Sol Magazine
November 2000 Edition

Sol Magazine © 2000
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CONTENTS:
(Note:  Spotlight and Glossary are on separate pages, use your browser's back button or Alt left arrow to return to this page.)



WELCOME:  Bev Forbes, Stazja McFadyen, Eileen Sateriale.


JUDGES:  Craig Tigerman, Betty Ann Whitney, Paula M. Bentley, Mary Margaret Carlisle


OMNIPRESENT OZONE

This very serious topic brought an unusual mix of reponses, from a cure for "Cow Belching Syndrome," to a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that car manufacturers may be trading in sun screen products.  We asked that our poets examine this topic using a journalistic style:  who, what, where, when, and/or why.
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The "Oh" Zone
 

Oh!  Really?  Where'd you hear that?  Evening news, hmmm.
Who said that?  Why worry now?  Well how bad do you think it really is?
Oh, really!  But what can I do about it?  Where do you start?
I can't go there.  I've got a job you know.  I can't take the time off.
My company, oh I can't imagine they even know about it.  
I'm sure they'd try to fix it. Really?  I can't afford to make waves.
Who would I contact?  Why would they listen to me?
Yes, we've got to start somewhere.
I don't know what difference I could make anyhow.
Oh!
 

Steve Carr, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  "Oh!" indeed!  Where do we start?
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Sumptuous Soy
 

To reduce the number of bovines
Emitting methane gas in the ozone
Folks should switch to meatless meals
By ordering McSoy Burgers beneath golden arches
And inviting friends in for casseroles of Tofu
Then rare Longhorn cattle will reside
Contently chewing their cud
Only in the San Diego Zoo
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This poet may just have the right solution to save us from the dreaded "Cow Belching Syndrome."
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Planets Once Flourished
 

Reports from our space-probe's investigation are: Third and fourth planets circling this red giant star sustained numerous life-forms millions of years ago, the larger planet's creatures being last to show.  Like many such planets, both exhibit indication of too much ultra-violet radiation.  That ozone's almost totally depleted, suggests any inhabitant's attempts at preserving the atmosphere... were totally defeated.
 

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Chilling news from outer space.
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Sun Protection
 

We slather our skin
with oils and creams
protect our heads with hats
cover our arms with layers of chintz
and hide our rolls of fat
buy the latest water shoes
and choose our clothes with care
then find car manufacturers
have stock in bathing wear.
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This poet must have a convertible!
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Non-polluting Mower
 

Damaging the ozone wasn't a problem
When I was a kid in a country town
Our goat trimmed the grass
And supplied milk for super cheese
All was well until she ate
The laundry off the line
Then Ma threatened Nanny daily saying,
"I hear barbecued goat is mighty fine."
 

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Cute childhood memory of a charming topic.
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Warmth
 

Shining down on the trees
Bringing life to plants and animals
Leaves glisten as if they were wet
Flowers reaching up to the sky
Cold winter air warms in the light
But too much
For too long
Burns
 

Sharon Goodwin, Galveston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Lovely tight writing that skirts the topic of ozone depletion, but not quite mentions it.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Ultraviolet Unbalance
 

Days are done in. Now we shall move
through night on the knobby spine of pitch.
We dream of daylight's cacophonous din.
We sleep, we breathe inertia.
The shine of bright skin, a dormant drift
of idle bones white and night slides down.
Dawn swells, dawdles along
on the vermilion fringe of morning.
We lie wedged between in an obverse siesta,
alone in our crowded dark skulls.
 

Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Ellenville, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Had this poet mentioned the topic anywhere within this poem, it would have won this contest.  Exceptional writing, wonderful comparisons and metaphors.  Well done.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Unleashed Fury
 

Father Sun hovers over the world below
Watching his children with their toys
Playing with no thought for eternity
Each toy giving off unseen vapors
Contaminating the air which they breathe
Almost like an addiction they crave more
Making life more simple to live but in the end
Destroying the barrier between them and him
Until all creation is scorched by his fury
 

Julia Jarmusz, Fort Worth, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good writing, right on topic.
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FIRST PLACE

Reversal of Fortune
 

Suffuser of life, once basking our souls,
Now penetrates humankind's skin.
A deadly defense, her only recourse,
For our environmental sins.
Like a jellyfish, her venomous rays
Sting us with carcinogens.
Man O' War invaders, her fortress we scaled,
Attacking her shield from within.
Technology forges at fast-forward speeds,
And yet not one of us wins.
 

