written at 2 am, monday, in the dark

it's late at night

and still I can't sleep for memories.

he's never looked my way

and I only saw him once,

but I know exactly what he would do and how he would look at any moment -

maybe at this point he's more of a character than the boy I saw that day,

but still those memories of him flood me with longing.

or maybe it's not the memories I have 

that are invading me -

maybe it's the memories I don't.

memories of a mild spring day.

warm wind sweeping winter before it,

roaring through the green-budding trees,

and promise in the scent of rich dirt.

and sitting on the old broken-down backyard fence,

and knowing that he's beside me, 

with a promise in his eyes of a different kind.

or maybe it is the same kind.

maybe all promises come down to love in the end.

does it count as a memory

if it's only a memory of what I've imagined, every day and every night?

no. it doesn't.

it's just late and I feel lonely and I think I'm in love,

but that doesn't matter,

nothing's really wrong,

it's just late and I feel lonely and I think I'm in love.

it's been a while since i submitted a poem! glad to see so many entries :)

the traitors

i. memories are flowers that grew in my ribs

and bloomed and bloomed and bloomed

until one year they started sprouting thorns

and every time i think of  

my old neighbor's garden

and the buds of magnolias and the scent of basil

and the smile of a woman whose face was carved by 

the gentle fingers of age

i am stabbed with the realization that her garden is gone

ii. memories are crystal lakes that gleamed in my chest 

and flowed and flowed and flowed

until one year they grew murky with decay

and every time i think of

the park near the neighborhood pond

and the rusty swings and the plastic purple slide

and the call of ducks whose beaks were full of

sacrificial slices of bread

i am bogged down with the realization that the ducks are gone

iii. memories are a girl that lived in my heart

who loved and loved and loved 

until one year she grew quiet with the weight of the world

and every time i think of

the sandbox girls who did not know how to hate 

and the lost teeth and four-square wars

and the giggles of scrape-kneed heroes whose eyes were

light with perpetual sun

i am silenced with the realizaion that girlhood is gone

and the memories which built a basement of loving strength

are traitors to my ramshackle home. 

sorry this is kind of late! I've been swamped with finals this week unfortunately. I'm super impressed with everyone's poetry. this was SO hard to judge. all of these entries were amazing!!

honorable mentions: 

(in no particular order :))

Hawkstar -- I love your use of short, quick lines. it makes the poem interesting to read! I also like how you used questions to show how the narrator's memory was fading. the lines "Memories of you/Are distant storms" are my favorite! 

Moon Wolf -- this is a great poem! the repetition of the word "remember" in the first half is used really well, and I'm really impressed with the rhyming in the second half. I always find it difficult to write rhyming poetry without it feeling forced, but your poem flowed beautifully! 

Rainbow -- the formatting of this is so cool! the way the words bounce back and forth is very visually appealing, and it adds a lot to the poem. the repetition of "It's all your fault" is really powerful. this piece definitely packs a punch with practically every line. great job!

AvaraStar -- this is a beautiful poem! I love the lines "And the light/Of your magical,/Sparking/Eyes" and "Song of the stars/And the smile of the moon". The celestial theme in this is really cool! nice work! 

Poinsettia -- this is a really relatable poem. it perfectly portrays the way things feel at two in the morning, and it's very well written. the lines "or maybe it's not the memories I have/ that are invading me -/ maybe it's the memories I don't" are my favorite! also, I love how the last line wraps the poem up! 

third place: WildWolf and CelineBurning Bright

Wildwolf -- the imagery in this poem is beautiful! I love the lines "shades of peach filling the air" and "with rippled sunshine sprinked down". you also use italics perfectly and it's make the poem very visually appealing! I like the contrast between the simple lines and the descriptions. can't wait to read your future work! 

CelineBurning Bright -- between the italics and the punctuation, this was a really fun piece to read! I love the way you interpreted the prompt. you do a great job weaving a story into your poem and I like how the open ending makes you think. I also think using both italics and regular font in the last line was a great way to tie the whole poem together. nice work!  

second place: Eclipse 

this poem might be short but it hits hard. I love shorter pieces because the writer has to make sure each line is deliberate and meaningful, and you definitely did this! the last lines give the poem a haunting ending. I always struggle with the right finish for my work, so I'm really impressed by yours! my favorite line is "a flight of imagination, ship to nowhere/stuck floating between the passings of time". great job!

first place: Luna-Starr

this is such a stunning piece! the title sets it up perfectly and it's beautifully written. I love your descriptions--they paint such vivid pictures in my mind. also, this poem is a perfect reponse to the prompt. my favorite lines are "memories are flowers that grew in my ribs"and "the sandbox girls who did not know how to hate". I wish I could write like this! amazing job! congratulations!!

aah thank you peppermint!! you're so kind, i'm flattered :)

the next prompt is chain! judging on the 30th. I'm excited to see what yall come up with! 

Hello! I really enjoyed doing italics  in the last poem, so I thought I'd do that again. I'm pretty proud of it, so I hope you guys like it too! 

Daisy Chains

Long ago

or maybe just a few weeks

There was a field on a vacation

or in our backyard 

Filled with daisies, spread like precious pearls in a green sea of warm grass

beautiful daisies, perfect daisies, or maybe that's just how I remember it...

I linked them together, spending hours

or was it days

Of time with friends,

And family too, I think

And when I was tired, I lay down and fell asleep, woken by a sister

or maybe a mother

with gentle hands  

And a gentle smile

Memories

A mix of reality and fiction

Swirl together, forming everything I know.

Chains

Those chains

Wrapped around me

Holding captive

No longer free

They were cold

Iron and metal

Decorated with

Daisy petals

And shiny coins

Paper dollar hearts

Pages of stories

In pretty little parts

Binded together

Collected from all

My life’s mistakes

Big and small

Arranged neatly

Like a bouquet

In the garden where

I used to play

Now my chains

Piled in my life

Cut in death

Like a knife

If only there was

A second chance

A little more time

For one last glance

To Life, pleading

To get rid of the chains

But I know that

Forever it remains