We received quite a number of poems for our contest celebrating National Poetry Month. The assignment was to write a two stanza poem that talked about the love of words and poetry. Our winning poems are listed below. Untitled 'Tis nearly too much to ask Of most any mortal hand To lift the pen for such a grand, Supremely glorious task. Yet summit this height I shall try For 'tis as bold, worthy, and right As when moon bows down, following night, Sun crowns himself king of the sky! I love thee immeasurably, Mother Tongue, I love thee with all my soul's eternal worth. To speak thy words finely is triumph won, Feathered hope fulfilled, spring's divine rebirth! To as far and wide as voices can run May your children soundly sweeten the Earth! L.M. Williams IIIThe Ashbery Farm I live not far now from the old farm Where the poet John Ashbery grew up, In the apple country by the lake, A white frame house of modest size On a remote road a couple of miles From the nearest dying town. Reading him is often like Skating on a frozen river in a fog, Glimpsing images through the ice Drifting beneath, Or of some deserted city where you Feel the sleeve tug of dreams That vanish when you turn around – Words that could mean anything, Or everything, And nothing. And he lived there once. Frank J. EdwardsBird That such a small word could contain so many feathers and songs, and all that down, white and grey dreamed-of- softness, not to mention legs, and beaks and eyes, nestled like tiny jewels among the fluff. Then there are those little hearts, keeping time for all those songs that will cross oceans, light on mountain tops sweeten the lives of lonely stars, only to return home to nest in one small word. Emily Blair StriblingTHE 500 SYLLABLE HAIKU I know people generally like poets to keep it short. The haiku form is the logical extension of that. It’s a rainy day in early spring, chilly and dripping, new green still spare, splashes of yellow. I sit down in a comfortable chair with a good book and fall asleep. I am in heaven. Basho could have caught such a moment in seventeen syllables. Imagine going through life talking like that. But we don’t, and that is why haiku seem so profound, mysterious— why they are poetry. But another way is to allow ourselves a page or two, or three or four. I am working on a new form, the 500 syllable haiku. A little more space for interesting language. Some vivid, accurate description. Even the odd beauty of digression. I am far from perfecting it. You can read just the last three lines of my poems if you prefer. That might work. Or, you can take the time to read the whole thing. Either way, short or long, it’s the rounding of silence after the words stop, the feeling around them, that really matters. Howard NelsonIf you are a paid subscriber to The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor, thank you! Your financial support is used to maintain these newsletters, websites, and archive. If you’re not yet a paid subscriber and would like to become one, support can be made through our garrisonkeillor.com store, by check to Prairie Home Productions, P.O. Box 2090, Minneapolis, MN 55402, or by clicking the SUBSCRIBE button. This financial support is not tax deductible. Upgrade to paid © 2024 Garrison Keillor
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