Saturday, May 03, 2014
2014 Ventura Valdez Poetry Contest Winners Are Announced
The 2014 Ventura Valdez Poetry Contest winners at Montgomery College have been announced.
Rachel DiLima has won the Ventura Valdez English Award for her poem titled The Hero and Natalia Schoch Lopez has won the Ventura Valdez Spanish Award for her poem titled Eloí. Each of the winners received a cash prize of $100, which was sponsored by Gival Press.
The Hero
With her copper pot helmet
and her wooden spoon sword,
she piloted a swing upward
to the moons of Mars.
There she scooped stardust
in between slices of toast
and dined on galactic memories,
leaving only the crust.
On her way to Earth
she played hopscotch with the Sun
leaving her burned but undeterred,
her crooked smile showed she'd won.
And as she searched for gnomes
to demand they grant her wishes,
I knew her heart just forming
for it was green and bold and fearless.
So whilst gazing at the little knight
as she combed through the grass
I whispered to my captured gnome,
Don't let her heart grow old,
let her be a Hero to the last.
Copyright © 2014 by Rachel DiLima.
Honorable Mentions:
Delirium Tremens by Angela Niño.
Petal Storm by Livia Abramoff.
Eloí
Su presencia inunda mi cuerpo,
acelera latidos salados,
y frena amargos pensamientos.
En cada átomo de carbono
graba su esencia líquida.
¿Al azar del infinito?
No creo en tales cosas,
¡que me arroje una mentira!
Hacia él fluyen mis lágrimas,
hacia el eterno retorno.
En su pecho brota una fuente,
tapizada de algas
verdes, pardas, cencidas.
Con precisión integrada,
cada célula de su piel
sugiere una madera noble,
de árticos boreales.
Sumido en el insomnio
recorre rojas mis arterias,
de plutonio-238
y tungsteno radioactivo.
Sus pulmones exhalan vida,
vientos de bonanza
y estíos al sol navegables.
Me estremezco,
mi mente a comprender no alcanza.
Lo marca suavemente,
el tempo, con su mano desnuda
sobre las pecas de mi espalda.
Añoro momentos de tangos y
rítmicos trémolos de la Pampa.
Calla esta vez y escucha,
sólo su vieja guitarra,
de cuerdas magistrales,
desbordando entera mi alma.
Así es, de inocentes sinfonías,
y piruletas infantiles.
Copyright © 2014 by Natalia Schoch López.
Honorable Mentions:
Aroma de una Reminiscencia by Melissa Díaz.
Distante by Christian Chávez.
Rachel DiLima has won the Ventura Valdez English Award for her poem titled The Hero and Natalia Schoch Lopez has won the Ventura Valdez Spanish Award for her poem titled Eloí. Each of the winners received a cash prize of $100, which was sponsored by Gival Press.
The Hero
With her copper pot helmet
and her wooden spoon sword,
she piloted a swing upward
to the moons of Mars.
There she scooped stardust
in between slices of toast
and dined on galactic memories,
leaving only the crust.
On her way to Earth
she played hopscotch with the Sun
leaving her burned but undeterred,
her crooked smile showed she'd won.
And as she searched for gnomes
to demand they grant her wishes,
I knew her heart just forming
for it was green and bold and fearless.
So whilst gazing at the little knight
as she combed through the grass
I whispered to my captured gnome,
Don't let her heart grow old,
let her be a Hero to the last.
Copyright © 2014 by Rachel DiLima.
Honorable Mentions:
Delirium Tremens by Angela Niño.
Petal Storm by Livia Abramoff.
Eloí
Su presencia inunda mi cuerpo,
acelera latidos salados,
y frena amargos pensamientos.
En cada átomo de carbono
graba su esencia líquida.
¿Al azar del infinito?
No creo en tales cosas,
¡que me arroje una mentira!
Hacia él fluyen mis lágrimas,
hacia el eterno retorno.
En su pecho brota una fuente,
tapizada de algas
verdes, pardas, cencidas.
Con precisión integrada,
cada célula de su piel
sugiere una madera noble,
de árticos boreales.
Sumido en el insomnio
recorre rojas mis arterias,
de plutonio-238
y tungsteno radioactivo.
Sus pulmones exhalan vida,
vientos de bonanza
y estíos al sol navegables.
Me estremezco,
mi mente a comprender no alcanza.
Lo marca suavemente,
el tempo, con su mano desnuda
sobre las pecas de mi espalda.
Añoro momentos de tangos y
rítmicos trémolos de la Pampa.
Calla esta vez y escucha,
sólo su vieja guitarra,
de cuerdas magistrales,
desbordando entera mi alma.
Así es, de inocentes sinfonías,
y piruletas infantiles.
Copyright © 2014 by Natalia Schoch López.
Honorable Mentions:
Aroma de una Reminiscencia by Melissa Díaz.
Distante by Christian Chávez.
