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JUDGES:
HELEN DAVID
MARY BURLINGAME
PAULA MARIE BENTLEY
BETTY ANN WHITNEY
To the memory of Betty Ann Whitney's father, Charles E. Mitchell, of Zephyrhills, Florida, who passed away on August 7, 2004. We will keep you in our thoughts and hearts. (Betty Ann is our Poetry Editor.) |
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FEATURED ARTICLES - August
Note: These links are on separate web pages and will exit you from the current edition.
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CONTENTS of this page:
WINNER OF A $10.00 ELECTRONIC BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATE
Texas—A World ApartCOMMENTS: Delightfully tongue-in-cheek, this poet utilizes the difficult mechanism of satirical, sarcastic humor to convey a keen to-the-point sentiment about the sheer size of Texas, not to mention its diversity. Excellent touching-upon of many different points of view, from desert to flood to mountain to plain, with a gloriously hilarious closing rueful line or two. The lines are spoken with a casual Texas tone. Each stanza balances the next. Details like flood insurance, mountains, and riding a horse are good examples. Solid poem with attitude.He called me from Santa Fe,
said, since you live in Texas,
how about running over to Amarillo
and checking up on my client?
I said, I live in Houston,
run over yourself, you're twice as close.She called me from Albany,
said, how're things in the desert?
I said, I'll try to find a desert dweller to ask,
as soon as I finish figuring out
how much my insurance will go up
now that the flood plain includes my property.I've heard people say,
You're from Texas and you can't ride a horse?
Mountains in Texas? What are you talking about?
I met someone from Canada yesterday,
he said, Americans don't understand us.
I said, I know how you feel.Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX, USA
FIRST PLACE
Winner of a $15.00 Electronic Book Gift Certificate
DragonfireCOMMENTS: This lyrical poem is descriptive without being overburdened by too many adjectives. The metaphor is fresh and original in it's lovely comparison of a flower to a dragon. Color, sound and emotion build to the satisfying ending, although the reader might wish that this narrative go on for pages. Exquisite precise word choices, deliciously succinct, that leave a sigh in the air as the poem is read aloud. Well done!Golden-freckled Stargazers glitter
beneath the moon,
green spines
curve
slightly downward,
offer due respect
to the cool blue
sky-gliding disc
of night.
But,
come daybreak,
their eyes blaze
ferociously, heads lift high,
dragon scaled petals
quail, thrum
beneath
the miniature roar
of ruby-throated hummers.Maryann Hazen Stearns, Ellenville, NY, USA
FireworksCOMMENTS: Fine conversational writing evokes a unique image of tissue paper flowers, reminding the reader not only of fireworks, but also of childplay with glue and crepe paper. Cleanly written, with a well-described comparison. Great ending with repetitions that burst and fade as the poem ends.The large clay pot on the patio
spews forth moss roses,
tiny tissue paper flowers in brilliant
reds pinks yellows oranges whites.
Each tissue paper blossom eventually
folds in upon itself,
shrivels into a black-brown knot,
but not before a new bud pushes
the dying bud aside as if to say
Okay, you’ve had your turn,
now it’s mine.
And in a few days more blossoms
burst forth in yet another dazzling display.
A timed film of this array
might look like fourth of July fireworks
bursting into colors against a blue sky,
then fading,
then bursting again
and again more fading,
bursting, the whole summer.Carol K. Cotten, Galveston, TX, USA
VioletsCOMMENTS: An ode to the violet, this writer has a firm control over words, descriptions, comparison, as the reader is coaxed across the lawn into purplechildhood memories. Well-done.They are not invaders
who come only to host the butterfly,
feed the dove and dark-eyed junco.
Some may call them common,
but notice how each bloom stands
independent, how they scatter the lawn
with sun-light lavender
and under the elm deepen
a more serious hue. There is no need
to pamper this heart-
shaped spreader, this survivor
who will not be driven
from its ground. Transplanted
from my growingup place, two
became three, became ten
and more--the web
of life in action. And in spring,
the yard carpeted with unassuming beauty,
I walk remote reaches
on a trail of time--sink into
a sea of purplechildhood.Judith Schiele, Brandon, MS, USA
Call them impossible, if
You like. Blue poppies
Take care to propagate,
It’s true – they demand
Conditions and attention, a
Certain amount of stubbornness.
But hope blooms in
Unexpected places; it rises
From seeds the size
Of black sand grains.
Labor over it daily,
Then suddenly you turn
To find fuzzy buds.
Eyes tired by endless
Blares of scarlet and orange
Soothe themselves in blue,
As fresh and clear
As scarves of sky.
Silken petals coax tired
Fingertips to life again.
Forget Flanders. Plant blue
Poppies instead, and hope.
Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
COMMENTS: Excellent writing in this well-done "process" poem
that takes the reader from seed to blossom. Good descriptions endlessly
draw the reader forward, ever forward to the fine ending. Forget
Flanders. This poet rocks!
