The playing field level
your words versus mine
A race to forever
embedded in rhyme

The score has been tied
neither side giving ground
Both phrases and couplets
inscribed to astound

It’s late in the game
when a stanza takes off
Outpacing the others
no images lost

As darkness approaches
but one voice remains
Returned from the heavens
— posterity claimed

(The New Room: February, 2024)