Thank you to our guest judges Lisa Marie Basile (Caper Journal), Bryan Borland (Assaracus), Jessie Carty (Referential Magazine), and Brad Nelson (Eclectic Flash) for their tireless work in reading and ranking the 116 entries in the contest. They are the best and you should check out their publications! Much appreciation and admiration to all the writers who entered and congratulations to the winners who faced fierce competition.
First-Ever vox poetica Poetry Contest! Today’s Words 1st Place Winner:
I Smell Onions
By Stan Galloway
I smell onions on your breath and
think of Shakespeare’s wire-haired mistress.
You, too, submit to gravity
and time.
There’s no mistaking
your pretty human voice
for birdsong,
no wings or halo to confuse
my dull mortal senses.
For all the beauty of the nightingale’s call
and the sudden thrill of heavenly annunciation,
I’d rather hear you,
stepping through the doorway,
say my name,
with plain old
fallible
human
affection.
This poem references the famous Shakespearean sonnet it is thematically styled upon. Its place at the top of the today’s words contenders raises the question: Who doesn’t love a love poem?
Stan Galloway’s most recent poem to appear at vox poetica was Remembering Waikiki.
Congrats on your first place win.
Great poem. Ditto on the congrats.