Dear Friends,

Today we share a poem translated into Romanian, at the Review Monitorul de poezie (Romania; A n u l 3 , n u m ă r u l 3 7 , n o i e m b r i e 2 0 2 1).

Tăcere, Carlton Holte (SUA)

Poate când ești pe apă,
înconjurat de bărci cu motor și jet-ski-uri,
nu are rost să te gândeşti la calm,
la o după-amiază liniștită, să fii treaz fără nelinişti.
Pe micul nostru iaz, totuşi,
tăcerea este ceva obişnuit,
deși noul nostru caiac –
turnat dintr-un plastic dur verde-lime –
se ciocnește cu fiecare vestă de salvare,
înfruntă albastrul lacului
de fiecare dată când îl lansez.
Iau cu mine un creion și o bucată de hârtie,
vâslesc încet în afara golfului,
apoi ascult cu atenție, în timp ce plutesc în derivă,
tăcerea ca o creangă căzută sau ca o broască țestoasă curioasă,
până încep să aud dictarea
și sunt binecuvântat cu misiunea

unui secretar care înregistrează
înțelepciunea fără vârstă
purtată de briză peste ape.

Traducere de Ionuţ Calotă

The original here, is in the Anthology Nature 2015/21.

Stillness

Perhaps when you are on water
assaulted by speedboats and jet-skis,
there is little point in hoping for tranquility,
for a quiet afternoon, awake with no wakes.
On our little pond, however,
stillness is the norm,
though our new kayak–
loud lime-green molded plastic–
clashes with every life jacket,
affronts the blue of the lake
each time I launch it.
I bring a pencil and a scrap of paper,
paddle slowly out of the cove,
then listen carefully while I drift
silent as a fallen branch or curious turtle
until the dictation begins
and I am blessed with the job
of recording secretary
for the ageless wisdom
wafted across the water by the breeze.

The first Anthologies were sent. They will arrive in about 20 working days if sent to out of the EU and about 7 working days in the EU.

Enjoy.

It is with great happiness that we share the results of the International Literary Contest Nature 2020-2021 by “The Green Sparrows”:

Poetry Category

1st Place

“A PRIMAL COLLOQUY” by Joseph (USA)

2nd Place:

“A Quarantine Visitor” by Jill G. Hall (USA)

3rd Place (TIE):

“The Lord of the Words and the Gardener” by José Reis (Brazil)

And

"Invaders” by Jenny McCabe (UK)

And

“Stillness” by Carlton Holte (USA)

Honorable Mentions:

“Nature’s Renewal Plan (After the Pandemic)” by Alison Jennings (USA)

And

“What should always be” by Guillermo Arbe (Peru)

And

“Healing” by M. Tragicum (Portugal)

And

“A blooming morning on a tree’s branch” by Alexandra Bucur (Romania)

And

“Parts of Meditation” by Quinn Brown (USA)

Honorable Mentions (Best Short Poems):

“Araguaia River” by Deuzeli Linhares (Brazil)

And

“A SAND PIPER SHARES HIS BEACH” by Debra Manske (USA)

Short Stories’ Category:

1^st Place:

“March 24th, 2020” by Michaela Brady (UK)

2^nd Place:

“Sparrow Spring Engineers” by Mi West (Sweden)

3^rd Place (TIE):

“The Lost Village” by Subi Taba (India)

And

“One Thousand Two Hundred” by Quinn Brown (USA)

Honorable Mentions:

“Like a Bird” by David Ehrlich (Brazil)

And

“The Badger” by Daniela Albu (Romania)

In this Edition of the International Literary Contest Nature (2020-21) we would like to thank you to:

Maximum Potential Education

http://www.maximumpotentialeducation.com/

and the Adjudicators “The Green Sparrows” and “The Green Cat”.

We would also like to drop a few words about the works received. Today we disclose here the winners, but a few other works will be included in this year’s Anthology. The pieces of poetry and short stories received portray feelings about humanity, the relation with mother nature and, sometimes, the impact of the pandemics in our life. Nature always blooms during Spring and, for many of us, the results of this Contest are known during that season of flowers and hope. Nevertheless, it is always time to be in deep connection with nature. There is always a sunset to light our lives.

During the next weeks we will share here some of the winning works.

Enjoy!