Turn the pages of time.
Youth discarded like the old abandoned toy.
Regrets a dime a dozen.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2026
She wanders round home
In the winter of her life -
Her ruby cheeks glow
In the mirror of regret
Chanting her shoulds, coulds and woulds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I reached into the river of my mind,
palm upturned like a beggar,
and pulled out~
not a coin, but a rusted key
that fit no lock I owned.
What was I thinking?
Perhaps the same thought
that turns a moth to flame~
not light, but burning.
The arithmetic of longing
always carries forward a remainder.
What was I thinking?
Maybe it was the way the train
whispered destinations
I’d never reach,
or how the moon, that night,
hung like an unpaid bill.
What was I thinking?
The answer curled at the edges,
a photograph left in rain~
half desire, half shadow,
all of it dissolving
into the ink of hindsight.
To select rewind
Travel back in time
Discover earth’s “green”
Untainted design
For, hindsight’s gold
It’s wisdom, not old
It helps us to see
Things never been told
Laid bare, would be facts
In time to react
Perhaps we could find
What history lacked
With knowledge to grow
Let ignorance know
Equipped with the shine
Required to glow
You arrived at my door
I was far from inclined
You deserved so much more
I was naive and blind
I could have been your rock
Could have even been great
But my maternal clock
Was wired, far too late
To naturally nurture
It felt foreign to me
More awkward than sure
I still longed to be free
Just a child yesterday
I dwelled in my own past
I allowed you to stay
But my actions were crass
In hindsight I can see
How foolish I had been
You were sent to save me
And become my best friend
LESS SAID
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
first stone cast—so sure, so light—
now echoes in canyon's throat.
path not taken, sharp and bright,
still glints beyond each scrawled footnote.
compass needle, rusted true,
points only to what morning knew.
Deck the halls with gold
and whitewash society
erase the bonds of culture
and that unfitting history
focus on how pretty
your teenage bride will be.
***
this journey i have traveled
and had my foot heavy on the gas
i never stopped
i seldom paused
i rarely slowed down for
the many roses there to smell
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
you've been gone almost five years
still i remember so well the harmony
we were downright inseparable
mostly i remember the peace we felt
so I couldn't help but take a moment
to wonder what exactly made it so
the answer came very clear to me
you were a pure person with a kind heart
and day to day I was so very proud of you
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
At times in my life, I thought I was dead
Like a lone soul lost in dark of the night
Blinded sight could not see the paths ahead
Wandering like a ghost, afraid of the light
Like a sailboat without destination
I sailed and sailed too far from the shore
Then caught in pit of procrastination
When I was in high school,
I had a fall,
It was from a cycle,
but changed my all;
I had ligament tear
in my right foot,
Could not go to school, got
typhoid to boot;
Weak in my body and
stressed in my mind,
When I did go back, I
fell way behind;
I lost my life's purpose,
Despair set in,
I failed in my exam
to my chagrin;
Had a nervous breakdown,
Redid one year,
Mind full of sad questions,
Heart lost all cheer;
Today, when I look back,
I wonder why
such a thing was allowed
by God on high;
To teach me a lesson
about setbacks,
To increase my small faith,
In God relax;
I learnt to lean on Him,
when troubles come,
He taught me to stand strong,
not to succumb;
All things happened for good,
This I know now,
Eighteen years have gone by,
I've grown and how;
That phase transformed my life,
It was a test,
In hindsight, I perceive
God knows what's best.
A hundred sorries, a thousand cries,
A million tears just won’t dry,
I’m done with foolishness and lies.
You think you're right but can’t see why,
Just another dodgy mask and guise
A hundred sorries, a thousand cries.
No future left, no truth to try,
Blind to what you didn’t know lies
I’m done with foolishness and lies.
If you knew back then what hindsight buys,
Would you have stayed, or said goodbye?
A hundred sorries, a thousand cries.
Now, only after equations rise,
We see the truth we can’t deny
I’m done with foolishness and lies,
A hundred sorries, a thousand cries.
HINDSIGHT 20 20
It was Atlanta, and not many years ago
With the world crashing about my ears
Pledges made and encouragement given
Smiles and kisses seemed natural to me
It was only selfishness and a cold heart
That reason would finally tear us apart
Was it just fake and never meant to be
And such little chance of being shriven
The only genuine things left were tears
But it taught me lessons I should know
From then on, I’d be a lion not a lamb
Not letting any hope give way to fear
And resume my once purposeful path
Toward those rewards that can satisfy
Your expectations were way too much
I’d felt like a pet rabbit kept in a hutch
But I never did meekly curl up and die
I was more than a keeper of the hearth
But it’ll not be like that again, my dear
As the script said, I don’t give a damn
Looking back at what's happened is hindsight
looking into the present moment is insight
looking ahead into the future is foresight
but looking in all three ways at once
is all-seeing; OMNISCIENT and
the way that God would see.
------------------
Glory and praise to You
Oh Lord. Please bless,
guide and protect
us all now and
forever more
Amen.
__
Whispers of autumn's approach, Apocalyspe ready to roll?
Heaven had seen one struggle. Good and evil clashed,
which found Lucifer & Staff cast to earth in shame.
Why in his hometown did Jesus bind his own control?
At Babel, mighty men plotted strength and had crashed.
God upset their language; now we all play word games.
Are whispers of autumn a mere oversight - why bother?
Nazareth had its little gods, folks with too much clout.
Christ had set his sights on this earth with infinite foresight -
coupled with hindsight, the timely wisdom of His Father.
Does God cloud the eyes and ears of those who dare to doubt?
Who knows? sovereign perspective, way beyond my sight.
Welcome whispers to earth as our world nears rock bottom -
inconvenient, noisesome insights from Agent Autumn.
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