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA

JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Wonderful choice of words, subtle alliteration, with a stinging commentary about humanity's sins against the earth, and the dire results of our meddling with nature.
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HONORABLE MENTION
The Good Old Days
 

We had no air conditioning
Polluting the ozone layer
When Grandma was a girl
In church she waved a funeral home fan
Then went home to a steaming kitchen
And fried chicken that was grand.
 

James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good writing, a memoir of earlier, less politically correct time.
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Too Late
 

"It doesn't matter"  they all said
Ignoring pollution, which they fed.
The ozone hole kept expanding
Destroying life and spreading cancer.
Scientists warned of the destruction possible
But what if the damage is irreversible?
 

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  What if, indeed?
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Wake Up Call
 

Global temperatures rise while yet we sleep...though warned we still
pretend that all is well.  When sea levels rise before our eyes, and
climates change and
crops no longer yield...we'll waken from our rosy dream and go to work
to save the only world we know and pray, my friend, that we are not too
late.
 

Janet Parker, Leesburg, FL
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Still another warning that can not come too soon.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Can the Cans!
 

You--with the aerosol can in your hand
Throw it right out--put it now in the can!
'Cause just a few spritzes of spray in the air
Shows each of us really how little you care
For you can wear sunscreen, but wildlife cannot
So think of what happens, when atmosphere's hot.
There'll be no more polar bears, sunning on ice
And without all its beauty, the world won't be nice.
Do all you can, and please think ahead
Or not only the animals will turn up dead.
 

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Spirited defense of the earth!
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Imbalance
 

We seem to forget,
as we aim to please
our exotic tastes, we're
locking doors that
have no keys. With
more of us and fewer
trees, O2s will never
be O3s - soon we'll
be brought down
to our knees.
 

John E. Rice, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Intelligent writing, succinct and to the point.
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Biozone
 

Orange Houston heat and
Zoo of cars breed milky haze
Over speeding freeway steeds
Now we're number one!
Eat that L.A. construction
Sites belch micronites for
Mega shopping stalls
One more gray and soured plot
Eve come lift the drape- to
Breathe!
 

Adelaide Socki, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Well constructed, deftly written.
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Victorian Flesh
 

"Melanoma," the dr. pronounced on the back of a cousin dear.
"Malignant," the word read on the paper so bold and clear.
On my arm are many spots they've been there since I was a girl
"Sun kisses," my mother said, but I'm not sure I ever believed her.
A kiss can be deadly, or tenderly brushed.
I've stayed out of the harsh dazzling rays showered down.
With lilly white flesh, I'm barely concerned when the word "cancer" is bandied around.
 

Marsha Steed,  Roseville, CA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Double emphasis on both sun damage and its results.  Well-written.
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SECOND PLACE
Evolution
 

Breathless, I taste it
in a polarized glare
the ceaseless heat
a bright, white hot burn
invading the shade
with lingering fingers.
Bent, reflected and refracted
we huddle in penumbral masses
praying for a chance, we change:
lacking escape, we mutate.
 

James M. Thompson, Baytown, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Lilting word choice for a serious rendition of a serious topic.  Memorable writing.
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Growing Solutions
 

Turn down the sound pollution
of politicians' lies and CEO slanders.
Urge the factories to stop smoking,
and recycle words into solid actions.
We have the power to weed Gaia's garden
and replant the clean, fresh scent
of future possibilities
within her soil, oceans and skies.
Do not hold your breath any longer.
Let's start today.
 

Jade Walker, New York, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Positive call to action!

POETRY WORKS: 
"Serious Advice"
By Mary Margaret Carlisle, Sol Magazine's Managing Editor
http://www.sol-magazine.com
When writing to a contest theme, it's important to realize each poet must compete against many other writers, so the work must be the best possible.  For a poem to be seriously considered by an editor or judge, the topic must be seriously considered by the writer.  If the writer trivializes or ignores the spirit of a topic in an effort to make a poem witty, cute or different, the poem may be ignored because it does not meet the underlying intent of the contest.

