For information about Pen & Chalice contact Professor Colette Tennant at 503-589-8103 or e mail: ctennant@corban.edu


2008 Poetry Contest Winners

First Place

"Old Friends"
by Elizabeth Harrington

I am trying to introduce my dreams to my future.
They'll shake hands and, hopefully,
Discover how much they have in common.
They'll become fast friends,
Even lovers; I wouldn't mind.
But for now, their schedules prevent it.
For now, I am stuck playing the intermediary,
Telling them stories about one another,
Not knowing if they are listening.

Second Place

"Brueghel's Tower of Babel"
by Tarnah Wright

What would they have done when they finished?
The tower complete, they dust their hands,
Clap each other on the back . . .
And then what?
Do they all, honestly, climb the monstrous staircase each morning
So they have dinner with the angels?
Do they move into rooms near the top and send the children
down to earth to get the groceries?
Do they keep their patience as every human on the face of the
planet stomps past their front door?
Or do they move out?
Move on?
And become gardeners?

Third Place
"Mirror"
by Adam Karnes

Hail bounces off the grass like ping-pong
balls.
The pellets march like an army of typists'
fingers as they whiten the temples of the
hill-face.
I am still beneath the pacing clouds --
I feel the frustrated tapping of heaven on
my head and hands.
While the sky is angry, the open space
between us closes.
And when the white earth slowly melts, it
softens the hailstone in my chest.