NOTE: Our SNOW MOON Haiku contest has been extended to January.
See the JANUARY CONTEST ISSUE for details.
============
Membership Information and Submission Guidelines are posted at:
http://www.sol-magazine.org/rqmts.htm
This issue is dedicated to Steven Cox, one of Sol Magazine's first Members, who suffered a heart attack in December, 2002. He is now resting comfortably at home.
NOTE: The SNOW MOON contest has been re-opened and the results will be published in the January Edition.
CONTENTS:
| LETTERS |
| FROM -- TERRIE LEIGH RELF: Can't imagine a year without Sol-shine! |
FROM -- LYN BELISLE: It's been fun watching the website
grow. I read and enjoy each issue and go to the web site from time to time
for ideas. I've saved a few past issues, including one from July of '98
that has some nice student poetry using alliteration - also, of course,
I saved the interview with my son, Rick Riordan, whom you were kind enough
to include in '01. Thanks for being there for all of us in whom an embryonic
frustrated poet lives! I look forward to following the creative growth
Sol will surely enjoy in the new year.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Lyn Belisle is one of Sol Magazine's four Charter Members, along with Bonnie Williams, Michael Blake Schaefer, and Mary Margaret Carlisle, and followed closely by Craig Tigerman and Betty Ann Whitney. In 1994, Lyn, Bonnie, and Michael each won one of our very first contests. |
| FROM -- AVONNE GRIFFIN: I enjoy Sol Magazine for so many reasons, the wonderful poetry, interesting articles, challenging and inspiring contests, encouraging comments from the judges, and the anticipation of the results of the contests each month. I was introduced to Sol about nine months ago, and I am delighted to be part of such a creative and energetic group. Like iron sharpens iron, the poets here have sharpened me. Thank you for all your effort. |
| FROM -- S.J. BALDOCK: Hey, I got my diary! I'm not sure when since we are doing some minor remodeling and three rooms have been covered in tarps. As we were removing the canvas (and vacuuming up a fine white powder that enveloped the contents of the entire house [not just the three rooms being remodeled]), we found a small package addressed to me. Always nice to find surprises and even more so when I opened it and it was a diary. Must run out to purchase some dayglow ink and see what's on my mind. Thank you! |
| FROM -- JUDITH SCHIELE: I received the gift certificate. How wonderful it is to do what one loves so and to be rewarded--other than the sheer pleasure of weaving words. Again, I thank you, the staff and the judges of Sol. |
| FROM -- KATHY PAUPORE: I have received my Haiku Handbook and I'm enjoying the read. There is much I did not know about Haiku! I was thrilled to win the contest. I also enjoy reading the judges comments as they inspire me to keep writing my poetry. Thank you for providing such a wonderful site and encouraging poets. |
| FROM -- MARYANN HAZEN STEARNS: It's been an absolute joy to participate in your contests...I look forward to it each month. Every time I win a gift certificate, I use it to purchase a poetry guide book to help make lesson plans. With the help of Sol's competitions I've been able to obtain "An Exaltation of Forms" by Finch & Barnes, "Poetry Everywhere" by Jack Colom & Sheryl Noethe, "The Practice of Poetry," by Robin Behn & Chase Twichell, "The Pursuit of Poetry" by Louis Untermeyer, "A Poet's Guide to Poetry," by Mary Kinzie, and so many more I've lost track. Each one brings new insight, ideas and inspiration to add to my lesson plans - and this I owe all to Sol...I hope I can continue to participate - I really do look forward to it, I'm one of your greatest fans! Thanks very much for your generosity and encouragement. |
TOPIC ONE:
OUT OF THIS WORLD
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FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $25.00 electronic book gift certificate.
Sing Me Your DreamCOMMENTS: Good metrical writing. Repeat lines form a structure creating balance and harmony. The reader seems to actually sing these lines along with the poet. "Sing me a dream of a world ever fair" is a beautiful line, a beautiful thought.Sing me a dream of a world ever fair;
sing it once more so I know every line.
Whisper softly in sweet winter pear;
sing me a dream of a world ever fair.
Bring me a fantasy ripened and rare
into the night where we dream of design.
Sing me a dream of a world ever fair;
sing it once more so I know every line.Avonne Griffin, Greer, SC, USA
What Goes AroundCOMMENTS: An inspirational message of tug-of-war dramatically employed with simple and easy to understand language. Novel expression of an old saying, "What goes around, comes around."
Those who show kindness to all
And speak gracefully to all
Will someday meet a more-than-human creature
Who will reward kindness with wealth
And increased beauty.
But those who think only of themselves
And speak harshly to others
Will someday meet a more-than-human creature
Who will repay unkindness with a miserable fate.
Fantasy, you say? No,
Good hearts eventually live happily ever after,
Though often in a different world.
Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX, USA
At the OutsetCOMMENTS: The clarity of diction is almost shocking, but is precisely what is needed to make this poem work. The nod to the original infliction of labor tied with the "one bite" opens this poem up to endless interpretations. Intriguing wordplay. A startling juxtaposition of strong imagery, the poem is tightened by the use of rhyme in the 1st and 5th lines. Provocative - good descriptive poem.ouroboros dreams the night
illuminated
aurora borealis slithers
freer
teasing Gaia's senses
one bite
inflicting conceptual fantasy
labored
afterbirth rains down like
ripe applesBetty Dobson, Halifax, NS, CAN
Daydreams & InventionsCOMMENTS: Sensual in its depiction of the sticky orange juice, the dreams, the togetherness - three different, yet compatible, colors in the first three lines. Wonderful internal rhymes and capturing of the wistfulness of childhood (and adulthood) fantasies. Patterns sound echoes throughout. The chosen form is perfect for this poem.We nibbled oranges on our backs
let juice run down our copper necks
beneath the purest golden eye of sun.On that summer breeze we whispered
to no one, who wasn't there, the fantasies
we never shared, the secret dreams
we never dared - to no one for no one cared
as much as you and me, you see -
imaginary love - my wish would have you
flesh and bone, neither of us alone.
Sticky fingers crossed, eyes closed,
you don't suppose my wish came true,
do you?Maryann Hazen Stearns, Ellenville, NY, USA
I dreamt within my womb, a male
But XX chromosomes prevailed
Then goal of petticoats and lace
Baseball caps and jeans replaced
A's? - no way! - nor honor roll
"Just pass the course" became the goal
College? She couldn't wait that long
To get a job; be on her own
This changeling child was so strong willed
No fantasy of mine fulfilled
And yet she taught in space of time
The life was hers to live, not mine
SJ Baldock, Lancaster, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Interesting twist at the end satisfies the poem's contradictions.
This poet's fantasy, though unfulfilled, has a happy ending. The
rhyming couplet is an excellent vehicle for this poem.
=============
A Fair Distance
From break of hill to swell of field
The magic lingers that once filled
This world from grove to faery mound
And whispered into willing mind:
Some swear it only fantasy
But this is our reality.
They have not gone, they have not strayed
Nor broken half-a-step from stride.
You may yet see them if you dare
Shed your constraints beside their door
And come to find reality
What some had sworn was fantasy.
Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
COMMENTS: Strong rhythmical pattern. Near or off-rhyme works
well to strengthen emotional development. "From break of hill to
swell of field" grabs the reader's interest. By the end of the poem,
the reader is almost convinced that his fantasy might well be reality.
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Vagabond
In fantasy, I'm Rapunzel with long flaxen hair
Living high in a castle without a single care
Many charming men appear in pages of my book
They're all romantic and don't ask me to cook
I'll turn into falcon and fly the South Seas
Spend lazy days perched in swaying palm trees
Then I'll be a mermaid swimming with fishes
Serenade passing seamen and never wash dishes
Reality snaps me back from this delightful dream
My date is coming soon and I've a house to clean
Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Sweet fantasy that has probably invaded every woman's
mind - a very funny tongue-in-cheek (or perhaps not so much!) of the wish
to escape and be wined and dined. The ultimate fantasy - with a very
realistic closing line. Seemingly personal, the "I" seems a stage
figure, since the wish may be universal. From fantasy to reality
is well expressed here with a strong wake up ending. Enjoyable rhyme
in this one.
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Prayer
There, and then gone--my fulgent phantom lover.
Will you return?
Touching me for seasons, yet never coming near.
Oh, Selket, Queen of Magic!
Send your scorpion stealing in the night
to weave a stinging, urgent web of rapt desire!
Gods! I cry out to you for the mercy of the Fates!
Grieving, I sit, clutching arms that want to hold him,
spilling tears that would cleanse his face,
rocking in the agony of fantasy, denied the bliss
of his warm body fortress.
Phantom! Beloved! Return to your mistress of midnight!
My portals of worship await.
Jayne Jaudon Ferrer, Greenville, SC, USA
COMMENTS: Charged with imagination. The reader is left
with an interesting question...will the phantom lover return? Powerfully
written.
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Twinkling Diamonds
Tiny shiny crystals
glide, dance, and gently float
down to earth from above like
glistening glitter beneath the street lights
As you shuffle through
those sparkling twinkling diamonds
of almost a single dimension
reality celebrates brief transformations
Then, if you stand still for but
a brief minute or two
and close your eyes; open your imagination
our scary world turns loving and beautiful
a refuge rich with fantasy and awe
Splendid gifts from tiny twinkling diamonds!
Randy Snow, St. Louis, Park, MN, USA
COMMENTS: Syllables and words linger and fit intricately together.
Enjoyable. Interesting way "twinkling diamonds" are repeated in various
ways throughout the poem.
