Poetry Society of Michigan – Page 11 – Poetry Society of Michigan

I’d Have Painted Him in Altenburg Crossing the Garden With Geese / Lynn Pattison

Published on October 3, 2021 by Editorial Staff

You Connect / Radhika Iyer

Published on September 15, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Ambush / Steve Williams

Published on August 27, 2021 by Editorial Staff

A hidden yellowjacket nest,
an ankle-twisting curb, those
hungry mosquitoes lurking
in the shade of the maple tree,
a practical joke at your expense,
that word that always used to be
at your fingertips – a threat
in every corner, except in bed
with the covers pulled up. Once
you’ve brushed away the spiders.

Steve Williams/ Munith, Michigan

Annual Contest Winners for 2021

Published on August 23, 2021August 25, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Category 1: Margo LaGattuta Memorial Award: Judge: Joy Gaines-Friedler

1^st I’d Have Painted Him in Altenburg,… Lynn Pattison, Kalamazoo, MI
2^nd Antinomy Thom Porter, Woodhaven, MI
3^rd Reverie at Slack Time Dr. Emory Jones, Iuka MS
HM Premonition Lori Zurvalec, Grosse Pointe, MI

Category 2: Chancellor’s Prize: Judge: Eric Torgersen

1^st How Will I Find Absolution Diana Hart, Kalamazoo, MI
2^nd Current Resume Art Curtis, Bellaire, MI
3^rd You Don’t Know Colleen Alles, Grand Rapids, MI
HM The Girl with a Green and a Brown Eye Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI

Category 3: Founder’s Prize: Judge: Russell Thorburn

1^st Michigan State Fair 1960’s Roberta Brown , Royal Oak, MI
2^nd Skinny Dipping at Cranbrook Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
3^rd Leaving Tawas, July 3rd Christian Belz, Pontiac, MI
HM New Buffalo Cassandra Caverhill, Ann Arbor, MI

Category 4: Barbara Sykes Memorial Humor Poem: Judge: Elizabeth Kerlikowske

1^st You Probably Are One Too Laura Sweeney, Bloomington, IL
2^nd Learning to Sit Ann Weil, Ann Arbor, MI
3^rd Shifting Gears Milton Bates, Marquette, MI
HM Not Yet Robotic Robert Erlandson, Birmingham, MI

Category 5: George Dila Memorial Prose Poem: Judge: Robert Fanning

1^st Toad Dawn McDuffie, Detroit, MI
2^nd Home Visit Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Churned Terry Jude Miller, Richmond, TX
HM Sea of Stars Simon A. Thalmann, Kalamazoo, MI

Category 6: Nature: Judge: Alinda Wasner

1^st Wingbound II: Elegy Shy of Lamentation Barbara Saunier, Marne, MI
2^nd Call Winter Home Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI
3^rd Swarm Warning Iris Underwood, Leonard, MI
HM Japanese Maple Diana Dinverno, Troy, MI

Category 7: Love: Judge: Sue William Silverman

1^st The World Will Always Welcome Lovers Barbara Saunier, Marne, MI
2^nd What Her Eyes Did Randy K. Schwartz, Ann Arbor, MI
3^rd Bringing Late Lorraine Jeffery, Orem, UT
HM A Sort of Love Poem John Jeffire, Macomb, MI

Category 8: Music: Judge: M. L. Liebler

1^st Song and Dance Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI
2^nd Music Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
3^rd The House That Jack Built Sold On Jazz, Diana Cornell, Spring Lake, MI
HM Player of Player Pianos, a Love Poem, Sophia Rivkin, Southfield, MI

Category 9: Loss: Judge: Zilka Joseph

1^st New Widow Ellen Lord, Charlevoix, MI
2^nd Mothers Claire Scott, Oakland, CA
3^rd Noise Trek Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
HM there, then David Fitch, Lathrup Village, MI

Category 10: Women and Science: Judge: Diane DeCillis

1^st Fluids Leak Like Rivers Nadia Ibrashi, Troy, MI
2^nd I Am a Standard Candle Janice Zerfas, Eau Claire, MI
3^rd Brushstrokes and Stars Carla Dodd, Waterford Township, MI
HM Peggy Whitson Patricia Barnes, Wyandotte, MI

Congrtulations winners and thank you to all who entered!

Three Poems by Steve Williams

Published on May 1, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Great Lake / Mary Jo Stich

Published on May 1, 2021 by Editorial Staff

GREAT LAKE

We know it’s there
beyond the fringe of trees

We hear it lap the shore
lick grains of sand erasing
our footprints

Wracks pile against rocks
white with gull guano

Each wave rinses clean
each bird replenishes

Mary Jo Stich / Denmark, Wisconsin

Poetry Prompt

Published on April 23, 2021April 23, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Today I”m going to jot a poem down without a lot of thinking. I’m going to choose one word (probably something nature but for sure a noun) and use it as much as seems prudent in the poem. Then I’m going to the dictionary like Harryette Mullen and look up my noun. When I find out, I’m going to count 7-10 nouns away in either direction and find a substitute for the chosen noun. I’ll go back to my poem, substitute it and see if there are any interesting lines or phrases that work. Perhaps it changes everything for the better. Perhaps it’s stupid. You won’t know til you try.

Two Short Poems by Steve Williams

Published on April 11, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Looking Glass / Steve Williams

Published on April 7, 2021 by Editorial Staff

Formed in the cauldron of life
out of limestone, soda, and sand,
at our best, we are pieces of glass.

Far more useful than diamonds
which flash in the light, are the windows
and lenses that clarify sight.

While mirrors are attractive, and at first
glance us please, they can distort
and may often deceive.

There’s no higher calling, than, when held
in good hands, you brighten the vision
and help understand.

So if you open a wall, magnify small, bring
something far up closer, you make good use
of the time you possess,

And so does the person who finds you,
who chooses to leave this world wiser,
and thus might forever be blessed.

Steve Williams / Munith, Michigan

The Parade / Radhika Iyer

Published on April 2, 2021November 3, 2022 by Editorial Staff

The Parade

Shattering winter’s biting chill
is the songbird’s sonorous trill.

Piercing through it’s white landfill
is the ruby tulip, ready to kill.

Ransacking its icy rill
is the graceful swan’s orange bill.

Infecting its very spill
is the sun ray’s most treasured skill.

Niggling at its dreary shill
is the eternal hope’s cheery pill.

Generating a brand new will
is nature’s way to March uphill.

Radhika Iyer / Detroit, Michigan