Notes About The Poem
13 September 2026
for the 'Haven' Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Listen to poem:
Haven
Haven is a safe harbor to shelter from a storm.
A castle with a moat, a gate, a gangway— it's safe and warm;
a pause between exposures, not some prison fortress,
a place to lower your guard, to undress your distress.
Crossing its threshold, outside laws lose their reach.
The storm rages on, smashing into rock walls along the beach.
The longer you linger, the harder it is to leave.
Sanctuary breeds dependence; its reprieve can deceive.
Stay long enough, and the anchors learn to bind.
Safe walls grow inward, closing around the mind.
A haven keeps both entrance and escape unconfined.
A sanctuary locks the exit, when leaving is declined.
Four walls and even headphones can make a room.
A garden shed, a studio retreat, lets stolen hours bloom.
Even a kind shoulder, a hug, or an empty chair—
can be small atolls where, we briefly taste fresh air.
A haven needs the storm raging beyond its door.
The harbor never stills the troubled sea offshore.
We sleep because we have briefly quieted our fear—
Yet even in our dreams, we know what brought us here.
The safest anchor can still chain us to the bay.
The shelter becomes a prison when we linger overstay.
A haven earns its name by sending us restored.
Back across the gangplank we once fled aboard.
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