October 1 Poetry at the Black Box Theater

Parking is free in any "B" Lot  after 4 p.m. 15200 Neabsco Mills Road,  Woodbridge, VA 22191. The Black Box Theater is in the new Arts and Science Building. You can reach that building directly from the sidewalk or the courtyard by the pond or by walking through the other building.

Poem by Leigh Giza

Ephemeral arteries
Invisible conductors
Turning the stiles
Restraining and retraining
The water in the gound
So that it will perk
Where it should be still
Until nobody thinks it’s
Unusual any more.

Commuter virus
Infects the system
Emergency brake
Squeals, squelches the panic
But it can’t make this train move
In reverse
So we sit
In the darkness, waiting for
Illumination.
Live streams
Feed our oceanic appetite for
Cultured pearls of
Wisdom
Corruptible, tainted
With untruths and type-os
All the Type O blood
In the world won’t
Save us now from
Going off the rails.

Him

Rhythmic curves display a woman.
Her silent cries, lay, last words spoken....

To him

Sightless lies, dressed up as truth.
Imprisoned by his prisoned youth
Yet she waits.....

For him

Seething at the brim,
Running from her own skin,
Betrayed again and again......

By him

Dark of night now greeted by the sun.
Nurtures revelations that what's done is done.
She is Elevated with or......

Without him

By: Heather Stevens

Award-Winning Judges Announced for Local Writing Contest

Award-winning writers and teachers are set to judge the first tier of the 2014 Golden Nib writing contest, sponsored by Write by the Rails, Prince William County’s chapter of the Virginia Writers Club. Entries are due July 31 and first-place winners elevate to the state-level competition.

Prince William Today/InsideNoVa. Sports Editor David Fawcett will judge non-fiction entries. His awards include 2013 Virginia Press Association’s first place for feature writing portfolio, second place for feature writing story and first place for sports writing portfolio. He’s has been recognized 20 times by the Virginia Press Association, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Local Media Association for his writing and he’s covered Prince William County for 25 years.

Fiction entries will be judged by Osbourn High School’s Ann Marie Stippey, English teacher with Manassas City Public Schools for 10 years and the 2014 Agnes Meyer Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Recently named Prince William County Poets Laureate Dr. Robert Scott of Haymarket and Alexandra “Zan” Hailey of Manassas will co-judge poetry entries. Scott is a novelist, poet and English teacher at Osbourn Park High School and Hailey is an undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The chapter deadline for Golden Nib is midnight, July 31 and—new this year—submissions will be required in email format in addition to paper format. Also new this year: Entries published in your personal blogs now qualify for consideration.

The original and one copy of each entry should be submitted by regular mail to: Maureen Arvai, The Brandt Group, P.O. Box 10102, Manassas, VA 20108 and ALSO by email to mjarvai@verizon.net . If using an overnight or private delivery service that requires a physical address use this: 9108 Church Street, #10102, Manassas, VA 20108. Please note all entries must be submitted to the local chapter for this first-tier process. Write by the Rails will recognize 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category. First place winners will advance to state level, if they are or become Virginia Writers Club members.

Other requirements:
Follow state guidelines, including format, as described here
One entry per category per entrant
Fiction category: 3,500 words maximum
Non-fiction category: 3,500 words maximum
Poetry category: 50 line maximum
No late entries—both paper and email must arrive by midnight, July 31, 2014
Manuscripts must be the original, unpublished work of the entrant, and a competition winner.
Entries published in your personal blogs are acceptable
Writing published in blogs other than your own or on social network sites or in an online publication are ineligible
Entrants must be in good standing of Write by the Rails, as evidenced by attending or volunteering for chapter events and activities. Information on joining available at: www.writebytherails.org

Spring: A Poem

Warm sunshine,

Green grass,

Flowers bloom,

Bees buzz,

Birds sing,

Kids play.

But not me.

Life dances,

The party having started.

I was the invisible,

The wallflower.

Could I witness?

Sure.

 Participate? Not a chance

Fate's invitation did not include me.

So I would watch through the window,

Imagine when the rain danced on

The water, the grass, the petals,

Of my interrupting and feeling

Each drop against my skin,

Hearing it as it falls.

I would watch from my station as flowers

Pop up and then all of the sudden open.

As butterflies and bees go to work,

Kissing each bloom.

