It
is common knowledge that people learn more about things that arouse a kind of
passion in them. People whose occupation is a calling are more content with
their lives. An elementary school teacher with no passion for children and for
helping them learn is not likely to be a good teacher. You want your doctor and
nurse to have compassion and a passion for helping you heal. People with a passion
for reading and learning keep expanding their minds and imaginations. The
February Poetry Challenge was to write a poem reflecting something for which
you have a passion.
All
the poems submitted were interesting. I wasn’t surprised that some people have
a passion for dogs, cats or other kinds of animals; for music or dance; for
travel or specifically for vacationing in Florida; etc. One poem featured a
collection of items that had belonged to the poet’s mother. Even if you didn’t
enter this month, you might want to reread the prompt and write your own poem
about something for which you have a passion.
The
first winning poem is by Texas poet Varsha Saraiya-Shah.
Impassioned about
Light
All
that is light & for light
&
made of light I see as music––
What
I do, how I love, where I go each day
looking,
looking
for
my lookalikes as they may be hiding
in
the partial blues, rueful clouds, playful rain,
faithful
sun and some nights the moon acting deranged
in
the dappled roses, the gardenia later merged
in
the deep darkness of midnight dreams,
dear
friend, dear lover, dear nobody
as
they emerge or disappear one by one
from
light, the dread of what seems real, then unreal
gone
into the depth of my body, my earth
where
I stand planted in front of a bathroom mirror, in dawn’s light
brushing
teeth, their white light a mighty miracle, smiling
watching
the crepe myrtle from my window
reaching
up & out for the light
that
grants the best blooms,
or,
let light snap photos of my plate at the kitchen table
a
collage of colorful delectables,
or,
see myself reflected in water bouncing with
sunlight
rehearsing a non-stop dance.
~
Varsha Saraiya-Shah
My
favorite phrase in this poem is “the moon acting deranged / in the dappled
roses.” It has been a long time since I’ve been in a garden in the moonlight,
but it brings back memories. I wish I had written those unique words (isn’t
that about the highest compliment one poet can give to another?). What are
those lookalikes hiding “in the partial blues, rueful clouds, playful rain”? I’m
not sure, but I can imagine, as I feast on the lovely language. The poet takes
us in an unexpected direction as she stands before the mirror. How can I read
the poem and not share her passion for light?
The
second winner, Illinois poet Linda Wallin, has a passion for quilting. This
photo shows a piece of a quilt she made—just one of many over the years.
Women’s Work
I
would rather quilt than eat.
Put
a pieced top over the batting,
then
put top and batting over the backing.
Bind
a blanket that hugs.
Warmth
with beauty came out of necessity.
Whether
I stay with traditional designs;
Log
Cabin with its hearth center,
Mariner’s
Compass to guide,
Delectable
Mountains to border the Medallion Center,
I
am inspired by generations of women.
At
the quilt show, I see Baskets full of flowers,
Dresden
Plate, Bow-Tie, Drunkard’s Path,
Fans,
Double Wedding Rings
and hexified
Grandmothers Garden.
They
remind me of the quilts my grandmother sewed.
Shoo
Fly, Churn Dash, Four Squares,
One-Color
Quilts with Amish designs,
Kits
from the forties with flowers appliquéd on,
even
Civil War designs with reproduction fabrics,
Speak
to me about the importance of women.
I
have begun putting Braids with Courthouse Steps,
Disappearing
Four-Patch and New York Beauties.
Fused
Art Quilts can be made in a day.
I
don’t have much time left.
Like
quilts, I will not last forever.
In
the old days, women from the church would sew on one quilt
together.
Today’s women go on retreats, sew for three days,
talk
about color theory, battery operated electric
seam
rippers, paper-piecing and thread.
Women’s
work is still their art.
~
Linda Wallin
I’m
not sure quilting is only women’s work, though traditionally it was. But there
is much to like about this poem. The regular form of the poem makes it
quilt-like. The names of quilting deigns are quilted into all of the quatrains
except the first and last—also a quilt-like feature. The forms used by the poet
fit the theme so well.
The
last line of the first stanza is significant. It might be what Ellen Kort, the
first poet laureate of Wisconsin, called a truth line, though the thought is
not developed further in this poem. Quilts so often are gifts to people the
quilter loves, including her daughters and granddaughters. They are often given
to someone who is sick. the quilt serves as a substitute hug in the absence of
the woman or women who made it. Multiple women from a church “sew on one quilt
/ together,” the poet tells us in the last quatrain—another sort of “hug.” If
they are like the women in my church who gather together once a year to make
dresses for little girls in Haiti, these quilters greet each other with actual
hugs when they arrive and hug when they leave the quilting retreat.
The winning poets retain copyright on their poems. Do not copy
without their permission.
Bios:
Varsha
Saraiya-Shah, a poet and finance professional, lives and works in Houston,
Texas. Her poetry has appeared in various print and on-line journals including Asian Cha, Borderlands, Convergence,
Mutabilis Press anthologies, Texas
Observer, a University of Texas Press photography and poetry book, and
elsewhere. She has studied poetry through workshops and conferences in Houston,
at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College, Squaw Valley Community of
Writers–California, Reed College–Oregon, and San Miguel De Allende–Mexico. She
was a poet-in-residence at Noepe Literary Center, Martha’s Vineyard, MA in
October, 2015.
Linda
Wallin discovered her poetry in a journal after ignoring it for decades. She taught
disabled students full-time for 25 years and currently teaches gifted children
Lego Robotics at the Center for Gifted at National-Louis University. She has
three children and two grandchildren who bring her great joy. She has been a
member of Poets and Patrons of Chicago, IL for many years, and is presently
serving as Vice President and Web manager for the group. When she is not on the
computer, she is quilting, reading or writing. Her web sites include www.dwna.net, Wallin’s Wave, A Boomer Retirement,
and Living
With Geniuses. Linda Wallin grew up in Palatine, IL near Chicago. She has a
B.A. in German Secondary Education and M. Ed. in Preschool Special Education
from the University of Illinois. She received a Certificate of Advanced Study
in Technology in Education from National-Louis University.
Remember, the January Challenge is open until March 15. And
check back late tomorrow for the new March Poetry Challenge
© Wilda Morris
