Wow! I loved all of your poems, and judging was so hard. It's really cool how many ways you all interpreted this theme.

First, we have the honorable mentions (in no particular order)

Ayles! - I really liked this! It was charming and funny. I particularly liked the ending - "'What was the answer to number 11?'/'Uhh… can you say that again?'" I felt that added a particular note of humor that I really appreciated. Very entertaining, nice job!

Amarillis! - This one's really pretty! It has a gentleness to it, and a hopefulness too. Like, maybe things aren't great now, but they can get better. I love that line "it's a bitter fantasy, one that/girls like her will never get". That feels particularly heartbreaking, but beautiful. Well done!

Hawkstar! - Wow, this is really good! It's whimsical and nostalgic. My favorite lines were "The brave knight jumps off the dragon and onto the ground/And transforms into a boy once again". That was a really smooth way of bringing the little brother back to reality. Nice job!

Ultimatium! - I liked this a lot! It's really interesting. My favorite lines were the last ones: "We are parted forever, my dear/and it's too late to pretend." That added a particularly somber note to it, and a sense of hopelessness that was very well done. Great job!

Rainbow! - This was so good! The rhyming is really well done. It had a very nice rhythm as well. The lines I liked the most are "Can I ever be free/of every expectation?" That was relatable to me, and I thought it really added to the theme of the poem. Well done!

Third place - oldish books! - This is so beautiful! I love the idea of the poem, as well as the execution. It's very sad and expresses a longing for someone you no longer have, as well as pretending they're still around. Those last lines "and i want to live for you/at least pretend, you know/at least pretend" were particularly strong. I loved it.

Tying for second are - Jaybells! - Woah, this is great! I love the darkness to it. It feels almost like a warning. I love the lines "So it too can become a cage/A prison that traps you in place" because they show that even our own imaginary worlds can become inescapable. That's such an original and interesting idea, I love it!

And Hex! - This was really well done! I loved the figurative language. You're very skilled at painting a picture, and it made the poem so much more beautiful and meaningful! The opening lines, "there are clouds, and clouds are there/fluffy white abstractions to be wished on" are a good example of this - two lines into the poem and already giving me so much to imagine. It's amazing, fantastic job!

First place - peppermint!! - peppermint, this is so amazing! I love the hopefulness to it. It's not super happy, but it's not sad, either. It feels as though the speaker has known the reader for years and is trying to give them advice. I love, love, love, those last lines "or/perhaps,/you could open them,/and build something real?" They're so gentle and kind, and really add something to the poem. Great job!! 

The ocean

Big 

Blue

Full of possibilities

Fierce

Gentle

Harsh

Calm

Beautiful

Scary

The ocean

I found the ocean

I found it when I was five

I fell in love then, I fell in love 

I fell in love with the waves and the sand

And my mother calling out my name I fell in love

with everything around me i fell in love

with you, of course.

I love to watch from afar

the waves of life

ripple around me

I love to listen to my converstations

and smile when your name comes up

I love to smell the salt air

that reminds me I'm home.

That tells me your still waiting there.  

first off, congrats! i keep meaning to enter in this, augh.

is it alright if i submit a poem i've already had written for a while? i might try to write another ocean poem, but this one really captures how i feel about the ocean and i don't think i've shared it here before. 

Oceans

Oceans,

They rise and fall,

But don't we all?

Different,

We aren't the same,

But whose to blame? 

lol I'm not sure what happened to this one but I don't have time to edit it~

I, I’m drowning

in an ocean of regret

my life spreads out behind me, each memory a droplet in the never-ending sea

each cresting wave a crash of nostalgia and broken dreams that threatens to push me down

the dreary mindscape sky rains salty tears as the waters flood higher

and I, I’m gasping for breath, remembering

those days

and I, I’m fixed in time as I pound at the window, my cheeks wet with hopelessness and my knuckles red from punching the walls

trying to break out of my crystal-clear time prison

as I watch my younger self make so many mistakes

mist akes

mist takes all thoughts and swirls them down in typhoons and tsunamis

and I, I’m drowning

in an ocean of regret 

yaaay i didn't forget about it this time :D

One With the Surf

We are all here for the same thing.

Do not fool yourself- what soul is not thrilled

When green-aqua-blue peels over

Faded wood steps, bringing a brightness -or even stunning darkness-

Unquelled by the dullness of anything not made by the thing that feeds all life.

