Lighthouse by Gladys Muller
Caroline Johnson,
whose poem served as the prompt for this month, selected two poems as winners,
one a formal poem and one in free verse. Thanks to Caroline, and
congratulations to the two winners, Carol H. Jewell and Mark F. Evans.
The
Beacon
I hear your soft voice calling to me.
I seem to have slipped into a trance.
Sound is muffled and the air is foggy.
You reach out your hand to me.
I seem to have slipped into a trance.
The adult has left the room.
You reach out your hand to me,
I flounder, trying to grasp it.
I, the adult, have left the room;
the inner child remains.
I flounder, trying to grasp your hand.
For so long, you have been my beacon.
The inner child remains in the room.
Your smile is sad, but
you have been my beacon all this time.
I thank God for your existence.
You smile sadly.
Sound is muffled and the air is foggy.
I thank God for your existence.
I still hear your soft voice calling to me.
~ Carol H. Jewell
The judge’s comments: The poem "The Beacon" is a
pantoum. It feels trance-like, almost an incantation, with its repetitive lines
that are fresh and unique. We can feel the murky atmosphere as the narrator
paints an image of interior and exterior fog, which gains clarity by the touch
of a hand. "The adult has left the room" implies a deep call to the
subconscious, where the inner child remains. This is a beautiful poem of
identity, love ("I thank God for your existence"), and loss
("You smile sadly."). It seems as if the speaker is meditating, in a
trance, and we as readers meditate with her or him. This poem relates to the
prompt as it references the title of the poem (Fog) and also a lighthouse
("beacon", which is a metaphor for the person's beloved). Splendid
job!
Lighthouse
My
small boat
rides
roller coaster waves,
points
me to the depths
then
to the stars.
I
climb or fall
and
stretch my neck at each crest.
Your
bright beacon in my sight
draws
me near.
I
hold your memory
as
I sink back to the depths
and
wait for you to reappear.
And
though you warn
of
broken spars and
treacherous
rocks in the night,
I
would gladly throw myself upon your shore
to
be closer to your light.
~
Mark F. Evans
The judge’s comments: "Lighthouse"
is written in free verse. This poem evokes solitude (the narrator is alone in a
'small boat') and philosophical musings with celestial images
("stars"). Like the pantoum, the poet calls forth the memory of
another person as a "bright beacon" who has served as a guide
somehow, warning of "broken spars and treacherous rocks in the
night." The last sentence of the poem is the most powerful, clinching the
effect of this person on the narrator's life: "I would gladly throw myself
upon your shore / to be closer to your light." The poet also uses some
rhyming words for effect: “small” and “fall” in the first stanza, "near"
and "reappear" in the second stanza, and "night" and
"light" in the final stanza. The poem refers to both the painting and
the poem from the prompt with its title ("Lighthouse"), the images of
"beacon," and the entire setting of the poem is at sea, which
includes the rocky shoreline. Well done!
Note: The winning poets retain copyright on
their poems and are free to publish them elsewhere after they have appeared for
two months on this blog.
Bios:
Carol H. Jewell is a mother, wife, grandmother, librarian,
musician and poet. she describes herself as “insatiably curious.” She went back
to school at age 52, at The College of Saint Rose (Albany, NY), and expects to
receive her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) in December 2016.
Caroline Johnson has been writing
poetry for more than 25 years. She has published in Lunch Ticket, Origins,
DuPage Valley Review, Rambunctious Review, Voices on the Wind, New Scriptor,
Chicago Tribune, The Quotable, Uproot, and others. She has won several
awards in annual writing contests sponsored by the Illinois State Poetry
Society, Poets and Patrons of Chicago, the National Federation of State Poetry
Societies, Rambunctious Review, and the Chicago Tribune. She
teaches English at two community colleges in the Chicago
area. Caroline is the immediate past president of Poets and Patrons of
Chicago. You can read her blog at http://jupiter-caroline.blogspot.com/.
© Wilda Morris
