Mike Bayles and his Cavalier Spaniel
D. B. Appleton, whose witty poem about
roses provided the example for the November Poetry Challenge served as the
judge this month. He selected two winners. About the first, “Cutting Circles,”
Appleton said, “A lovely poem---the language flows,
the line breaks are effective, a very poetic poem (if that makes any sense).”
Cutting Circles
I don’t understand this dog
of mine,
how he chases his tail,
huffing
and cutting circles in the
floor.
He dances in front of me.
I don’t understand why he
chases
squirrels when I take him
for a walk.
They always go up trees,
leaving him
while I hold his leash.
I don’t understand why he
sits
in front of me eagerly
when I want to eat alone,
and his bowl is full.
When I go to my room to
write
he follows me up the stairs
and lies behind me,
watching while I work.
~ Mike Bayles
Mike Bayles, a lifelong
Midwest resident, is the author of Threshold, a book of poetry. His poetry is
widely published, and credits include The
Rockford Review, Lyrical Iowa, Out Loud Anthology and Coffee-ground Breakfast. Since losing
his apartment earlier this year, he has been living with a Cavalier Spaniel.
About
the second winning poem, Mr. Appleton commented, “Much to like here. The clever title with its multiple
meanings; the numerically balanced syllabic structure that playfully belies the
writer's contention of not getting arithmetic; the mathematical vocabulary that
remains poetically legitimate.”
Problem
I
can get it—
your
fear of shame,
the
way you count
the
tiny slights
of
friends, subtract
your
value from
the
humble per-
son
that you are.
But
what I can’t
divide
from mind
is
that you seem
to
multiply
the
hurts delib-
erately
in
violent
ways
to
bring the sum
of
punishment
down
on yourself.
I
do not get
arithmetic.
~Julia
Rice
Julia
Rice is a retired English teacher and Chicago lawyer. She is spending her
retirement playing with poetry.
Congratulations
to the two winners, and thanks to others who entered. There were other poems
that came very close. Remember that poets whose work is posted on this blog own copyright to their poems.
Please do not distribute copies without their consent.
The
next challenge will be posted at the beginning of December.
©
Wilda Morris
