Metro Arts in Transit and the Poetry Society of America would like to thank the poets who participated in our Poetry in Motion 2010 Poetry Contest!

Congratulations to our Winners!

The Lovers
When they hold hands,
their fingers interlace
like the delicate teeth
of Venus’ tender trap,
torrid pulses trembling
like unsuspecting flies
in the tight space between.
--Michael Davis

Rainstorm
The rain falls, humbly, at my covered feet
And I, conqueror of the elements,
Laugh as each diving droplet fails to meet
The dry barrier that my coat presents.
I warp the will of nature with my hand,
Holding my umbrella above my head.
I cause the somersaulting rain to land,
Not on my face, but on the ground instead.
But maybe I mistake this water’s force;
It is the twin of swift Niagara’s blood.
It carved out the Grand Canyon’s curving course,
And is the tenor of a whelming flood.
Drop by drop, our world has been sustained;
Mere drops have held life every time it’s rained.
--Lauren Fields (under age 18)

Cut
Once:   we
laughed,              cut your hair.
Its long strands,
ginger-brown,   fell
to my floor and you
tossed them away.
But I thought them too
beautiful;            reflecting
on that lonely wave.
So, a part
I saved.   Now you are
gone                  and I
hold what’s left,   braiding
a lock
into mine.
--Julia Gordon-Bramer

Scottish Rain Song
Rather than watch the windows mist up
and water pool on the sill, we slosh
in our boots all day through the streets
not once lured in by shop displays.
Reckless, perhaps, we trace
a length of river roiled and boiling
in its narrow banks.  Branches above offer
nervous applause.  Bravo, they say.  Good show.
Give me a child at seven and I’ll show you the man.
Or, better, show me a man soaked skin-deep in a storm
and I’ll give you once more the child: splattering
water against shin and shoe; feeling
again the quiet thrill of muddying the carpet.
Yes – head back and whistling.  Free.
--Katherine Gordon

Watching Trains With You
Watching trains with you
on the glass-in bridge, your nose
and mine pink with the cold,
our mittened hands waving
at the engines and cars
rumbling below our feet,
I hear again the chant your heart
made before you were born.
Mama, you say now, train, train!
Your mouth makes the sound
of their metallic glissade: tss tss tss.
--Katherine Gordon

Fake Rebellion
Ripped jeans, ad shirts
Trying hard to look oppressed
Bright clothes a clown might have worn
But naught a smile adorns his face
As he walks through the hall
His spiked hair brushes against the ceiling
He wants anarchy
But doesn’t even know what it means
He masquerades as a rebel
Fighting for a cause that was never there
--Rick Lewis (under age 18)

Winter Clothes
Muffled pulses
beneath sweaters
and woolen sleeves.
Flushed red faces
hidden behind
thick, itchy scarves.
Frozen fingers
dancing inside
bulky, blue mittens.
Winter hides life
under deep, white
layers of snow.
These coatings of cold
are piling up over
warmness no one knows.
--Jacob Little

Be Home by Ten
On summer nights I’d set out alone
for my return journey between houses,
dodging the shadowing fingers of trees.
When I entered the black room of our yard,
the darkness snapped at my heels
and I’d run toward the single light
above the back door, its glow
stretched and extended to me,
as gentle and sure as my father’s hand.
--Kim Lozano

Contemplating After Midnight
Sleep is the killer, dark in the night
Sleep is the lover, to chase away fright
Shadow’s the shield, to hide in the eve
Shadow’s the savior, to hide how you grieve
O, how the night and the mystery mix
Night is the sword, to cut through the day
Night is the bearer, to carry the way
Darkness is loving, to sooth away pain
Darkness is hiding, in which I have lain
O, how the night and the mystery mix
While the night is my bearer, and begs me here
Where I can belong, and live without fear
The mystery teases me into the dawn
A path made of starlight, and then I am gone
O, how the night and the mystery mix
--Joy Mersmann (under age 18)

