January 10, 2026

Winners

Subtitles Between Usit's a quiet misery / to know you only by smell, / by what lingers after you leave—

#1

32

LimitlessOh just for a moment / let me climb out of my body / and feel the vastness of the crashing ocean waves.

#2

22

With White InkThey used to mean something, / The words that I would write — / A pane of shattered glass

#3

16

Other poems

Chasing Down SadnessThe only light I see / Is in a color that just might be / The joy of sadness

@Carlo-C-Gomez4

15

Our LifeI fell in love with you, / at a time when I was lost. / You showed up for me,

@lynn-stillman16

13

Family TreeLayers of conflict and trauma / engraved in generations before, / i pull apart each layer

10

“Between Our Eyes”I saw her. / She saw me. / A look - something rare,

10

Are You Okay?The question hangs, a fragile thread / In evening's dusty, silent air. / A phrase so often lightly said,

9

America, I weep for youAmerica I weep for you / ***** and pillaged by so few / The Dream you had is almost dead

9

PrayI am no saint / but I could try / To shape

@ladyofirepoetry17

7

tell metell me / why are you passing / through my dreams

7

The Peace of Wild Things By Wendell BerryThe Peace of Wild Things By Wendell Berry / When despair for the world grows in me / and I wake in the night at the least sound

6

all of us are beautifulmy hair is blonde / not brown / not gray

@WillowWhispers32

6

InterpreterLife is / the poem / I, dumb

@Jason_R_Michie7

6

Nowheretown (badwords cut)I wrote a short HePo series, an amalgamation of poetry and narrative. I tried to make a journey out of it for the reader in the classic Choose Your Own Adventure style in the sense that the onus was on the reader to continue the narrative instead of simply imploring the reader to turn the page. / This is the 'Director's Cut' for those without copious free-time to invest in internet sleuthing. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it: / Chapter One:

5

speechless is okay, for the mind, yet the heart never are...~for Blue Sapphire~ / communication does not require sound, / the silence of your internalities

@nat-lipstadt38

4

Song to the SpheresOh beautiful, beautiful soul, / what song will you sing for me today? / I am but a vessel waiting for replenishment,

4

we stopped searchingwe / stopped searching / for meaning

@RastislavKnezi104

4

A Steady FlameSome darkness isn’t mystical / it’s human. / It’s the choice to be cruel,

@barbara-r-maxwell21

4

what you seeas other see happiness i see something different / like colors you don't know / if your truly seeing the same thing

4

We've A Comedic Opera for TodayAt least that's what Mozart's Magic Flute sounds like. / (sonnet #MMMMMMMMMDCCCXCIX) / Ah, fragile light on frozen fields' detail

3

Ill in My Own Yardto ache for greatness / is to stare into the mirror / and find new flaws—

3

QuandaryNot winter / Not spring / just a crazy weather thing

3

A poet’s mindThoughts beautifully carved into words that touch the heart, / in a poet’s mind, / what you see is just a part,

3

tranquility of a settled soulthe tea kettle is whistling. / it s the only thing / in this room with life.

@guy-scutellaro29

3

decide who i ambased on my words / do you give me a voice / is it soft enough

@DorotheaDaisy10

3

Autumn StormsThe leaves they dance upon the ground / pushed by the wind around and round / swirling, tumbling, flying high

3

The Quiet Weight Of Being AwakeI am the kind of tired sleep cannot fix. / Not exhaustion. / Erosion.

3

Water in the wellThink of sin / as the water / in the well

@South-by-Southwest23

3

Deck Pitch for a Shut-ins Plead CaseI spend my days / Like living pay check to pay check / Waiting to wake in the morning

2

Copse (Alternative)Copse / A lone tree stands / Its colour fades,

2

I'm just herehere I am humming along to a song / whilst I clean my room / do my laundry

@WillowWhispers13

2

Rich man ́s WarSee the soldier with his Guns / Boldly marching off to war / Fighting for the rich and greedy

2

NightThe longest of nights, / are spent alone and in pain. / Then hopelessness dawns.

@lynn-stillman3

1

Born Like ThisPoetry wasn’t a choice. / It showed up at my door / like a small, rabid animal

@thomas-w-case34

1

The Part that WantsBukowski prowls around the room / like ancient moonlight… / Strange guttural sounds

@thomas-w-case25

1

RealizationThe tension in this room so thick you could slice it / Serve cut up pieces on bread / Truth hard to swallow

@AmandaKayBurke43

1

CLOUDSPink clouds are my language now - / The birds no longer speak to me. / ljm

@LoriJonesMcCaffery3

1

PUZZLELet me get this straight: / It’s WRONG for Russia to / Take over Ukraine to get their land

@LoriJonesMcCaffery9

1

Ripple in the DarkThere are few absolutes. / Even less that speak as true, / To the golden hues of bygone ages

1

MomentaryCrunching snow under my feet, / I like this sound. / I bend reality,

@Agnes-de-Lodz18

1

It could take thousands of yearsThe stalactite was a lonely little thing, / with a / drip

1

The Hunting PartyThat city once had a name, / it used to be a battle song: / "Silencer, silencer, may we drink

@Carlo-C-Gomez16

1

ended

Hello PoetryVoting