WD Poetic Form Challenge: The Bop Winner

Once again, I was floored by the quality of poems submitted. Once again, I had a tough time whittling the entries down into a short list. Once again, I struggled to narrow the short list down to a Top 10. And yes, once again, it was difficult choosing a winner. But, once again, I did.

After reading through all the submissions (some of them as many as a dozen times), I finally selected: "Wool coat with briers," by Daniel Ari. Daniel's poem will be
featured in the October issue of Writer's Digest.

Here
is his winning bop:

Wool coat with briers, by Daniel Ari

Pick up a shovel. Put it down for a cigarette.
Fuel the car at dawn, and it sits until sunset.
You see me trying in the hailstorm of million-
dollar ideas to build the zigzag south wall
of my mausoleum. But the blackberries are ripe.
It's tongue versus thorn as shadows grow wide.

I got some hitches in my giddyup.

You say you've noticed. When I barked
in your ear, just playing. When I dropped
eggs from the top of the grocery list.
When I left off gathering fire kindling
to spend the day looking into the river, then
tried to explain as you huddled under the covers
why I had to look into the river, tried to talk you
from your isolated cuddle, and got us both bluer.

I got some hitches in my giddyup.

All my back and forth. All these waves.
If I could just make the third U-turn on my way
without laying on the horn, pounding the wheel,
and just say, "Even rivers and vines and hills
flip youies." This is the fabric I've got to wear.
Cozy old coat with the occasional brier.

I got some hitches in my giddyup.

*****

Please congratulate, Daniel! But also
congratulate these other poets who made the Top 10 list:

I'd also like to thank everyone who
participated. As I mentioned above, I find it difficult to pick a winner and to
even get the list down to a Top 10, because there are so many great poems
offered at every challenge.

I can't wait to see you at the next
one!

Also, if you'd like to check out the other poems that didn't win, then you can do so easily by clicking
here and reading through the Comments.

*****

Follow me on
Twitter @robertleebrewer

*****

Check
out previous winners in Writer's Digest!
The winners of these
poetic form challenges end up in the pages of Writer's
Digest. For instance, Brett's poem above should appear in "The Big 10"
September 2011 issue. So keep up with the printed Poetic Asides column while
learning so much more about writing and publishing with a subscription to Writer's
Digest.

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to continue.