CKK FIRST POETS CHOICE

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CKK First Poets Choice lists 100 poems (1,2,3, places) spanning APRIL 2009 - SEPTEMBER 2011(a ten point scoring selection was used; 14 CKK poets voted; a highest-score of 6points was alloted to 4 poets Bill Kenney, Diane Mayr, Jacek Margolak, Rafal Zabratynski)


1
season of lent-
my shadow
thinner and thinner
-- Jacek Margolak, Poland
**********=0


2
the ash cross
smudged on his sleeve
season of Lent
--Michael Baribeau, USA
*1********=2


3
last day of lent --
so many spring blossoms
waiting to open
--Karina Klesko, USA
1*********=1


4
lent-
in the wayside chapel
kneel the prostitutes
--Andrzej Dembonczyk, Poland
**********=0


5
Easter Day-
on my grandpa's cross
a sleeping butterfly
--Constantin Stroe,
1*********=1


6
nearly Easter--
new leaves flood
the willow tree
--Jenny Townsend, USA
**********=0


7
Many candles
in the starry night –
Easter Eve
-- Magdalena Dale, Romania
**********=0


8
Mother's Day--
her mirror refracts
morning light
-- Ralf Bröker, Germany
**********=0


9
Mother's Day--
a few graves on the hill
with new blossoms
--Karina Klesko, USA
1*********=1


10
mother's day
I step over
a crack
--Bill Kenny, USA
1**1******=5


11
Corpus Christi
a pregnant woman
climbs the church steps
--Bill Kenny, USA
**********=0


12
stained glass
tints my prayers
corpus christi
--Robin Beshers, USA
**********=0


13
In the street
a beggar eating bread…
Corpus Christi
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
**********=0


14
summer vacation -
camp-fire smoke
rising to the moon
--John McDonald, Scotland
**********=0


15
smile lines . . .
sand from her summer vacation
still in her purse
--Mary Davila, USA
1*********=1


16
A kite flying
above the schoolyard-
summer vacation
--Vasile Moldovan, Romania
*1********=2


17
summer vacation --
in the garden by night
the hedgehog and me
--Angelika Kolompar, British Colombia
**********=0


18
Summer vacation...
our sand castles destroyed
by the waves
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
1*********=1


19
beach fireworks
the last embers fall
into their reflections
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
**********=0


20
fireworks
over the Caroni River
a fine layer of ash
--Karina Klesko, USA
**********=0


21
fireworks -
the blind beggar keeps smiling
and playing the accordion
--Olga Neagu, Romania
**********=0


22
flood's end
through the rusty gate
a sunbeam
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**********=0


23
a teacup
still in the doll's hand
flood waters
--Mary Davila, USA
1*********=1


24
flood warning
ducks glide past
a row of mailboxes
--Cindy Tebo, USA
**********=0


25
solitude . . .
turning out the lights
I let in the moon
--Bill Kenney, USA
31********=5


26
The first cry-
lights and shades
on the mother's face
--Vasile Moldovan, Romania
1*********=1


27
neon lights
the curtain's pattern
blinks on the wall
--Rafal Zabratynski, Poland
1*********=1


28
in the same pool
the sun and the moon
October light
--Juhani Tikkanen, Finland
**********=0


29
new year's day
the smell of pickled herring
on the cat's breath
--Cindy Tebo, USA
2*1******* =5


30
fortune cookies -
the same wisdom
as the year before
--Andrzej Dembonczyk, Poland
1*********=1


31
hoping for the coin
in the cowpeas, ham, and rice –
a new year begins
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
**********=0


32
his fist full
of black-eyed peas
a gull's scream
--Mary Davila, USA
**********=0


33
carnival in Venice -
my shadow puts on
a mask
--Jacek Margolak; Poland
11********=3



34
carnival season
the condom machine
needs refilling
--Rafal Zabratynski, Poland,
*3********=6



35
Mardi Gras -
a little dog
wears sunglasses
--John McDonald, Scotland
11********=3


36
carnival in Rio -
girl with a broken leg
watching the dancers
--Andrzej Dembonczyk, Poland
1*********=1


37
ashes
on my forehead
the priest's cold thumb
-- John McDonald, Scotland
1*********=1


38
end of the mass
an old man wipes ashes off
his bald head
--Rafal Zabratynski, Poland
**********=0


39
funeral -
on the urn with the ashes
yellow butterfly
--Andrzej Dembonczyk, Poland
1**1******=5


40
windy beach
a small boy struggles
with the dragon kite
--Rafal Zabratynski, Poland
2*********=2


41
kite-flying -
father holds his son's
coat-tail
--John McDonald, Scotland
**********=0


42
windy day
the rainbow of kites
on a cloudless sky
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**********=0


43
spring regatta –
a white kite catches
the salt breeze
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
11********=3


44
strains of Mendelssohn
the groom fiddles
with his carnation
--Cara Holman, USA
2*********=2


45
the scent of carnations
from a nearby garden—
evening rain
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**1*******=3


46
so many
contrary feelings –
just a carnation

toliko suprotnih
osjecaja – samo
jedan karanfil
--Tomislav Maretic, Croatia
**********=0


47
autumn memory
of those walks with my father . . .
so many silences
--Bill Kenney, USA
11********=3


