June Poetry Challenge

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German writer and statesman, first won fame at age 24 for his novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther. He later received accolades for Faust, a drama based on a legendary figure who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for fulfillment of earthly desires. In addition to novels and plays, Goethe published both scientific papers and poetry.

In 1815, he published a poem in which the narrator talks about wishing to be a fish or a steed, to be gold, or true, or old, etc., etc. His poem happens to be a love poem. Here it is:

Lover in All Shapes

To be like a fish,
Brisk and quick, is my wish;
If thou cam'st with thy line.
Thou wouldst soon make me thine.
To be like a fish,
Brisk and quick, is my wish.

Oh, were I a steed!
Thou wouldst love me indeed.
Oh, were I a car
Fit to bear thee afar!
Oh, were I a steed!
Thou wouldst love me indeed.

I would I were gold
That thy fingers might hold!
If thou boughtest aught then,
I'd return soon again.
I would I were gold
That thy fingers might hold!

I would I were true,
And my sweetheart still new!
To be faithful I'd swear,
And would go away ne'er.
I would I were true,
And my sweetheart still new!

I would I were old,
And wrinkled and cold,
So that if thou said'st No,
I could stand such a blow!
I would I were old,
And wrinkled and cold.

An ape I would be,
Full of mischievous glee;
If aught came to vex thee,
I'd plague and perplex thee.
An ape I would be,
Full of mischievous glee

As a lamb I'd behave,
As a lion be brave,
As a lynx clearly see,
As a fox cunning be.
As a lamb I'd behave,
As a lion be brave.

Whatever I were,
All on thee I'd confer;
With the gifts of a prince
My affection evince.
Whatever I were,
All on thee I'd confer.

As nought diff'rent can make me,
As I am thou must take me!
If I'm not good enough,
Thou must cut thine own stuff.
As nought diff'rent can make me,
As I am thou must take me!

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This poem is in the public domain.

The June Challenge

The challenge for June is to write a poem in which you wish to be an animal or object – something other than what you actually are. NOTE: your poem does not have to be a love poem; it may have an entirely different motivation. Maybe you wish you were a monarch butterfly so you could cross international boundaries without a passport. Maybe you would like to be a mole so you could tunnel under a fence. Your poem can include a variety of wishes, as does Goethe’s poem, or it can develop a variety of reasons for being one animal, object, etc. Instead of wishing or longing to be something, you may prefer to say “I am a. . .” (i.e., I am a cat, scratching. . . .”). You may use one of the starting lines in the box above, or approach your poem in a different way.

Submit only one poem. The deadline is June 15. Poems submitted after the June 15 deadline will not be considered. There is no charge to enter, so there are no monetary rewards; however winners are published on this blog.

Copyright on each poem is retained by the poet.

Poems published in books or on the Internet (including Facebook and other on-line social networks) are not eligible. If you poem has been published in a periodical, you may submit it if you retain copyright, but please include publication data.

How to Submit Your Poem:

Send one poem only to wildamorris[at]ameritech[dot]net (substitute the @ sign for “at” and a . for “dot”). Be sure to provide your e-mail address. Include a brief bio which can be printed with your poem, if you are a winner this month.

Submission of a poem gives permission for the poem to be posted on the blog if it is a winner, so be sure that you put your name, exactly as you would like it to appear if you do win, at the end of the poem. Poems may be pasted into an email or sent as an attachment. Please do not indent the poem or center it on the page. It helps if you submit the poem in the format used on the blog (Title and poem left-justified; title in bold, and not all in capital letters; your name at the bottom of the poem). Also, please do not use spaces instead of commas in the middle of lines. I have no problem with poets using that technique; I sometimes do it myself. However I have difficulty getting the blog to accept and maintain extra spaces.

And Remember: The January challenge is still open, and will be until there are a few more submissions. Check the January post for complete rules. The poems that have been submitted since January 15 will be sent to the judges soon. If you have been thinking of entering, send your poem by June 10.

© Wilda Morris

May 2014 Poetry Challenge Winners

BEAUTY

The May judge was Caroline Johnson, President of Poets and Patrons of Chicago. She selected first, second and third place poems. It is interesting that the first and third place poems had the same abstract title. They are very different, though. The first place poem is a Pantoum; the second and third place poems are both free verse. Here is the first place winner:

Appreciation

Sunlight on spring day promises something new.

Whisper of warm wind chases memories of snow,

leaving bird song to console

calls for life to begin.