==========
Dinner for Three
Sun Loving
Golden dewdrop shrubs
Serve apricot sulphur butterflies
Cups of nectar
From lavender blue blossoms
Then prepare a smorgasbord
Of orange yellow berries
To entice flocks
Of scarlet tanagers
Creating feasts of color
For the gardener
Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Beautiful descriptions abound in this fine poem as
the poet uses words as paint to flood her canvas with varying colors from
a palette of golden, apricot, lavender-blue, orange-yellow and scarlet
across the page to the delight of the reader.
==========
Winged Artist
Yellow and black
Bumblebee's drone joins
Raspy notes of cicadas
As he dances among
Crimson, saffron and salmon
Blossoms of nodding hollyhocks
Unaware that he's become
A Garden Van Gogh
Spreading pollen
To create fertile seeds
For next year's
Palette of color
Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA, USA
COMMENTS: Very beautiful description of a bumblebee, with a glorious
backdrop of a garden.
==========
Petunias In a Whisky Barrel (a Neville)
Petunias play on weathered deck
where Mother Nature grooms
majestic trumpet blooms.
Extended throats, a bottleneck
a periscope on sub
emerge from wooden tum
like shadows at a discotheque.
Yvonne Byrd Nunn, Hermleigh, TX, USA
COMMENTS: Well rendered piece brings the reader into the scene
immediately, and delicately describes nature.
==========
Monet's Pastels
Monet's
tulips paint dawn
hues, yellow illusions,
pink promise, white dreams, blossom
from brushes.
Kathy Paupore, Kingsford, MI, USA
COMMENTS: Visually pretty with a certain amount of surprise in
the last lines. Nicely done comparison. Excellent job of using
each word for description in this brief, yet somehow not terse, poem.
A cinquain from a true master of the form.
==========
Crazy like a Fox/Unbalanced as a spinning top
FIRST PLACE
WINNER OF A $10.00 ELECTRONIC BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATE
The Call of the Fleeing Raccoon
Hunted by a pack of hounds
In a dense and thick wood
Travels wily into the night,
Unbalanced as a spinning top.David Craig Keele, Manchester, TN, USA
EDITOR'S CHOICE
Sol Magazine's editors choose one favorite poem each month for the honor of EDITOR'S CHOICE. Each EDITOR'S CHOICE will be automatically entered in the FAVORITE POEM OF THE YEAR 2004 competition, voted on by Sol Magazine Members at the end of the year.
Nocturnal Flight of FancyCOMMENTS: Breathtakingly beautiful in its word-pictures and poetic craft. Repeating ending-words hint at a sestina-type structure yet this poem is much more relaxed in structure and in tone. Strong, alliterative language, filled with clear images and lovely connections. A very visual poem. Simile, alliteration and pleasing rhyme set a wonderful mood. The reader glides through the heavens on the skirt of a blue moon, treated to a rare show starring blue in every tone and hue. This poems captures the essence of the contest theme. Its good use of detail describes the deep overpowering blue and mystery of the night.This is the night, that once in a blue moon,
when ice-blue stars, like diamonds, fill the sky.
Grand milkyway is bathed in soft azure
each star sapphire reflects until the dawn
all nature strikes a chord - sweet overture.No silver gray, but blue now washes dawn,
and garden pools dyed blue - by ebbing moon.
White dew-fresh roses painted with the light
as pale blue tones are filtered from the sky,
a treasure to behold one time - finite.A full moon twice – one month, no rain to mask,
be watchful thirty days, look to the sky
its lunar light must burn from dusk to dawn.
No hiding midst the stars, behind a cloud.
Yet, can science truly grasp the magic drawn?Mount up on wings as eagles, search the night,
between the earth and sky, icy-blue veil
now casts its phantom hue on small white cloud,
and traps the tranquil morning in its spell,
while daybreak flaunts a filmy shrinking shroud.Jeanette Oestermyer, Roswell, NM, USA
FIRST PLACE
WINNER OF A $10.00 ELECTRONIC BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATE
Nocturnal Flight of FancyCOMMENTS: Breathtakingly beautiful in its word-pictures and poetic craft. Repeating ending-words hint at a sestina-type structure yet this poem is much more relaxed in structure and in tone. Strong, alliterative language, filled with clear images and lovely connections. A very visual poem. Simile, alliteration and pleasing rhyme set a wonderful mood. The reader glides through the heavens on the skirt of a blue moon, treated to a rare show starring blue in every tone and hue. This poems captures the essence of the contest theme. Its good use of detail describes the deep overpowering blue and mystery of the night.This is the night, that once in a blue moon,
when ice-blue stars, like diamonds, fill the sky.
Grand milkyway is bathed in soft azure
each star sapphire reflects until the dawn
all nature strikes a chord - sweet overture.No silver gray, but blue now washes dawn,
and garden pools dyed blue - by ebbing moon.
White dew-fresh roses painted with the light
as pale blue tones are filtered from the sky,
a treasure to behold one time - finite.A full moon twice – one month, no rain to mask,
be watchful thirty days, look to the sky
its lunar light must burn from dusk to dawn.
