2022 Annual Literary Contest
2nd Place
Poetry
Warren Milne
A year gone by,
first night alone,
dust of city falls away,
deep silence over all.
End day of portage and canoe,
dive naked off a perfect rock,
flight to the surface in delight,
a child reborn.
School of small fish,
chasing in the morning sun,
family of loons calling,
skittering over water in happy flight.
Small perfect raspberries,
in little patches along the path,
a few blueberries,
so few, so sweet.
Small fish nibble at my feet,
in sunlit shallow,
gaze over kingdom where I stand,
this is how the world began.
Lie naked on the forest floor
look up at blue through trees of green,
summer breeze wash over me,
no thought but this, it is good.
The miracle of nature in these lands,
grasses, trees, and living things,
sprung to glorious life in summer,
to die each winter ‘til spring returns.