Whisper of warm wind chases memories of snow.

buds of green and blossoming leaves

call for life to console,

graced by light, a new day.

Buds of green and blossoming trees

color the land around me green

graced by light, a new day,

with great joy I recall.

Color the land around me green

enriches weary visions.

With great joy I recall

the many seasons I’ve known.

Enriches weary visions I’ve known

I call this spring a time of my own,

the many seasons I’ve known

when warm winds  touch my soul.

~ Mike Bayles

The judge commented that “the title is abstract, yet the poem itself doesn’t tell us, it “shows” us appreciation through rich imagery and concrete details such as “buds of green and blossoming trees.” The content works well as a Pantoum.

Second place went to the following poem:

Beauty

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

Couldn’t put beauty on the map.

Beauty is truth and truth is beauty.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

All men seek beauty—

It is said the two words most said by men before making love is:

“You’re beautiful,”

And yet no one knows what it is.

The destroyer of strong men and their horses,

The fields of flowers go on

But the men and their horses are gone,

Until the next trip.

Julianne Carlile

The judge found this poem intriguing, and said, “I love the concept.”

The third place poem is about gardening:

Appreciation

Cold wet knees on knobby ground

The irritating whine of a mosquito

Thick smear of mud on my cheek

From my missed swipe at the flying demon

When did gardening become painful?

An aching back; tight shoulders

Knowing it will be less painful to stay put

Than to rise

Then…. in one moment……

A slanting flash of brilliant sun

Illuminates my tulips

Into dancing flames of red and yellow

I see their beauty against the sapphire sky

I smell the earth

I feel the sun

And smile

~ Mary Cohutt

The judge said, “"Wonderful concrete details to describe the art of gardening, and good abstract word for the title.  You do a good job of “showing” the reader what you are trying to convey without “telling” him or her.  Love the line “dancing flames of red and yellow.”  I can also feel your pain (and I don’t really garden!).”

Bios of the winners:

Mike Bayles, a lifelong Midwest resident, writes about different kinds of human connections, including connections with nature. His poetry publishing credits include The Rockford Review, Lyrical Iowa and Coffee-Ground Breakfast. Threshold his first book of poetry, was the 2013 Book of the Year for Rockford Writers Guild. See Mike's website at www.authorsden.com/mikebayles.

Julianne Carlile is a poet, author, and screenwriter who lives with her long-haired Chihuahua, Nicky, in Wisconsin. See her poetry at www.juliannecarlile.com

Mary Cohutt is a Leasing Consultant from Western Massachusetts. She also has her own business, "The Good Daughter," which provides business assistance to older people.  She has two adult children and two grandchildren. 

Thank you to Caroline Johnson for judging the May submissions and congratulations to the winners.

Check the blog on June 1 for a new challenge.

© Wilda Morris

May 2014 Poetry Challenge

DEJECTION

May 2014 Poetry Challenge

While Caroline Johnson and I were planning a workshop for the Poetry Fest at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago in April, we came across Carl Sandburg’s poem “Happiness.” We both liked the poem, and Caroline immediately saw the possibility of using it as a prompt. I have borrowed her idea for this month. Here is the poem:

Happiness

I ASKED the professors who teach the meaning of life to tell
     me what is happiness.
And I went to famous executives who boss the work of
     thousands of men.
They all shook their heads and gave me a smile as though
     I was trying to fool with them
And then one Sunday afternoon I wandered out along
     the Desplaines river
And I saw a crowd of Hungarians under the trees with
     their women and children and a keg of beer and an
     accordion.

~ Carl Sandburg

Caroline and I were both impressed with the way Sandburg began with an abstract noun, but ended up with a concrete example of what he thought might really represent happiness. He tells us he didn’t find a good definition of happiness when he asked professors and famous executives. But by serendipity he happened on a group of people experiencing happiness.

The May Poetry Challenge

There are two kinds of nouns, abstract nouns and concrete nouns. We experience concrete nouns with our senses; they can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched. “Kitten,” “oak,” “senator,” and “mosquito” are examples of concrete nouns.

Abstract nouns are those which name states of mind, ideas, concepts, qualities, and so on. They are not experienced directly by our senses. Examples include “loyalty,” “faith,”  “misery,” and “appreciation.”

For the subject—and title—of your poem, select an abstract noun (you may refer to one of the lists found on-line, such as the one at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/examples-of-abstract-nouns.html.

Move in some way from that abstract term to one or more concrete illustrations.

