crossing my fingers for the format to turn out ack 

I see libraries and wavy monkey bars

I see my ancestors and my family's future generations.

I see a cross and the Star of David.

I see my plain brown hair and freckled skin. 

I see inside jokes and potions in the basement.

I see "Rise and shine!" And "Bvaka sha", whatever that means.

I see my friends and my cousins though those are often the same.

I see animals, creatures of purity.

I see books, libraries and wisdom gained from them. 

I see every magazine I've ever received, kept  carefully in a wicker box.

I see my great grandmother's watch and the letter of condolences we received when my grandpa died.

I see precious thrift store buys and my stuffed turtle who I've had since the age of two.

I see a web of life.

Who do you see in the mirror?

Okay, this was so hard to judge!! I absolutely loved all of these! But with that being said, here are the winners! <3

3rd place-Princess Juniper!! This was incredible!! I love the way you phrased these. I especially love the lines I see inside jokes and potions in the basement, and I see my friends and my cousins though those are often the same. Overall I loved this poem and the question was just, ahh it was so good! Well done!!

2nd place-Luminescence!! This was really hard! I absolutely loved this poem!! Just, Aahhh, it was so good!! It tells a real story that’s easy to connect to, but also an incredible poem, like you twirled these normal scenarios into this gorgeous fantasy-esque story. It’s so easy to read but feels so delicately made and it hit me really hard for no reason. I love the lines (honestly I love it all, but I especially love these ones) and maybe i should just give it up, not make you fly me to jupiter and back/ because i know you tried so hard (and if i’m honest you succeeded)/ because you mean something to me, not just because/you hung up all the stars and the moon and probably the sun in the sky for me. It was just so perfectly made in my opinion. Incredible Job!!!

1st place-PhantomFeline!!!!- This was absolutely beautiful. It felt so true in a sense, but also just out of reach to be real. It was a perfect blend of fantasy and real life, and was just stunning! It blew me away!! I love the second stanza so much, and the way you brought back the beginning in the end (which I know sounds like a basic thing to do, but it sounded so clever and well done in this poem.) I also absolutely adore the lines But now, for once.. It's real./Losing sight of what is real./Dying light fading,/Fading. And honestly I just loved the whole thing!!

So yeah! All of these poems were amazing, and I’m sorry for a pretty lazy judging, it’s rather late at night where I am right now and I’m kind of tired. But yes, incredible job to all of you!! Congrats PhantomFeline and I can’t wait to see more poems!!

~Spellbound 

(my captcha says zpnap. Zip nap? Yeah I want to take a nap too!!) 

                                                              The new theme is....

Flight! 

judging is on October 16, good luck! 

Stars fly and fall,

Sparks in the wind;

So very small and far away,

Of-magic-silver-dust spint;

The waves rise and fall,

Flapping in smooth endless motion;

They fly in spray, and take off-- away, 

Into a sky of shining wonderous ocean;

Butterflies flutter effortlessly,

A breeze, a thought, a magic unto their own;

Delicate, living snowflakes full of colour

Stain-glass, built to be by autumn blown;

Squawking seagulls, proud regal eagles,

Royal dragonflies and magnificent pegasai;

All are given wings to fly,

Like autumn leaves to the fire: to rise, then fall and die;

To come hurtling back down to the world,

Like the sun falling, by hubris downward-hurled;

But my heart will never falter, unlike my body

It takes flight and soars, set to my mind and soul embody;

To float and dream above the clouds

To climb and climb and know no bounds;

To know nothing other that sensation

Of flying, living; my freed re-incarnation. 

you have married an icarus / who has flown too close to the sun

do you know how it feels

to stand on the ramparts and watch

as a genius crafts himself wings to escape the prison

he built to cage another?

you were beautiful once-

alive and strong and young

and naive. 

you took your broken bits, accumulated over the years

feathers & twine & the stubs of wax candles

and forged a key to unlock your cage

and then you flew.

do you know how it feels

to see a fool and his gold reach

too high, too far, touch the moon and the sun and fall down

into the depths of the sea?

this has always been your downfall:

the diamond in the rough, the shiny piece of coal

you reach your goal and then you go further.

too far

and fall.

because good enough is never good enough for you

is it? and maybe they’re right

the higher you climb, the further your fall.

it wasn’t worth it. 

