10th annual Yule Love It Lavender Farm Poetry contest winners

Below are the winners of the 10th annual Yule Love It Lavender Farm Poetry contest.

FIRST PLACE

by Aline Soules, Danville, CA

Family Reunion

Uncle Whitey runs
the back of his sleeve
across his forehead.
“It’ll be a scorcher.”
We stand in his
backyard surveying
his garden.
The farmer in the family,
he offers the vegetables
of his labor
for our annual
July 4 gathering.

The sun is hot on our
backs as we bend to cut
or pull produce,
yellow corn, green peppers
and zucchini, purple eggplant,
tomatoes as red as the
back of Whitey’s neck.

I take his gifts home
to our air conditioned
cool, pondering
the irony of craving
summer all winter,
then hiding indoors
to escape the heat.
So different from when
we opened windows,
set a fan, and reveled in
standing before it until
someone complained
about our blocking
the breeze.

I slice tomatoes, sprinkle
salt and drizzle oil,
prepare a ratatouille
half the family will
ignore in favor of an
extra grilled corn
or another burger. It’s not
the day to make
anyone eat their vegetables.

At the gathering, David
grills. He’s an expert,
disdaining propane
in favor of charcoal briquettes.
The burgers and hot dogs sizzle,
the buns toast. Ma
takes her famous beans
from the oven
to put on a trivet on the
table. My sisters-in-law
slices watermelon.

The children splash in
the above-ground pool
until their fathers
join them for a game of
volleyball in water.
Bets are set – with four
brothers, there are always
bets – and the decibel level rises.

We eat, relax in webbed
garden chairs, tell the
same family stories
we told last year, our
glasses of iced tea
or soda sweating
in our hands.
At dusk, we walk to the
park for fireworks, then
go home replete
with food and each other,
the summer stretching before us
as if it will never end.

SECOND PLACE

by Madison Christol, Dyrden, MI

Ramblings of a well-loved summer

A season in a breeze
A season in a wave
A season in a sun ray
A season up close

A striped blanket laid in a field of wildflowers
A well-loved book
A tart bite of a
Michigan cherry
A season up close

A flash of white as a tree swallow takes off
A flash of white as a deer runs away
A flash of white as
lightning streaks the sky
A season up close

A cold shiver as water brushes your toes
A warm sigh as sun touches bare skin
A hot burst as a new log catches in the fire
A season up close

A slow morning walk though mighty maples
A running leap off a long, weathered dock
A spin to the beat of an old country song
A season up close

A golden pink sky
A sea of constellations revealed
A firefly in the palm
of your hand
A season gone by

THIRD PLACE

by Inge Logenburg Kyler, Eaton Rapids, MI

When Meadowlarks Arrive

Dame Rocket blooming by the road
with pink petals upturned
were only one of many things
for which our hearts had yearned.

The winter had been harsh and cold
and frost had touched our nose.
We dreamed of sandy beaches where
we could expose our toes.

At last, the meadowlark arrived
while Spring Beauties yet danced.
The woodpond creatures settled down
and songbirds sang, romanced.

Then in came June as thunder rolled
the world stirred, wide awake,
for now mankind could feel the sun
and swim again, the lake.