Poetry Contest Winners!

April 23, 2012 at 7:53 pm | Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment
Tags: contests, poetry

The following are the winners of the Second Annual Morton Poetry Contest:

1st Place:  David Cardenas  Of the Many

2nd Place:  Claudia Rangel  Rejection on the Culture Border

3rd Place:  Sully Quinones  The MotherWood (Primavera)

Of The Many

by David Cardenas

 I have heard some say that the night is too immense

Is it truly the stars that are stranded or us?

Who they mock as they glisten in the constellations?

I have heard some say that the women are too beautiful to talk to

There is always another one prettier than the next

Disappearing into rooms, marriages, mental institutions, and death

I have heard some say that the heroes are too dead to worship

For they have descended into the fire and have fallen from the hilltops

I have heard some say the oceans are too deep

They have taken all our good men and have spoken no words to comfort us

And others count their nights

As they let the cigarettes burn out

And the alcohol warm their stomachs

Letting the poem read itself

Rejection on the Culture Border

by Claudia Rangel

My skin color is not true

Compared to my culture

I am light but

My blood runs dark

My Language is broken

My roots are built from native ground

Where the culture is thick and rich

Where pride is at its highest

Yo soy Mexicana

But to the eyes of my people

To the eyes of my full blooded kin

I am not what I was born as

I am a second generation and my Spanish is broken

My pride is broken

My image destroyed

I am not what I was born to be

I do not display the Carmel enriched

Flavor of a true Mexicana

Or attain the Spanish language at its best

I am a temp

But the rest of them are permanent

If you can’t speak right then don’t speak at all

When I practiced the words

Upon the audience in which I crave the acceptance

Of my generation Kin

It felt like stones smashing against my skin from

The criticism

The rejection and mockery for

The runt of the litter

But I swear to you I am not a lost cause

If you were to open me up,

You would see the ripe green color of an avocado bleed threw

And the core pulsate the same way my heart does

The smell of chocolate burst into the air

The same aroma that took you back to the old days

Where money was not what made you rich

But the love and thought that was put into that warm

Chocolate Mi Abuleta would make

I am no different inside or out

We are no different if you look

At it biologically

And I should not be shamed for

The Language barrier

I am a full blooded Mexican born on U.S soil

I am proud of the ground in which covered the bare feet of my

Great grandparents that walked the land

That led me to where I am today

 

The Mother Wood (Primavera)

by Sully Quinones

 Far past the green pasture

Is the forest and the trees

Within its sacred wood

Is a mother and her seed

The sun cast its cooling shadows

And the wind sends its breeze

The mother and her child

Sit alone and at ease

 The sprouts in the ground

Stir and bustle

Leaves in the trees

Catches the wind and rustles

The queen mother cradles her

Daughter closely to her heart

Not knowing of the danger

That will set them apart

Persephone, please stay close to me

Her mother said very cautiously

The forest was her silhouette and

A lush crown made of leaves

Demeter stepped forth and

Brought the world spring

Her lovely daughter,

Embraced by flowers and vines

This trails behind her

when she steps– every time

The two frolic amongst the

flowers and the trees

Planting hoards of seedlings

of fruits and nuts in the green

Lurking behind the scenery

is a love struck god

His intentions were wicked

And his demeanor was odd

Smoke leaked from his mouth

And fire spouts from his head

He was a pale gray figure

and smelled of the dead

Persephone began to wander

and drift–

far away from her mother

 and this created the rift

Deep in the forest the

young goddess strayed

Heedless of the warning

that her mother gave

Hades appeared behind her

With a pomegranate in his hand

How naïve she was and leaves

With him on demand

Together they walked

Past the garden and the green

To her,

he gave one pomegranate seed.

They continued to the river

Down by the reeds and

Persephone receives

three more pomegranate seeds.

Demeter became wary of her

daughter’s whereabouts

She cried her name in low

Moans and din shouts

Off in the distance

Was a young woman’s scream

Hades scoops the goddess up

And escapes through the trees

Her mother’s cries

Could be heard through

The forest and the green

Her fear realized

She stops grass from growing

And winter covered spring

Demeter pleaded to Zeus

To save Persephone

And to bring her back

From the arms of Hades

Zeus replies

She ate the fruit and must

Remain in the underworld

In Hades lust

Demeter continued to kill

the land

Mankind was starving and

Drove Zeus quite mad

He finally ordered Hades

To release Persephone

But she must return to the

Underworld one month

for each seed.

Demeter rejoiced and

Began to grow flowers

Spring returned and last

For months, days, and hours

Far past the green pasture

Is the forest and the trees

Within its sacred wood

Is a mother and her seed

The sun cast its cooling shadows

And the wind sends its breeze

The mother and her child

Sit alone and at ease

Thank you to all the poets who participated, and a special thanks to the judges!

More Poetry Contests

May 5, 2011 at 3:03 pm | Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment
Tags: contests, poetry

Yes, sadly, the Morton Library Poetry Contest is over.  But there are tons of other poetry contests going on all year long.  Check out the links on the newly updated Poetry Page.  Just click on the Poetry tab above.  Good Luck!