Nationally recognized poet from Chicago Li-Young Lee judged the Bettendorf Public Library’s Love & Forgiveness Poetry contest recently and participated in a reading with the winners on January 28th. First place winner at the adult level is John McBride who has a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Illinois and an MSW from the University of Iowa. He has taught English and been an administrator at the Universities of Illinois, Michigan and Iowa. His poetry has appeared in some twenty poetry journals across the country.

Snow

You were standing at the window silently
When the first flakes began to fall,
To settle on the boughs
Of our leafless oak, and in the yard below,
And so intently were you watching them
Spin through early winter’s gloom
To catch in fences, heap the window sill,
You did not notice me entering the room.

I fell silent too—but no,
Not because the snow enchanted me.
The way you stood there like a memory
Awakened feelings I have come to know
That only deepen with each winter’s falling snow,
I was glad you made no reply,
Nearness was enough for now, to be standing by,

Later to forget, forgive that snow,
That gathered slowly, darkening your hair,
Your shoulders till only your outline, drained
Like a negative, at last remained,
Sharp against the window, veiled with steam.
Did you know that I was watching you,
Pierced by the memory of all these years,
And why you were also, when you turned, in tears?


First place winner at the youth level, Jacob Timothy Rasmussen was born in Davenport, Iowa, in 1989 and says he “always loved to make rhymes especially musical lyrics. I love to express my feelings through the written word whether it is through stories, music, or poetry.”

Sunrises Sunsets

You wake, then you sleep
You are hungry, so you eat

The end of a day, the beginning of a week
The pennies you have saved
The millions you have blown
The love you have shown
The seeds that have grown
Pictures of heaven, clouds soon to be your home

Darkness where demons play
Wickedness that guides the way
So many souls enslaved
Millions of bones in their graves
Slave to life, fear of death
After the fear is gone, there is nothing left

Sunrises, sunsets
Light fades, darkness stays
A poem, a verse
A dress, your skin
What will you leave in?

Every race in every place
No more sounds and no more tastes
No more love and no more hate
From a cradle to a grave
Everything changes, nothing remains

The sunrises and the sunsets
No souls left

Runners up at the adult level were Sarah J. Gardner and Tony Cardoso. Runners up at the youth level were Liz Kuster and Sarah Rodriguez.

The winning poems inspired artwork by artist Katie Kiley. Her art and the texts of both poems will be permanently displayed at the Bettendorf Public Library.