May 3, 2026

Winners

My Father Explains NothingMy father never says: / “I miss your mother.” / Instead he asks

#1

62

Michelangelo's childDavid looks different / under a hazy pink sky, / at least to my wearied eye,

#2

47

- Cardio Myopathy (A Love Note) -No, I didn’t eat enough protein today--- / the eggs sat shy in their carton, / the chicken stayed frozen in its silver coat.

@PenumbraPoet27

#3

35

Other poems

Every last shardIf my heart was kaleidoscopic, / colored shards clashing, / catching light I'll never know;

27

PeppersMy father says / the peppers need more sun. / This is somehow

22

five "hail mary"syou feel like bursting through hospital doors. / repeating names, rushed hands all over my body looking for signs of distress. / you feel like dialated pupils,

21

HP Writers Spotlight: Mateja~ / May 2026 / HP Poet: Mateja

@The-Timetables29

18

After the Thresholds, Before the Windows(A poem about love that no longer asks – only remains.) / I don’t expect your love. / Expectation is a door

17

Physical Layer Failure Notice (Analog Glitch)⭐ THE POLISHED SELF™: “Physical Layer Failure Notice (Analog Glitch)” (part VI) / Where the body refuses optimization – and the system finally admits it. / [Physical Layer Failure Notice: 00:00]

14

No ChanceI wrote so much about you — / The way I saw you / Through my eyes,

14

OVER YOUOVER YOU / A bust / of Beethoven

@donall-dempsey50

13

I know you by the salt on your skinI know you by the salt on your skin / by the sigh behind the ribs / by the cold that starts in your fingers

12

willinglyim falling / willingly. / unlike alice in wonderland there is no rabbit to chase

9

SmileYour genuine smile, / it comes from a place inside, / haters cannot touch.

@lynn-stillman3

8

Sunday SoupI make soup exactly like my mother did. / Too much parsley. / Too much care.

7

Summer Courtyard, 1998All the adults were smoking. / This is how I remember the Balkans. / Plastic chairs.

7

WeaponThe sharpest sword / Is speech with a thoughtful word — / It can ignite everybody

7

PigeonShe ambled to the park come rain or shine / Unlike her earlier years, walking didn't come easily / The faithful bench greeted her with its cedarwood smile

@kim-johanna-baker20

6

Wizard of WordWizard of word / My style absurd / Cross the line

5

The Rain and the Stone (2026)Wuxing Category: Earth (土) / 3-xx / The granite peak stands ancient, a silent, rugged throne,

@Liujiawen202438

5

Addiction and Sobriety (A Backwards Poem)Say yes / I'd never / Look forward to the future

@AmandaKayBurke35

5

Silence TouchesSome nights feel hollow, / echoing with the ghosts / of voices you once trusted.

5

Half the DevotionIf half the sleepless love I spend / on watching where your shadow bends — / if half the hours I wait for you

5

For all Lovers to SeeHere I am, thinking again / Trying to figure out how to win / The best offense is a good defense

3

IslandThey urge: "Live for yourself". / But how could I stand still— / To watch them fracture and tear,

3

Bronco Billy And Rodeo Week15 seconds in the OK corral / That’ll do wonders to improve the morale / Bronco Billy love to ride wild fillies

@cj-sutherland55

3

Sparkle Sparkle , Little Star How Necessary you areThe desire to have our poem in the hierarchy / of the covenant first second and third spots / Ultimately, the top five for the month and

@cj-sutherland45

3

- A Root's Reckoning: What the Sycamore Knows -Old Sycamore, do you bend your spine / to memorize the rain’s wet signature--- / do you count the rings as loss or lore,

@PenumbraPoet24

2

- The Hat We Pass Around -They passed the hat, a silence in the room / made out of everything we hadn’t said. / A simple bowl, yet looming like a tomb

@PenumbraPoet68

2

Tears (Tanka)If I only knew, / just how much my tears would sting, / when I cried them all.

@lynn-stillman5

2

I wonder if you think of meIn the muffled dark of my dust cover, / irresponsibly wide eyes, / waiting for sleep,

2

DUCKDuck / Empty hands, / poor duck.

@carlos-alberto-bustillos31

2

Miles ApartDarling, if there was a way / That I could be with you tonight / I would do everything that I could

2

Prayer For Peace (Om Shanti)***What the world needs right now is fellowship amongst humankind*** / ***And when the mind taketh repose, our heart's will once again sing*** / *Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti*

@kim-johanna-baker18

2

tentativelyCrumbly rocks / Basking the road / The train goes

2

You never leftyou are a silence / that answers nothing / yet says everything.

@BleakReverie13

2

The Bringer.The old man sat, his legs crossed, / opposite the young boy, in the dirt. / "See dat fella?" he said pointing at a tree,

@paddy-martin37

1

Extra Puzzle pieceBell sighs, ding-dong. / Adrenaline of my exam dies. / Fingers cry, holding pen so long.

@Thesilentobserver45

1

The Age That Has GoneThe age that has gone — / I remember: one night I was a madman for you, / my tongue a bell of fever

1

Life ItselfLife itself / It has been magnified / Like an hour glass

1

In Black or GoldThe future, / written, or not; / in black ink

1

Warm As Indian SpiceCool as a shiver in the snow, warm as the evening sun / dressed in a taffeta dress of white and silver she glows / Beneath the moonlight a shimmer of gold in her eyes

1

Spat-Out VoicesWords never spent / at torment’s gate, / voices never silenced

0

A Message to FeThat day will haunt me for the rest of my life. / I woke up to the sound of your heartbeat. / Slow and steady, yet holding on for dear life.

0

ended

Hello PoetryVoting