READ THE WINNING POEMS FROM OPA’S NEW POETS CATEGORY, JUDGE ALEX DANG

NEW POETS, JUDGE ALEX DANG

1^st Place: Steve Slemenda, “Memorial”

2^nd Place: Savannah Busby, “Months Poem”

3^rd Place: Nicholas Denning, “Grow”

1^st HM: Zachary Paul, “Hello”

2^nd HM: Jill Flores, “Commonwealth Lake Park”

3^rd HM: Mark Fryburg, “Family Vacation – Memoir”

Judge’s Comments:

“Memorial”: Fantastic use of the epitaph looking like a gravestone! Succinct, precise, and nuanced. This poem accomplishes so much in 22 lines. The formatting of the couplets underneath the epitaph is very pretty. I love the line “those who buried those who buried him” love the repetition and rhythm! Again, a subtle and very pronounced poem.

“Commonwealth Lake Park”: It’s so refreshing to see a fun poem! I love the language and the playful phrasing of the crows. I haven’t read a poem that was this fun in a while! Short and to the point; wonderful!

“Months Poem”: Reads like personal journal entries; feels very intimate! The author’s voice and language choices are extremely clear and intentional; the eclectic imagery is no accident! There’s purpose in the imagery and it adds to the emotional backdrop of each “month’s entry”. And all in 17 lines!

“Grow”: A beautiful poem that celebrates life and emptiness at the same time. The contrasting images of the flatland and the images of aliveness give this poem a meditative stillness and still teems with movement.

“Family Vacation – Memoir”: This poem felt the most personal out of the entire bunch. I love the honesty and the clearness of this poem and these memories. The matter of factness and the way the stanzas are organized give this poem energy and still allows for moments of pause and contemplation.

“Hello”: The simplicity of this poem is absolutely gorgeous. It feels like grasping a beam of light. The language is sharp and the rhythm is composed. The turn at the end makes the last lines of the poem echo and will stay with the reader. 

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Memorial, 1^st PLACE, Steven Slemenda

         IN MEMORY

                              OF

                GEORGE WILLIAM

                        SPRINGER

                 BORN Oct 1 – 1854

                  DIED Aug 1 -1863

             CAUSE OF HIS DEATH

                THE RESULT OF A

              RATTLESNAKE BITE

The stone had long ago leaned back to rest

against the trunk of the old madrona,

its golden canopy on high branches arching

over a grave the size of a child’s bed.

Planted at the burial it would have been

a sapling keen for life as a nine-year-old boy.

From grief that tree would grow past 

those who buried those who buried him,

its roots reaching deep beneath

the worn white picket plot to hold him

far beyond memory or ache for a boy

in his ninth summer taken by a snake bite.

Steve Slemenda is a founding member of the Silverton Poetry Association and the Mid-Valley Poetry Society. He has been a main organizer of the annual Silverton Poetry Festival since 2000. He hosts a biweekly radio program, Poetry on the Air, on listener-supported KMUZ FM in Salem. Retired from a career teaching English and Film Studies at Chemeketa Community College, Steve lives with his wife in Silverton, where he reads, writes, and avoids arithmetic.

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Commonwealth Lake Park, 2^nd Place, Jill Flores

To suffer from

Crowpolean Complex

must be exhausting–

looking to crown yourself by

cawing and

squawking

at Godzilla Crow,

bumping him with your

puny chest

So YOU can

feast on the

picnic area’s bounty.

Although Jill Flores misses the buzz of classroom chatter and preteen antics, she radiates a “retirement glow” while cooking, reading, writing, knitting, painting, traveling, and being with friends and family. She delights in word play and appreciates a good poem. For her poetry is necessary.

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Months Poem, 3^rd Place, Savannah Busby

October:

I have discovered stars

blooming in the corner of my new room.

I have searched library books for explanations.

So far no luck.

March:

The first cherry blossoms of the year

grew out of the bottom of my teacup this morning.

Ripples of dark water radiated off the branches –

I choked on a few petals floating on the surface.

July:

I met a man in a city by the sea

who asked me about my vices.

I told him mine was trust.

He seemed to remember something,

before handing me a notebook.

I never saw him again.

Savannah Busby is an undergraduate English major at Corban University. When she isn’t writing, she can be found editing composite photography, reading, drinking tea, or indulging in yet another hyper-fixated binge on international media

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Alex Dang is a poet from Portland, Oregon. A former TEDx speaker, Dang competed at the National Poetry Slam, was a Portland and Eugene Poetry Slam Grand Slam Champion, and has performed in 7 countries. He has strong opinions about burgers. He wants to know what your favorite song is.