2013 (Fourth Annual) Poetry Contest Winners

1st Place Winner

Lady on the Bottle - Matt Echelberry

A wine bottle is shattered on the sidewalk
I step closer for a better look
can't make out the name -- nothing expensive.
It was empty when it broke
but a few drops of pink liquid
have collected in a rounded glass shard.
The lady pictured on the label
wears a green dress and smiles;
she looks happy even though her image is
fragmented.
Surely it was a fine bottle
I hope someone enjoyed her.
This lady is broken now --
maybe she was enjoyed too much.
I walk around the glass
wondering what happened last night:
a couple's argument,
drunken antics between friends,
or perhaps when the bottle went dry
the drinker just lost interest.
But this lady is no cheap whore --
she was beautiful once.
Produced in a vineyard,
bottled with affection,
delivered to a store where she sat on a shelf
eagerly awaiting someone to take her away.
Her cork came off for one hell of a time;
now she lies on the sidewalk back there
to be avoided by those who pass.

2nd Place Winner

Iberia School: Fall, 2011 - Bonnie Hildebrand

The machine's claw chewed up
the classroom where
I taught.
My tears formed as
I watched
the blue plastered walls collapse with the bricks.
I thought there would be
more resistance.
But time and force
changed the landscape,
and the room became a memory.

3rd Place Winner

Give me Things that Money Can't Buy - Margaret K. Leapley

Give me things that money can't buy
A baby's sweet smile, a bird in the sky
The love of a friend, in good times and bad
A mother's prayers and help from my Dad.
Give me things that money can't buy
The laughter of children, a birthday surprise
Beautiful colors of sunset and sunrise
The glow of love in my husband's eyes
Give me things that money can't buy
A soft flowing brook, snow from the sky
A beautiful rainbow, soft Summer rain
The fireplace's glow and frost on the pane
Give me things that money can't buy
A cabin by the road, in the sweet bye and bye
The forgiveness of God, his undying love
The promise of a home in heaven above