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I Have Visions
yeah, psychedelic flashbacks of spiral rainbows
fantasies of flower children in bell-bottoms
bra-less, long flowing hair, make love, make love, not war
(repeat that please) make love, or what we thought was love
actually, hot, humid, sweaty bodies wrestling in the cars.
Groping, sliding in the darkness of fast cars, speeding cars
roaring on rainy roads at one hundred five
rooster tails painting gray skies in washed out water color
throbbing moans of green, blue, yellow, touch me -- yellow
red! Red! Sparkling on the windshield, sliding brakes:
stop, stop, stop now! But zip up, snap button, button,
steamy, clouded windows, smeared lipstick, breathless,
colors fade away: reality invades, marching back to me.
James M. Thompson, Baytown, Texas, USA
COMMENTS: Images race throughout and mingle with thoughts.
Kerouac-like in its stream-of-consciousness, this one rolls as fast as
the cars it speaks of. A dizzying blur of words, actions, and colors,
meshed together for supreme effect and fantastical psychedelic effects.
This one captures in line and rhyme the visual aspect of fantasy.
Well done! Wonderful closing lines. A memory trip told in a
fast paced poem.
TOPIC TWO:
FOR PEACE
JUDGES: LISA JANICE COHEN, DEBORAH P. KOLODJI, PAULA
MARIE BENTLEY
SPONSORS: MARY MARGARET CARLISLE & AMAZE*
FORM: CINQUAIN
* Amaze: The Cinquain Journal - www.amaze-cinquain.com
-
Amaze Editors, Lisa Janice Cohen and Deborah P. Kolodji, are both Sol
Magazine Members.
FIRST PLACE = Winner of a $25.00 electronic book gift certificate.
Safe PlaceCOMMENTS: A reminder that there is always beauty and peace in the world. Very nice attention to diction in lines two and three. Lovely juxtaposition of the universal and the personal. Natural language lends the piece a haiku-like simplicity. The reader is drawn to this safe place among the roses where we can hope and pray for peace in our world. The opposing forces of turmoil and peace provide an effective beginning and end for the Cinquain.
Turmoil,
as this dark world
spirals off its axis.
Yet, here among the roses, there
is peace.
Kathy Lippard Cobb, Bradenton, FL, USA
ShantihCOMMENTS: Beautiful simplicity. A very wise observance of a very common occurrence, but when applied to the world's present state of affairs, it takes on a whole new meaning. Wonderful heart-rending image in the final two lines. The reader wonders, is Peace yawning from boredom, or from finally waking up? Very appropriate title. Wonderful metaphor of peace as a fabric that unravels if neglected.In time,
each simple thread
unravels with neglect.
Peace comes apart at careless seams
yawning.Laura Heidy, Highland, IN, USA
Considered RiskCOMMENTS: Title adds a thoughtful dimension to the poem, and the questions raised are compelling. Will the narrator find what is looked for? What is so bad on his side of the river that the risk of the unknown and the chance of the ultimate prize are worth the effort? The last line is very effective, since the whole poem builds to "peace." Much content in few very powerful lines! The question posed in this poem has universal appeal and the lines fall naturally into place.
If I
brave the River,
cross to the other side,
will there be a chance of finding
Peace there?
John E. Rice, Houston, TX, USA
HopeCOMMENTS: The questioning of "Who dares. . . lose all" is almost a poem within a poem. The natural diction of this simple plea for peace flows well through the poem and the line breaks fall naturally without forcing the words to fit syllable counts. Nice connection between first and last lines. Well done!
Who dares
still pray for peace,
countless pleas unanswered?
Yet pray we must; lose hope and we
lose all.
Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX, USA
BeaconsCOMMENTS: Natural diction gives this one a nice feel. Also, goodIt rains
from clouded dreams
and though skies seem dark
our whispered prayers become beacons
for peace.James M. Thompson, Baytown, TX, USA
Might man
Heed the call to
Open his heart to love
Put aside differences and strive
for Peace
SJ Baldock, Lancaster, TX, USA
COMMENTS: A gentle question, a plea, a call to love and peace.
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Barrier Griefs
We build
walls when we should
be building bridges. God,
help us to pull these walls into
peaces.
Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
COMMENTS: Very clever wordplay in the title. Apt observance
of man's current state of being and thinking - and very nice dual meaning
of the final "peaces." A true prayer. Excellent cadence.
============
The Sign
Circle
Slashes divide
Everyone wants a piece
One third, one third, one sixth, one sixth
None left
Mary Burlingame, Houston, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Brisk direct language makes this sharp piece a stand-out.
Clean wording, clear meaning. Well done! The rhythm marches
wonderfully into the abrupt ending of "None left," leaving the reader wanting
more.
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Fallow Land
Fallow
land reviving,
sleep mends harm and sows peace
under restless eyes of furloughed
scarecrows.
