The Mirror recently launched its first-ever fall poetry contest with the theme “autumn.” Thank you to the poets who together submitted over 30 poems.
The panelist of judges for the contest included Mirror staff.
Congratulations to the following winners: First place goes to Federal Way resident Bill Pirkle for his poem, “Fall and Love”; second place goes to Barbra Stewart Pierce, of Federal Way, for her poem “Oh to Autumn”; and third place goes to Brianne Sembar, of Tacoma, for “Fall Abbreviated.”
The Mirror also chose poems to receive honorable mentions.
Here are the winning selections:
First place: ‘Fall and Love’
Suddenly I am separated and on my own, free at last
But alone and apart from that which sustained me
I am experiencing the sensation of falling fast
After living my life riding the wind but not free
Being blown this way and that to nowhere
Now free but with only one way to go
Still I am falling in the autumn darkness here
Soon the end of my journey will come though
As it comes to all living things so it comes to me
I will be remembered as a single leaf now dead
But I have no regrets as this is my destiny
Lying here in splendid colors of yellow, orange and red
Waiting patiently for my brothers to follow me
To turn a barren ground into a rainbow of colors
For people to wander through free like me
Two lovers holding hands, enjoying each other
While treading on me and my brothers
Lovers dreaming of their life together
Will they find their dreams in all these colors
Colors that are a consequence of my life forever
Bill Pirkle, age 72
Second place: ‘Oh to Autumn’
First day of school, to children’s woe
New facts to learn, so much to know! Why did summer have to go?
Now we harvest row by row,
Preserve or eat the foods we grow. Then winter gardens we should sow.
The rain returns. The gutters flow.
Parched lawns wake up again to grow. Now lush and green, we have to mow.
Warm, sunlit days with a magic glow…
The trees put on their colorful show, staged just for us before leaves go.
Dry foliage flutters as breezes blow,
Falling to coat the earth below, alighting on us as we mow.
Pro sports are watched by TV’s glow:
Football, the all-American show; the World Series (though our team did not go)…
Columbus Day: Many years ago
(1492) someone yelled, “Land ho!” (Mistook that land for India, though.)
Class reunions, parties to throw…
A time to see old flame or beau, then homecoming game with spouse in tow.
Many birds look south, and off they go.
But Juncos stay. So does the crow, and others who don’t mind some snow.
Halloween night, carved pumpkins glow.
From house to house, trick-or-treaters flow, expecting more than a mere “Hello.”
In search of game (birds, stag and sometimes doe),
To field and forest hunters go toting shotgun, rifle or bow.
Veterans Day: Our good thoughts go
To all the servicemen we know, who bravely fought our nation’s foe.
Thanksgiving Day: A feast to stow.
To overeat is apropos, until our stomachs must cry, “Whoa!”
Cold, crisp mornings portend of snow.
Winter’s firewood, staked just so, split and dried for
hearth’s warm glow…
Not much of a poet, of that I know!
But these simple rhymes do you bestow autumn in the Northwest — it’s status quo.
Barbra Stewart Pierce, Federal Way, 74
Third place: ‘Fall Abbreviated’
As the last day of summer goes
Families are settled into school routines
People are reaching for scarves and finding their umbrellas
Kids are digging out rain boots and coats
Leaves are busy changing colors
While animals are gathering and preparing for winter
The ground is mushy from the rain
Coffee is requested as hot once again
All things ‘pumpkin spice’ appear
The days seem to get shorter every moment
You swear you couldn’t see your breath yesterday
While cooking meals, the windows stay closed
Football is on nearly every television on Sunday’s
Homecoming dances come and go
Soon enough it is time to scare your neighbors
Then break bread with your loved ones
People line up for the best deals
Lights and decorations show up all around
Leaves no longer clutter our lawns
Frost arrives more frequently
and children wake early just to look for snow.
Before we know it,
Fall has passed right before our eyes.
Brianne Sembar, Tacoma, age 31
Honorable mention: ‘Strolling through the park’
Strolling through the park
one day
When leaves showed their
color hue
In bright array
Yellow, gold and bits of green
As sun shone through the autumn leaves
Then my lover said to me
Will you marry me
and I said, “yes, oh yes”
We were married Nov. 9, 1940
My birthday Oct. 19, 1920
All in the month of autumn
Autumn in the park.
Dr. Mary R. Leason, Federal Way, age 94
Honorable mention: ‘New Season’
The clear crisp cool air,
Calls out in the morning light,
Announcing a brand new day,
Oh my, what a sight!
The eye-burning sun bathes the sky,
And warms the global turf,
The heart is aglow with renewal,
With all it is worth;
An explosion of blazing colors,
And all its glory,
Golden yellows, pumpkin oranges, royal magentas,
Punctuate the story;
Oh, such beauty,
My eyes ever saw,
Birth of a new season,
It must be FALL!
Robert J. Darrigan, Federal Way
Honorable mention: ‘For the Love of Autumn’
Twirling her fashions
she flirts with the wind;
her dress is a beauty
she dances like sin;
she loses her makeup
and strips off her clothes;
she’s not being sinful, just —
being autumn as autumn goes.
Sandra W. Fick, Federal Way, age 92
