Another jumble of words that sort of make sense.

~

Increase stitching, left hand lay-up

soda fizz, throwback, breaking a heart

fraying my edges

layer me, water-based tears are too much for your simple mechanisms

I won't pray, my soul only hopes for better

your seconds are hours

yearning for change

improvement is comparing progess to perfect

nh energy is destroying creation

making sense is yesterday's dilemma

hope.  

"why do you read so much?"

a queastion heard over and over, barely registered

cadence like a familiar song in my ears;

i never devote much thought to my verbalized response

because i may never know how to put my longing for words into words.

how to say that my world is severely lacking in absolutes

that nothing is perfect,

least of all myself:

i am a child's skittering skribbles,

snarled and moving in asymmetrical patterns;

a mess forever swept under the rug.

no one knows quite what to do with me

(but then again, neither do i).

how to say that people make mistakes

they run too fast and trip over each other and

sometimes spectacular things are launched into the air

and nothing comes of it.

everything is blinding color all around,

the world is haphazardly overwhelming and i wish to curl in on myself until i fit

between the clean pages of my books.

why stay in this place rife with half-truths and meaningless dreams

when i can go so many places where nothing is ever more than black-on-white type?

understand that words were always immortal but i will never be,

and i yearn for petty things.

i want my dream boy and my static friend and my inevitable victory

i want my concise arc and my linear plot and my satisfying conclusion

and i want every keystroke in my life to be intentional.

but alas, the only consistent thing is the way my fingertips itch to turn page after page--

until my world is infused with the aftertaste of magic,

until my eyes have devoured words so numerous,

you could say i have lived half my life between the pages, and yet

if i'm always halfway to where i want to be,

i'll always be a fraction away. 

Rosh Hashanah 

There is an ache in my chest

a hole

a longing

I don't know why it's there

maybe the cantor's piercing, lilting, beautiful voice

maybe the congregation all around me

maybe the difference of today

I want it to last forever

and I want it to go away now

I want to sing it out as loudly as I can

and I want to curl into a ball of silence

I want today to be every day

and I still want it to be special

What is this feeling?

This ache that's good and bad at the same time?

This hunger that pops up whenever I least expect it?

Is this God?

What is God?

Do I believe in it?

(him? them?) 

And as I ponder, the ache slips

silently

away

as gradually as it came

And before I know it, I'm back

to the simplicity of Normal

left only with a fragment

of what could have been 

I actually wrote this poem a few months ago (on Rosh Hashanah, actually), but I thought it was appropriate for the prompt. 

Years pass and slip away like tadpoles through my fingers

Each new day marks another I wish to retrace

Another pang pushing me back to far-off fields of yonder

Reeling in the whip-crack waves that tug me about;

Nevermore, once said a famous poet, and never more it is

In the twilight of dusk or dawn, throbbing and aching

Night enclosing, disregarding this little light-seeking

Girl on a journey, and her thoughts of returning home.

Ahh guys I'm sorry, I just got back from a trip and I've had so much schoolwork to catch up on I haven't even had time to read through the entries! I will judge for SURE within the next two days. Thanks for being patient, y'all <3

I know you're busy, but I'd hugely appreciate it if you'd judge soon!

Thanks! 

Please judge!!

Oh my gosh, guys, I feel awful! I'm so beyond sorry!! Things in my life have just been so crazy lately, but even so there's really no excuse. Thank you for all your patience. <3

Honorable Mention: Jaybells! Wow! This is brilliant, I feel like it punched me in the gut! I love the running motif of the colors, and reading it I felt like I got lost in a different world. My only critique would be to try to keep the rhyme scheme more consistent— In some places it's a bit choppy because the lines are uneven amount of syllables.

Third Place: Estelle! Your language is beautiful and lush as always, and paints a gorgeous picture. The word choice is so evocative and deliberate, and I loved the layers and allusions you added. I especially like the phrase "this little light-seeking girl."

Second Place: Kitten! This poem resonated with me in a way I can't really explain. The structure is so well thought-through and it's not over-complicated. The ideas are clearly articulated, and it leaves you with this feeling of melancholy that's incredibly profound. You're tackling some big questions in this poem, and it gave me a lot to think about. I don't know, man, it's just really good. Great job! 

First Place: Stardust!! There's a lot of little ideas packed in here, but they all fit so seamlessly together, and the theme of "longing" really permeates through— it tells you the theme less than it evokes the emotions behind it, which is a super tricky thing to do and something I struggle with in my poetry. I really like the part about a "child's skittering scribbles", and "I want every keystroke in my life to be intentional", and too many other bits to list. You did a great job on this, thank you for writing it. 

What's the new subject?

I... won?

Wow! That's pretty cool. It seems like I only win when I'm sure I'm not going to. And thanks for all of the compliments, Abigail, those made me smile so much.

Anyway, I have to judge now, haha. The new theme is adventure. The deadline is the 29th of February, because that's a pretty cool day. I'll try to judge by the 2nd of March. Happy Writing! 

Congrats, everyone! There were so many good poems this round, gosh.

I'm having my Language Arts teacher look over my poem. Is that allowed? Should I send in a version that hasn't been edited by her?