
Part Three:  Form:  Sestina  $5.00 BGC from B&N to First Place
 

Look for the Poet Laureate Contest soon with full details on contest topics.
 

Sol Magazine needs sponsors for the Poet Laureate Contest.  If you are interested in making a gift to Sol Magazine, please contact the Managing Editor at Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net for more information.

Sol Magazine, P.O. Box 580037, Houston, TX  77258-0037
Phone number:  281-316-2255       Call weekdays 8-5.
Send comments, questions, advice to:
Sol.Magazine@prodigy.net

============
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.
============
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.
============
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.
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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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19th Century words, such as "Tis," "Til," "Thine," and "Thou," belong in another venue.  Poems using these words will not appear in Sol Magazine except in articles or essays.
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We correct grammar and spelling errors and sometimes change punctuation without asking for permission or forgiveness.

Sol Magazine © 1999
Home:http://pages.prodigy.com/sol_magazine


NOTE:
IMMEDIATELY DISCONTINUE THE USE OF DMHT67B@prodigy.com AND Mary_M_Carlisle@prodigy.com