~~

did i just write a Hamilton-inspired poem?

yes i absolutely did and i am not taking it back MWAHAHAHAHAHA 

(just to be clear i didn't write the title, it's a song lyric from Hamilton and i'm not taking credit for it)

i used to try to lucid dream.

when i did,

i would always try to fly,

twirl through the air.

i could never do it.

i was too grounded in the reality,

i kept not being convinced enough

it was a dream, i could fly.

i flew a little bit

but i would fall back down.

i've stopped trying to fly.

i realized

i'd rather not know it's a dream,

be able to live in my fantasy

as if it were real life.

i realized

it's not worth giving up fantasy

that feels real 

for that small sliver of control.

over something that never really mattered in the first place. 

do you remember

that time when

we had just turned seven,

(i loved that your birthday was 

just a week and 2 days after mine

because we could always

celebrate together)

and we were running to your house

since you invinted me to a sleepover.

you told me 

that your mom

had bought us balloons 

and a angel food cake with

2 candles in the shape of

a 7.

the cake was covered in a layer

of light green and light blue

(our favorite colors)

and 2 frogs

(which was both of our favorite animals

and still is).

we were so excited 

to get to your house 

that we were running down

the sidewalk,

our backpacks flying of our backs 

after every step

since we were nearly

floating off the sidewalk

ourselves. 

and then you turned to look at me

and said,

"i'll race you to the end 

of the sidewalk!"

and i yelled back,

'you're on!"

and when we got to your house

we leapt up the stairs to your bedroom

to wait until your mom

had set everything up.

I set my bag on the floor and took off

my shoes.

I watched as you giggled 

and danced your way around the room,

a leap in every step you took.

i loved seeing your face glow

against the candle light

of our shared cake. 

years later, 

at the lunch table we always sat at

when we were maybe 11,

you said,

"i want to be an astronaut

so i can fly up there with stars."

and i said,

"i'll fly you to the moon."

and you didn't think anything of it.

in fact, it became an

'inside joke'

even though i wasn't joking,

i would've done anything for you,

i would've done everything for you,

ever since that day

when we were seven

and you said 

"i'll race you to the end

of the sidewalk!"

and even though i was exhausted

and could barely breathe

since i was nowhere near as agile as you,

a beautiful dancer,

i still ran for you,

after you,

because of you.

i ran because my cheeks were flushed

but not just because of the running.

i ran because i wanted to see you dance and giggle

but not just because i wanted to dance and giggle too.

i have loved you forever

but it was just an

'inside joke'

to you.  

everytime our hands brush i get

butterflies

and everytime

you laugh

i feel my face heat up.

when you hung up

those sticky star things

on your ceiling

you said,

"ha, i'll fly you to the moon."

and i whispered back,

"i'll fly you to the moon."

whenever we sleep

at your house,

ever since before we were even seven, 

we sleep right next to 

each other

and since you put the stars there

i finally have something to focus on

other than the warmth of your body

next to mine.

you smelt like warm vanilla

and cinnamon.

i have loved you forever

and i would do anything for you.

i would even 

fly

you

to

the 

moon.

Okay, I don't really know what happened. I just kind of let my finger take me wherever they wanted to go, and this was created! I think it's kind of beautiful, kind of long, and kind of strange. The prompt sort of got lost, but I hope that it's okay! So yeah, here's my poem!!

Free Forever

I am free to fly,

Whever I wish,

Because the sky,

Belongs to me.

Other wished to do the same,

But they created something else,

A metal bird called an airplane

That is not free.

I am free to go where I will,

But humans walk freely,

So I tried to walk to a mill,

But I had to fly.

When I found that out,

I realized that I was not free,

But had to take my own routes,

Like humans.

But now I am happy,

To have the sky all to myself,

Now I fly wherever,

With no boundries.

_______________________________________________________

OK that was my poem. I hope it still counts as flying!