to both the parents am tethered
with love nurtured, tended, guided
this moment is all that matters
enthused by dreams where heart glided
snake of ego then spreads its hood
puberty is a profound shift
for no reason arises guilt
fear mirrors desire, soul’s adrift
head rules heart, presence is street smart
subterfuge the name of the game
at dawn each morn battle ready
flame of lust is too hard to tame
it is now time to contemplate
where are we headed, who are we
shifting to heart we end debate
that truth beyond form we may see
skin wrinkles yet heart sings love’s song
we dance with no need to rehearse
in heart resounds God’s cosmic gong
we feel one with the universe
Greater than the sky that stretches beyond any limit known,
Was the pain that swelled beneath my skin as I drowned.
Precision, perfection, calibration were what I chased all life long,
Denying every craving and ache my heart ever knew.
Deeper than the oceans that descend, devouring every light,
Was every hesitation that smothered me whole.
Repercussions always screamed with a tear in the air,
A dirge of sin and guilt crashing into my grieving lair.
Standing tall was what I taught, though my heart bled,
"Never dare to defy" was all the lurking eyes said.
Colours glided faintly, lingering through the withered life,
Summoning me out of the abyss with the gentlest touch.
Life then felt like hope, something sacred and so pure,
Fear coiled in, for it felt too divine to lose it all.
Dead is what I thought I was before the kiss of truth.
Faith, love, and hope anchored me with life's greatest hue.
No, it wasn't the day of my death,
But the very first day of the rest of my life.
The birth of a life that cradles me with every colour known.
The birth of a life that I can claim as mine and mine alone.
Time passed by slowly; the breeze felt low.
Only one star twinkled, its lonely foe.
The yellow sunny light lit up the sky,
And a light breeze chased the clouds goodbye.
How calm was the large lake.
Even the waves did not quake.
Swallows flew above, chirping bright
Some flying left, some turning right.
Loons flew hither and thither, all around
Some would dive for fish with hardly a sound.
While white swans glided peacefully.
Incredibly, they easily evaded each other.
How I wish the scene had a long duration.
Such a scene filled me with great elation.
I saw her in the marathon
She was limber and lithe and slim
Between mallards like a swan
I had the urge to show off, to win
She glided over the London route
Like water flowing around a stone
Like an ethereal tune from a flute
I passed her, and I ran alone.
I got to the ending tape
There was a man waiting with a kid
He hugged her out of shape
Because of the time she did
Then I realized I'd run the best
Even if I felt like a dupe
Chasing that wisp, I'd beaten the rest
Of the motley crew in my age group.
Around my neck, a medal for the course
The cameras clicked, people cheered
Newspapers said I was a dark horse
Out of nowhere, I had appeared.
I saw her walking toward the park
Her husband carrying her gear
She didn't know she’d been my spark
And suddenly my head was clear.
Oh, I saw her in the marathon
A silver stream for the duration
And now that breathless day is gone
I'll take the motivation.
She was a phantom in the crowd
A beautiful, fleeting sign
She made me run till I was proud
Until I crossed that finish line.
Last summer I enjoyed a dream vacation,
when I was filled to the brim with satisfaction.
I made a trip to the lofty heights of the Sikkim Himalaya,
where I got what I searched for, the feeling of euphoria.
Iridescent sky descended with an aquamarine lid,
from frozen heights azure glaciers glided down to feed.
a pristine lake I saw encased within a quiet basin,
over its mirror-like waters, stillness wafted in air thin.
Nature painted a divine scene I saw on that vacation,
while by the lake I stood soaked in joy and exultation.
Crystalline waters exuded the calmness I sought,
my body in placid reflection my eyes caught.
On calm waters I perceived the essence of my entity,
feeling content, I found a place of tranquility.
The lake water was so very clear and so virgin,
looking at its depth was like plunging deep within.
Abating my mental pangs, venting agony from abyss,
my serene soul floated in the ecstasy of fluid bliss.
In enchanting loneliness the few days I spent,
I reckoned as the precious gift God had sent.
That was the trip I’m glad I took, for I found a new me,
etched indelibly in the memory, till the end I’ll see.
The pristine white bride
gracefully glided down the
aisle toward her sharply
dressed, eagerly waiting
groom.
A sudden, violent gust of
freezing air violently
shattered the stained- glass
windows of the church.
The delicate white lace of
her bridal veil rapidly
decayed into a swarm of
black spiders.
Horrified wedding guests
shrieked as the pews
suddenly transformed into
rotting wooden coffins that
snapped shut.
The smiling groom unhinged
his jaw, swallowing the screaming
bride whole before the altar.
“Serenity is the balance of mind, body, and spirit.” Anon
Deep dark dusk enveloped the enchanted garden.
