September 2024

Three Days on Cloud Mountain Before sunrise, we arrange ourselves cross-legged on floor cushions or perched on wooden stools, our legs bent back and tucked under. We are here to practice simple things. Sitting. Breathing. And later, walking. Rain thrums the roof and drips off the gutters. Closer, the soft susurrus of breath lulls us […]

2024 OPA Adult Contest – Members Only Category – Winners Judge’s Overall Comments: Thank you for inviting me to judge this year’s Members Only category. I can truthfully say that I enjoyed reading all 73 poems. I sensed an overarching theme of resilience contained with this collection that defined the mood of many of these

Moses holds the fire line The high desert is sparse in everything we know in abundance down in the valley where rain is our neighbor and green lines the border of every home. Here the land is lashed by scouring winds. The trees are stunted and their birdsong hesitates. Not even the voice of god

Tiny Landscapes I fly, hawk-like, and look down              the river over              a pink countryside landscape and a graceful estuary with sandbanks as if it were low tide.              Wing shaped river islands              dot the waterway and on the south side, the arrangement of cells is a calm, orderly queue.              The hematoxylin and eosin stains              reveal nuclei

“When you come out of a storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.”                                                                          — Haruki Murakami Your boots will be wet, damp edges seeping into your socks, wicking up your jeans to your knees. Unfurl the scarf, yank the cuffs. Shrug off the jacket, the regret of never, the desolation of

2024 OPA Adult Contest – New Poets Category – Winners Judge’s Overall Comments: I admired the use of humor found in several of the entries. Also, I commend the writers who were brave and open enough to tackle tough and sensitive issues. 1st Place: Natalie Wilson, “Conscience and Consciousness” 2nd Place: Severena Johnston, “Murder and

Conscience and Consciousness I smacked, I smacked, I smacked the fly. In my defense, it had to die! Should I be patient, the buzz? Should I ignore it, the hover? What reason for mercy on this occasion? An annoying, fruitless, insectile invasion! I smacked, I smacked, I smacked the fly. In my defense, it had

Murder and Butchery These days I am far removed from the realities of murder and butchery, but in my childhood days of rabbits in the hutch and mail order chicks I was very familiar with death and parting out an animal for the table. When the peeping box arrives there is wonder and joy and

Searching for Love on the Deschutes River He floats, riding rapids of his imagination. Next, stumbles rocky banks. Disregards the easy spots to cast a line. Hungry for a dream just out of sight where light meets the invitation of shadow. Wades deep in fast water. Swings rod. Sends the fly (a hook disguised) to

2024 OPA Adult Contest – Form Category Prose Poem – Winners Judge’s Overall Comments: While an old form, the prose poem has not been washed of its controversy. Poets have long argued the merit of the prose poem as a form—even contesting if it is a form at all, or just lovely prose. On the