Tag: contest

Prompt: Insomnia

Prompt: Insomnia

Like a mermaid supine, on the prow of a ship,
insomnia has me in her wooden grip.

Snakes climb the boney steps of my spine.
Alalia stitches my lips, but not my eyes.

I search for dreams. I search for Hypnos.
A cold breath crawls the stems of my collarbone.

A shadow looms in the dark, his stare unblinking.
A herald of my own insanity in the making.

The evil that lurks, this body-shaped phantom,
whether man or delusion, I cannot fathom.

My imagination, an infinite shuffling of cards
that weigh my nights, and limbs thick in tar.

Her thorny tendrils bind, drown me in my sheets.
Just another night cursed, without sleep’s release.

Written July, 2022.

This is July’s entry for The PoeTree House’s monthly contest. July’s prompt is “Insomnia.”

Prompt: Hollow

Prompt: Hollow

Her heathered hands gleam in the sun as
she hollows a hill with ease.
This hallowed being who speaks in harps,
her hair, the glimmering seas.

Her aura, heavy, as a hammer.
Like a feather, she hovers high.

Our holy Goddess hums her healing, 
as sweet as a lullaby.

Art by Yuchi

I had a hard time with this prompt. This was the last of 30 prompts. The deadline was May 7th for the Versification contest. Still waiting for the winners to be announced. I haven’t written this much poetry in years. I think focusing on a theme, and keeping them short helped get the gears turning. I had fun. 🙂

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Ephemeral

Prompt: Ephemeral
Life, ephemeral. Grief, perpetual.
How deep her knees burrow
into soil. A thumb of tallow,
a gasping candle, swallowed by gusts
of ramming winds. From the gravel,
handless arms rise, and tremble.
Endless sorrow, its cries guttural.
Those left after death face pain, insurmountable.

Art by FallanDark

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Isolation

Prompt: Isolation
An elven nation in isolation.
Hidden by enchanted vegetation.
One insurgent. Broke the spell.
All their safeguarding veils fell.
Destruction by fallacious ambitions.

Art by Hoàng Lập (Solan)

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Clandestine

Prompt: Clandestine

To the royal gardens, the Empress of the East retreats.
Heart torn by the Emperor, and his mistress. The Empress,
hair claret as rubies, waters her scarlet roses with her sorrow.

A clandestine letter from the unmarried King of the West.
Tied with carmine ribbon — a proposal.

Lovers from rival realms. On horseback, the Empress rides West with its King.
The red roses of the west are rumored to never be as radiant as the East’s.
The Western Queen’s vermillion smile, however, there is no comparable beauty.

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Angst

Prompt: Angst
With sharp jagged teeth, this angst gnaws.
My heart squeezed by the devil’s claws.
Dread carves in me like a pitsaw.
Fetor of bodies. Fresh, and raw.

No adventurer should wander these caves.
For treasure, I ignored human remains.
In darkness, I maunder. To Gods, I pray.
My life squandered. It is death I now face.

Art from: https://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-24/ds2-cave-concept.html

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Escape

Prompt: Escape
An enemy country kidnapped a princess, already betrothed.
Locked her in the castle’s tallest tower, fortified with stone.
The uncaring prince did not agonize over her lover back home.

What he didn’t know, was the princess was a mage.
What he didn’t know, was she had means of escape.
What he didn’t know, was a dragon was her fiancé.

Her fiancé’s roar shook enemy lands like an earthquake. The princess grinned.
And with the twist of her fingers — she set the castle ablaze.

Art by Asur-Misoa

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Courage

Prompt: Courage

A mountain village. Stripped down to the bone.
A burning tonnage. Deaths of famine sown.

Winter’s bitter bite. Bears teeth as tombstones.
A young witch’s intoned prayers. Spells unhoned.

Such ill placed resentment, does sorrow smite.
A witch slayer fetched. Her head for a price.

Her eyes clear. Like the marbled midnight skies.
Bereft of courage, was the hunter’s knife.

Art by ArtofReza

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Luminance

Prompt: Luminance
A femme fatale. Her hips sway, pendulous.
Her weapon glows. With golden luminance.
This princess is no damsel.
No fiend her gun can’t handle.
All her bounties complete. With elegance.

Art by SBraithwaite

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate

Prompt: Silence

Prompt: Silence
A lonesome, crying orphan, no more than four.
The broken silence of the forest. The aftermath of war.

Antlers like thick branches. A regal shadow floats.
Above the green, it asks, “My dear, are you alone?”

“D-deer?” The toddler hiccups, enamored by glowing fireflies.
The child starved of warmth, an immeasurable amount of time.

The forest’s guardian lifts her up, and up, and up. Into its loving grasp.
“You are mine now,” it promises, and beyond the veil, they vanish.

I’m not sure if I like this one. I feel like I can get it to “sound” better, but I have a lot of prompts to catch up to for the contest. If I have time, I’ll return to it. 🙂

Art by: https://www.instagram.com/kinko_white

You can find this poem, and the rest for this contest on WattPad: https://www.wattpad.com/story/306715590-moon-gate