Your poem may be a little shorter than Sandburg’s, or somewhat longer, but don’t make it a lot longer than his. You can write free verse, as did Sandburg, or you can use a form (if you use a form, identify it on your submission).

Submit only one poem. The deadline is May 15. Poems submitted after the May 15 deadline will not be considered. There is no charge to enter, so there are no monetary rewards; however winners are published on this blog.

Copyright on each poem is retained by the poet.

Poems published in books or on the Internet (including Facebook and other on-line social networks) are not eligible. If you poem has been published in a periodical, you may submit it if you retain copyright, but please include publication data.

How to Submit Your Poem:

Send one poem only to wildamorris[at]ameritech[dot]net (substitute the @ sign for “at” and a . for “dot”. Be sure to provide your e-mail address. Include a brief bio which can be printed with your poem, if you are a winner this month.

Submission of a poem gives permission for the poem to be posted on the blog if it is a winner, so be sure that you put your name, exactly as you would like it to appear if you do win, at the end of the poem. Poems may be pasted into an email or sent as an attachment. Please do not indent the poem or center it on the page. It helps if you submit the poem in the format used on the blog (Title and poem left-justified; title in bold, and not all in capital letters; your name at the bottom of the poem). Also, please do not use spaces instead of commas in the middle of lines. I have no problem with poets using that technique; I sometimes do it myself. However I have difficulty getting the blog to accept and maintain extra spaces.

And Remember: The January challenge is still open, and will be until there are a few more submissions. Check the January post for complete rules.

© Wilda Morris

April 2014 Winners - Crime Poems

Crime is a popular topic for television and movies – and, it seems, for poetry. Mike Bayles, an Iowa poet, agreed to make the final decision on the crime challenge poems. Here are the winners, two poems tied for first:

The Lawyers Write

Why do lawyers write nature poetry

when their lives proceed in grey block buildings

or damask-papered rooms full of matching volumes?

Their clients are imprisoned behind desks

overflowing with paper or in cold cells

or in homes where they hide from police

and immigration officers and their own families.

The faces across their desks frown and pout,

lined with distress, demanding impossible good.

Their work means grappling with obstacles

so tough they have no energy to see the stars.

They find variety in solutions and forms,

problems demanding research and litigation,

draining settlements and plea bargains.

That’s why they bargain with beauty

and settle for lakes and elms, sanctioning      

the blooming of lilacs, charging the cardinals

with profligate songs, seeking protection

as witness to all this evidence.

~ Julia Rice

Mr. Bayles commented, “I like the contrasts and connections between legal matters and nature. The poem implies that the lawyer might turn to nature for relief, but even in nature there is no true escape. I like the lines, ‘bargain with beauty,’ and ‘Their clients are imprisoned behind desks.’ There is great irony to this poem.”

The Winner

A gaudy diagonal of yellow
tape bisects the door across
the hall.  Shiny black letters

leave no doubt to its purpose,
flimsy plastic sash worn by
the unfortunate contestant

in this sad urban pageant.
There will be the usual
flowers and headlines for

"Miss Police Line—Do Not Cross,"
pictures and interviews and
fifteen brief minutes of fame

for last night's unlucky winner.
There will be no diamond tiara—
only questions, too many questions.

~ DB Appleton

About this poem the judge wrote, “This poem also has great irony. I like the use as the police crime scene tape being used as a sash. This is a poem where the winner is truly the loser. Maybe there is beauty in sorrow.”

Note that these poets retain rights to their poems.

Bios:

Having retired from the practice of law, Julia Rice called on many memories to write this poem. She says, “I know more about law than nature, but see! I can write a nature poem about crime.”

DB Appleton is edging toward retirement, when---for better or for worse---he'll have more time to write.  Forty years in New York undoubtedly color his compositions.  He now splits his time between Madison and Sister Bay, Wisconsin, a ratio that will hopefully shift from the former to the latter as time goes on.

Mike Bayles, the author of Threshold, a book of poetry, is a widely-published poet and fiction writer. Poetry publishing credits include The Rockford Review, Lyrical Iowa, Out Loud Anthology and Coffee-Ground Breakfast. Bayles was the 2013 winner of the Iron Pen Poetry Writing Contest of The Midwest Writing Center. He is a lifelong Midwest resident, and his writing is influenced by city, small town and rural life.

What’s Next?

The May Poetry Challenge will be posted before midnight on May 1 if there is no crime scene tape blocking me from my home, no burglars running off with my computer, and I am not taken to the emergency room with broken arms (victim of an assault).