::Winston takes the stage. He is wearing a tuxedo and, of course, his ever-present glasses with their much battered and oft-repaired, but still dignified looking, frames. Walking across the stage, he briefly reaches up and straightens his glasses out of habit. As he reaches the microphone, he clears his throat, and, taking a deep breath, looks around at the now-silent audience for a second or two::

Winston: Poets are truly talented people. I’ve never been a good poet myself, and I greatly admire those who are. It’s really not easy. They can take the strongest emotions, the deepest feelings of our hearts, and somehow express with clarity that which is infinitely complex. As a student of zen philosophy for several years now, I think that part of the appeal of poetry is because it seems to so easily achieve, in the form of literature, one of zen’s goals: It takes that which is most essential and universal and puts it into a pure, concise form that encompasses everything it needs, and nothing it doesn’t, then delivers it with a simplicity that only makes it all the more beautiful and inspirational. These artists never cease to amaze me, and it’s an honor to have been chosen to present some of them with Golden Acorn awards in this ceremony.

::Winston waits a few seconds, then continues::

Winston: And so, it gives me great pleasure to present to you the nominees in the category for Best Poetic Imagery:

“The Gadget Sonnets”, by Indy.

“The Lady Hackwrench”, by Candy Courtnier.

::Winston pulls an envelope from a pocket, cracks open the seal, and looks inside::

Winston: And the winner is Indy, for the Gadget Sonnets!

::Indy stands at his seat as the audience claps. He walks on stage quickly and shakes Winston’s hand. Chip gives him a wave from the audience, as they’re similarly attired. Indy waves back, then settles in behind the podium::

Indy: Thank you. For me, poetry has always been a way of expressing myself, and particularly for expressing strong feelings. When I wrote the Gadget Sonnets, it was during my early days at the Café, and I felt the need to express what Gadget meant to me.

::Indy looks over at Gadget in the seats, and she smiles back at him::

Indy: I wrote the sonnets quickly—I think it only took around ten minutes because my thoughts on her were so clear. Our little mouse inventor’s quite a wonder, and I’m glad that I was able to express some of that wonder in verse for everyone to read. Thank you all very much.

::The crowd applauds kindly and Indy takes his award as Winston escorts him off-stage::