The HyperTexts

Poetry Contest Winners

The HyperTexts and Commaful recently combined to offer a poetry contest with no entry fees. The winning poems appear on this page. You can find the contest details here: Free Poetry Contest. You can explore Commaful poetry here: Commaful Poetry.

The contest was judged by THT editor Michael R. Burch. And now, without further ado, here are the winning poems and honorable mentions ...



Gleyre Le Coucher de Sappho by Marc-Charles-Gabriel Gleyre.

#1
Hushed Hypotheticals
by kaylynn

Is that so?
Is that so? Well.
A quiet man is thinking
A quiet man is thinking of how to deliver the news
A quiet man is thinking of how to deliver the news Of his infidelity that led to an expecting muse.
A quiet woman is usually
A quiet woman is usually weighing the pros and cons
A quiet woman is usually weighing the pros and cons Of speaking out against the pro blows and con palms.
A quiet man is thinking
A quiet man is thinking about how to touch a woman
A quiet man is thinking about how to touch a woman Without it becoming too much, leading to a regrettable fuck.
A quiet woman is usually
A quiet woman is usually debating how to respond to a man
A quiet woman is usually debating how to respond to a man Without it becoming too rough, leading to a sexual betrayal.
A quiet man is thinking
A quiet man is thinking of how to twist the slippery knob
A quiet man is thinking of how to twist the slippery knob Of the closet he has confined his sexuality in.
A quiet woman is usually
A quiet woman is usually considering the course
A quiet woman is usually considering the course Of action to relieve him of toxic masculinity.
A quiet woman is not mad,
but silently understanding.
A quiet man is not thinking,
but loudly questioning.



Oscar Wilde was the "bad boy" of poetry.

#2
i have a friend
by charliefish

this is written for and dedicated to my dear brother
i have a friend
i have a friend he saved me from my end
i have a friend he saved me from my end a few times
i have a friend he saved me from my end a few times and he got me into rhymes.
i have a brother
i have a brother he was the one to show me another
i have a brother he was the one to show me another a good man
i have a brother he was the one to show me another a good man and it was to his arms that i ran.
i know a guy
i know a guy he taught my words to fly
i know a guy he taught my words to fly we shared things
i know a guy he taught my words to fly we shared things and for a while i had wings.
i loved a boy
i loved a boy he never treated me like a toy
i loved a boy he never treated me like a toy he was kind
i loved a boy he never treated me like a toy he was kind but in that time i was blind.
i have a brother
i have a brother he was stronger than any other
i have a brother he was stronger than any other now hes gone
i have a brother he was stronger than any other now hes gone hes left me here for so long.
i have a friend
i have a friend he saved me from my end
i have a friend he saved me from my end a few times...
i have a friend he saved me from my end a few times... and he got me into rhymes.



Maud Gonne, an Irish revolutionary, was the love interest of the great Irish poet William Butler Yeats.

#3
Lovely Expectations
by kaylynn

He always made me
He always made me feel like there was something
He always made me feel like there was something wrong with me.
It was never intentional,
It was never intentional, Yet became perpetual.
Those three words
Those three words became habitual,
Those three words became habitual, Hanging with eventual longing.
I tried mouthing the poisoned tip
I tried mouthing the poisoned tip of belonging,
I tried mouthing the poisoned tip of belonging, All while knowing
I tried mouthing the poisoned tip of belonging, All while knowing I never wanted to be
I tried mouthing the poisoned tip of belonging, All while knowing I never wanted to be his anything.
I held strong,
I held strong, Because deep down,
I held strong, Because deep down, I knew it was wrong.
Wrong to have these words
Wrong to have these words Twisted out of me.
His love for me
His love for me Was not my responsibility,
His love for me Was not my responsibility, Nor worth losing my autonomy.
The right guy will value
The right guy will value My individuality,
The right guy will value My individuality, Without his love interfering.
He will cradle the softest
He will cradle the softest part of me.
He will listen to the quietest
He will listen to the quietest part of me.
He will love the hardest
He will love the hardest part of me.
He will be the reason
He will be the reason I learn to love
He will be the reason I learn to love completely.

Honorable Mentions, in alphabetic order ...



Edna St. Vincent Millay was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for poetry.

