Unity

Contest

Compete for a chance to win a Black Spinel heart pendant.  Great gift for Valentine's Day.  The prize goes to the first-place winner, so there will only be one at the top.

Submit one poem, old or new, on the theme "Unity."  This doesn't have to be about uniting a country, though that may be the first thing that comes to mind and it's fine to write on this topic.  Your poem can be about any type of unity, even two divorced parents uniting to help a sick child.  Unity implies two or more people or groups have joined forces for a common purpose.

You can use free verse or any rhyme form that meets the line requirements.  Entries should be four to fourteen lines.  If you choose a form like a Sonnet or Limerick that requires meter, please do the meter.  Otherwise, choose a different rhyme form or free verse.  

I'm looking for strong emotion in this contest, so write from your heart.  Come up with your own unique poem title, anything but "Unity."  There is no need to put a date or contest name on this entry.

Remember, keep entries between four and 14 lines.

The quote below can be used for inspiration, but don’t feel compelled to write about the Holocaust.

Poem found in “Promise Me, Dad,” by Joe Biden.

This unnamed poem was written by Martin Nielmoller, a Protestant pastor who was placed in a German concentration camp near the end of World War II.  It inspired the unity theme for this contest:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to

speak for me.