Read Poem: Between 2 Worlds, by Tracy Repchuk

In the realm where words dance and emotions unfurl,
I find solace in the soul’s never ending swirl.
It lets me paint a tapestry of dawn and twilight’s hue,
With verses that touch the heart, as poets often do.

Behold the beauty of the suns golden blaze,
As darkness surrenders to the dawn’s gentle phase.
A symphony of colors, a celestial ballet,
It whispers of hope and a brand-new day.

Like a phoenix reborn from ashes and despair,
The sunrise paints a portrait of life’s eternal flair.
Its radiant glow reminds us of love’s gentle might,
Rekindling our spirits with its warm, tender light.

Now it’s time to turn your gaze to the sun’s final bow,
As it sets in splendor, casting shadows in the now.
The sunset’s tapestry, a masterpiece serene,
A palette of oranges, pinks, and hues rarely seen.

With each fleeting moment, the day bids adieu,
And the night unveils a sky filled with milky dew.
The stars, like diamonds, sprinkle the ebony dome,
A cosmic lullaby that whispers, “You are not alone.”

But in the quiet moments when the moon ascends,
It bears witness to the cycle where life begins and ends.
From the ashes of grief, like a sacred decree,
A newborn emerges, pure and utterly free.

In this tapestry of life, where sorrow intertwines,
The birth of a newborn gives blur between the lines.
A reminder that even amidst loss and pain,
Life’s resiliency emerges, like blossoms after rain.

So let us cherish the sunrise, sunset, stars, and moon,
For in their beauty, a symphony of life emits a tune.
And when we face the shadows that life’s journey imparts,
May we find solace in the birth of new hearts.

Tracy Repchuk
July 5, 2023

FREE POETRY FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS – Deadline Today

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GET YOUR POETRY SEEN. This network averages over 95,000 visitors a day to read your poems. SUBMIT ANYTIME.

FREE POETRY CONTEST – Deadline TODAY

There is no festival like this!

Mainly what this contest does is give exposure to the writer.

NOTE: The writer will always own 100% rights to their poem. The only thing we do is help the writer gain exposure by having their story showcased at our festival and on this website.

Poetry Reading: TOUCH, by Véronique Béquin

Performed by Hannah Ehman

TOUCH, by Véronique Béquin

You’re not looking at me
your eyes – bright – scan my brow
a miner’s lamp
in my underground
Me, I never look
into anyone’s eyes
your logo-less hoodie your jeans
no scrubs for you today
you’re for blending in
your clothes are clean
Persil fresh
telling me nothing and everything
Me, I smell of daily corrosion
your stethoscope dangles loose
your sterile gloves
purple for power
or sorrow or for the time
when I had colours to claim

My first time here
the community health van
for the unhoused the junkies
the drifters who got lost
the teenage girls the teenage boys
bought for dimes
you check my breath
I’m still breathing
your deodorant a jasmine in bloom
Me, with rotting pits for underarms
you check the tracks silently
the pain doesn’t ooze out
you say masks are optional
tug yours down to smile
I stand to leave for the streets
you pull off the latex gloves
the barrier’s lifted
you touch my hands I’d forgotten
who I was till then
It’s over in an instant
but my hands purple from cold
hold yours too

Poetry Reading: Rise Up Young Mind, by Michael D. Rourke

Performed by Hannah Ehman

Rise Up Young Mind, by Michael D. Rourke

Verse One
Polluted skies, the future is unclear
Vote for clean air, changing hearts are so near
The planet cries, see and listen for pain
Everyone care, a great change will remain

Chorus
Love human kind, open the door
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind
Leave hates behind, make room for more
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind

Verse Two
New ro-ta-tion, the power of gen Z
Watch and wonder, how we can all agree
Best in- ten-tion, not ignoring the truth
Rolling thunder, the new voices of youth

Bridge
Black brown yellow red white, set in motion
Ring of hands holding growing devotion
Keeping land green and blue seas and oceans
Together we curl all around the world

Chorus
Love human kind, open the door
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind
Leave hates behind, make room for more
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind

Verse Three
Learn from the past, we’re saving tomorrow
Plant hope and trees, and let the rivers flow
Change comes at last, keep reaching everyday
More people please, there’s no time to delay

Bridge
Black brown yellow red white, set in motion
Ring of hands holding the growing devotion
Keeping land green and blue seas and oceans
Together we curl all around the world

Chorus
Love human kind, open the door
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind
Leave hates behind, make room for more
Let’s come together, Rise Up Young Mind

POETRY Reading: Black Leather Boots Tonight, by Ardalan Pourvali

Performed by Hannah Ehman

Her voice yells under water
atop a mountain no one can hear
Perpetual restless nights
There was a woman beneath the sphere.

