Tickled by Thunder Poetry Contest Results

February 15, 2002

Melody Marsden, Nelson, British Columbia -- A Country Lane (displayed below)
Ellaraine Lockie of Sunnyvale, California, for Full Circle Fashion (displayed below)
Third, Sophie Soil, Thornhill, Ontario, Housewife Blues.
Fourth, Ellaraine Lockie, Sunnyvale, California, Moderation.
Fifth, Jo-Ann Godfrey, Sherwood Park, Alberta, An Invasion of Solitude.
Sixth, S. Soil, Thornhill, Ontario, the dead will not allow it!
Seventh, Julie Downsbrough, Burnaby, British Columbia, War.
Eighth, Marguerite Dolsen, Burnaby, British Columbia, The Seasons.
Ninth, Mag Mawhinney, Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Soul Food.
Tenth, Deirdre O’Brien, Vancouver, British Columbia, Glass.
Eleventh, Stephen Langley, Schreiber, Ontario, Curtains for Eyes.
Twelfth, Greg Moring, Saratoga, California, Flames.

Honourable Mentions: Kevin L. Campbell, Huntington Beach, California, A Bridge of life; Nick Patton, Saratoga, California, Imprisoned.

FIRST PLACE POEM
A Country Lane
By Melody Marsden
Nelson, British Columbia

I’d made up my mind to it – I’d stay in and read.
But a light shower, earlier, had imbued the woods
with a peculiar sweetness that drifted in
through the open window and tempted me
out of doors.

And now, with the mountains reflecting that last,
slanting light that dusts everything in gold –
well, there was no help for it; I felt an enchantment
that encouraged me to venture to deeper
realms, deeper far, and more mysterious than
my favourite armchair would have allowed.

I paused at an opening in the trees,
where a russet, needled path beckoned inward
with an irresistible charm.

Under a canopy of branches,
a tiny bird flitted back and forth –
as if to guide me on my way;
and, on either side, forget-me-nots nodded,
Sprinkled there, no doubt,
from some truant elf’s watering can.

A curve ahead… and I took the
strange fancy that at its end
I would find a thatched cottage,
with a chubby “Hansel”
peeking ’round the corner.

Ah, such is the magical quality of a little lane
winding its way through the woods.
I will return often to wander here,
where dreams and reality merge
and meet in the moment.

SECOND PLACE POEM
Full Circle Fashion
By Ellaraine Lockie
Sunnyvale, California

When I was little
I lived in cowboy boots
And pretended to be Roy Rogers
Wouldn’t remove them for bed
Because I read Roy slept in his
Detested dresses because they
Disagreed with boots
So my mom said
especially assaulting somehow
for Sunday services
As if the boots would wage war
with the rest of my wardrobe
right there in God’s house of worship
Why couldn’t I at least
be like Dale Evans
Rein in my irreverent ways
Wear those pretty pink pointy boots
Not the brutish masculine
horse-manure-colour kind
That Uncle Hank hid
under his bed every birthday
One boy-size larger than last year’s
Then Uncle Hank died
And Linda the cheerleader
asked if I had to wear
my big brother’s worn boots
Which squeezed me into sandals
and pumps for several decades
Bearing other people’s brands
burned in by fear of freedom
from following the herd
Until memory’s bleeding bunions
replaced the manacles with boots
Cowboy modeled and carefree worn
Without a single
combative consequence.

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