Poetry Gardens of Fame

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Welcome to Garden 906 in
ARTELLA'S POETRY GARDENS OF FAME!

Click the links below to read the winning poems for September, 2006.

Poetry Gardens of Fame Index

First Place
Second Place
Third Place
Fourth Place

FIRST PLACE WINNER

Jari Thymian

Jari Thymians poetry has appeared in Simply Haiku, Ekphrasis, The Christian Science Monitor, The Pedestal Magazine, The Progenitor, ByLine, and in various anthologies. Poems are forthcoming in Modern Haiku, Sofa Ink, American Tanka, and an anthology from Pudding House. Jari leads a Haiku Circle in Denver. As a member of the Denver Womans Press Club, she organizes the clubs annual poetry event held every April. She lives in Aurora, CO.

A Woman on a Bicycle
by Jari Thymian

Swings her leg confidently,
easy in the saddle as a paladin.
A woman on a bicycle hears the click
of passion as her shoes snap
into pedals. She chooses her roads,
decides her distance.
A woman on a bicycle knows miles and speed
are not her only goals. Finds balance,
trusts her instincts in the split second
where her tires glide on one square inch of asphalt.
A woman riding a bicycle has beautiful thighs,
curves, pumping energy.
Grace of muscle with spirit.
She learns her strength
by riding head-on into wind.
A woman on a bicycle can ride 3000 miles
with a baby in her womb
or ride to celebrate her 82nd birthday,
following the arc
of heady sunflowers.
An ageless woman on a bicycle climbs
hills, lifts off her seat,
chanting her cadence.
For a moment, her cycling shadow
borrows wings from an overhead hawk.
Her wheels, her legs, her breath
unstoppable circles.

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SECOND PLACE WINNER

A Mistaken Glance
by Jay Tilley

The table reflection,
this inverted view.
Glass distorted facial shadows;
Awkwardly angular, reversed symmetry.
The felt expression returns its expectation:
any excuse for the nature of what it sees.
You're tangible, augment my influence;
Inch closer to the glass.
A ghostly screen of moisture
sustained by feverish breath. Inhale,
Indistinguishable features return to focus
When image lays on image
I feel only the weakness of one.
O my opposing person,
my sepulchral judge,
do I glimmer to your world as an insult?
Translucent mockery; the dead touch.
Vanity could fix me to this light illusion; edgeless figure.
A horizontal barricade keeps us apart.
A poster with no authenticity.
Bridge in blood; skin glitter and a bare, single moment.
Repair the fragments while weeping,
lonely paralysis with dark control.
Jagged, unearthly dimensions,
visible breaks like arid dirt; candid and descriptive.
The flawed design is no longer concealed, mirroring my insides, and the gentle, permanent breakdown of fragile creatures:
the complex and rapacious dissolution; tearing the partnership of chemical understanding And mobility.
The slough of appearance; an outdated costume, relied Heavily upon; stripped.
Atrophy has spread like vines, binding recesses now exposed.
I mustn't watch the growth
of this new wreckage or it will never assemble to truth.

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THIRD PLACE WINNER

Quietude
(The stillness within)
by Deepanjolie Sonya Figg

Play tunes
to cover the din
of all your voices
endless noises
worldly chatter
uninterested questions
insincere replies
yet, not one of so many
innumerable, actually,
can answer the why
of a soul's soundless sigh
and ultimate relief,
how,
in utter solitude,
with a day-old-loaf
and bottled fruit juice for company,
the heart is finally at peace
under the shade
of a leafless old pine,
burnt down by some adventurer
God alone knows how long ago
- Alone -
at last
with myself.
Free to be me.
Or just free to be.
That's quietude.

FOURTH PLACE WINNER

Little Man
by Lori Pike

Such a small bundle new
a little man all my own,
your face so smiley
surely a charmer when grown.

You struggled for weeks
in confusion and pain
with spinal taps, new blood
even seizures of the brain.

Your little body
truly fought the disease,
night after night
I was brought to my knees.

My arms ached to hold you
but I was denied,
for you had so many tubes
and needles inside.

Family and friends came
and prayed for you by name,
soon, you became stronger
our prayers were not in vain.

The disease that claimed you
didnt keep us apart;
since God saved you
and gave back my heart.

Brave little man
that I long to touch,
I hope you know
mommy loves you so much!

Nightmares haunt you
a reminder of the past;
but now I can hold you
and they wont last.

When you finally said Mama
I knew such joy,
most things dont come easy
for my little boy.

Now learning to walk
is an uphill climb;
but my brave little soldier
will conquer it in time.

An undaunted spirit
in such a tiny one,
hardships have only
strengthened my son.

With your little man hands
and your little man face,
you spread such love
all over the place.

To have you is a privilege
I would never have guessed,
that God chose me,
has made me truly blessed.

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