2000 Poetry Quill Awards

Cold winter comes, I go to sleep
to rest my weary crown
and when I wake up in the spring
I find that I have grown.

Another ring, another foot,
another feast of dew,
while all about me life goes on
amid a glorious view

I stand entranced alone for years
While squirrels eat my seed
and birds sing songs to welcome dawn
and cattle come and feed

One day men gather with a saw
and cut into my bole
they sever me from all my roots
and leave a great big hole

They slice and cut me into planks,
transport me to a yard,
where I am shaped and bent and nailed
and scraped and rubbed and tarred.

So I become a clipper ship
that journeys round the earth
neath snowy sails to foreign parts
with payloads full of worth.

While in my field of memory
an acorn has took root,
and so my progeny grows up
in place of me, from shoot.

The years they flow sedately by
and soon where once I lay,
a mighty oak has spread its leaves
and once more squirrels play

And so the cycle is complete
The world turns on its quest
Let’s hope that man will learn one day
that living trees are best.

Copyright ©2000 John Tyson. All Rights Reserved

Where does it start —
nay, where does it end?
Time is an enemy,
not a close friend.

Dozens of messages,
hundreds of pleas,
tear at my heart,
and send me to my knees.

Dust sits on tables,
plates litter my sink,
there's no time for housework
and less time to think.

My garden bears weeds,
my grass grows apace,
while minutes and hours
are lost in the race.

Deadlines to meet.
Phone calls to make.
I've finished this poem —
it's time for a break.

Copyright ©2000 Karen Marquis. All Rights Reserved..

Fourth Place

Caratacus Cat

John Tyson

Caractacus Cat was quite fearless
He ruled his home street like a king.
Every day he would come in and feast
at the house of Tiberius Ling

Tiberius Ling was a writer,
who loved to create magic new worlds,
with super strength heros and oversexed villains
who went around tormenting girls.

One day Tiberius sat there
completely and utterly stumped
for he had case of severe writers' block;
when in Caractacus jumped.

"Oh Crackers you really did scare me.
I'm worried right out of my head.
I cannot think what on earth to put down. I know,
I'll write about you instead!"

Tiberius wrote several stories
of Caractacus and his feats.
His publisher had them all printed in ink
on lots of snowy white sheets.

The sheets were bound into books,
the books went down to the shops,
the public bought millions of copies to read,
our Crackers was top of the pops.

They interviewed him on the telly,
They wrote lots of songs in his name.
Caractacus Cat became known as "CC"
and was swamped by his newly found fame.

Tinseltown bought up the film rights,
and made a blockbuster or two,
About how CC saved the world twice over
from man-eating horrid green goo.

They stocked up in all of the toyshops
with plenty of CC style dolls.
Kids everywhere said, "he's utterly cool!"
CC topped the best seller polls.

Caractacus though was not happy
with all of this fuss and ado.
"I'd much rather be back at home on my street
than playing at heros. It's true!"

His whiskers grew ever so droopy
His eyes went rheumy and dim
His tail dragged along in the dirt on the ground
His body grew ever so thin

Tiberius Ling felt so sorry
at what he had done to his cat.
He had him killed off in one final tale and said,
"Right oh! That's jolly well that."

C C is back home on his street now
He's looking quite frisky and well
He's eating his food and it's quite understood
that he gives all the other cats hell!

The moral of this little story
to all who would write for a wage,
If you're thinking of doing so please think again
before putting your pet on the page.

Copyright ©2000 John Tyson. All Rights Reserved.

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