Lester Barrett Jr. opened the Third Annual Pat Nielsen Poetry Award presentation on March 8 with a benediction of sorts, an acapella version of ” The Wind Beneath My Wings,” followed by local poet and event facilitator Meredith Hadaway reading one of Nielsen’s poems, “Rebirth.” Chester River Association (CRA) president Marcy Ramsey introduced this year’s poetry judge Leslie Harrison, Visiting Professor of English at Washington College and author of Displacement. Harrison told the audience at Bookplate that she, “… has a peculiar obsession with rivers,” and added that she was, “delighted by all the poems, and would like to have picked more than just a winner and runner-up.”
This year’s award was presented to Mary Wood, whose family is from Centreville, for her wonderful poem “Lunch Break.” Connie Schroth was awarded honorable mention for her poem, Cathartes Aura. Schroth dedicated her poem to Ed Minch, who built her a tree house. Special mention goes to 18 year old Kathy Wagner, who read her poem “This River Flows Soft” at the open mic part of the evening and was given an enthusiastic round of applause. The evening concluded with CRA Riverkeeper David Foster reading “The Amphibian Perspective,” with Kate Live and John Ramsey illustrating.
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Pat Nielsen and her husband Ed were founding members of the the Chester River Association when it was started in 1986. Pat was a passionate activist when it came to the Chester, and an especially strong force behind the public outreach events, such as Riverfest and the Fall Pumpkin Parties. Pat served on the Board of Directors until her death 4 years ago after a long and valiant struggle with breast cancer. Because she was a gifted poet in her own right and a great lover of the world of poetry, CRA decided to honor her memory with an annual prize given to a Kent or Queen Anne’s County poet who in the best judgment a professional in the field captured the spirit of the Chester River and its environment.
CRA plans to maintain this yearly event well into the future, and encourages all the poetic souls out there to send in their best efforts come next winter for the Fourth Annual Pat Herold Nielsen Poetry Event.
Lunch Break by Mary Wood
The wings of a buzzard
blur an unbreathable sky.
“Hazardous levels’ the radio warns
our wilting breakfast table.
The phone rings.
“No use operating,” it tells us.
We pass our friend’s new house,
Her red station wagon waits patiently in the carport.
For lunch tomatoes from the garden,
tea tepid in weeping glasses.
“No relief in sight”
says the newspaper.
We drive back to the office
Following our own monoxide.
The buzzard has drifted away.
The red station wagon blazes.
Cathartes Aura by Connie Schroth
Creekside scavenging over,
they circle
In silent broad vees,
soaring,
tilting in the solstice sunset
glinting from soot to silver-peach,
And settle into their high undertakers’ inn
dreaming of the dead.
Lunch Break
The wings of a buzzard
blur an unbreathable sky.
“Hazardous levels’ the radio warns
our wilting breakfast table.
The phone rings.
“No use operating,” it tells us.
We pass our friend’s new house,
Her red station wagon waits patiently in the carport.
For lunch tomatoes from the garden,
tea tepid in weeping glasses.
“No relief in sight”
says the newspaper.
We drive back to the office
Following our own monoxide.
The buzzard has drifted away.
The red station wagon blazes.
Mary Ellen Valliant says
Pat was a dear friend, the poems presented would, I know, bring her pleasure. I miss Pat.