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| Trillium (photo by Wilda Morris) |
Michael Escoubas, one of the poets whose poems was used as a prompt this
month, judged the submissions. He chose “Finding Peace” by Mary Jo Balistreri
as the first place winner, saying that the poem “gathers many elements of nature in a soul-satisfying litany of
sights, sounds and aromas that honors the ‘sacredness you carry within.’”
Finding Peace
To walk these
meandering paths
of
filtered sun and fallen birch logs
is to inhale
peace.
To tread upon pine
needles
cushioned with
downy white tufts
of aspen is to
calm even the most
anxious thoughts.
To surrender to
the wind as does
the arboreal
forest is to bring solace.
To rest a while on
glacier stone, see
trilliums
commingle with oaks,
and bursts of
bright yellow Lady’s slippers,
is to fill your heart
to overflowing.
To hear a hermit
thrush sing praise,
its melody scented
with pine
is to know the god
within.
To stay awhile and
deep breathe
is to honor the
sacredness you carry within.
~ Mary Jo
Balistreri
You
may wish to read the footnote on the second place poem before you read the poem
itself. Here is what the judge said about Lucy Tyrrell’s poem, “Song Zhu Mei”:
“This poem unfolds beauty
gradually, celebrating resilience and perseverance on a journey culminating in
peace.”
Song Zhu Mei*
Chinese celebrate
these three
plants—
they defy the
crumple of cold,
symbolize
steadfastness,
perseverance,
resilience.
Dynasties have
wrapped
them in poem and
painting—
despite winter’s
harsh winds,
there is beauty
now.
More than seven
centuries ago,
Lin Jingxi, with
calligraphic brush
in his Five-cloud Plum Cottage,
affectionately
called them
the three friends
of winter.
If not pine,
bamboo, plum,
we can embrace
other evergreens,
an undaunted inner
bloom,
our own three
friends of winter—
into a new spring.
* Chinese for
pine, bamboo, plum
~ Lucy Tyrrell
The third place
poem, “At Scott County Park,” by Mike Bayles, “reflects a poignant
thoughtfulness for those not as fortunate as the poet, who knows not everyone
can step outside ‘and listen to the wind,’” according to Escoubas. I think you
will agree.
At
Scott County Park
I drive through open gates
seeking respite from isolation
in a small house on a broken street.
The pond just
below the hill
offers
reflections of the sun
in stillness of a
Saturday lost.
I sit alone in my
car
reading a book
next to me.
I listen to the
familiar refrain
of bad news on
the radio,
but turn it off.
A spread of trees
deepens roots,
and I’m left with
thoughts
of those locked
indoors.
In solitude I’m
struck with beauty found
in the midst of a
verdant park.
I step outside
and listen to the wind
the song of the
cool spring day,
and take pause to
thoughts
of friendship and
love back home,
and I’m becoming
someone new.
~ Mike Bayles
These three poets own copyright on their poems.
Bios:
Mary Jo Balistreri has had a life-long love of nature. Her
first career was as a classical concert pianist and harpsichordist. Educated at
the University of Pennsylvania, she performed widely throughout the Midwest,
and later, up and down the East Coast. Today, she resides in both
Wisconsin and Florida. Mary Jo says “writing poetry has become a way of life
for me, a way of being in the world and finding my place in it. Writing through
this Pandemic is my way of tamping down stress and moving onward.” You can learn
more about here at maryjobalistreripoet.com.
Mike Bayles, a lifelong Midwest resident, writes about
human connections with, nature, settings (mostly rural,) and with each other. Threshold, his first collection of
poetry, won the 2013 Book of the Year Award from the Rockford Writers’ Guild. Breakfast at the Good Hope Home, a
literary collage, tells a story about a son visiting his Alzheimer’s father in
the nursing home. His poetry and fiction are published in numerous anthologies
and literary magazines.
When Michael Escoubas, at age ten,
complained to his mother that he could find nothing to do, she pulled a volume
of the Encyclopedia Britannica from her well-stocked library, and strongly
suggested that he read. From these early experiences he learned to love words,
the shapes of letters, the musicality of words, the beauty of lines arranged on
the page. Michael published his first poems in 2014, at age 66. His work has
since appeared over 300 times across a variety of venues. He is editor and book
reviewer for Quill and Parchment, an
online literary and cultural arts journal.
Lucy
Tyrrell's poems are inspired by nature and wild landscapes,
outdoor pursuits, family stories, and travel. In 2016, after 16 years in
Alaska, she traded a big mountain (Denali) for a big lake (Lake Superior). Lucy lives near Bayfield, Wisconsin and is
Bayfield's Poet Laureate for 2020-2021. Her favorite verbs to live by are experience and create.
© Wilda Morris
