Magnolia

Lemon-fragrant translucent cups
Point to the sky
Beauty that strengthens my heart for living
Once dinosaur food

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This poem was awarded First Place Teacher for Poetry Object 2013

Judge's notes:
In a short poem, it’s especially important for every word to pull its weight. The eighteen words in “Magnolia” do some impressive heavy lifting: they paint a picture that engages the senses of sight, smell and touch; they evoke a feeling of joy; and they connect magnolia trees to a long history of living things, going all the way back to the dinosaurs. It is a joy to read a poem that takes such a small number of words and images, and makes every one of them sing.

~ Rachael Briggs, Judge, Poetry Object 2013