Wednesday May 10 2017  AND POETRY SINGS FROM WITHIN

 

A few months ago I read a short article in the Madison State Journal soliciting poets to write a poem consisting of 4 or 5 lines for a competition.  Three winners would be chosen and the winning poems would be published on a Madison Metro Bus.  Since it had been so long ago since I entered the contest I assumed that I had not made the cut.  So, needless to say, I was quite surprised and delighted to find out that my entry had indeed been chosen as one of the winners.

My poem may be painted on the outside of a bus for all of Madison to see!  The May 2016 article below contradicts what I remember this year’s competition stated so I don’t know if this year’s rules are different from last year’s rules .  Following is an excerpt telling about last year’s competition.  I thought you might find it interesting.

 

“May 2016

…“Metro got such tremendous feedback from their ridership — it’s making people happier to ride the bus,” Wolf said.

Since then, the project has seen huge growth. Originally only for high school students, the contest has since expanded to include all ages, from elementary school to adults over 18. Over 300 poems were submitted this year (2016), including, for the first time, Spanish-language contributions.

Oscar Mireles, the current Madison Poet Laureate, sees the acceptance of bilingual poems as a recognition of the growing Latino population in Madison.”

Mireles had the task of reviewing 300 poems to select the top 30. This involved reading them multiple times.

“When I went back the second time, I read them out loud, because sometimes when you read them out loud they change,” Mireles said.

The theme of the poems was “Write your Madison.” Poets were instructed to “help us see what you see and hear what you hear.” In response, individuals submitted poems about the Capitol, sunsets, the farmers’ market, and even the Little Free Libraries around town, Mireles said.

Bottom of Form

The top 30 were then handed over to Firman’s typography class at Edgewood College. Firman, an assistant professor in graphic design and multimedia, had her students pick poems and design graphics that highlighted the themes of the poem.

Firman believes the project is beneficial because it gives her students a chance to work with an outside client, as well as see the tangible results of their efforts.

“For the students, it’s pretty amazing to see your work printed that large and in the real world,” Firman said. For graphic designers, all too often, “its all computer based and you don’t get to see the actual thing.”

After the graphics were completed, the poets were publicly recognized for their work at a reception. Poets, family members and supporters packed into the American Family Insurance Dream Bank to honor the poets and hear their winning selections. Winners were also given a copy of the graphic designed for their poem.

The poets ranged from nervous elementary school kids to published authors.

“We probably had a 70 to 80 year span from oldest writer to the youngest writer. Poetry really is for everybody. We want to bring poetry to the community and bring the community back to poetry,” Mireles said.

One small boy had been selected to recite his poem in Spanish. The poem explained that he loved buses, because they bring him to parks. Too nervous to read it by himself, Mireles had the whole audience help him out and read the poem with him.

To Mireles, this story illustrates why the program is valuable, as it displays the power of poetry to a younger generation. 

“I wish when I was younger that I would have been more exposed to poetry. The poetry I was exposed to was in a dusty old book and was by some old guy I’d never heard of, and it seemed so distant,” Mireles said. “With all this poetry, it’s so local and Madison-based, and it seems very alive.”

The end

I will not publish my winning poem until after the reception in June. 

 

AND POETRY SINGS FROM WITHIN

Kathleen Martens

May 10, 2017

www.visionsofpoetry.com

 

Poetry is my world of wonder

In nature’s realm of great plunder.

Beauty waiting to be seen

Dressed in finery as a royal queen.

 

Waiting to be gobbled up,

A visual beauty on which to sup

If one would stop to take note

And read in nature what God wrote.

 

The blue of heaven; nature’s delight,

Offering a panorama full of light.

The ever changing magnificent sky

Filled with clouds and birds that fly.

 

The ocean view in all its glory,

Poetry in movement tells its story.

Never-ending waves that wash ashore

Speak poetically for evermore.

 

Poignant splendor of mountain peaks

Is a poem man doth seek,

Poetry in motion to climb so high

A poem so virtuous; knowing one could die.   

 

Morning dew in dawn’s light,

A beautiful poem one can sight.

Magic glistens beneath one’s feet

And morning’s glory, the world meets.

             

The eye can feast, the nose inhales

All the wonders one can smell.

The ears can hear and fingers touch,

And the mouth tastes nature’s lunch.

 

In the secret heart a poem is born,

A spirit refreshed, never forlorn.

Nature speaks in rhyming verse

With bountiful pleasure and open purse.

 

And poetry sings from within

As each day’s poem becomes a friend.

And soul is filled with joy and wonder

Of nature’s offerings to be plundered.

 

Much of today was spent in the yard thinning and transplanting ferns and hostas.  It was so refreshing to be outside working alone.  It was as if I could hear my gardens whispering verses of poetry into my heart.  Often when working alone short poems come to me, I smile, and they are gone.  Another lovely Stay-cation day filled with beautiful moments!

 

Thank You God for the beauty that surrounds me.

Thank You God for the beauty of Your handiwork.

 

GOD BLESS YOU!