Callahan's 1997 Poetry Contest!

First Place Winning Entries

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Callahan's poetry contest spurred an outpouring of verse from a cross-section of Delphi communities, ranging from Business Strategies to Singles to Workshop for Writers. Some even came our friends in the alt.callahans newsgroup which is also devoted to the Callahan's ideal. All, except the limericks, addressed the theme of Shared Joy and Pain.

We have a winner in each of the four verse forms assigned. We hope you enjoy these:

Haiku From Terr
Limerick From Kathy
Rhymed Verse From Oky
Free Verse From AMBROWN

Haiku

we prayed over fields
teeming with our wilted crops
but rain never came

by Terr

There once was a Lady named Sally,
Who rescued a wench in an alley.
Big Travis was bad,
But he made Sally mad,
And an out of joint nose was the tally.

by Kathy

Based on the opening scene of "Callahan's Lady", by Spider Robinson, first published in May, 1989, by Ace Books.

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My golden brother
friend and lover
how I remember
your smile so tender
your silken hair
with elves compare
and how we loved each other

Where is my brother
yesterday's lover
where do you travel
or quietly settle
companion you
of nights danced through
are you dancing with another

The moonlit night
is not as bright
nor casts as well
the elfin spell
and morning dew
It's gone with you
the golden faerie brother

by Oky

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My first French kiss
was given
by a man from Africa
whose skin shone
like black satin
and whose accent
made me think
of feathered mint
and slippery brocade.

I would like to tell you
it was passion,
but it was mostly
curiosity.
We both thought
that it meant nothing
at the time.

But everything we do
makes ripples.
I kissed a man
and the globe contracted
to the contours
of a warm, brown mouth.
My tongue still tastes
mint and brocade.

by Amy Brown

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