What is meant by trivialize?  When asked to suggest an answer for the world's air pollution problem,  one poet compared it to an armpit, offering a favorite deodorant as a solution.

My serious advice?  Exactly and succinctly address the given topic, showing intelligent thought and consideration in your writing.  Put witty comments on hold for a limerick contest, unless your ironic comparison also offers a solid solution for a real problem, or the rules require humor.
 


DUMPSTER BLUES

We've become a throw-away society, carelessly dumping everything from old bread to recyclables in the trash.  Out-of-fashion clothes, scuffed shoes, eyeglasses, even new-born babies are dumped without a second thought.  The result?  Overflowing dumpsters and landfills dot the land, little ones die before they really live.  Our poets examined every possible iteration in their poetry.  We asked for ironic commentary, and that was what we got!
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January 1st
 

I jumped into the Dumpster
To search for lost car keys
After probing blobs of black eyed peas
I felt the teardrops start
For beneath empty champagne bottles
Lay my broken, bleeding heart
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
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HONORABLE MENTION
What's Wrong with Adiposity?
 

I can't tolerate soy as I thought I could,
so powdered drink and scales were no good.
I also tossed pairs of torn panty hose
and a closet full of too-tight clothes.
Diet police can check my garbage again;
for once I don't care what's in the bin.
 

SuzAnne C. Cole, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Hilarious departure from the seriousness of our wastefulness points out that some of us waste to hide that we want too much...food, that is.  Excellently tongue-in-cheek, with wonderful mental images and witty closure.
=========
FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $10.00 electronic book gift certificate from Barnes and Noble

Heavenly Dumpster?
 

Great Dumpster...will you be our new religion, or is heaven
just a simple re-decision?  Whether to reduce or replete our stuff,
seeking "goodies paradise" together! Just which, austere or
replete is most swell and what's enough?  Hey brother, listen well.
In Aramaic," dumpster" translates: headed straight for hell.
 

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL

JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Scathing commentary on our state as a "use it once, then toss it" society.  Mockingly outlines our love of materialistic waste as a form of religion-of-the-future, a kind of antipathetic sloth-driven idolatry.  The questions posed are marked in their directness.  Great ironic writing.
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Higher and Higher
 

Billy, take the trash out. It's spilling on the floor
and don't forget the packages, those piled up by the door.
The milk jugs and aluminum, the newspapers and string-
I hope the dumpster isn't full. Did we get everything?
I see some empty canisters, glass bottles piled high-
Here's just one more. Oh, never mind, the truck has gone on by.
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
==========
Rerun
 

Pa never wore the Christmas slippers
Or the hot pink shirt and tie
So Ma placed them near the Dumpster
To await the next passerby
When she found them back in his closet
All she could do was sigh
 

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
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Five Cents Worth
 

A nickel is worth naught but dottles -
or so say some upper-class twattles.
They don't give a think
how much soda we drink,
then toss hundreds of five-center bottles!
 

Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Ellenville, NY
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It's Not My Job
 

Faster to buy a new sweater
Than to mend an old one
Cheaper to buy new shoes
Than to have old ones repaired
Mothers used to take care of things like that
My mother died ------- I'm not her
 

Sharon Goodwin, Galveston, TX
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Switches
 

Some bulk goes here
Poison waste goes there
Pile up the brush
Oh what is the rush
I don't know which
Containers are switched
 

Julia Jarmusz (Spirit Cloud), Ft. Worth, TX
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Environmental Epiphany
 

Trash it, trash it, crumple and smash it.
Bag it up and garbageman stash it.
Cola cans, more landfill debris,
Pages of news, kill one more tree.
Aluminum trade, paper lash it.
Smarten up, why not just cash it?
 

Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA
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Same O Same O
 

One day I threw my troubles in the dumpster by the street
Sat there laughing, thinking, "Ain't life sweet!"
Fell in bed early expecting to sleep tight
But those same old troubles woke me
In the middle of the night
 

James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
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SECOND PLACE
Not Disposable
 

Handy containers on parking lots
Receiving papers and what-nots
Mostly items that do not decay.
With easy access they're always used
But many times they are also abused
When unwanted new-borns are tossed away.
 