The Falconer
My hawk is flying over me.
Feathers flashing from gold to black
Long feathers dip into the changing sun.
Ladling the light.
Gently in its talons sharp,
Carrying a piece of his sun back to me.
In a dew-dropped parcel of light
It illuminates the forest.
Time to make my choice.
To leap off the edge of that dusty, white, cliff
Falling.
Feet into air as I remember
To open my wings and fly.
The eagle and hawk side by side.
Welcome to my sky.
--DeAnna Pope (under age 18)

The child in my head has grown tall enough.
The child in my head has grown tall enough. She has woven a basket of dry dandelions. The hours beneath her feet are falling like a broken rope. She waits by the curtains, pulled open. Tapping her fingers for the wind.
I put my umbrella down. She stands and reaches for me. We listen to the noises of the city outside.
We wait in the sunlight. She holds my hand like a string to a tea bag, we are losing our salt.
The wind is like a train behind schedule. But we are not certain, there are no clocks. She drums with
one hand, tethers me with the other. We wait. We are sisters like that. Holding.
--Aaron Ruiz

Old House
In old houses like this
the windows settle,
wavy glass thickening
at the base, light dazed
with all the fallen years;
above, drawn thin, light
streams as if through air.
--John Savoie

Haunted by Waters
Oh brother, the other shore is farther than our father
Carried us across. The same current that hurries
Moss and swirls of leaves leaves your ankles
Broken down in rolling rocks. If you sink
To your belly for a drink, the shallows swallow.
If you try to stand up and step, the deep hand reaches
Your throat like alcohol. Bite like the blade
Of a driftboat oar midstream and strain to change
The river’s course. Fight your end of the line
How steelhead steals rod and steel. Strike
Wet tinder with the pocket thunderstorm you keep
Buttoned up. I rain these drops of paper on the water,
But they continue floating by you, brother.
--Steven Schroeder

Metro
Veiled souls
Cellophane eyes
Watching: oaks and hickories become a blur
The tracks, an eternal murmur
Beneath voyaging feet
Characters, pilgrims with some destination
The antagonists
The protagonists
Wandering through their imaginations
More fascinating than a novel
The climax before the
Wheels pause
--Kiarra Lynn Smith

This Life
This life is truly full of pain
But healing is always free
This life is truly full of questions
With answers we’ll never see
This life is truly for the learner
It’s forever what we will be
This life is truly for the liver
And loving is the key
--Eric Stoff

 

These fifteen (15) poems will be reproduced on posters that will include visual imagery relating to the subject of the poem. The visual design, which will be unveiled on our website in late May, will be created by Metro Arts in Transit and will be displayed on MetroLink trains and Metro buses for up to one year. The winners will receive a $50 award and will be invited to read their poem at the Reading Ceremony on Thursday, May 20, 2010 at the Regional Arts Commission.

Doors open at 6PM; light refreshments and music provided. Reading Ceremony begins at 6:30PM with Poet Sally Van Doren, Guest of Honor.

2010 Poetry in Motion judges: Byron Lee, freelance writer, Limelight Magazine and River City Examiner; Debra Rudder Lohe, program director, Teaching Enhancement, St. Louis University; Denita Elaine Robinson, poet and elementary teacher, Pattonville School District; Sreeja Smith, performance poet and author VividlyFading.com; Jason Sommer, author and professor, Literature and Writing, Fontbonne University.

Please click here to view Poetry in Motion 2009 winning selections!
Please click here to view Poetry in Motion 2008 winning selections!
Please click here to view Poetry in Motion 2006 winning selections!

 

Metro Arts in Transit
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Public Art

Thanks to everyone who responded to our call! Please check back for updates!

 

 

Metro Arts in Transit Art Bus Fleet Design Call for St. Louis Regional Artists
Artist Roster ! Click here for more information!

