First Place Poem Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

You Made Me Feel Illegal

You made me feel illegal
the way you eyed my hair
too-long-too-dyed-for-work hair
too-third-world-take-care-of-kids hair
too-got-to-clean-the-house hair
too-too-much-chat-about-the-family hair.

You made me feel illegal
my Wal-mart pants and blouses
my too-this-isn’t-how-we-dress-here clothes
too-cheap-to-even-work-here clothes
too-girly-to-do-your-job-here clothes
too-back-to-the-slum-with-you-dear clothes.

You made me feel illegal
pointing out my jewelry
“too gold” you say, “too gaudy”
my too-don’t-show-your-face-in-the-lobby jewelry
too-you-know-nothing-about-our-country jewelry
too-go-home-to-anchor-babies jewelry.

You made me feel illegal
like I’m too-you-can’t-speak-like-we-know how
too-got-no-right-to-talk now
too-got-to-go-and-wash-sticky-floors now too-better-go-cook-in-a-filthy-kitchen now
too-best-sweep-up-the-dirt-you-see now.

You made me feel illegal
too-nothing-more-than-low class
too-nothing-less-than loathed
You made me feel illegal.

You oughta be illegal.

©2012 Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

Dedication
For my students and their loved ones--may you find peace and know you are not alone.

About the Author Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt is a poetry and prose writer residing in Western Prince William County, VA, where she enjoys exploring history, art, culture and nature. An advocate for preservation, conservation, education and civic engagement, Katherine volunteers for several non-profit organizations. She is a freelance, community writer for the regional News & Messenger newspaper, teaches college English composition online and teaches English as a Second Language (ESOL) students at an adult detention center.

Katherine’s poetry and prose have appeared in various online and text journals. Poems from the Battlefield, a collection of her Civil War themed poetry, original and archival photos and period quotes, was published in 2009. Katherine’s children’s book, Furbily-Furld Takes on the World, was published in 2010. Approaching Felonias Park, a novel focusing on predatory lending, was released in November, 2011.

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt
Community Writer for News and Messenger

www.InsideNova.com
www.WritersforaCause.org

Happy Easter!

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Honorable Mention Renee V. McCormick

Principal Deficit

Copper cables carry 

bitter spleen from the
talking heads to the faceless crowd

Injected with the virus,

they take on visages of their own
tea partier, occupier, paulite or gnome

And I – adrift in a land I once

owned and loved -  try to
make sense of it all

Will Gilgamesh please step forward

take center sage and save our people from
fracking foes and lying lore

For if not, we will surely perish

and it will not matter if Tehran
presses the accelerator

Harpies hover above

colored red, blue and yellow
and rancor rules below

The neocortex has melted into

the amygdala and it’s chanting
down, wound, over

God must see this and wonder

why he sent his only son to
guide us

But if he does, he can send

a sign of hope, a ray of light,
he can blend wisdom with the gound

Bend us, lend us, bring

to the fore the divine glimmer
to ignite the force

Copyright 2012: Renee V. McCormick

Dedication

Renee McCormick dedicates this poem to her children Kaitlyn and Conor McCormick-Cavanagh and their generation of peacemakers.

About the Author Renee V. McCormick

Renee has spent her professional life as a psychologist helping people find their voices and rewrite their personal narratives.  She lives by the motto that it is never too late to change the ending of a story. 

Renee has also put stories on film to help people make responsible decisions about parenthood, and especially to prevent unwanted teen pregnancies.

Renee believes that poetry has the power to change the world.  Serving on the executive board of a U.N. affiliated organization, she organized the First Annual Poetry Competition for the Olof Palme Peace Foundation in 2011.

Find Renee on the web at

www.PsychologicalPerspectivesllc.com

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Honorable Mention Kirby Wright

Vypadni

The boy and girl fish from the Vitava’s bank.

He holds the pole—they share a cigarette.
They work hard shortening the smoke
But their puffs are weak.
The bait’s red float bobs in a boat’s wake.
The boy passes the cigarette.
“Vypadni!” he calls to the boaters.
The boy’s father chops cords of wood
Behind a wire fence.
Maple burns warmth in their home
As his wife sautés paprika chicken
With greasy dumplings.
He stacks kindle and studies his son.
He remembers fishing the river
With Anka, his snoubenka.
There’s moaning
And the smell of blood.
He still sees the Russian soldiers
Luring Anka down the grass bank
With Sobranie mint cigarettes.

©2012 Kirby Wright

Notes:

vypadni: beat it
snoubenka: fiancée

About the Author Kirby Wright

Kirby Wright was a Visiting Fellow at the 2009 International Writers Conference in Hong Kong, where he represented the Pacific Rim region of Hawaii. He was also a Visiting Writer at the 2010 Martha’s Vineyard Residency in Edgartown, Mass., and the 2011 Artist in Residence at Milkwood International, Czech Republic. He is the author of the companion novels PUNAHOU BLUES and MOLOKA’I NUI AHINA, both set in the islands.