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Willow Glen resident Rhonda Berry usually catches attention for her work as founder of Our City Forest, a nonprofit organization that helps plant trees throughout the city. But this time it was for her haiku: Berry took second place in Caltrain's poetry contest.
The contest attracted more than 300 entries, from odes to Shakespearean sonnets, that detailed love and Caltrain in 100 words or less. The winners were selected in early March.
When penning the poem, Berry was inspired by the son of longtime friend Jill Escher, a Shasta-Hanchett resident.
Escher's son Evan is 8 years old. Berry has watched Evan's love of trains grow since he was 2. She often gave him train-related gifts for birthdays and marveled at his ability to memorize train schedules and routes.
"When you have someone in your life who's really obsessed with something, you think a lot about it, too," Berry said. "What came to mind immediately was Evan's love of trains. I had a little inspired moment."
Berry chose the sparse form of a haiku, which is meant to capture a moment in time with only 17 syllables. Berry learned the form in high school, and wrote the poem from Escher's perspective. The poem reads, "Can it be I've lost/the dear heart of my young son?/Mesmerizing trains."
The poem won Berry two Gourmet Express five-course dinners on the Napa Valley Wine Train. Software consultant Joel Katz nabbed first place, and Santa Clara resident Christine Ng won third. Berry said she would like to use the prize on her muse, Evan, and her daughter.
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