Deb Shelton and the Goodreads Poetry Contest

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I hardly ever send my poems out, but one day recently while looking at the Goodreads site, I saw an announcement for a monthly poetry contest. So I sent one of my poems: “The Space between the Words.”

I wrote this poem some years ago (June 2004) in honor of my good friend, Deb Shelton, who died at age 58, from breast cancer. On the day of her funeral, the words came to me as I searched for the answer to the question: Where are you, dear friend? Where have you gone?

DEBDeb was so full of life and laughter and love that it seemed impossible that we could ever lose her, but we did. We used to talk a mile a minute and ride bikes around the lake and go on about our children (our sons were about the same age.) So the poem lives on now as a reminder of Deb and how she came to occupy “the space between the words” in my heart.

This morning when I opened my e-mail, I found that the poem was one of the six finalists for the month of November. I am honored, but the poem is not about me. It’s about a good friend–and all those we love and lose–those we are honored to have as part of our lives.

If you want to read the six poems, here’s the link:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1552505-please-vote-for-the-november-2013-goodreads-newsletter-finalists

I think you’ll enjoy all of them. And of course, you can vote for your favorite! (But you have to do it today.)

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Writing Jumpstart:  Take ten minutes today to write about someone who isn’t here anymore. Go.

5 thoughts on “Deb Shelton and the Goodreads Poetry Contest”

    • Oh, so you have to join to vote!? They get you every time.
      Glad you like the poem and thanks for posting!
      Yes, it is always a challenge for me to send work out. Why is that so hard?

  2. Lovely, Vicky. Hope this selection (and the voting to date) inspires you to keep submitting.

  3. Amazing that on the very day I was writing this blog about my friend, Deb,
    her son Andy and his wife Kelsey became the proud parents of Calvin Douglas Shelton. How proud and happy Deb would be to have a grandson! Congrats to all.

    Also, the poem I wrote about won (“The Space between the Words”) the most votes and will be appear in the Goodreads November newsletter! Thanks to everyone who checked it out and commented on the Goodreads site. I was in good company; all of the poems selected by the judges were wonderful.

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