WINNERS
VT WRITERS ' PRIZE
2023
WINNERS
SPONSORED BY GREEN MOUNTAIN POWER
The winning poetry entry in this year ’ s contest refers to a “ time gone by .”
Similarly , the essay shares a nostalgia for the past .
The essay illustrates an important lesson :
The marks we leave on our communities last long after we are gone .
When Mary Alexander Peet submitted the essay , she also shared photos from her research . We ’ ve included them here .
Enjoy this Vermont story and never forget :
One generation does indeed have the power to leave indelible memories on another . . . in this case , through donuts !
POETRY WINNER
-Joshua
Job Site Repair of Worn Out Glove
By Robert Bernstein
The frigid air is whipping hard between the house , so well maintained , and well-worn barn , a symbol now of time gone by . And , now , from snow-wrapped ground the wind , as if with nimble hand , is picking up the cold and whistles it beside my ruddy cheek . Beside the barn , out in this blast in fresh plowed drive where I have parked my black work truck , its tailgate down , two saw horse stand , their feet on ice , the chop saw there , bright green , against the white , and three fresh boards , of clear clean pine , uncut just now and long enough to do the work . And I stand , too , beside them there , but not to work but mend my broken glove , when I have done the earnest patch I ’ ll do the work . So , now , I tape two cots on my right glove , on two frayed fingers of darkened leather , and worn right through . It is too cold , I think , for me to work until this glove is well repaired . The silver tape , of course , is like a bandage here . But not to stop a stream of blood from inside welling out but stuck to halt the outside stream of northern air . I think it will . Accosted here with such cold force open out and in the drive between the barn and house , a little bit of tool-box tape I ’ ll try to aid . And yet I know this early morn in dismal winter , the stream of time that you and I are in , and it is that that I recall . These boards , my tape , my truck , this lavish home , my hand , my time , seem small .
Robert Bernstein was born in 1949 , in Philadelphia , studied at the University there , and moved to rural Vermont , in 1972 . He is a retired local civil servant though a jack of all trades . And a friendly man .
14 VERMONT MAGAZINE