Guidelines

Guidelines: (1) Include your name, the title of your original poem, and a brief comment about yourself; (2) Poems may be in any language (please include an English translation); (3) Poems may not violate Nicolet's Social Media Guidelines; (4) Original poems may be submitted anonymously; (5) Submit poems to Ocie Kilgus (okilgus@nicoletcollege.edu). Students who submit original poems are eligible for the Best Original Poem contest. The student with the best poem will be awarded the Ron Parkinson Poetry Matters Student Scholarship Award in the amount of $300. The community member with the best poem will receive dinner for two at Church Street Inn, Hazelhurst. Upon the closing of the Poetry Project, a faculty committee will select the winning poems. The winners of the contest will be recognized at Nicolet College's Award Ceremonies on May 10.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

April 9, 2013

“Shards so rich and precious”
By Casey Gauthier

These poems are often
nothing more than something I've spilled without thinking

The words are pieces of my very essence
that I somehow left behind
on one of many average days

I've not actually forgotten
and I'm not actually ignoring

I'm simply overflowing
in a way that lets you reap the benefits
That which becomes displaced is for you to keep, to cherish, to read and burn into your mind

My hands are too full
and life doesn't allow one to take half and come back for the rest
Whatever I can haul, I must
Whatever gets left behind, please do not simply step over, step on, or throw away
That which overwhelms me and slips away may be the only piece of me you ever encounter

Words creating phrases, scribbled on scraps of paper
lined paper, construction paper, old receipts
Or entire verses crammed meticulously onto a corner of a napkin or back of a business card

Whatever piece of me that you get your hands on, treasure it as the only piece of me you may ever encounter
Treasure it as a shred of a soul, a drop of blood, a last kiss

Let me be your treasure
You will be blessed

I'm 27 years old and have been writing poetry since the age of 14. All of my poetry is free-verse and I mostly write it for myself; very little of it has actually ever been shared. I work at Marshfield Clinic and am currently taking a Medical Terminology course through Nicolet. I live in Woodruff with my boyfriend and our dog Kirk.”

* * * * * * * * * *

A Haiku
By Jeff Eaton

Sparrow tweets, retweets
Transmitting vernal urges
Lonely and thumbless

"The haiku form of 5-7-5 for a total of 17 syllables gives little leeway for digression, emphasizing one of the most attractive, to me, elements of poetry: concision. Haiku masters must scoff at the verbosity of the Twittersphere."