February 5, 2026

Winners

solaceperhaps I am an all or nothing poet only in the morning / when silence is not irreversible / I wash my face with the water of memory

#1

51

Paper FortunesLate afternoon, haze hung low, heat and sky / holding breath. *You’re it. No tag-backs.* Asphalt / freckles our knees. Dinner is anytime: bologna

@William-A-Gibson20

#2

42

The boy inside the manThe little boy does not grow / into a man / The man grows around the boy

@South-by-Southwest8

#2

42

Other poems

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

39

i'm trying not to miss youi wrote / so many poems / for you

31

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

@thomas-w-case25

30

I Don't Kneel To ItToday the light arrives without knocking, / settles on the table like it belongs there. / I don’t ask who left it on

29

ValentineIt’s almost silly, really / this red-ribboned date on the calendar, / as if love needed a fence,

23

i don’t feel a thing— / or maybe / i feel everythingit’s been a while / since I wrote something— / something to name

22

I Didn't get Better At Being The Best I Got Better At Being The SurvivorPeople clap for me / saying you did it / but what did I do

20

BackwardsWe know the / Script backwards / Plastic words

@PeterGerstenmaier8

20

acid river viaductpretty little patterns / as the river flows beneath / geometric foam

17

The Architect of ShadowsThe exit was a magician’s trick, / a sudden trapdoor in a steady room. / One moment, a shared language,

16

The moon told meThe moon beams at night / It tells me her truth / She tell me she doesnt lie

@bailey_esme-1411

12

From Timbuktu, with loveThere were times / I tried to speak / but found my voice

12

The Tunnel of LoveOh, the tunnel of love, / Bestowed from above; / A fragile turtle dove,

11

Certain PathDoes it really matter how you get there? / as long as you are happy? / the school shooter says no

11

the twenty-second dayThey count twenty-one days to anchor a habit / but with the way I’ve learned the language of you, / I have found myself a shortcut.

11

What She Called LoveShe hit me / and then said I was lucky / she didn't hit harder.

10

motion sicknessi have emotional motion sickness / somebody roll the windows down / pull over, stop the car

@pink_sleeved_girl_841

8

A Dragon's Gaze (2026)Wuxing Category: Water (水) / 5-xx / The steel of the gaze holds a firm line,

@Liujiawen202438

7

ended

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