Poetry Contest & Poems
Last year's event was wonderful, about 20 people reading the poems they composed while running. The winner was Judy Parsons and her poem was amazing But all the poems were fine, very diverse and very fun to hear, the poet standing on a tree stump with the bay in the background This is not a high pressure deal and don't rule yourself out just because you think you are not a poet. Just open your mind and heart as you run and see what pops up, limeric or ode or haiku or a whatever. The only limit is the poem must be composed while you run/walk the course.
Rather than pick one winner, this year all persons reading a poem will win a $5 gift certificate to Mo's, the café/bar/hostel which sponsors the run.
Here are poems from last year. but don't get scared. this year all poems will be less. so do one.
Mark Austin
taking nothing but mental pics
leaving nothing but deep shoeprints
and carbon vapour from the odd muttered curse
clams clamoring, crabs crabering, barnacles barnacling
us, the invasive species, gently trespassing
mud, setting our pace
no sedentary folks among the sedimentary rocks
Mt. Rushmore-like panels portraying not presidents
but time and spirits
Hear the strata various feigning admiration for our meager trek
particles of jagged light in rippling sand
reflecting sun, fluid metaphors squish between strides
like clay between toes
what isn't on this red-banked course? roadkill, Harleys that go to 11,
leaving nothing but deep shoeprints
and carbon vapour from the odd muttered curse
clams clamoring, crabs crabering, barnacles barnacling
us, the invasive species, gently trespassing
mud, setting our pace
no sedentary folks among the sedimentary rocks
Mt. Rushmore-like panels portraying not presidents
but time and spirits
Hear the strata various feigning admiration for our meager trek
particles of jagged light in rippling sand
reflecting sun, fluid metaphors squish between strides
like clay between toes
what isn't on this red-banked course? roadkill, Harleys that go to 11,
Tim Cups
"It's nice to be starting a day upright."
says my blueberry farming companion
gentle breezes pass us, approaching panters, plop, hrrmph, plop, hrrmph
resilient shrubs crown the balding outcrop
hat off reveals a similar cranial summit
endpoint
approaching (time to muck off)
mudflat succumbing to tide
shoes to stains
words to pocket
says my blueberry farming companion
gentle breezes pass us, approaching panters, plop, hrrmph, plop, hrrmph
resilient shrubs crown the balding outcrop
hat off reveals a similar cranial summit
endpoint
approaching (time to muck off)
mudflat succumbing to tide
shoes to stains
words to pocket
Colleen Carey
Shoes, come meet this earth.
Smooth, let it hug you in close.
Sea and soul renewed.
Smooth, let it hug you in close.
Sea and soul renewed.
Rachel MacDougall
Holy cats this is hard
I thought I was in shape
Wish I was built like a bean...
But I'm built like a grape
So since I'm built like a grape
I'll make some good wine
Because Moses is my bachelorette party
And I'm having an AMAZING muddy time!!!
I thought I was in shape
Wish I was built like a bean...
But I'm built like a grape
So since I'm built like a grape
I'll make some good wine
Because Moses is my bachelorette party
And I'm having an AMAZING muddy time!!!
Annie Michaud
Muck
Stuck
Sucking in my sneaker
Running getting weaker
Over mud and rocks
Moving in my socks
Little tiny moguls
Making it so painful
But a breathtaking view
Motivates anew
Made it through
To the mat
Final splat
What a great run
Had so much fun...
Stuck
Sucking in my sneaker
Running getting weaker
Over mud and rocks
Moving in my socks
Little tiny moguls
Making it so painful
But a breathtaking view
Motivates anew
Made it through
To the mat
Final splat
What a great run
Had so much fun...
Judy Parsons
Musings from a Racing Mind
aaah, Not Since Moses
As I feel the Fundy mud squishing between my toes
I envision the man from Glad
Or was it Mister Clean
Holding my running socks aloft
One the colour of sweet cinnamon, the other as white as a news anchorman's smile
Tide's in, dirt's out.
aaah, Not Since Moses
And I envision Moses leading the Israelites
| Across the Dead Sea
Or was it the Red Sea
And I worry
Were they not heading into a desert
Where would they find a tub of water
To wash away the sea slub and slime
That weighted the hems of their robes
Where would they find two trees
To string a clothesline
aaah Not Since Moses
Wha's dat race you're goin' to be in
My mother asked
Not Since Moses I said
Nuts and Samosas - Is that some kind of hippy race? she said
aaah Not SInce Moses
Dirt's In, Tide's out.
aaah, Not Since Moses
As I feel the Fundy mud squishing between my toes
I envision the man from Glad
Or was it Mister Clean
Holding my running socks aloft
One the colour of sweet cinnamon, the other as white as a news anchorman's smile
Tide's in, dirt's out.
aaah, Not Since Moses
And I envision Moses leading the Israelites
| Across the Dead Sea
Or was it the Red Sea
And I worry
Were they not heading into a desert
Where would they find a tub of water
To wash away the sea slub and slime
That weighted the hems of their robes
Where would they find two trees
To string a clothesline
aaah Not Since Moses
Wha's dat race you're goin' to be in
My mother asked
Not Since Moses I said
Nuts and Samosas - Is that some kind of hippy race? she said
aaah Not SInce Moses
Dirt's In, Tide's out.
Ericka Sutherland
There once was a man named Dick,
Who said the skating rink is slick.
You'll slip and you'll slide,
And fall on your backside
You'll be covered in mud quite thick!
Who said the skating rink is slick.
You'll slip and you'll slide,
And fall on your backside
You'll be covered in mud quite thick!
Lenka Mach
Mud Reflections
The tide is low and I'm running on the floor of Fundy Bay,
I'm not alone – there are many like me here today!
Running in the heavy mud
and seeing shoes being sucked
reminded me a good story
from my motherland's history.
Back in the 15th century,
the poor people got really mad
and decided to fight the rich.
They took their farmer's gear
and selected a battle field,
in front of a drained pond.
Here come the knights in heavy armour
and, wait, they all sink in the mud!
Today, it is a different story,
we are all running in glory,
having very muddy fun –
it is the "Not since Moses' run!
The tide is low and I'm running on the floor of Fundy Bay,
I'm not alone – there are many like me here today!
Running in the heavy mud
and seeing shoes being sucked
reminded me a good story
from my motherland's history.
Back in the 15th century,
the poor people got really mad
and decided to fight the rich.
They took their farmer's gear
and selected a battle field,
in front of a drained pond.
Here come the knights in heavy armour
and, wait, they all sink in the mud!
Today, it is a different story,
we are all running in glory,
having very muddy fun –
it is the "Not since Moses' run!
