​Pandora's Collective Poetry Contest (2019)
2nd Place Winner

in a kobe suburb

                             soft
the breeze is cool
the horizon lavender
just before sunrise and

I see the old man
his bamboo broom
sweep smooth
the playground sand
long lithe motions
slow arcs
parallel lines
of sand-white
waves that lap
and overlap
once again
he sways
to his own time
circles round
half-submerged islands

              blue-flaked dolphin
​
                          geodome climber
​
           pink whale

a child’s own zen garden

he is seen
the old man
seen only to vanish
at first ray
as though never to be
the one who reveals
the secret to children
who know the magic
of order and grace
but have yet to learn
what a secret is
​
- Alan Girling