I actually won a poetry contest conducted by Janrae Frank, an established dark fantasy author and sometime editor (editrix if you prefer). She announced the winner at her LiveJournal, so it arrived on my "friends" page when I got home from work this evening. I was completely floored. Mind you, there were three winners, and if they were announced in order, I nabbed third prize. It doesn't matter; we all receive the same prize. I know both the other winners, and both are actually writers who have sold their work.

My entry is here, under Janrae's DeadJournal's August 7 entry as a comment, per the contest instructions. Fair warning--it's x-rated, as are almost all the entries. You need to scroll way down to read it if you dare, but it's titled "I Suck on a Pole--I can" by Widdle Baby Nicky. My guess is the second version of the last line is the winner. The only real hook is that the title and a couple of the lines are anagrams of the subject's first and middle name.

I'm a little afraid the "real" authors will wonder how much I bribed Janrae. No--I'm kidding. They'll more than likely scratch their heads wondering how I sneaked in with them, then congratulate me. Everyone involved knows that I'm not a writer.

I entered the contest on a complete lark, and spent a whopping half hour tossing together that dreck. At least I had a little fun being temporarily evil. Yes, Denny . . . you now have a preview of my weekend confession to "Father Denny."

**witness Froggie trying frantically to remember even the most rudimentary rules of poetry from Junior High** Poetry? Poetry!? How do I do that?

If nothing else, it says something about the quality of the other entries, or lack thereof. Regardless, I'm thrilled to "show" in this horse race. The last time I won anything that wasn't a drawing was probably back in my days of horse shows (1970s).

Don't worry. I won't let this inflate my ego, and I won't give up my day job doing math. That having been said . . . whee!