Lena S. Norman, Saginaw, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Haunting, direct poem about the outrageous extents to which some poeple take the concept of "disposability."  A startling divergence from the usual thought of a dumpster as being for trash.  A timely reminder - what can be used for everyday disposal can be used for other, more sobering purposes.  Keenly said.
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Do It Tomorrow
 

I know someone could use my trash
and it's a simple chore for me
to take the time to share my stuff
but tomorrow will be soon enough.
 

Janet Parker, Leesburg, FL
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Question for Peter, Paul & Mary--Where Does All the Garbage Go?
 

Where does all the garbage go
Once I throw it out?
Where does all the garbage go
After the dumps?
The answer my friend, is filling up this earth.
The answer is filling up this earth!
 

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
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Relativity
 

Remains of fruit and veggies and all that grass
wind up in a fecund pile.
We recycle paper, plastic, cans and glass
(wasn't this a song by Lyle?)
On every trash day when they're done,
neighbors put out six bags - we put out one.
 

John E. Rice, Houston, TX
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THIRD PLACE
Landfilling
 

Lost hot dog halves anno '62
survive the mouths that noshed.
Diappes folded on themselves
Fermenting babies' other dreary end
Time capsuled laughing leftovers
mock our materialist lean
 

Adelaide Socki, Houston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This austere poem shows, with allusions to every thing, how "our stuff" ends up.  "Time capsuled laughing leftovers" mocking "our materialist lean" presents an excellent image showing the extremes of our society's excesses.
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The Junk-yard Mall
 

We spend the first third of our lives acquiring things
the second third managing things
and the last third getting rid of things.
Perhaps we should have a dump
where we can buy, dust and then bury
our vast accumulations of "things."
 

Marsha Steed, Roseville, CA
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Bread Offering
 

I always intend to eat the bread.
I plan to make peanut butter and jelly
or tuna, lettuce and cheese sandwiches.
Yet each time I purchase a loaf, it always goes to waste.
After creating a mold colony on my counter,
I toss it into the can, offering it as a shelter for the ants.
 

Jade Walker, New York, NY


THE ARCTIC ICE IS MELTING

Far north, restless polar bears pace the edge of Hudson Bay.  They paw through the dump at Churchill, seeking any small scrap to assuage a growing hunger as they wait for the arctic ice to form.  Each year the wait is longer.  This year was no exception.  What can we do?  Our poets had many ideas on that topic.
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HONORABLE MENTION
Awareness
 

I was raised in the warmth of a coal-burning fireplace
Spending cozy evenings memorized by dancing flames
Unaware that our hearth was spewing noxious gases
Laying the foundation for the greenhouse effect
Now melting the abodes of polar bears and musk oxen
Perhaps there is hope we can seize sun's sizzling energy
Using nature's power while protecting the environment
To preserve their future and ours
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
EDITOR'S COMMENTS:  Cuts directly to the point in clear language.  Good writing.
==========
FIRST PLACE - A $10.00 electronic book gift certificate from Barnes and Noble

Greenhouse Solution
 

Hell and high water, that's what they say
is coming straight at us and not far away.
A little more greenhouse effect on the icecaps,
we'll likely have water clear up to our laps.
Good-by New York subways, and yes, Florida too.
Then, oceans getting warmer begin to expand,
you won't find dry-living even up on high land.
When total water deepens, all earth's surface fills,
and the only solution will be to grow gills.
 

Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL

JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  With a clever twist on the old axiom, "come hell and high water," this poem romps through a rhythmic, well-paced bemused commentary.  The "solution" to the problem may be tongue-in-cheek, but it's also very sobering.  Excellent use of humor to make a serious point.
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Delayed Effects
 

A warmer winter's good they say
less snow, less aggravation
with oil prices rising high
praise shoveling vacations
but what seems good for us, has not
the same effect on all
for arctic cliffs of frozen ice
experience less snowfall
and as the bergs keep melting down
our happy smiles melt into frowns.
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
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Show Me
 

Folks out in Missouri have a pollution solution
To prevent additional meltdown of arctic ice
They tuck homes into the hills with three sides underground
Limiting the need for energy to stay comfortable year round
If an ecology award were given to the state doing the best
It wouldn't be surprising for the Show Me State to win
For they gave us Harry Truman and his First Lady Bess
 

Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
==========
SECOND PLACE
Fear
 

So rarely is there ice to see
Except in my iced tea glass
I know the global fear is real
But it is hard to feel it here
My southern life will be over
Before true change is seen
As surely as the melting continues
Uncaring and unknowing
 

Sharon Goodwin, Galveston, TX
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  This poem stikes a chord, wittily illustrating the "I don't know, so I don't care," attitude of so many people who don't understand the implication of what is happening "up north."  Humor provides a strong base for this poem, while the title contradicts the seemingly lighhearted humor.  Well-balanced.
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Rising Tides
 

Somewhere the day begins, flows slowly
from the edge of night. The truth
is that daylight is timid. She does not explode
upon the horizon, she tingles like mica
underwater, shimmers like frost on a pane
or sequins. Somewhere begins a new day slowly.
Somewhere frost melts, drips like tears. Tides rise
yellow sunshine in my eyes. Now our turn arrives.
Queen Anne's Lace lifts her face
proudly toward the sun. Her day has begun.
 

Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Ellenville, NY
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Messed Up
 

Nature has her thermostat
Don't mess with it she said
creatures use it every day
Somebody tampered with it
Change where it doesn't fit
Ice is melting in the north
Causing floods down in the south
Men can not reverse the world
Everything stays in a whirl
 

Julia Jarmusz (Spirit Cloud) Ft. Worth, TX
==========
Prayer for the Polar Bear
 

Where are they going?
The ice melts so quickly
Homes are evaporating
Along with all hope
The oceans are swelling
With warm waves of dead fish.
The polar bears travel north
Searching for shelter
But there's no ice no more--
Where will they go?
 

Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
==========
Heated Apathy
 

Ice has ebbed and ice has flowed
for a hundred thousand years.
Man has come and man has goed
running from his fears
of being cold or being wet
or becoming food for bears.
So the earth is warming up? I'll bet
no one really cares!
 

John E. Rice, Houston, TX
==========
THIRD PLACE
Latter-day Arc
 

Will I need to build a boat
and fill it with animals two by two,
As the earth, like a giant ice-cream cone
melts and drips itself into a puddle?
Will I have to call my friends
and neighbors one by one
and open up my floating house for their safety
when the melting's just begun?
 

Marsha Steed, Roseville CA
JUDGE'S COMMENTS: The greatest melt-down of all time!  This poem utilizes a questioning technique to engage the reader and force answers to the questions posed.  Wonderful analogy.
==========
Water Body
 

It expanded once
like your heart
when you were ten
Ice caps on each ventricle
More gas from round holes to
flood those veiny routes
Swelling doorways and eyes
beds float away downstream
drowning small mites and ticks
call back your roan pony and rest
 

Adelaide Socki, Houston, TX


SOONER OR LATER WE ALL QUOTE OUR MOTHERS


We asked our readers to send in double couplets.  For the most part, these poems conform with perfect or near rhyme in each couplet, as form demands, but a few poets rhymed across the couplets.  All used humor to reflect on the fact that, sooner or later, we all quote our Mothers!  Note that in each instance the poet's name is given second,  the mother's name first.
==========
Explanation
 

What Mama said was most absurd
"Children should be seen, not heard."
 

It made me timid as a fox
and now I am a chatterbox.
 

Lillie Pearl Pipes, Heaven (formerly Rio Vista, TX)
Roberta Pipes Bowman, Fort Worth, TX
==========
Etiquette
 

Mother said with bad table manners
My son, you never will go far
 

I avoid the formal dining
By eating fast foods in my car.
 

Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
Don Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
==========
Nutrition Counseling
 

Mother told me a good source of iron
Is found in a pig's liver
 

Since I left home, I've not eaten another bite
Just the thought of it makes my stomach quiver
 

Anabel Lay, Swinging on a Star
Lois Lay Castiglioni, Galveston, TX
==========
She Had Her Standards, I Have Mine
 

You can't do that, she said without a blink.
Whatever will the neighbors think?
 

Now I suppose they think the same as I
What business of mine is your modus operandi?
 

June E. Chapman, Tulsa, Oklahoma
SuzAnne C. Cole, Houston, TX
==========
Parental Discretion
 

Mom said "Can't give you good reason, you don't have to do."
Rebellious me never let that statement rest.
 

