Poetry Contest Winners :: Fourth Contest :: First Place Winner

To Hear a Cloud Whisper

I never noticed
that the highest tree leaves
sway much differently
than the lower dwellers
especially during a gentle afternoon breeze
Until one day you said
Look Nanny!

Or
that a landing seagull actually
skims across the water
and ducks
they sort of skid
like runners heading to second base

I bet you
most people don't know
that sand is the perfect place
to hide your fruit snacks
and that ladybugs
can dangle upside down for hours
without getting dizzy

And I just learned today
that if you listen hard enough
you can actually hear
a cloud whispering
and that those
drawings in the sky
are the work of
artists in heaven

As if my ears have never heard
and my eyes have never seen

I never noticed
until one day you said
Look Nanny!
and since that moment
   nothing
has ever been
the same