Betty Dobson, Halifax, NS, CAN
COMMENTS: Wonderful comparison of a fallow field prior to plowing
with the world's mindset - ready to be turned over and re-planted with
seeds of kindness. Excellent phrasings in final two lines, particularly
"furloughed scarecrows" - bringing to mind the military, as they use the
word furlough for a rest period. Nice imagery. Great job, poet!
=============
Tearless Tomorrow?
Watching,
wishing, hoping
tomorrow will bring peace.
Praying for a tearless morning.
Waiting.
Jennifer Galvin, Mountain View, CA, USA
COMMENTS: Universal feeling in "Praying for a tearless morning."
The "w" and "o" sounds really move this poem.
=============
Faith
Again
I come to You
believing promises
of help for peace within the flock
of wolves.
Avonne Griffin, Greer, SC, USA
COMMENTS: A true prayer, mingling eternal faithfulness
with slight desperation (as evinced by the opening "Again"). Nice
imagery. Calling a pack of wolves a "flock" lends deeper spiritual
meaning to this well drawn work.
=============
Echoes
Fearful
eyes watch dark skies
for signs that our time draws
near. Hopeful voices rise in prayer
for peace.
Maryann Hazen Stearns, Ellenville, NY, USA
COMMENTS: Sandwich rhyme (eyes/skies) is a nice touch.
This piece begs to be read aloud again and again.
============
Bright Future
Flashes,
Like shards of glass,
Peace blinks twice for yes. Yes!
And gold-laced violet lights descend
To Earth.
Tanya Ruth Larson, Kamloops, BC, CAN
COMMENTS: Other-worldly and original treatment of the topic.
This thoughtful poem offers more questions than answers.
============
Hush
Hope floats
anew, rends aches,
as ceaseless stones break hurts.
Shattered souls keening, hush, peace poised
exists.
Kathy Paupore, Kingsford, MI, USA
COMMENTS: One of the hallmarks of a good Cinquain is an element
of surprise. Close placement of keening souls and peace is totally
unexpected, and adds extra interest to this piece.
============
Seeds
Planting
The seeds of peace
Takes great love, patience, hope
Compassion and understanding--
Keep faith!
Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY, USA
COMMENTS: Familiar metaphor is nicely used.
============
A Request
World peace
among nations
can be achieved if all
will understand each other and
forgive.
Eileen Sateriale, Bowie, Maryland, USA
COMMENTS: A simple request, yet one that is difficult to achieve.
============
Freedom
Give me
a peace-filled place
where all are free to fall
down to their knees or simply sit
to pray.
Judith Schiele, Brandon, MS, USA
COMMENTS: Nice use of enjambment (where a thought begun in one
line or stanza, ends in the next) between lines three and four. This
is often a difficult device to employ well in a Cinquain. Effective
use of alliteration.
============
Learning to Fall
All nerves
with the first dive
into blue water. I
fall and fall, but when it's over
such peace.
Cindy Tebo, Catawissa, Missouri, USA
COMMENTS: Highly visual and very tangible images. Good
attention to detail. Nerves tingle as we dive with this poet.
Nicely done!
============
Just Merger
Tell me
what the answer
to this malady is?
Silent kneeling; voices pray for
sound peace.
Tony A. Thompson, Lufkin, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Solution offered in few words. Question and answer
in straightforward writing that somehow (in the mind of the reader) becomes
more than the whole.
BEST POEM OF DECEMBER
Safe PlaceCOMMENTS: A reminder that there is always beauty and peace in the world. Very nice attention to diction in lines two and three. Lovely juxtaposition of the universal and the personal. Natural language lends the piece a haiku-like simplicity. The reader is drawn to this safe place among the roses where we can hope and pray for peace in our world. The opposing forces of turmoil and peace provide an effective beginning and end for the Cinquain.
Turmoil,
as this dark world
spirals off its axis.
Yet, here among the roses, there
is peace.
Kathy Lippard Cobb, Bradenton, FL, USA
There is no immediate prize associated with a poem having been picked as the Best Poem of a particular month, only the knowledge that our editors picked it over all the other prize winners of that month. However, all poems chosen for BEST POEM of each month in the year 2002 are automatically entered in the BEST POEM OF THE YEAR 2002 competition, voted on by Sol Magazine Members at the end of the year. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of that contest will be awarded prizes and will be invited to enter Sol Magazine's Poet Laureate 2003 Competition.============
CRAIG TIGERMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
BETTY ANN WHITNEY, POETRY EDITOR
PAULA MARIE BENTLEY, FEATURES EDITOR
LEO F. WALTZ, WEB MASTER, PRIZE MANAGER, MEDIA
EDITOR
MARY MARGARET CARLISLE, MANAGING EDITOR
MARY BURLINGAME, PROOFREADER
JANET PARKER, PROOFREADER
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