Searched for unreasonableness, found nary a clue
Instead, found myself always doing - just what was best.
 

Ruth Holloway Conarton Penner, Lansing, MI
Warner D. Conarton, Zephyrhills, FL
==========
Looking Good
 

Dress them well, both sister and brother
so neighbors won't question your skills as a mother
 

But I cannot watch them each minute, each day
I'd rather just let them run free as they play
 

Diane M. Davis, Chelmsford, MA
==========
Technically Correct
 

"If you can't say anything nice,"
Mother told me, "Don't say anything at all."
 

I'm e-mailing my tacky comments
And having quite a ball.
 

Anabel Ruddell Lay, On Cloud Nine
Kay Lay Earnest, Smyrna, GA
==========
HONORABLE MENTION
Good Advice
 

Always wear clean underwear each time you go outside
just in case a bus hits you - at least you'll have your pride.
 

Now everyday when I get dressed, I shake my head in wonder
and yet, instead of dirty drawers, my clothes are clean all under!
 

Mary Catherine Hazen, Cragsmoor, NY
Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Ellenville, NY
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Good rhythm, rhyme, humorous, and right on topic.
==========
FIRST PLACE - Winner of a $10.00 electronic book gift certificate from Barnes and Noble.

Disaster Dissolved
 

"Don't make a face," Mom'd often say.
"It just might freeze that way."
 

So whenever the evil eye I sent
I stood nearby a heating vent.
 

Darlene Dixon Kehrli, Heaven
Kathy Kehrli, Factoryville, PA

JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  True rendition of how a child can take a figure of speech literally.
==========
Behave
 

Mother said if you don't behave
I'll get your good eye
 

I quickly learned misbehaving
Made me a popular guy
 

Anabel Ruddell Lay, Heaven (formerly Calhoun, GA)
James W. Lay, Calhoun, GA
==========
I'm Off to Open a Dairy Farm
 

Boys won't buy the cow, my dear
If they get the milk for free.
 

It's been over six years and lots of tears.
The cow's not bought, and the man's not weaned.
 

Nancy Wanamaker, Nesconset, NY
Lynne Remick, Nesconset, NY
==========
SECOND PLACE
Don't Know Why I'm So Tired
 

Turn off that light, you've got to sleep.
This is your final warning!
 

Flashlight in hand, burrowed in deep
under the covers, read until morning.
 

Irene Johnson, Galveston, Texas
John E. Rice, Houston, Texas
JUDGE'S COMMENTS:  Humorous and so true!  A reminder of childhood memories.
==========
Go get it!
 

jobs just don't come knock at your door
go pound the pavement and the floor
 

but behind my door and on my base I made
a job alone with computer, books and Grace
 

April Salisbury, Scotia, NY
Adelaide Socki, Houston, TX
==========
Twisting Mom's Advice
 

Don't stick out your tongue
Unless you intend to use it.
 

I don't think she meant
for me to use it, how I used it.
 

Carolyn Grover, Citrus Heights, CA
Marsha Steed, Roseville, CA


ALPHA CONTEST:  GIVING THANKS
Winner of a $10.00 electronic book gift certificate from Barnes and Noble.

============

Company's Coming!
 

Rising bright and early to start the family feast,
the smell of pies and stuffing from the oven are released.
Peeling white potatoes, cutting carrots, snapping beans,
open up a can of corn, now chop the salad greens.
Set the table with the best, no mis-matched dishes here.
No paper towels for this meal, (if just for once this year!)
A dozen loved ones, maybe more, will bring their appetite
expecting "Grandma's Grand Buffet," will savor every bite.
Will gobble up warm pumpkin pie, pick turkey to the bone,
but mostly, Lord, I'm thankful they consider this their home.
 

Maryann Hazen-Stearns, Ellenville, NY

JUDGES' COMMENTS:  The tempo of this piece places the reader in the middle of grandma's kitchen warmed by the oven and her love, where one can see, smell and taste the foods and join the family.  True sentiment.  Underneath the detail work lies a value that really matters...belonging to the family.  Solid, clear imagery with nice twist at end revealing the true thanks at Thanksgiving
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