The first thing you learn is that waves cannot be tamed.

Only warned against, or thrown into, soul and body

Washed in blue, any stillness, any resolution of dignity

Peels off your form and clothes you in movement and purpose.

The ocean senses your fear. It pulls. It rocks. 

It sways to the music of wind and swells to the moon’s conducting

And it’s not afraid of changes in tempo while pelican cries join in.

You have done this before, but you are never quite ready, still-

A wave waits for no one, greets you

With royal plumes of white, do not refuse its cool embrace, but

No longer trust in the steadiness of your legs,

The water will catch you and you may close your eyes and be in bliss for a moment-

And the clarity and gentleness like soft violin and sunlight creating abstractions in aqua

Is inevitably broken by roaring drums crashing, crashing down and back up

On your vulnerable body with such splendor, graceful in its cruelty

As all beautiful things have layers and shadows.

You push, you are chastised, left dripping,

You were never in control, not fully.

And yet, from the warm, simple comfort of your towel-

You run back in, laughing,

To be part of something bigger. 

first off, great job everyone!! this was really hard to judge. also, I'm typing this on a phone, so I apologize if there's any typos or anything :)

honorable mentions (in no particular order): 

Hawkstar - I loved the style of this poem! it was a unique format and I enjoyed the simplicity of it. you were able to pack a punch with a small amount of words, which is really impressive. the line "full of possibilities" was my favorite. 

Ayles C. -  this was a great poem! the rhymes make it flow really well, and it connects both to the theme and a more general topic. it's a quick read, but one that you'll remember. beautiful job! 

third place: 

oldish books - I love the repetition in this poem, and the theme of love! it's cool the way you split it into two different section; it really brought emphasis to both sides of it. also, the imagery was beautifully done. great job! 

second place: 

Hex - this was a really neat interpretation of the theme! the imagery is very well done, and it really comes to life as you read it. I love the line "my life spreads out behind me, each memory a droplet in the never-ending sea". the repetition of the first lines is also a great addition to the poem! 

first place:

Azalea -  this is such a beautiful poem! it's a perfect representation of the ocean, and has gorgeous details. I think the last line really ties the whole poem together well. the line "it sways to the music of wind and swells to the moon's conducting" was my favorite. great job!!

amazing job to everyone and congratulations Azalea <3 I look forward to seeing the next theme! 

Congrats Azalea! I really did like your poem. And I had fun making this one! :D 

Always so busy, things on my mind 

Forgetting, remembering, and forgetting again.

Gotta go shopping, but need to clean house

Finish the painting, but library book’s due.

How to remember? When so often forget?

A list of priorities, go through one at a time.

Shopping while returning that book

Clean and painting while music is blasting

Make a list to remember

All the things to do

Make a list so you never forget

Now I would go and do all of this,

If only I could remember where I set that list!

the shopping list

when i was just a kid

my mother took a piece of paper

out of her old, old inlaid treasure box of fragrant rosewood

and gave it into my hands.

this is a list my mother gave to me

when i was your age

what kind of list? i asked.

read it. you'll see.

it was a shopping list, i thought, 

but then i actually read it, breathing the faint scent of must, my fingers relishing the paper's fibers-

life's a store, it said, you buy things there and pay with the coins of experience,

as you push your cart through it,

pick up:

bravery,

kindness,

wonder - it alone is free,

   and you'll want to be amazed by

   the waterfalls trees buildings people skies stars you'll see

beauty, the inner kind, that's made of strength and dignity and respect all blended together like 

   one of those ready cake mixes

friendship, because life isn't really lived 

   without someone to live it with - that's the secret everyone knows.

love, because love is the only thing we really need, just

   that, both for others and from others. maybe you don't believe it now, but trust me, love is

   the thing most worth buying in your shopping mall,

   the sun in the sunrise

   the water in the waterfall.

that was my shopping list for life, and i've bought everything on it

now i have my own daughter

she's going to college,

i call her into my room

one cloudy opal-like evening, the sky streaked and marbled

like a jewel.

i smile at her solemn young face

she doesn't really know anything yet,

but she will.

i take the paper out of my large messy treasure box

and put it in her hands.

this is for you, i say.

her grave eyes study me, almost smiling.

what is it, she asks.

all at once she's myself at her age, i'm my mother,

and the list has closed the years, blended the generations.

i smile at her.

read it. you'll see.