WEN: 4EBB0B
Exhibitor Name: Alice Chin
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
WEN: 25F678
Exhibitor Name: Ariele Silvas
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
A Dose of Serotonin Please
I learned a lot about the world today, I’m like okay , alright, okay
Not even 6 o’clock and I’m in bed and just got the craving for blueberry bread
I’d like a one -way ticket to the sun but the right decision is the hardest one
Wanna curl into a ball and cry yet can’t nothing beat a failure like a try
I’m gonna finish this riddle and then at once I’m slowly feeling like myself again
I promise not to sweat the silly stuff cause “I am enough, a thousand times enough”
I learned a lot about myself today, I’ll never understand and that’s okay.
WEN: E294D6
Exhibitor Name: Christina Nystrom Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
SIP By Christina Nystrom Mantha
I know this can’t go on forever, I know that one day it will end.
Not being with people has been quite an endeavor, I’ve gotten so used to hugs from friends I depend. I spend my days helping my kids with their work, And cooking and cleaning and keeping them busy. Not running with friends is making them go berserk, And the lack of activity causes them to get in a tizzy. My jobs were teaching people and being in person, Because of this virus I can’t do my job. I worry that isolation will cause our society to worsen, I worry that people skills are what this virus will rob. I miss being able to walk at the park without feeling strife, I miss going to the mall for fun without feeling danger. I miss giving my grandmother a big hug, I miss seeing teams playing softball and soccer and track, I miss taking my kids and their friends to the hot tub, I know that this is time that we will never get back. What do I miss most about my old life? I miss giving a smile to a stranger,
I’ve stayed healthy, I know that is fortunate for me, And I know this is just a bump in our road. But I do hope soon we can be with friends and family, and feel a little more free, And get back to life, albeit a little more slowed.
WEN: 10E2D8
Exhibitor Name: Louise Moises
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
At the Produce Market Before: Handsome round faced man in his seventies, rolls a pale globe of a nectarine around in his hands,
lifts the fruit to his nose and inhales. He looks at me, soft accented voice “These are so sweet,” he says, “like someone
sprinkled themwith honey.”
He hands the fruit to me, “For you.”
We smile and continue shopping.
After: Gloved hands pick fruit without testing, Signs posted: only touch what you will buy Masked shoppers hide smiles,
keep at a distance,
move in paranoid fear.
No one inhales the fragrance,
no one shares a nectarine.
WEN: EEE3BD
Exhibitor Name: Louise Moises
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
At the Playground My two year old grandson stands before the locked playground shaking the gate, metal banging against metal He tries to squeeze between the rungs. How do I explain to a two year old why the swings are still, the slide vacant? A blue ball rests on the asphalt, no one there to kick it. Voices of children silenced by this isolation, playground closed. I look down at himover my mask, hold out my gloved hand, and guide him towards home.
WEN: B823BB
Exhibitor Name: Nancy Krakauer
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
20/20 Vision ã Nancy Langstaff Krakauer March 2020
No one could predict the immeasurable fear, Provoked by a virus the same name as a beer. A headache, a fever, a cough and a sneeze, An invisible bug brought the world to its knees. The life as we knew it is no longer there, The streets are deserted, the shelves are quite bare. The stadiums are silent, all sports are on hold, The Olympics are postponed - no “Go for gold.” The theaters are empty, the stage lights are dim, Bars and restaurants are shut down and so is the gym. The stores have all shuttered, malls now ghostly halls, A walk in the park requires new protocols. Once bustling cities contain empty squares, All places of worship, they don’t have a prayer. Vacations are cancelled, all business trips ceased, The borders of countries are strictly policed. All meetings are taboo, all classes dismissed, Things taken for granted no longer exist. No weddings, no funerals, no birthdays, no proms, Graduations, celebrations could all cause us harm. Millions of livelihoods lost over night, Uncertainty looms with no ending in sight. Our arms remain empty, too dangerous to hug, So near yet so far from the ones that we love.
So many have suffered, so many have died, Anxieties and fears have all amplified.
But. . .
WEN: B823BB
Exhibitor Name: Nancy Krakauer
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
The air is much cleaner with fewer car fumes, Smoke stacks from closed factories have paused spewing plumes. Less traffic on freeways, less cruise ships on seas, The planet’s pollution is starting to ease. The beaches have less trash, the sky’s turning bluer, Our rivers and oceans are less of a sewer. We’ve been forced to slow down, examine our lives, Spend time with our children, our husbands and wives. We value our friends and reach out to them more, Including the neighbors who live right next door.
A world once divided has now become one, To conquer an enemy that affects everyone. No sex, no religion, nationality or race, Is immune from this virus invading our space. It took Mother Nature to force us to pause, And ponder the havoc our actions have caused.
Gave us time to acknowledge our precious world’s worth, And decide what to do to preserve planet earth. Perhaps this disease is her gift in disguise, To make humans more humane and prevent our demise.
WEN: ECBDEC
Exhibitor Name: Purnima Sreenivasa
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY
It was only yesterday…
That I was taking pictures of the sunset from my window!
It was only yesterday…
When I had finished planting the dent corn intertwined with Scarlet Runner Beans!
It was only yesterday…
How I was hoping for rains, standing amidst my burned roses with the severing heat!
It was only yesterday…
Which had me exhausted planting a hundred dahlias in pots!
It was only yesterday…
Where I felt not so lonely with bees buzzing as I harvested the English lavender!
It was only yesterday…
Was dreaming about vacations playing with our ducklings, not masks and social distancing!
It was only yesterday…
When I made those gorgeous mouthwatering floral designs for family celebrations!
It was only yesterday…
That my little daughter was baking almost every week, desserts so delightful!
It was only yesterday…
That I started listening to bird songs, dreaming of freedom!
It was only yesterday…
That I had forgotten to lock the hen house while working late nights!
It is today… my favorite hen is gone, a meal for a vixen and her pups..
It is tomorrow…I have a dream…the shelter in place is over…!
WEN: 75D7BA
Exhibitor Name: Purnima Sreenivasa
Division: Poetry
Class: 01 Shelter in Plac
Secrets
I tweet on New Year’s Day 2020
That a pandemic is coming…!
Only one retweet, a few views…
I wonder why?
The Cov19 is across the river in Wuhan
A virus is out in the wilds!
Soon, the twitter is full of tweets on the contagion
I knew, I wish someone had seen my tweet, I claim!
The war is raging, the caskets are filling…
People masked and asked
My children are now zoom experts fast forward.
For work or play or study or fun…
Zoom, YouTube are some of their favorite things!
My friends now make and donate masks..
Nextdoor is filled with newbie gardeners!
We stay home, six feet apart, unmasked…
Our pets are surprised why we pamper them so much now!
We flatten the curve, we cook and clean and finish undone tasks…
Takeouts are great, queues are normal!
We have chained freedom, we protest, agree, argue…
Jobs gone, food scarce, deaths common, life short!
We pray, sing, clap, cry, laugh, cheer, hate, survive …the secrets of shelter in place!
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