The winning poems in the 2016 Poet's Pause poetry competition were I Speak in the Silence by T.J. Cheverie and My Valley Child by Kirsten Pendreigh
I Speak in the Silence
by T.J. (Tyler) Cheverie
I speak in the silence,
I thought to myself,
where the vapors rise
and the waters rest.
I’ve been here all my life
&
I’ve never left it for another.
I speak in the silence,
I heard my father say,
the swirly
stars above his head
&
the burly
ground below his feet;
his snow recedes
with each passing breath.
I speak in the silence,
I’m feeling it now,
growing,
like when I was a child
holding your hand.
Stand up,
please,
so I can carry you
upon these
silent wings of mine.
I speak in the silence,
mother,
so I can listen
to these flowers bloom
and hear your reverberation
yet again.
I speak in the silence,
new friend off in the distance,
because it’s the only way
I can hear your reply.
My Valley Child
by Kirsten Pendreigh
I will weave you a blanket of lichen
Soft, and celadon green
Lie you down on pillowy moss
In a snug pine-bark cradle
Sealed with sap
Rock you on this lake
Lucid wavelets lapping you to sleep
Red-winged blackbirds trilling lullabies
While osprey floats in vigil
High above us
In summer, you’ll gleefully bob
In the ballast of my arms
Blowing bubbles while tiny trout nibble your toes
And dragonflies shimmer halos round
Your downy head
I’ll show you cattails and horsetails, fiddleheads and fir cones
The secret places where fairy slippers shyly bloom
You’ll stuff your pockets with sticks and rocks
Blissfully cooing as I pop fat blackberries in
Your rosebud mouth
We’ll sail on giant lily pads down the lazy golden river
Beavers saluting from the shore
All toothy grins, waving maple leaves as we drift by
Craning our necks to gaze up at
Lofty white peaks
One day we’ll climb them, your little hand in mine
Tiptoe through meadows ablaze
With lupins and fireweed, paintbrush and phlox
Pikas popping up to tickle your nose with
Fuzzy anemone posies
Your giggles luring shy marmots
To whistle pretty ditties
While frisky whiskey jacks swoop in
To place stolen peanuts
At your feet
Then I will hoist your sleepy weight
And carry you back down
To our valley home
Kiss and tuck you safe and sound under a
Canopy of stars
