I wonder if it hurts to live – And if they have to try – What if – could they choose between – It wouldn’t – die – (c) Emily Dickinson
NEWRY — In honor of Emily Dickinson’s 191st birthday this December 10, The citizen of Bethel held a poetry contest to see who could write a poem like its spirit and darkness, but in relation to the pandemic. Please see the poem below by Richard Bartholomew Stockwell of Newry.
Dickinson was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. The majority of his poems revolved around the theme of immortality. Most of her works were discovered after her death, and during her lifetime she lived most of her life in solitude. His poems used oblique rhyme, meaning it was almost a rhyme that sounded appealing but actually didn’t rhyme.
She was famous for writing poetry with unconventional capitalization and punctuation, although oddly enough her few poems that were published were heavily edited and these elements removed. However, the other eighteen hundred poems found after his death showed his signature style.
Winning poem:
hidden and distant
we are doing our best,
continue, with perseverance.
a frown, a smile, or maybe a grimace,
simple views can lead to happiness
eyes, ears, but now without a mouth or chin,
we think about what is really wrong.
Covered, how long, we don’t know
hidden clues to read a face,
yet patiently we heed the flow,
our hearts and minds open to grace.
Richard Barthelemy Stockwell
Newry
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