Springtime Shine

By Tyler Edwards

Runner-up of the 2019 Spring Poetry Competition

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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!