What Remains
by jx1_theriault70

Do you have feelings that linger,
Is my name a trigger.
Do memories sneak up on you,
Just out of the blue.
Do you let yourself think of me,
And what we still could be.
Does any hope remain,
Or am I here in vain.
Do I still have a place in your heart,
Could I still be your counterpart.



Sylvia Plath was one of the first and best of the modern confessional poets.

Escape
by kayleylg

If I could escape this life just once
The world might sparkle a little brighter for me
If I could watch the sun rise just once
The world might feel a little warmer for me

If I could feel the waves on my feet just once
The world might feel a little more calm for me
If I could steal my thoughts from the darkness just once
The world might feel a little more sane for me

If I could heal my broken psyche just once
The world might be a little more joyful for me
But I will always suffer
Within the prison of my own mind

But it is up to me to feel these things
I will escape my prison
I will see the light
One day



Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an English romantic poet, painter, illustrator and translator.

Heartbreak Haiku
by leoshe

Best case scenari...
Best case scenari... "Oh"
Best case scenari... "Oh" I see my fears came true
Best case scenari... "Oh" I see my fears came true You never loved me



Elinor Wylie "was famous during her life almost as much for her ethereal beauty and personality as for her melodious, sensuous poetry."

BIRDS OF PREY
by marius

It was a different time,
A different place,
The tips of our wings touched,
As we soared above great cities,
Vast lands,
Endless oceans,
The highest mountains,
Hunting for life and love.



Louise Bogan is one of the best "unknown" or "under-known" poets of modern times.

Never Mine
by mipoet

I crave her caress.
Desire her love.
She is perfection in the flesh.
An angel made human.
She makes me want to be better.
Makes me want to change.
Her touch makes me shiver.
While her smile warms my soul.
My heart picks up,
when she looks my way.
I could get lost in her eyes.
Every single day.
Over and over again.
I'll love her till the end of time.
This beautiful woman,
who will never be mine.



Percy Bysshe Shelley (below) and Felicia Hemans (above) were born a year apart―he in August 1792, she in September 1793. They look enough alike to have been brother and sister.



Poetry Links: Perfect Poems, The Best Sonnets, The Best Villanelles, The Best Ballads, The Best Sestinas, The Best Rondels and Roundels, The Best Kyrielles, The Best Couplets, The Best Quatrains, The Best Haiku, The Best Limericks, The Best Nonsense Verse, The Best Poems for Kids, The Best Light Verse, The Best Poem of All Time, The Best Poems Ever Written, The Best Poets, The Best of the Masters, The Most Popular Poems of All Time, The Best American Poetry, The Best Poetry Translations, The Best Ancient Greek Epigrams and Epitaphs, The Best Anglo-Saxon Riddles and Kennings, The Best Old English Poetry, The Best Lyric Poetry, The Best Free Verse, The Best Story Poems, The Best Narrative Poems, The Best Epic Poems, The Best Epigrams, The Most Beautiful Poems in the English Language, The Most Beautiful Lines in the English Language, The Most Beautiful Sonnets in the English Language, The Best Elegies, Dirges & Laments, The Best Poems about Death and Loss, The Best Holocaust Poetry, The Best Hiroshima Poetry, The Best Anti-War Poetry, The Best Religious Poetry, The Best Spiritual Poetry, The Best Heretical Poetry, The Best Thanksgiving Poems, The Best Autumnal Poems, The Best Fall/Autumn Poetry, The Best Dark Poetry, The Best Halloween Poetry, The Best Supernatural Poetry, The Best Dark Christmas Poems, The Best Vampire Poetry, The Best Love Poems, The Best Urdu Love Poetry, The Best Erotic Poems, The Best Romantic Poetry, The Best Love Songs, The Ten Greatest Poems Ever Written, The Greatest Movies of All Time, England's Greatest Artists, Visions of Beauty, What is Poetry?, The Best Abstract Poetry, The Best Antinatalist Poems and Prose, Early Poems: The Best Juvenilia, Human Perfection: Is It Possible?, The Best Book Titles of All Time, Sentimental Poetry: Is it Wrong to Like It?, The Best Sentimental Poems, What is Poetry?, The Best Books of All Time, The Best Writing in the English Language

The HyperTexts