48
father planting
new violets
on his son's grave
--Juhani Tikkanen, Finland
*1********=2


49
Father’s Day . . .
I try to remember
his voice
--Mary Davila, USA
31********=5


50
My father's face
forty years later
back in my mirror
--Franklin Magalhaes, Brazil
2*********=2



51
summer rain
my umbrella
unopened
--Bill Kenney, USA
3*1*******=6



52
after divorce court –
still, she offers to share
her umbrella
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
*1********=2


53
drought -
my son is drawing again
clouds and umbrellas
--Cezar-Florian Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


54
sudden thunder
we forget
our quarrel
--Marleen Hulst, The Netherlands
2*********=2


55
distant thunder
my children's room full
of whispers
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
11********=3


56
distant thunder
his big brother
seems smaller now
--Bouwe Brouwer, The Netherlands
11********=3



57
distant thunder...
the brush of cat fur
against my legs
--Diane Mayr, USA
22********=6



58
after the thunder
stillness...
then birdsong
--Cara Holman, USA
1*********=1


59
crack of thunder -
a heron letting slip
the scared frog
--Cezar-Florian Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


60
twilight shadows--
the flash
of a bluebird's wing
--Cara Holman, USA
**1*******=3


61
morning light
a bluejay's scolding
breaks the silence
--Bill Kenney, USA
1*********=1


62
festival lights
smeared
on the wet sidewalk
-- John McDonald, Scotland
**********=0


63
kindling the flame--
one candle
lights another
--Cara Holman, USA
**********=0


64
autumn festival -
among the candle lanterns
a moth dancing
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**1*******=3


65
row of lamps -
a blind begger sharing sweets
with his puppy
--Cezar-Florin Ciobîca, Romania
1*********=1


66
funeral mass
her brief smile
at the bluebird outside
--Marleen Hulst, USA
**********=0


67
at my window …
a bluebird carrying on its wings
the whole sky
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
1*********=1


68
autumn wreath
the dried sunflower
feeds a blackbird
--Marleen Hulst, The Netherlands
1*********=1


69
New Year’s dawn…
on the top of the garbage
a Christmas wreath
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
**********=0


70
father's funeral...
the lily wreath
full of life
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
*1********=2


71
east wind
the paper-thin days
of the calendar
--Bouwe Brouwer, The Netherlands
*1********=2


72
new calendar
my wife takes
all the dates
--George Hawkins, USA
**********=0


73
winter evening-
the wall's whiteness under
old calendar
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
1*********=1


74
twelve new birds
in the ornithological lab -
new calendar
--Andrzej Dembonczyk, Poland
*1********=2


75
Valentine's Day...
only cup of tea
warms my hands
Jacek Margolak, Poland
22********=6


76
late Valentine's day –
the beggar still hums
an old love song
--Cezar-Florian Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


77
Valentine’s Day…
between the book leaves
a dry flower
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
1*********=1


78
old valentines . . .
memories of the faces
as faded as the names
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
1*1*******=4


79
first buds
the dream fading
as I tell it
--Bill Kenney, USA
1*1*******=4


80
her newborn’s fingers . . .
outside the nursery window
cherry trees in bud
--Catherine J.S. Lee, USA
11********=3


81
waiting ...
at the edge of the precipice
bougainvillea buds
--Ramona Linke, Germany
1*********=1


82
broken string
my paper kite disappears
in the sun
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**********=0


83
clearing his garage -
our tin-can telephone
the string still connected
--John McDonald, Scotland
**********=0


84
antic shop window -
a spider carrying the moon
among guitar strings
-- Cezar-Florin Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


85
old diary -
between two blank pages
a pink ribbon
-- Cezar-Florin Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


86
old oak tree
a yellow ribbon
from a different war
--Bill Kenney, USA
**********=0


87
ribbons
floating on the breeze
Buddhist prayers
--John McDonald, Scotland
**********=0


88
wedding anniversary -
mom asks me to put on
my father's tuxedo
--Cezar F.Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


89
golden wedding
a grain of rice in the pocket
of my tuxedo
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
**********=0


90
Somewhere, long ago,
a brown eyed girl
and my first tuxedo.
--Franklin Magalhães, Brasil
1*********=1


91
planting rice
the child on her back
soothed by song
Marleen Hulst, The Netherlands
1*********=1


92
after planting rice -
the stars fill the space
between seedlings
--Cezar F. Ciobîca, Romania
**********=0


93
planting rice
her bare legs get lost
in the blue
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
1*********=1


94
footprints in the sand
her toes digging deeper
where he kissed her
--John McDonald, Scotland
*1********=2


95
evening beach
the tide washes away
his declaration of love
--Jacek Margolak, Poland
*1********=2


96
moving in
to my sand castle
the sea
--Bill Kenney, USA
1*1*******=4


97
The tempest…
white fallen plum petals
in the mud
--Magdalena Dale, Romania
**********=0


98
mud mask
the cracks on her face
when he makes her laugh
--Marleen Hulst, The Netherlands
**********=0


99
travelling carnival -
only a muddy meadow
left behind
--Tomislav Maretic, Croatia
1*********=1


100
dried mud in the pond -
the splash of Basho's frog
only in my mind
-- Cezar F. Ciobîca, Romania
1*********=1


APRIL 2009 - SEPTEMBER 2011