The entries for the In The End poetry competition were such a pleasure to judge. The quality of poetry inspired by the prompts was outstanding and I hope you will take some time, not just to lose yourself in the winning poems, but to mosey through the category.


First Place

If good poetry is what happens when the poet and the reader meet in the middle, then great poetry is the ménage à trois of poet, poet, reader. Constrained writing of any type is incredibly difficult to produce successfully, especially when a writer desires to retain some semblance of meaning. Palindromic phrases are employed sparingly, even by the most clever writers, because they are just damn tricky tools with which to work. When it comes to determining a winner for a contest like this one, judges like a piece that stands out and can also stand on its own outside the competition; the restaurant at the end of.. by *psychodrive is peerless, even among so many stellar entries. Do yourself, and its brilliant author, a favor by stopping by and having a look. In The End, I think you'll be very glad you did.
*caveatLECTOR


Second Place

Walking on Water by *Adeimantus is a lovely piece of poetry. From the effervescent imagery of 'I spit diamonds' and 'needle-rack of cold', to the sounds in 'all is brittle sheen on a fox-ear, trimmed by the wind's whistle' or the clever linebreaks in 'I have only ice to bear / me over the water's meniscus' and 'I tremble / my rhythm lightly', the writing is rarely less than deft and dazzling.
^PoeticWar


Third Place

Every element in Ripe by *salshep from the diction and imagery to the repetition, form, and interwoven thoughts of the narrator add to its feeling of breathless horror.

Notable Entries

Nowhere by ~renaissance1912

Beach and Sky by ~SpokenAubade

The Messenger by *AbCat

Jeannie in the starlight by *iamshe

Her Name Is Luka by ~ShadowedAcolyte

Harbinger by =Spiff-Johnson

Play Practice by =lovetodeviate

And Stars Heading by ~platinummyr

untitled by *arliddian

Thank you to our judges: *caveatLECTOR, *vivus, *SparrowSong, ^PoeticWar, and ^imperfect.