Winners for April and new word for May

Hi everyone,

The tallies are in and here are the results.

Word of the Month Poets chosen by our judges:

Adult: Sidanne for her poem, “Lately.” Judge’s comments: “Jaunty use of stream-of-consciousness (e.g. “…jumbled/And jangled and bruised”);
good use of internal/external rhyme and clever original metaphor (e.g. “…my wishbone/
My wand of what if?”) This is a playful, thought-provoking poem that is memorable and
fun to reread. The poet’s lyrical use of language reminds me of Millay and the syntax
reminds me of cummings.”

Runner-up: Ken Slesarik for his poem, “Halley’s Comet.” Judge’s comments: “The poet’s initial comments to the comet must have been made when he was twenty years old, and the pre-fun of figuring out his age only added to my enjoyment of Ken Slesarik’s poem.

The lines scan well, and I like the occasional surprise with the rhyme scheme—the couplets are not always written in one-syllable pairs. The rhyme “crisis…ices” has a beautiful ring to it, and I love the phrase: “mass of dust and ices.” Nice use of alliteration: “freak façade” and “with vim and vigor, vehemently.”

This poem is a great read-aloud, with the lively (although brief) dialogue between the comet and the poet.

But apart from appreciating the poet’s clever use of various poetic devices, this poem has a delightful element of fun in it. I think it would be enjoyed by readers of all ages.”

Young Adult, Grades 3-7: Evan D. Abdoo for his poem, “A Visit Inside.” Judge’s comments: “An imaginative journey inside a whale (a la Jonah!).
Original descriptions of “The eyes of a devil/
Stare blankly at my face/Like buttons on a doll/
Or small black holes in space.”
The touch of wit in the last stanza made me smile.”

Runer-up: Bailey Hannan for her poem, “Creature.” Judge’s comments: “I like the idea of giving the raindrop a personality—having it reach out “…like a mother reaching to her son.” The vivid images given in the list of “reaching” examples are very effective: the family, child, hunter, tree. This listing device works again under the “crawling” image: baby, climber, child, sketcher.

The poet uses similes beautifully, especially in the last line: “…like sand in the wind.” A lovely image to finish the poem.

Poets are observers, and the writer makes note of this in the 2nd stanza: “I observe…” Other important aspects of being a poet are also mentioned: “I watch” and “I wonder.” This poet really does observe, watch, and wonder at the beauty and mystery of a single raindrop.

There is great sensitivity in this poem.”

April Hall of Fame Poets chosen by ballot:

Adult: Tie between Mary Nida Smith for her poem, “Stay Out!” and Ken Slesarik for his poem, “Halley’s Comet.”

Young Poet: Tie between Evan D. Abdoo for his poem, “A Visit Inside,” and Peter Meyer for his poem, “Woodpecker.” The highest number of votes went to Samina Hejeebu for her poem, “Alone,” but Samina won in February and cannot be named winner again during this 12-month cycle. Thanks, Samina.

Congratulations to all of our winners and to everyone who made this another good month to celebrate poetry by exercising our imagination and writing poetry stimulated by a single word. Great job, everyone.

And now are you ready for the Word of the Month for May? Here it is:

PROMISE

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