| InterBoard Poetry Competition | |
| Second Place Winner, November 2008 | |
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MY FATHER’S FAMILY TREE Anna Yin (Pen Shells) It all started from an ink spot, my father took it as a sprouting bud. Sucking on his smoking pipe, he drew his long narrative on a piece of paper. I can sense his smile, as leaves spread their dense fragrance: always his favorite, now highlighted by a brush — son: a high-ranking officer, daughter: a respectable scholar, (my father decorated each with details like my mother’s Christmas tree) then me, the would-be poet. My father has never known poets, and, to him, “would-be” worse than the rough bark. (I can feel his pause) then, a tinted soft orb beside me: “engineer abroad” perfectly mirrored. My father ensured his final touch to free me from starving. I roll up this glowing paper, and place its warmth on my chest — Someday at harvest, out from the chrysalis of my heart, I shall start a new scroll. Comments by judges Hélène Cardona and John Fitzgerald: “This poem also tells a great story, unique, yet universal. The piece is sure-handed, and captivates the reader from beginning to end. Both this poem and the first have a strong beginning and a strong end.” 
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About the InterBoard Poetry Competition |
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