if this is past the deadline then please ignore it but I really wanted to enter this poem and I forgot about it until today :/

why I wasn't listening to you

on invisible wings I fly through the world,

and I see the cities of legend,

glittering gold spires in the light of the sunrise,

and the beauty of the world that shines like a jewel,

and your words fade away like wave-foam on the sand  -

you don't know,

nor does anyone in this room know,

that though you all live in a world of money,

I have my own wings,

and I live apart,

flying.

okay so sorry i still haven't gotten the other judgings out - i will try to as soon as i can! 

hey guys!! i'm so sorry i haven't posted the results yet - these past few days have honestly been insane, but i promise i'll get the judging up tomorrow <3 thank you all for your patience!! all your poems are wonderful <3 

okay, wow, this might've been the hardest poetry contest i've had to judge so far - i really wanted to give everyone first! you all had incredible poems <33

honorable mentions (in, of course, no particular order): 

Amethyst! whoa, i love this! there’s a wistfulness that’s established early on and really sets the tone for the rest of the poem - a sort of longing for more, for a more carefree, courageous life, for the sorts of experiences you’ll never get to have, perhaps? and then the last few lines completely change the meaning of the poem - “even if flight might be another imprisonment-- / i long to fly on swallow wings, / even if i wouldn't fly high, / even if i'm higher up with my feet on the ground-- / but that's not the point, is it?” - which is really well done. beautiful and thought-provoking - it’s really stuck with me ever since i first read it <3

Moon Wolf! this is so powerful! i love the message of resilience and hope and maybe learning to trust/love/be yourself again after suffering someone’s cruelty? the language is also very strong, and i love how you used the changing of seasons to further convey the story/theme. it’s hard to pick a favorite line, but i particularly like “The withered tree that once grew / Abundant fruit is now / A skeleton, dried of any chance, yet / They rumor that it will grow again / But when it does, chaos will fall.” it really helps hammer home your point of resilience and survival despite the odds :] 

Sempreverde! i love this! the hopeful twist is really well executed, and the repetition of “once, I flew” is really effective. the language is also beautiful - i especially like the lines “while I weave my wings from hope / ice and starlight” - it really gives a sense of determination to reclaim what was lost. i’m impressed with how you managed to convey so much and provide a lot to think about - tragedy and loss of freedom, and then that uplifting twist - while still making it easily digestible. like you said - short and sweet :D i’d love to see more of your poetry in the future (if you’d like to share, ofc) <3

AvaraStar! ooh this is really well done! wishing for the ability to make the world a better place but feeling unable to do so is definitely a feeling i’ve experienced, and you’ve conveyed those emotions so eloquently here! the repetition of “I wish I had wings so I could” at the start of each stanza only to be contrasted by the final line of “Alas, I cannot fly” really brings across the longing, melancholic sort of tone. overall, it’s just really beautiful and impactful! <3

Jaybells! this is gorgeous. i feel like the tone shifts quite a bit - hopeful, at first, then bleak, bitter, almost chastising, and then ending on an urgent, empowering - and it conveys the themes of this poem very effectively. i’m always in awe of your ability to write such beautiful, evocative, powerful poetry while using relatively straightforward language - i’m especially fond of the lines “So what does a winged creature do when it cannot fly? / It wilts, like wildflowers picked and placed in a basket, / A bird in a fancy cage.” i’ll be thinking about this one for a while <3

Hawkstar! i feel like i’m forever saying this, but your use of rhyme and rhythm is masterful! i especially love how you intersperse each quatrain - and then each line of the final one - with an italicized line - i don’t know exactly why, but i feel like it really just added more depth to the poem, and just made it overall more impactful. and of course, i love the actual subject matter of your poem - the way the tone shifts over the course of the poem to one more confident and carefree is really well done, and makes this piece so empowering and uplifting! <3 

peppermint! this is beautiful - slightly melancholic, wistful, quietly defiant. i love the details like “our converse slipping off our feet / tumbling into the sea” and “if the knuckles on our laced fingers grew wings” - to me, at least, they make the poem feel more personal and therefore more resonate. the repetition of “maybe” and “if” is also very powerful - it creates a sort of atmosphere of wistfulness and empty wishing, as well as a sense of cohesion. lovely <3

third place - Woodwind! i’m also having (or constantly in? oops) an “i hate everything i write” phase, so i sympathize :’) but i do really love this piece! it hits really hard - the use of italics/brackets is so impactful - the way i interpret it, it’s some sort of shadow self or self-loathing inner voice or just the fears that hold you back? anyway, i also really like the use of your username - it makes it feel more personal, more honest, somehow, which makes it all the more impactful. 

second place - CelineBurning Bright! whoa. this is beautiful and also very relatable - the theme of detachment from reality (or the desire for detachment?) is really well conveyed. the way you keep coming back to the cloudy window is also really effective and helps tie the poem together. i especially love the lines “and I don't want to buy / that new window cleaner / that pollutes the water and air / and harms the environment” - it kind of shows that to be entirely immersed in reality and to leave behind your fantasies and ideals is to accept the injustices and harmful realities of our society (that’s how i interpret it, idk)? overall, yeah, it’s just very powerful <3 

first place - Poinsettia! i love this!! you’ve really illustrated the sort of freedom that comes from departing from our materialistic society, and you’ve done it so beautifully, too - i especially love the vivid description in the lines “glittering gold spires in the light of the sunrise, / and the beauty of the world that shines like a jewel, / and your words fade away like wave-foam on the sand.” it’s a relatively short poem, and i think that’s what makes it so impactful - each word seems so carefully chosen, and the message is clear and easy to comprehend. a truly beautiful, powerful, and very relevant poem <3 congrats, you're the next judge!! :D

And also, @Bobcat, again, don't worry, take however long you need!! :D