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| Photo from Lisa Morlock |
Barbara Eaton, who judged the
November Poetry Challenge, picked “Little Again,” by Lisa Morlock as the
winning poem. To me, the poem sounds like lyrics for a song; it needs a
beautiful melody to match the words. Morlock makes excellent use of repetition, and does a great job of varying the repetition ("a while," "a blink," "a day," etc.).
Little Again
Please let him
be little, again.
Just one more dance,
then I’ll let go his
hand.
Let him sleep safely
here in my arms,
where I can protect
him from all the world’s harms
I’ll change dirty
diapers—stay up half the night.
Just let him be
little, again.
Please let him
be one for a while.
When he learned to
walk,
and to talk, and to smile.
Giggles and laughter
filled every room.
Days felt like
forever, then ended too soon.
I’ll clean up the
messes—kiss every boo.
Just let him be one
for a while.
Please let him
be two for a day.
I’ll read non-stop
stories and promise to play.
Send me the tantrums.
Bring on each tear.
Singing,
pretending,
we twirled through that year.
I’ll make more
cookies; he’ll lick the spoon.
Just let him be two
for a day.
Please let him
be three for a blink.
We'd go bug hunting,
play boats in the sink.
There were some
time outs,
and some talking back.
And so many kisses
that I have lost track.
I’ll wipe off the
marker. That playdough will dry.
Just let him be three
for a blink.
Please let him
be four for a time.
We’ll wear silly
costumes,
sing songs, and share
rhymes.
He’ll play in the
sandbox.
Fall off his new
bike.
Refuse to eat
veggies—he knows what he likes.
Climb every tree. Play soccer and tag.
Just let him be four
for a time.
Please let him
be little, again.
When he loved me
most,
And on me did depend.
Let him look sweetly
into my eyes.
I promise to be
there, the moment he cries.
But he just keeps on
growing
—oh, how the time
flies.
Just let him be
little, again.
~ Lisa Morlock
Barbara Eaton said, “I chose this poem for first place because it expresses a wish I think all parents have -- that their children would stay little forever. I know my own mother was happiest when her children were small. I don't have children myself, but the poet expresses the wish so eloquently, a wish that is both specific and universal. And the poem fit the assignment so well.
The second-place poem, by Eva Eliav, has a somewhat different take:
the baby has a cold
the baby has a cold
her first cold ever
I hold her against me
stroking her plump
warmth
my shoulder aches
I shift her to the
other
she spits up a hot
stream
of pungent milk
everything I’m
wearing
everything
needs to be washed
I’m picturing
pellucid seas
in another country
dry paths
like seams of gold
I shift the baby to my lap
she blinks at me
flails her arms
and sneezes lavishly
I feel the fine spray
on my eyes and lips
this morning
I saw the photo of a
germ
highly magnified
looking like a bright
pink scorpion
I touch her nostrils
gently
gesundheit I whisper
~ Eva Eliav
The judge’s comments: “This poem, too, is also both specific and universal. So many of a baby's "firsts" are recorded in memory, but I found the idea of a baby's first cold fresh and original. The poet does not mince words about the downside of the cold, but the baby is still lovable and precious and the poem is not without humor. “
In My Arms
In my
arms
you’re fast
asleep
Soft and sweet
and new
Smiling
slightly –
Do babies
dream?
I hope that
yours
come true.
In my
arms
so silent now
baby’s breath,
a sigh
Oh, the times
imagining
this,
imagining you
guess I’m
starry-eyed.
they tell
me
all ‘round the
world
little
babies
are being
held
exactly like
you
So then how
can it be
so clear to me
that nobody
else
ever felt
quite like I do
With you
in my
arms
and in my life
nothing is the
same
Just for today
all the
world’s far away
but soon
it will be at
your feet
With you in my
life,
I’m complete
Eileen Valentino Flaxman
(Published in author’s collection, What’s Been On My Mind (Amazon, July, 2020)
Barbara Eaton’s comments: “This poem, too, was appropriate for the assignment and combined the specific and the universal. It is a very nice subject—the thoughts going through one's head while holding a baby. For the most part, a satisfying poem. The final rhymes provide a good sense of closure, but might have been more original. A good poem.”
Congratulations to the three poets whose poems were selected this month. These poets retain rights to their poems.
Check back on December 1 for a new challenge. You might be the winner.
Bios:
Barbara L. Eaton, born and raised in the Chicagoland area, attended the University of Illinois and University of Maryland. She holds two master's degrees in English, and a Ph.D. in Shakespeare and Medieval Literature. An experienced PT Instructor, she has taught at Joliet Junior College, College of DuPage, and Morton College. Her second grade teacher, Miss Juliana Rotsko, published Barbara's first poem, "What Christmas Means to Me," in the Chicago Daily News. BTW, she says it was an awful poem. A member of the Illinois State Poetry Society, the National Federation of Poetry Societies, and the Academy of American Poets, Barbara facilitates the Lisle Chapter of ISPS. She edited a collection, Sacred Rivers, for poets Carolyn Sibr and Marvin R. Young. Barbara publishes in various literary journals, and also performs her poetry at local venues such as libraries, nursing homes, and coffeehouses. A former member of the Chicago-based group, Poets & Patrons, Barbara chaired their poetry contest for many years. Read her poems
Eva Eliav received a BA in English Lang and Lit from The University of Toronto and completed her studies towards an MA in English and American Literature at the University of Tel Aviv. Her poetry and short fiction have been published in numerous literary journals both online and in print, including Room, The St. Ann’s Review, Emrys Journal, Ilanot Review, Flashquake, The Apple Valley Review, Stand Magazine, The Blue Nib, Horizon Review, Boston Literary Magazine, The Enchanted Conversation, Constellations and Fictive Dream. Her poetry collection, Eve, was published in spring 2019 by Red Bird Chapbooks. She has a poetry chapbook forthcoming from Kelsay Books.
Eileen Valentino Flaxman made her living as an actress and singer until she realized she loved writing more than performing. Since then she has published a memoir, Pieces of Glass: Growing Up Catholic in the Fifties about her Chicago childhood and most recently her poetry collection What’s Been On My Mind, which includes the above poem. Eileen’s work can be seen in literary journals as well as online at Call Me Ishmael’s Apprentice, where she has written a poem for each chapter in Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick. https://evflax.wixsite.com/ishmaelsapprentice.
Lisa Morlock is a writer and teacher. Her poems have appeared in Lyrical Iowa and Narrative Northeast, and her picture book, Track that Scat! was named an NSTA honor book. She holds a B.A. in English, M. S. in education, and currently works with the Iowa K-12 STEM Initiative at Drake University. She's a proponent of educational equity and loves nature.
© Wilda Morris