I sat on a sort of beach chair, inside a delightful bower.
Silver stars twinkled up in the vast stygian sky
While all around me, I stared at the delicate blooms.
Silence was almost perfect. Even the breeze blew lightly.
No bees flew for nectar around the late nightfall.
They sleep, but house bees maintain the needs of their queen.
Yet all around cicadas sang in a monotonous croon.
No swans glided around the vast lake, nor did birds fly
From trees to trees. They rested in their nests.
A waning moon rose, sending its weak rays all around.
It was a scene that induced serenity as I fell into a deep sleep.
Placed 1
celestial octopus glided down from star to star
heaven warned him of proximity, do not go too far
he had a range of which he was to be confined
ultimate goal was to teach the sharks to be a bit more kind.
He packed his snacks with reckless cheer,
three pine-cones gone before first gear;
he zoomed uphill without a care~
this squirrel’s bound for mountain air.
He stopped to pose by every pine,
claimed each tall peak as “truly mine,”
took selfies with his windswept hair~
this squirrel’s bound for mountain air.
He chased a goat up rocky ground,
then waved at hikers all around;
the switchbacks spun him everywhere~
this squirrel’s bound for mountain air.
And when he reached the summit’s crest,
he puffed his chest and squeaked, “I’m blessed!”
then glided down with style to spare~
We danced with joy, with so much love, we moved across the floor like the wind across the sky.
We laughed and smiled, like we were just born, we felt so happy, like we just got our first taste of ice cream.
We loved like it was our first love, our blood was so happy it pumped with extravaganza, making us feel amazing.
We danced for the moon and stars and all of the galaxy took notice, they hummed and sent us love messages.
The birds glided through the air and danced and sang love songs for us all night long, it was like a beautiful summer night that lasted for hours.
Dancing with you my love, is my favorite, it made me feel like we were one in heaven.
Lifting prayers to God, today and always.
The air became beautifully calm.
The night glided in smooth as silk.
There we were alone together.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2026
S
Within the fragile frame of my fervent heart,
tinged with the tinsels of the amorous night,
my love shimmered with an enticing shine,
suffused with the sequins of your sparkling grace.
I tried to feel fulfilled the enthralling embrace
of the flair of your intangible mesmeric charisma,
but you glided away from my entranced sight
like the autumn cloud across the sky of my dream.
From the collapsed threshold of my craving reverie
your footprints disappeared, I didn’t know where.
With the turquoise thread of my lingering longing,
I weaved tapestry of fantasy with my dwindled dream.
From the ebony edge of the night of despair
storm clouds blew with thunders of shearing strife,
splintered my dream to disperse in the debris,
making me realize my heart didn’t desire enough.
So, you flew away to another sun-soaked sky to soar,
left me to suffer secluded in the sad winter of discontent.
As the squall of discord surged with the shattering rage,
my love crashed in the wreckage of my crumbling heart.
As I was doing Tai Chi in my room,
my breath became the wind.
I turned around; a statue of a Tibetan monk spoke to me.
He turned into a man, and he showed me a secret handshake.
The next day, as I was fishing,
a lion and two tigers were inside the white house.
I gave them two bowls of food:
the lion had freshly diced tuna with a base layer of guacamole,
the two tigers had raw beef.
As I was petting the tigers, one of them put his paw on my arm.
The razor-sharp edge of his claws brazed my skin so gently but so fiercely.
The lion smiled back at me as a close friend would.
We took a yacht out and sailed through the city,
not caring about the red lights or the boundless places we could go.
City light's flashing past us as we glided on the water's edge.
The wheels of time rolled on our lavish landscape,
many springs swarmed in, but soon disappeared.
Ardent zeal lined silver streaks on the satin clouds,
not for long, for the rainstorm surged them away.
My yearning glided beyond the eroded banks
of the subterranean stream within your eyes.
A lucky strike of lightning illuminated its course
I could never have been able to decipher.
As I wandered on the wings of coincidental reverie,
in a trance I saw you adorned by filigree of patina.
The flower of my yearning I felt embellished
with the glow of rekindled luminous passion.
I drifted in the domain of the fortuitous fantasy,
sparkled in the sapphire sky like a shooting star,
the sequins soaking the petals of your pristine rose
as dewdrops radiating my heart’s fervent hue.
In the ethereal grandeur of resurgence I sensed
the revived essence exuding the feeling of bliss,
while the lattice of ornate ecstasy embellished
my resurrected being with flamboyant fervor.
The world is built on bent-back spines,
Of those we draw outside our lines.
We treat them as a hollow space,
A blur of limb, a void of face.
But should they tire and step away,
The glided roof would turn to clay.
How strange to build a house so tall,
On folks we claim aren't there at all.
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