January 12, 2026

Winners

Chasing DreamsI chase stars / not to hold them / but to feel the burn

#1

28

rainrain kissed me / warm enough / to melt what I hid

#2

22

Garden, Late Afternoonyou bend to touch the jasmine. / I watch from the gate, / keeping distance like a promise.

#3

14

Other poems

Ocean of AffectionWaves caress my feet, / ever so gently, / wind murmurs words of love

19

where sorrow sleepswounded beauty, / a tinder box smile. / leaning against a brick wall in the alley

@guy-scutellaro55

12

&you listen, / and you care, / it feels like

12

Stymphalian BirdsZeus, / reduced to a fairy story, / his powers a parlor trick,

@ShayCaroline38

11

Ornamental~ / *I know your glow / it moves on tracks

@Carlo-C-Gomez14

9

when she walked throughthe front door of the diner / the waitress's presence / touched everyone in the room.

@guy-scutellaro60

9

The Loud QuietI cry without dropping any tears, / I don't even hear my own shouting. / I've wanted you in my heart for years,

8

Cherry TreeThe branches of a cherry tree bent down, / their leaves moving above my head. / Back then, I didn’t speak.

@Agnes-de-Lodz35

8

“When the Dark Speaks”What is that I see in the night? / A figure at the edge of silence. / Is something chasing me,

8

Colour Before SilenceI spoke to silence once; it became my interlocutor— / in an incongruous sunset, January: / gold transmuting to red, saffron-orange

6

YOU ARE WORTH ITEveryone matters; / every heart deserves love. / Everyone needs someone—

@Blue-Sapphire11

6

Autumn IvoryAutumn Ivory. / Time kissed me and held me with its autumn hands. / Not healing, but stealing.

6

hello poetrythis community / of people / makes me feel

6

She Was in the Field Counting Stars~ / In the mist of late night solitude, / from a mislaid plateau,

@Carlo-C-Gomez17

5

The Shape of my DaysI used to believe staying still / was the same as being safe. / If I kept my wanting quiet,

5

JanuaryI said to January, / just born and tilting like an upset vase / between heartbeat and nothingness,

@ShayCaroline18

5

The lid , The bow , The arcWide eyed girls / – A category? / Awe, it’s when

5

Sunday AcheSundays always smelled sharper. / Tasted harsh. / Even the sunlight cut deeper.

@thomas-w-case32

5

She SaysI grew up here, / she says, / such a small town,

4

The Smiling BuddhaWatching the leaves / Falling on a worn-out trail / Gulping the white blooms

@Yashkrit_Ray16

4

we onlywe only see what we understand / we cling to the cohesion of already made concepts / for fear. the unknown, the ambivalent, the uncanny

4

all the distancein this cocoon of silence / the wind is clear / thoughts lose their gravity

4

a small anecdotei drift to sleep / right as the sun sets. / perhaps it’s a thing

@poeticaofisshues31

4

Where I Once StoodI didn't notice time / until everything began to change— / when color quietly left the day,

3

a bag"just throw that bag away, it's torn and disheveled anyway," they told me; / a bag / full of broken keychains of my favorite characters back in 7th grade;

3

LightIt was a grey old mornimg / When i started this / Before i knew it

3

Your LoveLike an eagle soaring throughout time, / I find myself lost in the beauty of you. / The tenderness that you give to me fills my heart,

3

A long and cold dream / PoemI had a long and cold dream / from a sleep so heavy, so deep: / I woke up in the middle of the woods

3

Before The Door ClosedThere was a doorway I kept walking past, / pretending it was still open. / Your absence stood there as the outline

2

You Wrote a Line of Verse TodayLawrence Hall / [email protected] / Dispatches for the Colonial Office

@lawrence-hall18

2

CoralHer breath / reaches the mountains / beyond the land

1

captain of a street ferry! "thy tiller has found a storied port"~ / *words given life's first breath by this comment from / SE Reimer

@nat-lipstadt81

1

WonderingTalking to the void / Questions / Questions

@KristaDelleFemine11

1

The Weight of What Is PreciousThere is not an ounce of hate / inside of her / between a breath and silence

1

My TodayMorning rises, calm and bright, / I step into the day with light. / Metformin steady at my side,

@Geof_Spavins22

1

Falling overI've been told I’m beautiful, / like it’s a fact I should memorize, / but mind argues back

1

the ekphrasticStaying is a form of haunting. / I don't know / whether it's the mind or the heart

@EvelynYiningChen14

1

why waitI cannot believe / As I sit here; pondering / I waited too long

@wheredidigowrong3

1

ended

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