One day Fate's invite will arrive,

And My body well enough for me to

Partake. Then my dance card

Will be full,

Soaking up the warm sun,

Playing in the soft green grass,

Basking in the flowers' chitchat,

The march of the bees,

The songs of the birds,

And the laughter of the kids.

One day I will be part of spring.

by Cecilia Baldwin

Selection Panel Names Two Prince William Poets Laureate

Dr. Robert Scott of Haymarket, Alexandra “Zan” Hailey of Manassas Share Honors

For the next two years, Dr. Robert Scott of Haymarket, a novelist, poet and English teacher at Osbourn Park High School, and Alexandra “Zan” Hailey of Manassas, an undergraduate at Virginia Commonwealth University will share the position of Prince William Poet Laureate.

The announcement was made by Guy Lambert live on WPGC 95.5 on Saturday, June 14 at the culmination of the “Poetry & Jazz on the Lake” event, 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Tackett’s Mill Lakeside, 2228 Tackett's Mill Drive, Lake Ridge, Virginia.

According to the 11-member selection panel, both candidates simply blew them away with their individual creative strengths. For Dr. Scott, it was the project he proposed: using a website, a series of community seminars and a great deal of pavement pounding, Dr. Scott plans to encourage budding and seasoned Prince William poets to submit poems for inclusion into a permanent “10,000 poem exhibit.”
For Zan Hailey, it was the power of her submitted poems, such as “Around the Yellow House.”

Though still a college student, Zan has already published her work, garnered an award, mentored young writers through the Northern Virginia Writing Project and even created an on-line collection of poetry from all over, using Band-Aids® as a prompt. She is a graduate of the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Woodbridge Senior High School.

Around the Yellow House

The train passes—a heavy

heart—beating down the tracks.

A U-turning rickety pick-up,

matte black finish—brings dogs

to a bark across the block.

Afternoon planes fly—streaking contrails

that connect cumulonimbus clouds.

And a letter from an uncensored inmate

was left in my mailbox while I was out

walking a fuchsia petaled path,

where wild Dogwoods fade pink

with the gold of magnolias,

leaving a perfume alley trail.

A squirrel bats its tail like a duster

on a bookshelf—take in the day.

Open it slow—pocketknife blade

soundly tearing a slit—“Dear Wonderful.”

©2014 Zan Hailey

“The selection of Alexandra Hailey and Robert Scott speaks highly of the quality of education offered in Prince William County Public Schools,” said Eric Pankey, poet, professor of English and Heritage Chair in Writing, George Mason University who served on the selection panel along with poets Alirio Aleman and LeeAnn Thomas, business leaders Carlos Castro, Marie Khalili Nasiri and Mark Shaaber, teachers Alice Mergler and Cathy Hailey, library system director Dr. Constance Gilman, Sergeant Major Michael Mack, Wounded Warrior Regiment, Marine Corps Base Quantico, and high school student Lindsey Barszcz.

In fact, seven of the 14 poet laureate nominees are current or past teachers or students in the Prince William County Public School system. The 12 other poets will now form a Prince William Poet Laureate Circle to assist in joint community poetry projects. They are:

1.      Phebe Ciemny, Woodbridge: student, Center for the Fine and Performing Arts Woodbridge Senior High School

2.      Joe De Cesare, Woodbridge: marketing assistant, Fort Belvoir Federal Credit Union & stagehand, Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas

3.      Brittany Crow, Woodbridge: student, Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Woodbridge Senior High School

4.      Melody Lane Ashtara De Furia, Manassas: Northern Virginia Community College, Woodbridge Campus Business Office

5.      John Dutton, Woodbridge: Language Arts teacher, Beville Middle School

6.      Paulette Garner, Manassas: Language Arts teacher, Parkside Middle School

7.      Katherine Gotthardt, Bristow: author, editor, blog and website developer

8.      Neil Hailey, Manassas: student, Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Woodbridge Senior High School

9.      Bennie Herron, Manassas: educator

10.  Dora Muhammad, Woodbridge: author, editor and performer

11.  Renee Ordoobadi, Bristow: student, Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Woodbridge Senior High School

12.  Heather Stevens, Manassas: author, artist and performer

As Prince William Poet Laureates, Scott and Hailey each will receive an annual honorarium of $500 from The Clearbrook Foundation, a non-profit soon to be taking space at the Tackett’s Mill Center. Each will participate in selected public gatherings in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park. In their first joint decision, the laureates invited WSHS student Lindsey Barszcz, who served on the selection panel, to join the Prince William Poet Laureate Circle.

