-we wake up every morning assuming there will be another one
-we make plans for next year as if it’s guaranteed
-we push our dreams into the future, believing they’ll be time
-but one day you won’t wake up.
-One day you’ll have to put off your dreams for the last time
-u would have told urself “next year” one too many times
-and there won’t be a next year
-what are you waiting for ?
-the promotion?
-the savings account to hit a certain number?
-some mythical moment when everything feels safe?
-here’s the truth:
-it will never feel safe
-you’ll never feel ready
-but life doesn’t wait
-it moves with or without you
-Are we what we do with time?
-or are we what time does to us?
-what we call the beginning is often the end
-and to make an end is to make a beginning
-the end is where we start from
-So go, book a flight
-quit the job
-write a book
-fall in love
-watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain
-because at 2 am when the world is quite,
-the only thing worse than failing,
-is realising u never tried
-after all no plant can grow without rain,
-and no man can grow without pain.
Mother so kind,
I see myself in you, the worst parts
Do I tear them from me? Do I tear them from you?
Your blood, your flesh I bear
So Do I tear myself too?
Mother so gentle,
My life to you I offer,
Clay from your bones, mould from your skin
But still I sculpted myself an imposter
My cracks shattered me in the kiln
Mother so wise,
I question every part of me,
Every atom loathing for your assurance
Why cant I be like you? Divine and holy
Why must I end up in the worst kind of penance?
Mother so vicious,
What did you dream of? Why aren't you free?
I'd undo every part of me, cease to exist, simply to see your eyes smile
But in darkness youve built your home, and to there you shall flee
Stealing from me ny ecstacy, turning me putrid, so vile
Mother so mine,
Youre my guiding light, dimmed so dark
In my somber end, will you kindly lead my wretched soul?
Bound by you, forever an appendage, forever so stark
Ill die at peace incomplete, but I cant live whole
Lame excuses don't cut it.
Takes more than flowers to impress me.
Man up ~ say you're sorry.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Please do not hurry to grow up,
innocent days will pass like dust
in winds of time both swift and sure.
Bring me one more dandelion,
I'll make a wish for you to stay
within my heart if near or far.
If your laughter I could capture,
I would keep it locked in a safe
and bring it out on rainy days.
Innocent days will pass like dust,
bring me one more dandelion~
please do not hurry to grow up!
Every morning I paint a pair of eyes
to see the world for me—
Mines scream at
the sky fracturing into neon glass.
The dazzling eyes I painted—
I use them to fit in
the crowd dancing in chemical haze
—reasons left out at the gate.
I use them to study
the rites of smoke
—to ghost myself in every exhale.
I use them to ignore
the judgmental stare
—that inner child I silenced, it's always her
No good can come from spoiling the fun—
Darling, just blind yourself.
This question is often asked of me
“When are you going to grow up?”
My answer to that is “why grow up”
“I'd much rather stay a young pup”
Growing up sure ain't no damn fun
To a world of conflict and strife
Prefer to stay young and innocent like
While leading a carefree life
My single voice is of no consequence
In the overall scheme of things
Why should I rattle my li'l old brain
In my world, it's eternally spring
Things will go on long after I'm gone
At my age my engine's on cruise
One thing I've realized in all my years
I've surely got nothing to lose
When will I finally fill your shoes,
Reach maturity like you did?
You seemed to have all the answers
When I was just a kid.
I've been waiting a long time now
So maybe I missed my turn,
I'm well past the age you were,
By now I should have learned!
How did you do the adulting, so effortless,
Not overwhelmed or lost?
You juggled a job,a family, and never
Dropped any ball we tossed.
You seemed so fearless, standing tall,
A million arms to answer each call.
All I can think when life comes at me
Is I don't even have half your balls.
.
i still fall asleep
after
and you're still
there
when i wake
your cheeks
still blush
again ourn
meet
This question is often asked of me
“When are you going to grow up?”
My answer to that is “why grow up”
“I'd much rather stay a young pup”
Growing up sure ain't no damn fun
To a world of conflict and strife
Prefer to stay young and innocent like
While leading a carefree life
My single voice is of no consequence
In the overall scheme of things
Why should I rattle my li'l old brain
In my world, it's eternally spring
Things will go on long after I'm gone
At my age my engine's on cruise
One thing I've realized in all my years
I've surely got nothing to lose
She sleeps late. She
Hates school. She
Wears nightgowns. She
Stares at the stars. She
Laughs like She
Loves life. She
Flies home. She'll
Grow up soon.
Lion cubs grow up we warned the child.
He did not care, he had grown up mild.
He brought the kit home and grew him tall.
As you can see six years later, he is no way small.
I’m going to be a fireman
I’m going to be a cop
I’m going to be a soldier
I’m going to own a candy shop
I’m going to be the president
I’m going to be the first one on Mars
I’m going to be a doctor
I’m going to race cars
I’m going to be a welder
I’m going to play football
I’m going to be a designer
I’m going to work at the mall
I’m going to be a singer
I’m going to be a dancer
I’m going to write poetry
I’m going to find the cure for cancer
My dear granddaughter you know you can
be any of these wonderful things
But you must get dressed and go to school
then we will see what your future brings
when I grow up I shall live in a duck, Tracy said.
we thought she was kidding, laughed until we were red.
a sculptor, artist and painter, she now lives in a duck.
outside parked in her driveway is her fancy food truck.
yes, she was going to sell tacos and churros too.
no one laughs now, and her bank account is terrifically blue.
I believe I will be a beach cat when I grow up she said.
Mrs. Lounge Layer, with striped fur with tinges of red.
I will lie on my chair, with my fluffy cat feet in the air.
And I will soak up those Vitamin D’s through my head.
I knew I would grow up to do something.
Not sure what it was, but suspected I was a somebody.
Under my freckles and my stand up at attention hair.
I could not say this, for it would have been boastful.
And in my childhood home, boastful was ungodly.
So I kept myself secret, and plotted what I would do.
When I escaped the place where compliments were not issued.
Where you had to put people down, not up.
Where being called idiot and stupid was a regular thing.
I did not think I was an idiot, but I was not totally sure.
Part of me believed I could be a somebody.
All I needed was a chance.
I did not speak of it, for that would have been bragging.
And we did not brag.
We put ourselves down, not up.
But I felt strongly I would escape and believe in me out loud someday.
And I did.
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