ANNOUNCING THE WINNER of our quarterly GotPoetry Contest held in June/July 2009.


The staff and curators of GotPoetry thank all the participants for making this contest a huge success. We look forward to your participation again in our future contests.

The winning poems - there is a tie!!!!

Where the Heart Is
by idilchek


This place is not the home I left behind.
Its painted rooms smell bitter, harsh, and cold.
I'm told this place has memories to find.

Worn out kitchen where kids, now grown, once dined.
In the unplugged fridge, a little bit of mold.
This place is not the home I left behind.

Above the sink, I lift the dusty blind,
A mile of unkempt yard, the grass turned gold.
I'm told this place has memories to find.

Around a tree I've found a prize entwined,
Thick rope and wood, a swing! It must be old.
This place is not the home I left behind.

An easy climb and twist. My swing unwinds.
I test it standing. See the sky unfold.
I'm told this place has memories to find.

There's not a single thing here to remind
Me of the little yard my parents sold.
This place is not the home I left behind.
I'm told this place has memories to find.



west
by fogglethorpe


Home is not the eastern oaks
whose penetrating ventricles
broke the water pipes
that flooded the basement
of our old split level

It is not the western novelty
of water,
the saguaros
with shallow roots,
the fan palms waving hello
and goodbye

It is not the Atlantic
expanding to nowhere,
revealing the curvature of earth

It is not Humphrey’s Peak
reaching for something
unknown or unattainable

It is not the greasy comfort food
of Fenton truck stops,
the freight trains
stampeding across Tulsa,
the bird sized bugs
pelting our windshield in Amarillo

There are no ruby heels to click,
no enchanted mantras to repeat

Still, there is no place like you-
your eyes are my map,
your body is my bed,
your presence is my home.

Thank you to all the participants. The karma points have been transferred to all the participants and winners.

Thank you to our judges - Loisseau, Bogeyman, Rio, RZS, anna9, Zbird and ramonez

A great choice! Thanks for the chance to be in the contest and thanks to the judges for their time.

an elegant, well crafted villanelle. the reminiscing tone gave it a melancholic feel.

well done, idilchek and congratulations!!!

Congratulations!

and fogs your poem west is beautifully written. Congrats!!!!

congratulations to both!

Two nice pieces that work the theme well. Congrats to both!

Congrats to each of you! It was a deceptively difficult topic!

Thanks! And kudos to idilchek.

some of the poems deserve honorable mention though they did not win.

Bogeyman's pick is

Homemade
by HSTeech


My grandmother never told me to save enough drippings
to fill the corner of the pan when you tilt it up.
She never said how many fists full of flour to use,
or how much a dash of salt is.
My mother did repeat that it has to be cold water
to undo the paste without lumps,
but she never mentioned that when the spoon
leaves a trail of clear pan behind it
is when to add more water.
No one ever said “repeat until there is enough
gravy to cover the meat and potatoes
on everyone’s plate, twice.”

Not when I was precisely five or six or seven,
but when I was tall enough to see over the lip of the pan
and control the strokes of the wooden spoon,
did it become my job to stir.
“Like this,” my grandmother said as she guided my hand
around the perimeter to scrape and incorporate the bits.

Not when I was ten, eleven or twelve,
but when I was old enough to understand
the codes of kitchen turf did I stand in front of the pan
with my mother nearby.
“Yes,” she said. “Like that.”

It was not until I grasped the
the politics of mothers and daughters and granddaughters
in a kitchen, preparing a meal together
that I looked to them; “Like this?”

The first Easter after my grandmother died,
when it was time to make the gravy,
my mother did not ask,
but simply handed me the wooden spoon
and went on to other things.

That day, I knew;
it had never been about the recipe.



this poem did a fine job of describing the essence of what home meant without actually saying "there's no place like home". nice job!

Some very fine poems here! I was partcularly drawn to "west" -
"There are no ruby heels to click,no enchanted mantras to repeat."

I was also very moved by "Homemade" and its final stanza which mirrored my own growing up days in some fine Southern comfort kitchens:
"That day, I knew;it had never been about the recipe"

Brilliant!

Congratulations to all!

Some very fine poems here! I was partcularly drawn to "west" -
"There are no ruby heels to click,no enchanted mantras to repeat."

I was also very moved by "Homemade" and its final stanza which mirrored my own growing up days in some fine Southern comfort kitchens:
"That day, I knew;it had never been about the recipe"

Brilliant!

Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to the winners! The two chosen were the best of some really good poetry and it was not easy to choose.

In Where the Heart Is the very first line caught my attention and grabbed me. The statement is so bare and so true.

In West we are first told what home is not and then gently and sweetly brought us home. I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you for the Honorable Mention, B., and thank you Mamta for posting it.

Zbird's pick for honorable mention is

Little Butterfly
by Lionheart

Watching thee o'er the years
Unfolding thy wings to dry
Clinging to the highest branch
And reaching toward the sky

Despite the strongest of winds
The sun has finished its toil
Behold the beautiful wings
Of nature's artwork royal

Flutter on graceful breezes
Beneath the dazzling sun
Rest upon a blossom fresh
Tho' thy flight has just begun

This countryside of ours
O' land of trees and flowers
Hither, rest thy weary wings
In sweet midsummer showers

Travel oft to this haven
And alight upon strong limbs
We shall chat of fun filled days
And fanciful childhood whims

Giving rise to flight again
Far off from the milkweed fair
Remember home, and return
Blissful maiden of the air


"I liked that the poet chose an unconventional approach to the topic. I like to see out of the box thinking in these contests. The poem is beautifully written and the topic of the butterfly returning home rather than a person was unique and inspired. The last lines were both strong and beautiful... Remember home, and return /Blissful maiden of the air. I loved it!"

Congratulations to all the contestants and winners!!!!
Great writing folks.

awesome writes!!

Congratulations to all--great writing on an ever present theme that unites our humanity.
Realrhoda

Must admit that all of these submissions are far better than mine! Was an awfully tough topic! Mamta, How do I get my poem back? I did not keep it???
Congratulations to all of the wonners and honorable mentions!!!