Poetry Stretch Results - Winners and Losers

The challenge this week was to write about winners and losers. Here are the results.

BEST OF A BAD SPELL
by Steven Withrow of Crackles of Speech

Losing the Williams Junior High School
spelling bee, on “eleemosynary,”
was, I now see, an act of charity.
Knowing the Latin root for “alms”
(could you use it in a sentence?)
guarantees no one a varsity letter.

Although it burned me that I flubbed
the double e’s, entreating the floor
for the proper etymology
before retreating to my seat
to small applause, conciliatory
(c-o-n-c-i-l-i-a-t-o-r-y, conciliatory),

Worse by far would have been
the booming backlash in homeroom
next morning, hearing my name
among the roster of brainiacs,
“loo-zer” in any language, certain
I’d perish (part of speech?) a virgin.


Peter
by Kate Coombs of Book Aunt

There is no winning
now, no trophy with its rim
curved like a golden smile,
no tape to burst through,
no joy to shout, no hands
to bear you aloft, no song
to sing except a lullaby
as you turn gray
with pain and shoulder
your way swordless into
that dark, silent wood.

--Kate Coombs, 2010


Laura Salas shares a poem entitled R You Sure?


Massachusetts Mourning
by Jane Yolen

Yes, I voted, and would have voted twice.
But I am a good girl, moral, clean, and nice.
I always stop for red lights, I listen to advice.
But if I could have,
I really would have
Voted yesterday
Twice.

©2010 Jane Yolen. All rights reserved.


Historical Fiction
by Liz Korba

They aim
The guns
Life lost
War won

It's not too late if you still want to play. Leave me a note about your poem and I'll add it to the list.