Space Western Senryu Contest Winners

Red sands of Mars

My footprints alone

Stretching back to the horizon.
— John M. Whalen

Mark L. Van Name: Good space western tie and human feeling.

Cowboys on a ship

have no cattle to lasso

so they rope tribbles

— Larry Hodges

consciousness exists

only in its echoes:

who can resist shouting?
— Michael C. Rush

”  Mark’s Pick: Lovely mix of images and human emotions. Barely a space western, but close enough in tone that I counted it.

flashing lights of stars

dance never-ending cancan

squinting eyes shrivel
— PS Cottier

Mark L. Van Name: Very good images and human counterpoint. Barely a space western, but close enough in tone that I counted it. A very close second to being my judge’s pick.

alive three months

Sterling-Suit lashed to hull

Jake burned on re-entry
— Brandon Bell

Mark L. Van Name: Nice irony and ties to space westerns.

on the range

space cowboys apply

SPF 5000 sunscreen
— Karen L. Newman

Alana Joli Abbott: Because getting a sunburn out in the black is mighty painful.

Standoff under two suns. Fire!

Still Standing. No blood. Oil drips.

Damn robots.
— Jacob P. Silvia

We hesitate to welcome

the artificial:

tomorrow we won’t.
— Michael C. Rush

Mark L. Van Name: Not at all a space western, but I liked the simplicity of it enough that I gave it a high score.

stagecoach floats empty,

bushwhacked at asteroid gulch,

seals broken, skull-like

— Robert Borski

throughout robot ghost

town, metal cows quietly rust,

lowing like chimes
— Robert Borski

Seamus Kevin Fahey: evocative… dig it.

Ships blast off for space

for the asteroid roundup;

rocks for lunch again

— Larry Hodges

Alana Joli Abbott: The last line of this one made me laugh out loud. There’s such disappointment implied that this must be a regular occurence. Rustling those wily asteroids and only getting rocks for lunch? It’s a rough life!

for sale: plexiglass

stetson — oxygen filter

noisy, but still works
— Robert Borski

”  Alana’s Pick: I love the construction of this poem: the advertisement placed in the paper on a frontier planet for a used stetson surely has a story behind it. I can almost hear the sound the old, used filter makes, and imagine the dings in the old hat.

coughing up red dust

a dental practise, absurd

he plays out his hand.
— dan smith

Seamus Kevin Fahey: random… in a good way

shot of whiskey

the whore reaches for my gun

with her tentacle
— Joshua Gage

Seamus Kevin Fahey: I get the western, I get the sci fi, I get a moment… what’s not to like?

planetary rings,

sagebrush moons, red-tailed comet —

ranch’s back forty

— Robert Borski

he was fast and slick

eight pistols simultaneous

from slimy holsters.
— dan smith

Alana Joli Abbott: This is why the best gunslingers have multiple arms—or tentacles as the case may be. I wouldn’t want to play poker with this fellow either. Brilliantly done!

meg’s missing

in the circus-ship’s wake

and its sad-eyed, mouthless clowns
— Brandon Bell

Mark L. Van Name: My nominee as weirdest, which I consider a good thing.

Seamus Kevin Fahey: I like the description… and I know a girl named Meg…

echoes of mirth

metal grips the hard man

where lust had hoped for flesh
— Brandon Bell

Mark L. Van Name: Good images.

Breaking human hearts

With bullets or cold silence

Is the outlaw way
— Josh Kidd

Telepathic horse

but the horse can’t speak and the

sheriff don’t speak horse

— John W. Sexton

bullets fly spaceward,

nicking moonlets — gunfight at

zero-g corral
— Robert Borski

In space

Lone Ranger’s lovelife

Absolute zero
— Sandra Lindow

he was a half-breed

which side would he choose

the reds or the blues?
— dan smith

”  Seamus’ Pick: Clever way of taking on the challenge.