For continuing information on the Prince William Poet Laureate program, visit the Prince William County Arts Council website at www.pwcartscouncil.org and click on “literary arts.”

Poem for WbtR VP Dan Verner

At Grounds Central Station

"Don't get pulled over!"
she chides,
worries his man-purse
("murse" is what he calls it)
will put him behind bars
with real criminals.

It's the contents that do it,
the shrieking-yellow duct tape,
the hanger twisted into an 8,
the vice grips, the plug adapter,
the liquid cement in a tube.

She's concerned the cops will ignore
the three dry erase markers,
the dozen or so capped pens,
the stack of postcards advertising
Manassas Chorale's next performance,
the illustrated bookmarks
with the cover of his book,
then the actual softcover,
his name imposed
across a World War II B-17,
title in the clouds:
On Wings of the Morning.

He's just a seasoned soldier,
always prepared,
a writer on the go,
author of many voices,
lives to live and advice.

"Stay out of trouble,"
he says, slips the murse
across his shoulder,
dons his white fedora,
opens the door,
steps into a sudden
ray of sun. 

Katherine M. Gotthardt

Haiku by Leigh Giza

SATURDAY

You may disconnect
Your phone, but that won't stop me
From calling you out.

Write by the Rails: A Poem by Steven Dorsey

I decided one day to see if I could
write right right by rails,
so I set a up lawn chair
right by the rails
and commenced writing
only to find that the distraction of
hundreds of tons of blurred freight train
whipping by within feet of my writing spot
was causing me to write wrong right by the rails–
I should have known better than trying to
write right right by the rails, right?

For the Odd Instance at a Cocktail Party...

For the Odd Instance at a Cocktail Party When you Find Yourself Locked in Conversation with an Unnaturally Enthusiastic Hot Tub Cover Salesman, Having Nothing to Offer by Way of Related Small Talk,
and Otherwise Unable to Escape (… a Working Title)

There once was a great big black bear

who like most bears was covered with hair.

Despite his warm fur

a chilled wind would stir

him to shiver at winter’s cold air.

His diet consisted of grubs

and soft pinecone seeds that he loved.

His tummy was warm

yet he was forlorn

since he longed to soak in a hot tub.

One day he poked out of the woods

and beside a log cabin it stood:

Through a soft mist of steam

and the smell of chlorine

the bear’s dream was in reach! Life was good.

Paws propped on the tub, he looked down.

In confusion the bear wore a frown.

The water, he knew,

was supposed to be blue

but instead it was hard flat and brown.

First he nibbled a bit with his maw

then he reached out a tentative claw.

With a pull and a tear

this tenacious bear

sank in water clear up to his jaw.

The next day a man stared in wonder

at the marks on his brown hot tub cover.

“Not a bear…” thought he,

“Yet what else could it be?”

For the cover was quite torn asunder.

Our bear was no longer devoid

of the pleasure he often enjoyed.

He came night after night

soaking to his delight

keeping hot tub lid vendors employed.

                                                                                                                    ~ Dani Rogero

For National Poetry Month: A Poem by Cindy Brookshire

Ridge Walk

by Cindy Brookshire

Color kicks off the peak leaf season

On the Blue Ridge Parkway

Loosed from gated retirement communities

The ladies with their leisure jackets

The men with their plaid flat-fronts

Barely pause their luxury cars in caravans

at the crowded overlooks

To snap quick iPhone images

In their winding rush to line up for tables

at Milepost 176

Where water pleads over wooden wheel

And the buckwheat stacks and country ham

Call them back to Dan, Virginia

and Mabry Mill.

I think you miss the real mountains

When your feet never leave the asphalt

Don’t they remember boots hugging the trail?

Breaking the first step of morning

with dewy webs against cool skin?

Fighting loose rock to gain foot holds

Avoiding the stinging nettles,

Soaking sweat with bandanas,

Breath hot, straining

Ascending, twisting, pushing on

The lofty vista, and finally, the easy ridge walk

Spotting a deer – shh! – watching

With mutual respect as the wild thing

crunches brown against green

And leaps away

Majestic with muscular power?

I’d rather hike, my love

Pick blueberries, stir up pancakes,

Cook over a small fire

Sleep under the stars

Feel the mountains

Beneath me.