coming home to find
my Christmas present
a sharp dressed man

Ally Staudenmaier

broken deck
we use an expired coupon
as the six of hearts

Laura Scoville (2nd)

the stars make
little pinpricks in the sky—
your hands

Laura Scoville

dreary day,
golden buttercup
shines all the brighter

Danny Delaney

a subtle glow
of a dark apartment
Christmas Tree

Ally Staudenmaier

railroad tracks
a lone streetlight
outshines the moon

Katie Coletta

summer boardwalk
in my grandmother's arms
i dance

Katie Coletta

falling stars . . .
I decide
to be the flame

Danny Delaney

running
in the wind
I become a feather

Kelsy Whitney

his repeated mistakes
mirrored in you
I hand you my baggage

Brittany Falardeau (1st)

staring at the stars,
we make our own—
constellations

Danny Delaney

rogue snowflake
aiming for
my eye

Katie Coletta

he blows out the candles
asking for a real family—
his birthday wish

Eddie Pluhar

fallen petals
I guess
he'll never be mine

Sam Miles

a mother cradles her son
and thinks of Mary
Sixteen.

Jessica Golden (2nd)

the man in the moon
stares at me
in disappointment

Kelsy Whitney (3rd)

the bruised and the broken
Together
we build our home

Brittany Falardeau

as he tells her about his day
she pretends
to care

Jessica Golden

her presence
warms
first snow

Bret Henderson

beach waves
shifting
our insecurity

Stephanie Helfgott

day made
by one
hi

Bret Henderson

midst of embrace
a vesper
for his faith

Stephanie Helfgott

quiet twilight
fills my bedroom
one candle

Madeline Knott

flowers given for
a job well done
vodka bottle

Ally Staudenmaier

homecoming night
your sweater
breaks the wind

Stephanie Helfgott

homecoming
she came back
for him . . .

Bret Henderson

first snow
finding my way into
your cubby

Madeline Knott (3rd)

under the lamp post
he hands her
salvation

Beth Ann Melnick

hiding behind a mask
he can finally be
himself

Eddie Pluhar

a star of wonder
appears
in center stage

Jessica Golden

a sigh as he jogs past
. . . she peels the sticker
off her water bottle

Sam Parks

covering up
     the real scars
he left me

Madeline Knott

I hold her hands
and try to still them—
wanting more time

Eddie Pluhar

recess—
they play tic tac toe
with chess pieces

Beth Ann Melnick

teddy
gives her strength
to pray

Sam Miles

speaking the words
I'm afraid to say
your eyes

Brittany Falardeau (2nd)

                                  and star t   r   u   n   n   i   n   g
                          bed
               out of
       get
I

Eddie Pluhar

frost    ed flakes
watching the homeless man from her window
she takes a       bite

Sam Parks

my calico cat
napping on the carpet
i join her

Madeline Knott

standing in the doorway
afraid to go in
after the surgery

Sam Miles

looking down at her swollen belly
she scrawls "pro-choice" in marker
                                . . . crickets

Sam Parks

first fight
he tells her she sounds
like her mother

Brittany Falardeau (3rd)

hand over hand
he climbs
the gym class rope

Beth Ann Melnick

signing his name
he notices
the mistletoe

Sam Miles

the moon sits
in the fourth pane
he hasn’t come home

Laura Scoville

the moon
gives light
to another argument

Kelsy Whitney