Written: July 6, 2026, for a contest sponsored by Nayda Ivette Negron Flores
An inward journey is not a road
but a **return** —
a slow aurora rising behind the sky,
a hush where the heart begins
to hear itself again.
It is the moment you stop
careening through the world’s clamor
and feel the subtle susurrus
of your own becoming.
It is a lantern lifted
in the labyrinthine dark,
revealing not monsters
but mirrors —
each one a mythic reminder
of who you were
before the world
told you otherwise.
It is the quiet courage
to clear the noise,
to sift the ash from the ember,
to find the single, ductile thread
that still thrums with truth.
It is the place where your pulse
finally speaks without fear,
where your spirit, long beleaguered,
stands up again
after falling seven.
Embrace the journey
that doesn’t invite you to shift
into someone else —
it calls you to recognize and reclaim
the luminous self
you have always been.
My coveted letter is C
It creates a chant, so carefree
coasting, careening
caress, convening
With charm, words flow contentedly
C-words, as cordial, candlelight
caretaking, and calm, can delight
charming, curative
are comparative
to the C-words, I care to write
Swerving.
Jerking.
Careening,
from one end of the winding road to the other.
I am in the drivers seat,
but my hands are bound.
He is jerking the wheel,
back and forth,
laughing.
Telling me i can never steer.
I pull at the bindings around my hands,
it is no use.
They are too tight.
I contemplate,
letting him control the car.
Suddenly,
I am in action.
I grip the wheel,
steering,
though still my hands are bound.
I find control,
I take it.
It is mine.
The road twists,
turns.
I turn with it.
I turn the music up,
drowning out his voice.
I bat his hands away from the wheel.
As i listen to the music,
I notice-
his voice is no longer there,
his hands,
no longer fighting for the wheel.
I find peace in the knowing.
That i am in the drivers seat.
My hands,
no longer bound.
My mind,
no longer haunted by his words.
The voice in my head,
for the first time,
mine.
sun falling slowly through veils of yellow, orange, reds
slowly descending, the sun in twilight
slowly careening toward the beach
the tan on the beach just out of reach
sands slipping through fingers of time
sifting the beachcomber’s untroubled mindset
then lapses of waves, washing, erasing the canvas
over and over, a redo, a new generation
troubles come and go; the dawn returns
pinks, purples, blues embellish highs and lows
tidings of the sea; setting of our brief lives
just you wait until heaven’s reveal
I find it sadistic to gaze upon a star
but without the ability to touch it.
On this precious earth, free will is beyond anybody's reach.
Free will is the greatest tease.
I feel wholly blessed that I'm not totally blind.
We're all trapped in a skin cage of ego.
Careening off one another.
Pinballs in a secondhand arcade
Flawed and chipped and forever on tilt.
love careening like molten honey
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Seems so surreal...billions of beings
held in place by invisible forces
atop a giant spinning orb
dependent on the charity of
mother bird's star warmth.
It's a golden time for Earth and mankind
conceiving and evolving, creating
mastering fantastic things.
Flying machines and curing diseases.
Searching for the key to the speed of light.
Unwinding the helix-dreaming in spacetime.
Ego, as an algae bloom, enters the gilded room.
Disturbing the divine and pure nature of things.
Warring and serial raping...rinse and repeat.
Mankind so volatile, so violent, so unkind.
Careening toward another mass extinction.
The beginning and ending deeply set in scripture.
Trimmed and encrypted, whittled down to imperfection.
With an ungodly amount of editing in between.
No wonder mankind seems detached and indifferent.
Mother bird star warmth will remain.
Long after the golden tide of mankind subsides.
She'll pulse her warmth to the next icy orb...
Hopeful that grace will finally overcome ego.
Electricity crackles in the air
roller-coaster careening
off its track as silver trumpets blare
Gangs teem and thrive in jungles
from Africa to American streets
shells of bodies without heartbeats
Naked greed meets raw power
each devours the other
~ carcasses to recover
Shining Bright,
Filling the airwaves,
Freeing the slaves,
Digging up graves,
Daring to misbehave.
A brave ray of light,
Illuminating whats right.
Shining through a dark night,
Clearing the plank from my sight.
There's no need to fight,
Every choice is right.
The delight about being,
Seeing living is meaning.
Careening out of control,
It's time to let go,
Throw yourself in the flow,
You're free to grow.
It's a slow start,
Once you open your heart,
Mending the broken parts.
Charting your course,
A force to be known.
The answers are being shown,
Reach into the unknown.
We own the airwaves,
Thoughts are keeping you a slave,
Shave away the fear,
You are the light shining here.
A lighthouse stands firm,
Before the storm.
First to see its dark form,
The horizon no more.
Caustic clouds curl in,
The birds are now swarming,
Winds whirling, swirling,
Waves hurling towards,
It's solid foundation.
A warning of it's invasion,
Signaling its activation.
Standing tall before it all,
Shining a silent call,
A lighthouse refuses to fall.
Confidently embracing the Squall,
As harsh rains beat down the walls.
Still it's light calls to all,
Lost and weary, ready to fall.
A guiding light,
Shining so bright,
Exposing obstacles,
Through the dark night.
Steering you right,
Safety is in sight.
Standing strong despite,
The storms harsh bite.
Lighthouses remain a beacon,
A Brilliant hope gleaming,
As we're careening,
Through the storms,
Of our Dark Night.
In last clear winter night
I saw red light like a phoenix
a light careening downward
against the canvas of aphotic sky.
Present were the planets
which aligned among constellations,
passenger planes embarking with clarity
out on their own ways.
Had they seen it too?
or was it a figment of an exhausting mind
combined with my unreliable eyes,
projecting a spectacle
to shake me from malaise,
return my sight to players
peeking behind the curtain,
the world’s stage I put to writing
exuberant in image and voice.
The comet of some past poet perhaps
showing off their place in eternity
as if the words were not already enough.
Waves careening up
And down on the vast shoreline;
The sea’s melody.
The crush of reporters with mikes
the security entourage
Autograph-seekers, well-wishers
hand-shakers, selfie-fishers
On stage 24/7... with luck, for years
Careening 'career' ... jeers and cheers
~ ‘midst the booze veneer
The vague and the abstract turned into a contract,
adrenaline junkies, now joined in a dare.
With hands up, no screaming, they’d both go careening,
defying gravity at the State Fair.
What started as amity morphed to calamity
enough that the riders had panic attacks.
When they reached the summit, they started to plummet
just as a mutt ventured onto the tracks.
The new rollercoaster got hot as a toaster
as the conductor stomped hard on the brake.
With no time for acting, they heard the impacting
of metal on flesh as the mutt flew the lake.
To worsen the matter, gratuitous splatter
was added for gratis to this ruinous ride;
they grew more embittered once they had considered
those patches of hide from the cur that had died.
The horrors receded as they both conceded
while parting the last bits of gore with a comb.
They climbed in the pickup, and with no further hiccups
slumped up the hill slowly and headed for home.
ai is nothing but ghostwriters,
uses words of dead poets passed,
ai is nothing but ghost writers,
using the poets of the past.
and they say it is the future,
staring into their rearview,
good £uck with that view,
progress is careening forward.
“the world is mad, this is madness”
this message brought to you by,
batwoman, batman with breasts,
left and right the helpless citizens,
poets who have made no attempts.
i don’t need help,
stay out of my way,
stacked deck is dealt,
straight hellhole, i sashay.
snarl-like grin on my countenance,
never asked, just pointed and laughed,
because i’m dark, labeled with ignorance,
have to play the game, check the pie graph.
i’m winning,
where are you all at,
sorry i move fore and don’t look back.
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