She relies on her black leather boots,
A potted flower, every waking hour,
Stripped of her grounded roots

Black leather boots, what a sight,
her deserted eyes need sleep,
Black leather boots invite,
why, solitarily she weeps.

Rescue me, she whispers tenderly.

Black leather boots at night,
What an elegant disguise.
Black leather boots excite,
Only the lonely lives in her eyes.

She stopped shining,
her stars blinding

Love is fragile, life is fainting
She’s calling, she’s falling.

She sees him stride,
Dressed like her,
caressed like her,
in his black leather boots at night.

Black leather boots unite
on a bed of roses they sleep
Black leather boots tonight
Her weeping disappears.

Black leather boots ignite
holding back their fears
Black leather boots tonight,
Black leather boots premieres

Read Poetry: Rock in the River, by Ardalan Pourvali

A villanelle with alliteration

“He doesn’t look like a champion, barely.”
When you’re blind, and times seem darkest,
grimly, you see clearly; steer from fear, near me.
Take your best shot, a bandana blindfold, dimly.
A swing and a miss, fourfold.
“He doesn’t look like a champion, barely.”
Speak for yourself; heal ye, will he.
The most dangerous weapon; a focused mind.
Shouting obscenities loses meaning; hear he, believe me.
A river runs bombs on a rock in the river, standstill, fiercely.
Like the heart of a warrior amid liquid thrills.
“He doesn’t look like a champion, barely.”
The rock in the river, standstill, in theory.
Kingly, I’ll show you how it’s done; here be, grizzly.
Grimly, you see clearly; steer from fear, near me.
You’ll ‘come a champion, like ye.
You’ll be better, until he, year we.
“He looks like a champion,” feared he.
Grimly, you see clearly; steer from fear, near me.

Read Poetry: Watergate, by Ardalan Pourvali

A sonnet with assonance

Mysterious caws of crows at starlight,
A chorus of dawn’s robins sing in delight,
an alarm warning for their worm.
Fearless blue jays chirp atop cedar pine trees,
Red cardinals tweet heavenly spirits amid a breeze.
Waterfalls from a fountain before a thunderstorm.
Pink Poinsettias blossom the tea garden,
evergreen conifers planted and hardened.
A bolt of lightning flashes as white as a unicorn.
Whooshing bells, whistles, horns of a train,
shriek and cry to warn and inform:
a Skyfall of sprinkles, and hard rain.
Mourning doves of morning murmuring coos in a swarm.
Lilacs and daffodils bloom at Watergate.

Read Poetry: Longing of a lover, by Saif Alhammadi

Longing of a lover

At the twilight
Midst gushing of a breeze

I ponder till night
With flooding of unease

I think about my moon
That lights my nights

It felt like monsoon
Staring at the sights

–

Maybe we
Weren’t meant to be

The path i see
Sunsets at seas

Isn’t the one you see
Midnight and carefree

Regardless I plea
Meet me at the sea

At the twilight
Midst gushing of a breeze

Read Poetry: BEHEADED SHE WAS, by Vidya Gopinath 

But alive perhaps misunderstood?
Born as a Gorgon or a mortal with wings
Confusion reigns as to her creation
But, the consensus remains on
That her gaze is so strong and
Chilling to the bone
It pierces into you and
Turns you into stone
With venomous snakes
In place of her hair
She was dreaded, scorned
And feared by most
Considered a monster
Was she once perhaps
A beautiful maiden?
Tempting enough to lure men,
Was she the victim or a sinner?
Resulting in the curse
That changed her
And it took treachery to subdue her