Poetry Contest May 2007
And now, dear colleagues, I invite you to sample, visit and taste seven poems which have been submitted for our poetry contest. My invitation was to write a poem which relates to O p e n S p a c e in some way, and. .includes, reflects upon, honors or invites. images of nature and / or the earth. I now give you each 5 virtual stickie-dots to spend. You may place all dots on one poem, or some on each; you may vote for yourself or for another -- however you would like to spend them to mark your sense of which poems speak to you. Please send me an email directly to [email protected] to tell me how you have placed your virtual dots for each numbered poem. I will collect your messages this week; this weekend I will count and report back to you which poem has received the most dots and therefore which poet (all will be revealed) will be our next Poet Laureate (* explanation below for those of you who are new on the list) for the OSLIST. And now.take a breath.feel the earth move...and.begin. ________________________________________ #1 I walk through fragrant blue sky Bare feet on wet grass. It is too cold for bare feet, But my teachers have taught me well. Who can resist a noisy yawn and a warm wiggle first thing in the morning? To greet each dawn and each other with a curious heart. To be mesmerized by the smallest motion. To breathe the air, the earth. To inhale the stories in each blade of grass. To forgo the coffee and drink the dew. To listen for what can't be heard. To bathe in light and nap awake in the middle of the day. Is to arrive fully alive. Forget the honey, taste the bee. I have but one question: When the butterfly lands on my nose, can I eat it? Entitled: Open Space for Cats and Dogs ___ #2 Nero, they say, fiddled his empire to flame. And Nemo ruled the watery underworld so deep. I prefer our posted sessions and spirits to name Above water, ever fiery, still moving, to keep. ___ #3 Smell the ripplering of the temple bells as the bumblecat strapped with a slice of toasted (w)oneder bread devilishly buttered with dancing Goan ghee uses its wingpaws and doesn't quite fall splat onto the groundless ground of the agora ___ #4 pacific coast glowing gray in fog. sea lions shout their lazy tales. and here along the moist forest trail el dorado appears: a small grove of pine dripping with gold. paper thin flakes, tarnished with black: a thousand gently resting butterflies. we witness this treasure because they have followed the law of two wings for a thousand miles. ___ #5 Opening Active stillness. A squirrel sniffing the air and looking around curiously. A flurry of activity. Leaves blowing in autumn winds. Drifting. Clouds moving gently across the sky. Sensing movement. A flock of birds sensitive to the currents of wind. Jarring confusion. A sudden storm that seems to strike from nowhere. Calm acceptance. A lake on a calm sunny day. Moving from one place to the next - opening to all experience - opening to others. ___ #6 a fallen flower flew back to its branch! no, it was a butterfly or was it a bumblebee? ___ #7 It's the bells, It must be! As always my heart beats faster, My body trembles. Through my teary eyes, I see the Spirit! ___________________________ * The OSLIST has a Poet Laureate who invites and / or offers poetry to the OSLIST; often about Open Space but also about other things. Teresa Pokasony and I had the honor of wearing the tiara of Poet Laureate during 2006 and now we open it up to you. As our poetic reign lasts about 6 months, we will all pass the tiara to our next Poet Laureate - as is our tradition - through this restricted form poetry contest. Stay tuned to see who our next Poet Laureate will be. Cheers, Lisa ___________________________ L i s a H e f t Consultant, Facilitator, Educator O p e n i n g S p a c e <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] <http://www.openingspace.net> www.openingspace.net * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
