*pants*
I did it–took a few days of working on it for five minute intervals at a time, but here it is! almost late, but not quite

I put this on my to-do list with a due date. That’s the only reason why I finished it on time-ish :/

Keeping Them

I dare to keep a ring of silhouettes
and stroke them with a timid fingertip.
I dare to keep them high above the grave
so neither of us get a wink of sleep.

Some happy meals I kept until they spoilt,
Some pencils nibbled to their fleshy bones
A pinch of crumbs from sugar cookie tins,
A word, a name, to fill this page of mine.

Like papers with the edges curled up
Some raked when season rolls onto its back
The rest to sleep in arid mulch and earth
and grass to grow on their unmoving plaque.

Thanks so much for entering, everyone! Y’all are the best:)

Honorable Mention:

Moon Wolf! This captures the idea of a silhouette beautifully, and the juxtaposition of substance and shadow adds an extra layer. I especially love the way the ellipses turn into dashes; it’s as if the whole poem suddenly surges to life, and then unexpectedly leaves you hanging at “please wait for me —”, which is very powerful. Lovely:)

Third place:

Seadragon! This is poetic in a simple, clear way, woven together with just the right images. The story-telling style comes across effortlessly, and the wording is perfect – “fading / into the sea-mist”, “Your silhouette was stained / with fish-and-chip grease / onto the day-old newspaper I found”. It’s sad, but it also has meaning, which brings it together. Good job!

Second place:

Hawkstar! Ooh I remember this one, and I remember thinking it was so good the first time I read it too. I absolutely love it – the whole idea of losing someone to stardom, and of earthshine (which makes such a good metaphor). I especially love the lines “You are my entire world and all I need / Is you(niverse)”, though the whole thing is so lovely! Hurray for you:)

First place!

pangolin!! How do you always do this? It’s so perfect, and complete, and special, just one poem that somehow manages to say it all. It’s sad, almost heartbreaking, but with a strength and defiance coming through anyway, a certain knowledge that the bad things don’t matter. The last three lines are especially beautiful, but, really, every word choice and line is just right. Congrats, you’re the next judge!

@Lyric, oh dear, I missed yours :0 Here’s some extra judging to make up for it – sorry, though!

Lyric, tied for third place in retrospect! This is mostly just so poetic; the last stanza is particularly good, but there’s a lovely cadence and mood throughout. The title is perfect, and I love the way you say that the speaker “dares” to do these things; it adds so much determination and depth. There’s also just enough similarity in the words to make them fit together without strictly rhyming, until the proper rhyme in the last stanza pulls it all together. Lovely:)

Why do we fear seeing
Our own skeletons?
Are we so afraid to know
What we truly are like inside?
Beneath the skin and smiles
Within the flesh we built
Just our bare bones, who we are
Inside, truly it must be a shock
To realize that beneath everything
Our bones look quite the same

Skeleton Waltz

On Halloween Night
Skeletons rise
They give people frights
But they’re not in disguise

They dance and dance
All night, no breaks
Tricker Treaters in a trance
No mistakes

At 12 pm, they go back to bed
They had a good time
“That was fun,” one said
The grave now goes quiet, till next time!

skeleton

it was nothing but a

skeleton, now, hardly a

respectable thing, abandoned by

half of itself, the way it had been

each winter past,

beauty fallen and quill feathers and candle wax left behind

as birds flew south and only

low trails of clouds twined

on its highest branches. a little thing, really, unremarkable,

skeleton of blooms and seventy-five years’ drifts of fallen leaves

stored up safely against the seasons in

swathes of sunlit green, but

outdated, crumbled into parchment dust that

was scattered on the wind with wings, like

the birds that had left it too.

it stood, a tree bereft of its crown,

black and witchlike and a damp

autumn wind seemed to shiver

at whatever heart was left,

skeleton-like.

but it was spring.

i’m sorry this is a bit late – thank you guys for being so patient :] you all had lovely poems! 

Third Place: Thalorwin!! – ooh i love this! it’s such a lovely, whimsical take – it definitely fits the spooky vibes i had in mind when coming up with the prompt. i love your rhymes, too – they create a great sort of rhythm and flow that makes your poem so satisfying to read and reread – i feel like if you illustrated this, it could make an awesome halloween picture book or something.

Second Place: Moon Wolf!! – there’s something about your poems that always feels so…deliberate, i guess? each word, each syllable seems carefully chosen, and the result is complex yet concise, rhythmic, and incredibly powerful. i especially love how you start out by asking questions – it sets up the reflective tone for the rest of the poem and encourages the reader to look inside themselves – it’s very well done. 

First Place: Amethyst!! – whoa, this is incredible. first of all, i love how atmospheric this poem is; your descriptions feel almost stream-of-consciousness, sharing observations that build up the scene so wonderfully. it just seems so wistful and melancholic – and then with the last line, i feel like you completely twist the meaning of the poem – and by contrasting your lovely descriptions of winter/autumn with the to-the-point “but it was spring,” it feels like you’re encouraging the readers to imagine their own possibilities for a better future—at least, that’s the way i interpret it. in any case, congrats, you’re the next judge! :]

@Amethyst congrats! Your poem is really beautiful! 🙂

Good Job everyone! (When will I win something? 🙄) All of them were good!

Oh my gosh, thank you!! It’s seriously such an honor :)And congrats to Moon Wolf and Thalorwin as well – your poems were lovely!

Without further ado, the next prompt will be perspective, and I’ll be judging on November 12th.