OPEN-MIC RHYME, SLAM, OR SCRAWL

The Penn Foster Poetry Committee is pleased to announce The Old Man’s Wish by R. Jay Hahn as the winner of the Newsletter Poetry Competition. The runner up is Sorrow by Jason L. Reeves. Congratulations to both poets!

We received many entries that offered an array of experience, skill, and passion. Here are the two winning poems.

The Old Man’s Wish

My time has come and it has passed
The sands have shifted in my hourglass
Through blurry eyes I watched my days
Creep upon me like rolling waves
These hands may shake and might be old
If only for the stories they’ve told
Behold these wrinkles upon my face
Each one a tale of a time and place
I’ve lived a lifetime of joy and pain
Felt warm sunshine and held the rain
I’ve chased my dreams and let some go
But here is all you need to know
I’ve touched a heart a time or two
And helped a man I never knew
This legacy I leave behind
For all who seek and care to find
Leave nothing empty and dare to chance
And may you touch a life so it might dance

— R. Jay Hahn

“My name is Robert Elfstrom. I use the pen name R. Jay Hahn for most of my writing. Currently, I reside in Chesapeake, VA, with my wife. Writing has always been a love of mine ever since winning a contest in grade school that enabled me to attend Bowling Green State University’s Young Writers Workshop. One student per grade level in Ohio is allowed to attend per year. Currently, I am enrolled in the Freelance Writer Program. At present, I am about halfway through my program, and have enjoyed it from the start. I also run a personal website at www.newdayspeace.weebly.com. The site contains two blog pages, an open forum page, and a poetry page.”

Sorrow

Once there was this man, and how he was consumed,
by thus perpetual darkness for which he was doomed,
no one understands the atrocities he's seen,
and no one can fathom exactly what he means,

His heart is empty, yet full of emotions,
they all wash away, into the oceans,
like the tide that slides up and down the sands,
and the scars of age upon his hands,

Yet the heart still filled with disapproval,
now the mind is content with its full removal,
no one could yet guess the ghastly consequences,
for now his mind is gone, and he has no defenses,

He once was a man, who was loved by all,
now he is a man who took a mighty fall,
you may not understand this, you may not feel my soul,
but, I tell it to you now, so that you know it whole,

But what if this man had just changed his ways,
would his body and his mind, still go these separate ways,
he could look out of the window, and see all of the brightness,
of his Mercedes Benz, can you picture its whiteness,

And all of those people, fronting to me,
could be the very ones, that just set me free
‘cause the past was a blast, but it cannot last,
so alas to all those months I had spent in those casts,

When my time, has come and gone,
the only sound you'll hear is from the gong,
from the everlasting echos upon the hill,
it's against the constitution to burn a bill,

It's just too bad that none of you can see,
it's that darkness inside that will set you free,
from the hilltops, to the everglades people were amazed,
feeling twenty feet tall, ‘cause we got really dazed,

All of this time, we have made it at last,
time has gone by, and I've had a blast,
but this victory of mine, has been short-lived,
for no one understands, just how much I can give,

So the past was a blast, but it cannot last,
so, alas the demise of the one who was craft.

— Jason L. Reeves

“I am a 27-year-old male ex-construction worker, now disabled. I always had a knack for math and blueprints. I am currently studying for my Associate Degree in Mechanical Engineering online with Penn Foster because attending a campus is not physically viable (as I cannot drive myself), nor is it economically possible. I really like the self-paced learning, even though I’m not the fastest reader. I deal with a LOT of pain and lots of physical therapy appointments, so the pace allows me to take the time to actually absorb the information as opposed to “glancing” over it to get it done. And if I have a bad week, I can make it up on a good week, no set schedule. Thank you, Penn Foster, for making me feel like I may still have a future.”

The Penn Foster Newsletter would like to feature your original poems in the student newsletter. Do you have a way with words and rhymes or perhaps Haiku? Please email your submissions to [email protected]. Please enter "Open Mic" in subject line. You must include your name, student number, and a short bio, including your city and state. Winners will be featured in the upcoming Student Newsletters!