By Tyler Edwards
Runner-up of the 2019 Spring Poetry Competition
...................................................................................
I was in motion. Somewhere
Between walking and transcendence,
Too cautious
To trust my feet across the soil
Aligned and steady
I held tight to hesitation
Carrying me with an inhale
Into the sunflowers.
Green blades pressed
Where it felt good,
Releasing unexpected tenderness-
Reminding me that beauty
Doesn’t always come with a preface
I exclaimed “Eureka!”
Upon the discovery of my
Own stretch marks.
Still, I kept my eyes open
Checking the tulips for thorns
(Hands turning over and over,
petals searching
For the inches I hid
So carefully
To finally kiss them)
The smile snuck past me
Knocking any resistance I
Had left to be tossed
By whitewater and nectar.
And finally, I became a
Stone in the river,
That refining and lovely
Flow, laid down
Until all of the shimmer
Was my own.
Critique
Hi Tyler,
This is a beautiful piece. It’s personal, meaningful, and well executed, without being wordy or overly dramatic. There were really only two things our editors had to criticize about your piece. Firstly, the rhythm is not perfect— the some places the lines of the poem were cutoff in places that made the poem more difficult to read, and made the flow of the poem less clear. Additionally, a few of our editors felt the imagery in the poem of the grass and the stream may have been a bit cliched. However, your language is lovely and your piece is well-rounded. Congrats on earning Honorable Mention! Be sure to keep writing!