The Coffee House

As I limped to the finish line, and saw so many there, waiting - laughing and smiling, I knew the journey was well worth the effort.

What a wonderful group of people, I am thankful to each of you, and amazed at the great number of wonderful poems.

Each poet brought a strong voice and personality, talent and creativity, and kindness.

I had major difficulties along this road - personal distractions, and need to publicaly say
THANK YOU So many of you offered endlessly kind and encouraging words - it really is the only reason I was able to crawl all the way to the finish line.

I am also surprised to find a 3rd place finish ~ any of the poets behind the top 2 must have been essentially there sniffing around. If I found 1 less point, I will accept my luck and good fortune, knowing it could well have been any of the others.

Finally, thank you Texas Belle, and whomever it was that helped judge. You managed to stick to it, despite a few extremely difficult weeks. Your efforts to conjure new and different works from the hordes has opened many new doors. It's a wonderful and very challenging contest, and I am glad I took that leap.

Sincerely (can you believe it?)
Mark