Perhaps because of the severe
weather we have had in much of the northern hemisphere, ice was a fairly
popular topic for poems this winter. The judge for this month, Susan
Engebrecht, selected a haiku by Marjorie Pagel. Susan said she “loved the image,
the sound, the emotion.” She also liked the memories that the poem evoked for
her. She said, “It tickled my insides!”
Icicles melting . . .
drip drop drip . . . child’s ice cream cone
with the tip chewed off
~ Marjorie Pagel
Marjorie Pagel lives in Franklin, Wisconsin
where icicles hang from many roofs. A retired teacher of writing at Concordia University,
she spends much of her time volunteering for various organizations.
The second place poem by Anna Yin took the
prompt in a very different direction.
Valentine’s
Color
The first time, it is red
the second time…pink
third…blue…
then black…
The same date,
the similar story.
The convenience store sells all kinds of hearts,
long stem roses and numerous chocolates.
The owner prunes extra leaves.
Why do I still buy one, and think of you?
The color in my vase
is white, white like ice.
We fill the vase
with frozen lies.
~ Anna Yin
The judge thought the poem illustrated the steps of a
changing relationship and its joys and sorrows in a creative manner. “The final
lines, ‘We fill the vase / with frozen lies’ continued to resonate long after
reading them.”
Anna Yin was born in China and immigrated
to Canada in 1999. Anna won the 2005 Ted Plantos Memorial Award and the 2010
MARTY Award. Her poems written in English & Chinese, along with ten
translations, were published in a Canadian Studies textbook used by Humber College.
She has five poetry books including Wings
Toward Sunlight (2011) and Inhaling
the Silence (2013). Her poem “Still Life” is displayed on 700 buses across
Canada for Poetry In Transit project. Anna is Ontario representative for the
League of Canadian Poets. She was a finalist for
Canada’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrants Awards in 2011 and 2012.She works and lives in Mississauga,
Ontario, Canada. Her website: Annapoetry.com.
The third place poem focused on polar ice:
Polar Ice
The
massive bear
scans
the horizon,
restless
and starving.
Her
nursed cubs romp,
oblivious
to her growing panic.
Sea
ice has not yet thickened.
Vital
ice.
Siku--sea
ice, life sustaining ice.
Necessary
for Inuit and bears
to
reach the seals, miles from shore.
Six
months
since
the bear has eaten.
Two
months out of the den.
Still
no ice.
Desperate,
not sure
her
cubs can follow,
she
must swim to the seals.
She
does not know
why
the ice is not forming.
We do.
~ Peggy
Trojan
Peggy
Trojan, retired from teaching, lives happily in the north woods of
Wisconsin. Published in Naugatuck River Review, Talking Stick, Echoes, Verse
Wisconsin, Thunderbird Review, Boston Literary Review, and many other journals
and anthologies.
Susan Engebrecht said of this poem, “Polar Ice made an
impact on me as I felt the panic, experienced desperation and sadness at how
the changes we have inflicted upon our planet have created hardships on others.
This poem made me think and spurred me to be more active in finding ways to
support changes and build awareness of a growing problem.”
Copyright on these poems is retained by the
poets who wrote them.
About the judge for this month: Susan Engebrecht has written
stories and poetry for a variety of magazines, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Lighthouse
of the Carolinas. She also writes a column for the Wausau Daily Herald in Wausau, Wisconsin. She is the Associate
Director for the Green Lake Christian Writers Conference and an award-winning
speaker with Toastmasters International. Susan has won the Jade Ring, Florence
Linderman Humor, Al P. Nelson Feature Article and Bo Carter contests.
NOTE: The January Challenge is still open.
Watch for the March Challenge, coming soon.
© Wilda Morris
