Challa-luyah ... and an egg is ...

Highlights of this past week:

With our synagogue Administrator/Hebrew School co-instructor away for two weeks ("forced" to take a trip to Paris with a girlfriend, poor thing), I volunteered to "help" with Hebrew School last week, to bake challah and decorate challah covers with the kids.  Here are some of the results:

The next day, Friday, the Belfast Poetry Festival began, and I was among the 10 finalists of the Maine Postmark Poetry Contest invited to read the 10 winning poems.  To my surprise, my poem was given First Place, and at the event on Friday, I read the poem and received a check for $100.  The poem (called "Before") will also be published in Off The Coast.  Here's a blurb from the publication's website about it:

"The Mission of Off the Coast is to become recognized around the world as Maine's international poetry journal, a publication that prizes quality, diversity and honesty in its publications and in its dealings with poets.

"Off the Coast, a quarterly journal by Resolute Bear Press, publishes poetry, artwork and reviews. Arranged much like an anthology, each issue bears a title drawn from a line or phrase from one of its poems. "Something New To Say To The Sea," the title of the Summer Water Issue in 2010 came from the poem, "The River" by Susan Johnson. ...

"... We believe small presses and literary magazines are the lifeblood and testing ground for all writers. A handful of writers break through to major houses, but a much larger voice would go unheard if not for small presses and literary magazines. ..."

I'm not sure when the poem will appear in Off The Coast.  I believe there's a chance it will make the Fall 2015 issue.   On Saturday David and I attended a panel discussion on "Poetry as a Force for Social Dialogue."  It was good.  One thing we learned is that the state of Maine has recently proposed "updated" rules and regulations for prisoners incarcerated in the state that would make it a punishable offense for a prisoner to write a poem or a story - let alone an essay or a letter - about his or her prison experience if the same were to be published.  Punishment could include up to 18 days in solitary confinement.  (An additional change would make it punishable if a prisoner failed to be "courteous" at all times!!!)  Poets in Maine are active in trying to get these, and some other changes, removed.  Go Poets, Go! (And keep an eye out for similar changes in prison regulations elsewhere around the country!)

Meanwhile, on Facebook someone posted about teaching poetry in schools.  They apparently asked a class of fourth graders to write a poem about what a poem is.  One wrote:  "A poem is an egg with a horse inside."  I love that.  I hope all my poems may some day hatch horses!

This morning there appeared to be a convention of sea gulls at the pier to which Ella and I usually go.  Not only did they cover the pier, but dozens upon dozens more floated in the water on both sides of the pier.  I wonder who the guest speaker was.  At any rate, our arrival caused those on the portion of the pier closest to us to take off, lifting in flight all at once, a beautiful sight.  Meanwhile, see the remaining gulls, lined up at the front of the floating dock, watching the sunrise:

Peace.