May
15, 2001
-
Kelly Madden, Bowmanville,
Ontario, -- Pack Rat (displayed below)
-
Jo-Ann
Godfrey of Sherwood Park, Alberta --
After the Rain, (displayed below)
-
Third, Brenda
Spearing, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Lost
and Found.
-
Fourth, Carol E. Sandau, Calgary,
Alberta, A Fascinating Combination.
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Fifth,
Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, California,
Death Comes to Dinner.
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Sixth, Dr. Isaac Victor,
Edmonton, Alberta, The Red Lotus.
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Seventh,
Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, California,
Close Shave.
-
Eighth, Elizabeth Antosh,
Lazo, B.C., Leap
Year.
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Ninth, Paul Cummins,
Santa Monica,
California, Lotus
Poem: 6 and
8.
-
Tenth, Paul
Cummins,
Santa Monica, California,
Poetry
Lessons.
Honourable Mentions: None.
FIRST PLACE POEM
Pack Rat
By Kelly Madden
Bowmanville, Ontario
I cleaned the entire house today,
you won’t believe the junk I found;
it all sits on the curb outside
in a gigantic, unsightly mound.
Magazines were underneath my bed,
crosswords done and pages well read,
love letters from ten years ago,
a single shoe and sock with no toe,
old fashioned
hats and clothes that don’t fit,
dreadful sweaters that Grandma knit,
the kid’s Easter Hunt treasure map,
tangled hangers, crinkled Christmas wrap.
Kitchen
drawers brimmed with odds and ends;
paper clips, a scratched eyeglass lens,
a pile of phone bills long ago paid,
a Birthday card my son had made,
coupons for things
I never buy,
a creepy novelty plastic fly,
a recipe for a quick dinner,
sweepstakes claiming I’m a winner,
handfuls
of pens mute without ink,
the hours of a burned down skating rink,
Sundays dinner lucky wishbone,
batteries that fit nothing I own.
The livingroom
couch; what it can hide!
Remote control and T.V. Guide,
hard candy, popcorn, leaking pen,
G.I. Joe, Barbie, and of course, Ken.
Packaging
from a chocolate bar,
lego pieces and dinky car,
Ben’s report card – that’s where it went,
favourite sunglasses, scratched and bent.
The garage:
what a mishmosh of a mess!
A tuxedo and wedding dress,
old rusty nails and rusty screws,
and twenty pounds of five-year-old news.
A bicycle
tire beyond repair,
a tent with a three foot long tear,
dried cans of paint, duplicate tools,
a deep freezer that no longer cools,
six life jackets
(the boat has been sold)
a big green tarp – or is that mold?
Handfuls of worn crusty brushes,
long velvet coat, no longer luscious.
unraveled
racket, cracked baseball bat,
patio screen scratched by the cat,
patio chair missing the seat,
heating blanket that provides no heat.
I should
be pleased to clean such a mess.
The truth be known I’m quite distressed.
I’m neurotic, common sense I lack,
but before the garbage men come,
I’m going to put it all back.
Copyright
(c) 2004 for the author, all rights reserved.
SECOND PLACE POEM
After the Rain
By Jo-Ann Godfrey
Sherwood Park, Alberta
Strings of spider webs,
Remnants,
Blow in the breeze.
Sudden gusts
And they latch
Onto twigs and branches
Of other trees,
Forming a much larger,
Looser, less intricate web,
Serving no apparent
Purpose.
Copyright
(c) 2004 for the author, all rights reserved.
