'Salt. On my tongue': Morning swim inspires Cape Cod Times poetry winner

Editor's note: This story was changed July 22 to reflect a production error in the author's name, Anita Pappas-Raposa, and spacing in the poem, "I Do Not Mind the Quiet."

American poet Max Ehrmann wrote in "Desiderata" the words "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."

This month's Cape Cod poets seem to have done that with the reflections of "Perfectly Imperfect" by Kevin Palma; "Taste of the Sea" by Helen Matusow-Hayes; "June Evening" by Ron Zweig; "Grief" by Melanie Gallo and "Do Not Mind  I" by Anita Raposa.

They take time to reflect on the joyous and painful, allowing both emotions the space they deserve in a well-lived life. It is a wonder how poets give words and shape to feelings, allowing the reader to more fully appreciate his or her own life.

These are the winning poems in the Cape Cod Times monthly poetry contest, a service shared with our community. See instructions below to submit your own poetry for consideration by our panel of published poets.

***

Kevin Palma grew up in Centerville and graduated from Barnstable High School. He has always had a passion for the impact of words and works tirelessly to use them to their fullest impact. He now lives in Marstons Mills with his two children and cooks full time to support his family, spending his free time working on his craft.

Poem inspiration: The muse of life speaks through me, not vice versa. My style has been referred to as “transcendent” in the past due to the way the words seem to pour out.

Perfectly Imperfect

By Kevin Palma 

I'm not looking.

I want the meek and weak willed to run ―

make space for the ones who aren't satisfied with complacency.

I strive daily to face myself,

head high and third eye wide open ―

blinded by a light that's hard to cope with.

I look past into the vast cavern that houses my mindset;

catch glimpses of the shrapnels of darkness I have yet to make amends with.

Such a simple task it seems on the surface ― slowly change my ways in a steadfast attempt to stay grounded,

reseal the cracks in the foundation using grit and determination for putty.

I spit chiclets,

wipe my muddy brow as it furrows to refocus in

a last-ditch effort to get the work done ―

a battle that can't be won.

The pressure of perfection is palatable; the reality?

fallible.

Gain peace in the consistent effort towards something unattainable and reign in the desire to beat these demons handily.

Keep this patch-work and persistent focus going ― while candidly knowing that I am perfectly,

imperfect.

***

Helen Matusow-Ayres is a retired college administrator living in South Dennis.  She is an outdoor enthusiast and is happiest on a hike in the woods or paddling on one of the many Cape waterways. Her interest in poetry started in high school and she wrote throughout college. She started writing poetry again when she retired in 2021.

Inspiration: I swim as a meditation. I wrote "Taste of the Sea" to describe my experience of moving through the water.

Taste of the Sea

 By Helen Matusow-Ayres 

Immersed

Salt. on my tongue

Mind. Body. Rocking

in gentle waves

Grasping. smooth wet handfuls

of swirling. cloudy sea foam

Reach. Pull. Breathe

In constant repetition

A moving meditation

Air. moves through.

Me. around me

Fuel for my journey

Feet. splashing

In synchronicity

Propelling. forward

With each stroke

inhaling. I see the sky

Ospreys. seagulls

Keeping watch

Energy. courses

through. me

I.am strong

I. am alive

***

Ron Zweig resides in Woods Hole near Nobska Light.  Initially, he did research at MBL followed by a decade at the New Alchemy Institute in Falmouth. Later, he worked for years in Asia on water resources management for United Nations agencies and the World Bank. His broad interest in the arts started in his youth and, regarding poetry, was first influenced by Robert Frost.

Poem inspiration: The evening pinging of June bugs colliding with a nearby window screen always reminds me of the beginning of summer.  Their attraction to the room’s inner light made me wonder what drove that imperative.  Then I imagined that the bugs must be searching for the light of dawn when I began to think of what the next day will bring.

June Evening

By Ron Zweig

as dusk slips into summer darknessJune bugs ping against my screenwings abuzz with each pingearnestly seeking the light within

such determined drive for a goalbut what goal ― perhaps only to escapethe uncertainty of night toward an innate optimisman optimism that arrives with the light of dawn

***Melanie Gallo is a lifelong educator. She lives in West Barnstable with her husband and her dog, Justice.

Poem inspiration: The unbearable pain of losing a child spawned this poem.

Grief

By Melanie Gallo

The excruciating agony of loss

lives in each room of this house.

It crouches in tubs of well-loved toys

calls from the pages of favorite children’s books

hides in boxes of unopened wedding gifts

screams from the photographs on the wall.

Sometimes

the sight of a sock purple and pilled

holds my heart hostage.

Memory

pushes tears toward my chin

drops me on my knees

No longer to pray.

***

I am a western Mass and Cape Cod resident . As a retired English teacher who writes nonfiction  and poetry, I also enjoy classes at the Springfield Museum School and  the  Straw Dogs Writing Guild. My previous work includes “ My Mother’s Journey” chronicling  a descent into Alzheimer’s disease and “The Long Way Home,” revisiting growing up in a small town, in the 1950s.

Poem inspiration: This poem is a companion piece in a series of essays, reflections and poems written after the loss of my husband, Andrew, in 2022.

I Do Not Mind the Quiet

By Anita Pappas-Raposa

I do not mind the quiet

The ever-present rustling of news pages,

The cookie crumbs on the floor by the couch,

"Laura" or "Cinema Paradiso " are not on the tv now.

These sounds of you are gone.

I do not mind the quiet

Of the swish of sheets as you pat my arm,

The Chomsky book you are reading, but not.

These sounds of you are gone.

I do not mind the quiet

Because you are at peace.

At last.

Yet, it is a dreadful silence.

An unhappy dullness of no sound.

I do not mind the quiet

Because you live in memory.

How to submit a poem to the Cape Cod Times

Here’s how to send us your work:

Submit one poem single-spaced, of 35 lines or fewer per month.

Poems cannot be previously published (in print or online).

Deadline for submission is Aug. 1, 2024.

Submit by email to [email protected].

Poems should be free of hate speech and expletives (profanity, vulgarity, obscenity).

In the body of the email, send your contact information: name, address, phone number and title of poem; then, in a Word Doc attachment, include poem without name or any other personal info, so that the poem can be judged anonymously.

Poets not previously published in the Cape Cod Times are welcome to submit a new poem each month. Those published in the Cape Cod Times must wait three months before submitting again.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod Times poetry contest gives poets a chance to be published