What drives a person?
'Hunger.'
I am hungry.
Give me something to eat.
Labor in the sweat of your brow,
And I shall give you bread.
"I want to know love.
I want to hold a fair maiden."
"You cannot be the face of the show!"
If so,
Adorn your face and your body
With falsehoods.
Then you shall win the maiden!
"I live in the ghetto,
And the stench clings to my body."
Is that still alright?
"Spray on perfume!"
When that fair maiden
Finds my scent fading away,
Will she not discover my true self?
Then, and only then,
Shall you witness the truth of her love.
like floral bouquet
her perfume scents the air
it's beauty serene
A rose is still just a rose.
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
In shaded modest forests grow
the tiniest white bells pure as snow.
Their wild perfume will stop the show
beneath the charm of any rainbow.
AP: 1st place 2026
Your departure left seeds,
sunflowers grew and perhaps
my eyes longed for you deeply
that rivers appeared before them.
In the kitchen I noticed that
until today I still make cilantro with rice.
Until today I still watch over the time.
Until today I still wear the same perfume.
Expecting that my scent could reach you,
but my scent isn't sound underwater.
And today I will wash my dishes.
And the rivers will water the sunflowers.
As home became nature...
Longing for the sun.
Longing home.
Was the fact you are gone.
Mercury rises and life tingles
Across the land there's excitement
Yellows burst on the scene
Feathered friends hear the call
Longing impatiently for fragrant blossoms
Only the patient are rewarded
Windblown perfumes begin to tantalize
Evidence of summer's imminent approach
Regenerated gardens come to life
Sacred havens exuding nature's harmony
AP: 3rd place 2026
The sky is shrouded with veils of dark grey,
A dampness cools the dismal dusty day,
The air grows thick with rich fragrant perfume
Of the scents of roadside flowers in bloom.
Soon soft grains of rain gently kiss my face,
With seams of my soul sensing its embrace
And mild waves of joy ebbing through my heart;
Let the rain on dry fields, its gems impart,
Wash clean the streets, sprinkle on earth its grace.
spring bursts in florals
perfume dispatched to the winds
cherry trees blossom
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Preciously gathering each rose petal
Younger sister’s funeral come to an end
The depth of pain unbearable
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
The man in the elevator wore trousers like a skirt,
topped by a foul-smelling creased crimson shirt
that stank like rotten onion, the scent failing to drift.
I stood by his side, through the crowd I couldn’t shift,
I held my breath as long as I could, felt I would faint.
So, plugging my nose while I tested my self-restraint
I heard him say rather loudly, “it’s a new perfume”.
I thought it’s his silly invention to make people fume.
When the lift stopped running out at the ordeal’s end
I told him “nice perfume, gift a bottle to you girlfriend”.
The windshield wipers automatically slow down when the rain gives way to a fine drizzle. As per habit, I open the car window as I come to a rolling stop at these traffic lights. Cheap perfume assails my senses. Red refracts on the wet road.
long legs
and callipygian
sheathed in red leather
her body was firm
to the touch
exhilarating
uncharted territory
my wife’s tears
the price
I was willing to pay
Incense imported from exotic lands
Favourites range: Rose, earthy Sandalwood, mystic Frankincense
~ Most soothing to muddled minds
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Simmering cinnamon and anise star
The house comes alive with festive flair
Rich aromas fill the air
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 1st place 2025, Honorable Mention 2025
Oud— your signature musk I remember.
Warmth and grounded, tame and woody,
Steep memories of wishes I'll never gather—
Cold cruel sillage, bright woodland, yours.
If— I adorn your musk I dismember.
Heavy and cold, wild and leaded,
Cruel words define the sins you waver
Bright stinging scent, damp crumbled, yours.
I never asked to adorn the scent of your sins
Yet, I got a dream— it wasn't what I wanted.
— Tears, sobbing, salty and heavy.
Low, evil— distinctly you
Perfume
of sandal wood
hangs in the autumn air,
warm, sweet, rich, creamy and earthly
fragrance.
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