No hiding midst the stars, behind a cloud.
Yet, can science truly grasp the magic drawn?Mount up on wings as eagles, search the night,
between the earth and sky, icy-blue veil
now casts its phantom hue on small white cloud,
and traps the tranquil morning in its spell,
while daybreak flaunts a filmy shrinking shroud.Jeanette Oestermyer, Roswell, NM, USA
Dragon WhiskersCOMMENTS: Alliteration, assonance and rhyme sweep the reader through the night sky with the use of wonderful word choices that provide sensual as well as visual impact. The dragon against the night sky is electrifying and a bit frightening with the reader being challenged to gaze, to grasp and contemplate this rare sky show. The use of second person and the direct tone of this poem captures the reader's attention and keeps it until the end. Consonance and internal rhyme, sets a percussive pace that keeps the phrases rushing forward.Stand and stare, seek it there, so high above.
You know it comes with golden crumbs behind.
Find it if you can, folded fan of ice.There! There it is, a distant fizz in space,
Spun like a flag, a scarf, a rag, a mane
Caught in a wind that does not bend or breathe.Stone turns to stardust, burns at the sun’s touch.
Vapor sublimes; sand climbs free; the tail grows.
Is it a ghost? A host of angels? No.Night sky like a pool of ink, cool and smooth;
Silver swash of comet’s tail; wash of light
And dance of dark – these things mark time’s slow tide.Call it an omen, fall on your knees if
You wish. Call it a fish or falcon, sign
Of birth or war on Earth. It’s none of these.But call it cold stone, hold it in your eye
And claim to know its name – then you will hear
The dragon’s laugh, feel his staff on your back.Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
Guiding LightCOMMENTS: Alliteration, simile and metaphor bring a touch of fear and mystery to this smoke and mirror magic show of Mother Nature. An ominous sense of foreboding evaporates into the sky to form of a rare, vibrant rainbow so brilliant as to portend a passageway to a mystical world, but instead guides the awed driver to the safety of home.As I drove east at twilight,
the sun at my back, black clouds rose in front,
clouds dark as the smoke from a hundred wildfires.
(A scene typical of Houston summer weather,
where "scattered showers" are truly scattered.)
Not a drop of rain touched my car at ground level,
but against the not-so-distant smokescreen of thunderclouds
the presence of water drops was advertised
by the brightest rainbow I had ever seen,
a rainbow painted not in the typical pastel tints,
but in crimson red and fiery orange,
yellow bright as the sun itself,
green brilliant as precious stones,
blue the color of a clear sky at twilight,
and true royal purple.
The colors shone like jewels of light
against the thunderclouds.
The ancient peoples who said a rainbow
formed the bridge to heaven
must have meant a rainbow like this,
a sight truly worthy of the gods.
That brilliant arch, ever retreating,
like an entrance to some royal fairy courtyard,
led me home before the moon rose.Katherine Swarts, Houston, TX, USA
FIRST PLACE
WINNER OF A $10.00 ELECTRONIC BOOK GIFT CERTIFICATE
Body LanguageCOMMENTS: Excellent use of the Whitney form. This humorously portrayed scene ends with a real a power-punch. Vivid painting of a moment that double-backs on itself. Nicely done.As a kid
My fantasy
Was to eat
Banana splits
Every day
But now I know
My cholesterol says whoaLois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX, USA
A Thorny ProblemCOMMENTS: Light and lively, with a lovely use of both language and irony.Unicorns
in the garden
look splendid
with golden horns
but are at
heart still grazers
and roses are expensive.Elizabeth Barrette, Charleston, IL, USA
Phobia's AweCOMMENTS: This poem is to the point, and its closing packs a surprise. Well-written universal expression of emotion.On life's trail
Dread and terror
Compulsive
And persistent
Fear inside
Yet we stay calm
Underneath the masks we wear.Carol Meeks, Artesia, NM, USA
Euphony of SoundCOMMENTS: Powerful contrast in this succinct work.Symphony
borne on the breeze
nature’s notes
through distant spheres
enchanting
woodlands and lakes.
Man’s music smacks and rattles.Jeanette Oestermyer, Roswell, NM, USA
PasturesCOMMENTS: Delightful metaphor.I am yet
a wild pony
fresh as milk
energetic
running free
to the wild sea
in dreams of my still young heartLynne Craig, Terrell, TX, USA
SOL MAGAZINE'S 2004 VOLUNTEER STAFF
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Phone number: 281-316-2255
Call weekdays 9-5 (CT) (1400-2200 GMT or UTC)
Send comments, questions, advice to:
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We hate to ask, but providing prizes for our winning poets is an non-ending task. Over the years we've offered many locking diaries, hundreds of book gift certificates and bookmarks, uncounted books and chapbooks, and even a few picnic baskets! Only about one-fourth of our prizes come from Sponsors, and the rest are donated by co-founders Leo F. Waltz and Mary Margaret Carlisle. Please consider adding your name to the list. Become a Sol Sponsor. Write to Sol.Editor@prodigy.net for more information. |