An old baby stroller,
Heaped to the sky.
Bags bulged with bottles and cans,
Enough to get by….
For a few days, anyway
she softly sang:
“Go round Mary. Mary, go round.”
–download the PDF to read the rest of the poem
Poet’s Bio
Evelyn Gardner is a painter. When she arrived in Oregon after many years in the Florida Keys she began to see Nature and Her exquisite beauty in a light that required more than paint to define and share. Only words could capture the message she was experiencing. In search of a new brush, a new palette, she discovered poetry in a wonderful writing class in Clackamas. She is determined to share her vision of her new home.
Judge’s Comments – Penelope Scambly Schott
When I read a poem I am hoping to see something that interests me and makes me feel some intensity about it. I want a new experience, fresh imagery, and some kind of emotional response. I don’t want to be distracted by clichés or preaching or deliberate obscurity. After much reading and re-reading, I ended up picking these particular poems for their compassion and originality. “Go Round Mary” deftly combines an old song with the story of a homeless woman who “made a nest with her stroller”.
Powerful, haunting…