 

32-foot tall public art piece, Mime, now highlights the Richmond Heights MetroLink Station

On Tuesday, October 6, 2009 we formally dedicate one if our newest public art pieces, Mime.  Created by artists Andrew Ginzel and Kristen Jones, the 32-foot-tall sculpture was constructed from stainless steel and aims to celebrate the spirit and vitality of the Richmond Heights MetroLink station by exploring the intersection of time and natural phenomena in a dynamic and visual and visceral experience. The sculpture features three precise elements that work together to give evidence to the unseen forces of converging air currents and changing ambient light levels in and around the station.

Photos of Mime by Arts in Transit (left) and Artist Andrew Ginzel (right)

“Metro Arts in Transit is excited to dedicate another exciting public art piece that is greatly enhancing our Richmond Heights MetroLink Station,” said David Allen, Director of Metro Arts in Transit. “Mime is truly a sight to behold, and we’re thrilled to have another chance to bring art into our riders’ everyday transit experiences by formally unveiling this unique sculpture to the public.”

 

Seven foot tall, 6,000 pound public art piece, Hive, now highlights
the Delmar Transit Plaza!

On Thursday, September 10, 2009 we formally dedicated one of our newest public art pieces, Hive. Created by artist Janet Lofquist, the seven-foot-tall, 6,000 pound sculpture was constructed from COR-TEN steel and depicts a beehive and its honeycomb structure.
With a beehive representing an understood symbol for the collective spirit of the community, Lofquist’s inspiration for the work was the regeneration of the urban community surrounding the station.

Photos of Hive by Dan Donovan

“Hive represents the latest in a long-line of public art projects that Metro Arts in Transit has been able to bring to the St. Louis region, and we’re excited to dedicate another unique piece that not only enhances one of our public spaces, but also brings art into our riders’ everyday transit experiences,” said David Allen, Director, Metro Arts in Transit. “Janet Lofquist has been involved with numerous public art projects for college campuses, libraries and city/state agencies across the country, and we’re honored to have partnered with her to bring her wonderful artistic skills to the St. Louis area.”

 

Metro Arts in Transit Adds Timeless Art to the Landscape!

The newest art installment to decorate the public space in our region has been completed at the Clayton MetroLink Station.  In celebration of its 15th year anniversary, the St. Louis Art Fair partnered with Metro Arts in Transit to commission the work done by master clay artist Carol Fleming.  The public was invited to observe Fleming create three grandfather clocks, from start to finish, up to preparation for firing, over the course of the St. Louis Art Fair, held September 5-7, 2008, in Clayton. The clocks are made of clay and are now a permanent feature along the MetroLink alignment.  One clock is located on the MetroLink platform, one at the top of the stairs, and the third is in front of the elevator on the upper level.  Each clock stands approximately eight feet fall, with a base of 22 inches by 24 inches.

Fleming chose grandfather clocks because, “As the MetroLink riders use the stations, they are thinking about time, money, the right timetable, correct change, etc. Grandfather clocks are rather quaint icons of old fashion times in modern urban living.”  Fleming, who lives in St. Louis County, has been working with clay for over 20 years.  Her works have been included in many exhibitions, as well as numerous commercial and residential collections including “Child Life Tree” in the playroom at BJC Children’s Hospital and “Handling the Bench,” Clayton’s first custom public bench.

 

St. Louis Arts in Transit Curriculum Kit 2008!

We would like to announce the arrival of the St. Louis Arts in Transit Curriculum Kit 2008
at a school near you! It focuses on twenty Arts in Transit projects. It is designed for use by
local educators to enrich learning in all areas and to help students understand art's place
in contemporary culture. Please visit www.stlpack.org/ait to view the online version!

 

Mission

As a community partnership program of Metro, AIT furthers Metro’s mission of “regional economic development through excellence in transportation” by forging community partnerships and creating customer-friendly and aesthetically- appealing, community-oriented transit environments. AIT accomplishes this through a place-making approach that integrates public art and urban design with community and enhancement initiatives. Since its inception in 1986, AIT has completed more than 100 public art projects, installations, and community enhancements.

Support

AIT's projects are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, financial assistance provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and support of the Regional Arts Commission.

Cross County MetroLink Extension

 

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