COMMENTS FROM CONTEST JUDGE MARIE KANE:

A note to all finalists:

You are to be congratulated on your excellent entries to the 2011 Sarah Mook Poetry Contest. What trouble I had this year in deciding the winners! Because your work was advanced on all levels, my efforts took a longer time than usual to make the final decision.

Know that your poems were read with care and attention to detail. I enjoyed every one of them!

Sincerely,
Marie Kane

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One mark of a good poem is to explain and expand the general by focusing on the specific - that is exactly what this second place poem does. In its celebration of gardening, it focuses on one small, specific planting time of beets and onions. The writer's excellent pacing, line breaks, and careful detail make this an inspired poem.

The poem begins when the gardener "dig[s] into my seed box / for beets and onions." The use of the verb 'dig' for the first action cleverly forecasts the digging action in the whole poem. And I love the two vegetables chosen-"beets and onions." When many young writers might choose something more generic or expected, this writer choses two rather unusual vegetables for his or her garden, making the poem immediately appealing. It also alludes to the fact that this writer most likely is a gardener since beets and onions can be planted in early April at the same time.

The next section discusses preparation for the garden. The speaker heads "for my garden / with the first seeds of spring / the compost has been turned in / and the loosened soil is ready to plant." The speaker uses compost and loosens the soil before planting - another careful detail that not only slows down the action in the poem, but also demonstrates this writer's knowledge.

The action of planting is described in the next five lines with specific and delightful information:

I poke my finger into the ground,
first knuckle for beets,
second knuckle for onions,
50 days for beets
and longer for onions.

This exact yet colloquial information of the depth of planting and the time for maturation gives the poem a casual air that pleases.

The last three lines of the poem keep the reader in the garden with description: "The sun feels warm against my skin / while I smell the earth around me. / Gardening gives me peace."

It is this peacefulness that gives the poem its quiet air and confidence of voice. The poem's line breaks enable the poem to flow with ease as it is read, and the small scope of the poem serves to enhance the meaning of the pleasures of gardening.

Thank you for the privilege of reading your work.

Marie Kane
Final judge, Sarah Mook Poetry Contest