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

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In eight lines, this poem quietly demonstrates how walking in the woods enables the speaker to become totally connected with nature. It surprises in its off rhyme, aspects of nature chosen, and concluding concept.

The first two lines place the speaker in the woods: "I see some trees in the wind / They make me want to sing." The appealing off rhyme with "wind" and "sing" (or assonance), and the clear meaning of nature's importance stated directly in the opening of the poem bring the reader into the woods with the speaker.

The following two lines bring other elements of nature in and a new response by the speaker. "And when I hear the rabbits thump their feet / It makes me want to fling." Besides rhyming with "sing," this line shows the speaker's joy in nature with the word "fling."

In the third two lines, more elements of nature are brought in. "I love the stars in the night sky / And I love the clouds in the bright sky." The stars at night and the clouds in the day both brighten nature for the speaker.

The last two lines summarize the poem: "I love nature so, so much / While you're outside there's nothing to rush." The use of off rhyme with "much" and "rush" is very pleasing.
This ending also reveals nature's true gift: being in nature gives us a chance to enjoy its slower pace.

This pleasing poem contains insight into the power of the natural world through its images, the use of sound, and its conclusion of nature's power.

Thank you for the privilege of reading your work.

Marie Kane
Final judge, Sarah Mook Poetry Contest