The editors of Long Story Short are proud to announce that "Finding Color" by Danielle O'Farrell has been selected the LSS Poem of the Year.
Congratulations, Danielle!
FINDING COLOR
by Danielle O'Farrell
Your hands are burned with the smog of industry
“Look out at the beautiful view,” you say
but you're wishing it looked like it did when you were younger.
The skyline is filled with billowing smoke
Everything is grey,
and you wonder where color hid from development,
because you want to follow.
Far away from the groaning of trucks,
the creaking of gears,
and clicking of clocks
there must be a smear of color
and music that pulses like the blood inside you,
because these things are necessary,
yet when you look at your home,
the place you’ve chosen to settle
they aren’t there.
Our city is caught in a fisherman’s net
And unlike the bright, shiny Mahi,
who fights for life
we lie still and tangled in the net at the bottom of the boat
We don’t bother moving,
Because the engine is humming
Makes us think that we are being moved.
For us we see no point in exerting effort
If it could be done for us.
Little do we know but the anchor is down,
And the motor is idling and we are waiting,
Along with the fishermen
For more fish to fall, lifeless to the bottom of the boat,
And no one will help us,
And hey we’re screwed so why should we help them.
Eyes wide, jaw popped and gills fanning
We watch the world and for the first time
We notice that, torn from the earth, and floating in the ocean
We have found color again,
And music in the crashers,
Water sloshing under the boat.
We feel the magic of the depth of the water,
And we get a thrill each time the boat leaps,
Mimicking the flying fish,
Belly shining in the sun,
And then it slaps the waves.
Tasting the salt, sweet in your mouth
You understand that color, life as you knew it
Escaped to the ocean in the city’s run off.
Having one's work selected as the LSS Poem of the Year would be a wonderful achievement for any poet, but it is made all the more remarkable by the fact that its author, Danielle O'Farrell was a tenth grader in the Creative Writing Program at San Francisco School of the Arts when the poem was named "Poem of the Month" last March. Danielle's bio is equally impressive. She helps teach a writing course at Hoover Middle School as part of a community service program and has co-founded a mentoring program for children with learning differences. Danielle says, "Being dsylexic, I find it rewarding to be able to help others with similar difficulties." Her other interests include soccer and dancing. Congratulations to Danielle, who will receive a $25 prize in honor of former Poetry Editor, Sue Scott, and congratulations to all of the "Poets of the Month" whose fine work made the decision a difficult one! We look forward to reading YOUR work in the New Year!
Wishing you a healthy, happy and inspired 2010, Marie Delgado Travis, LSS Poetry Editor
