Poetry Contest Winner

Congratulations to all you brave poets who entered the contest. It's fun and fascinating to me to cull through a specific set of words and come up with something totally new. It's like figuring out a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box cover to guide you. Or picking through a page of words, trying to decode a secret message within.

As usual, it was hard picking a winner, but I really like the way Embee at A Would-Be Writer distilled all the photo caption entries and came up with an image-infused poem that saturated my eyeballs and mind with Louisiana elements. Her poem was cohesive. I could "hear" the poet's voice without being overwhelmed by it, if that makes sense.

Reading and rereading your entries reminded me of an important rule of thumb for writing both prose and poetry: What you leave out is just as important as what you decide to keep.

Thanks again to all who entered, and we'll do it (or something similar) again soon. Now...the winner:


Mesmerized by the stillness of the water,
Drowned in memories of dusky summer promises.
The sunlight filtered through the trees
As the Spanish moss drooped above.
My place for reflection.
Around that corner.
Welcome home.