1st Place Capitola Soquel Times
Dana Orlando – Soquel
True Love
Surprised by love so long ago,
Found in a friend- who would have known?
That initial spark of “Could it be?”
Soon grew into our destiny.
Church bells rang, the honeymoon… a delight.
Lively baby cries soon filled our nights.
Blessed beyond our imaginations.
“Gratefulness”… our favorite contemplation.
My partner, my best friend, the love of my life,
This world has thrown punches. We have sadly known strife.
Through chemo and heartache and questions of “Why?”
We have grown as a family with God by our side.
You see, a love that is fleeting is not love at all.
But a love that grows deeper as adversity falls,
Is proof of True Love, the kind with no end,
The kind that we share, my husband, my friend.
Dedicated to: my husband, my best friend
2nd Place-Capitola Soquel Times
Boaz Vilozny – Santa Cruz
Let me tell you how I fell in love three times
on a Tuesday
after ten years of marriage.
And no –
unlike other such confessions, it does not involve
babysitters,
barristas,
or late-night lapses in judgment
with Scotch whiskey.
And yet, as the story goes,
It happened without even trying.
Tuesday morning, before I could slide out of bed
and consider breakfast
I fell in love
when you rolled toward me, eyes still closed
dropped your warm leg over mine
pulled me close
I turned to you and fell
without even trying.
I fell in love
When the morning sun shone over your shoulder
and shone upon the red plate
and lit up the yolk of the egg I fried for you
after I had gotten out of bed
after I fell in love the first time.
What about the third time, then?
Technically, I don’t know if I actually fell in love
as I said, I wasn’t really trying.
But when I passed by the garage
you looked up from the cabinet you were painting
squinting from the sun setting slowly behind me
and your smile came easy
like you had no idea I had already fallen in love
twice that day
and maybe a third time
on my way to the garden.
I wrote this poem for my wife of 10 years, Madeline
3rd Place-Capitola Soquel Times
George Drazic – Capitola
Lilia
A Lily has bloomed and died
I am the one who saw it
The only one who cried
This Lily wasn’t ordinary
Didn’t blend in with the rest
She sparkled and stood out
Even among the best
Just a temporary pleasure
Not something to possess
She responded to love
And a gentle caress
My wife died too soon