Poetry Competition 2: Finalists

Thank you, especially, to those who sent in haikus. Here are two of my favourites:

As chill creeps across-
a faceless form disappears,
and silent cries fade…

(Grace, Evans Head in New South Wales)


A whisper, a brush
On my sleeve, memory of
things past, but still here

(Helen, Towson, Maryland, USA)


I was also drawn to the crisp brevity and clever twist of:

Ghost I am
Ghost I’ll be
When I look in the mirror
What will I See

(Andrea, Sellersville, PA, USA)

Jennie (Kenora, Ontario, Canada) captured a moment of ghostly fear in her poem, The Fear:

I close my eyes and try to see
This faceless thing
Isolated
With me
Its cold claws clutch
Ensnare my heart
Numb
Limbs like lead
I tremble
My head
Spinning
Whispers
Can’t think
Can’t move
Can’t see
Palms clench
Eyes open
My heart
Thuds
My breath
Catches
I Jump
Into darkness, I disappear
Thick
Unknown
The Fear above
Now stands alone


Erin (Phoenix, Arizona) wrote a wonderfully original poem about being haunted by movie stars:

I told her, Listen.
Their faces are haunting me.
And she, because she is like me,
said back, They are haunting me, too.
We exchanged ghost stories, then.
(If only they were real ghosts,
maybe our stomachs could stop hurting.)
She talked about turning on the telly
and the shock of his grin
I said I went to the movies
where there was this enormous poster
with Angelina Jolie's name and eyes
next to the one about bones that are lovely
but when I turned around
(I swear I almost jumped)
he looked at me and I wanted
to say something back
but I couldn't, and so I left him standing there.
I've sworn off westerns, let's watch
a horror movie, or one about a planet of blue people,
only I'm not as strong as you,
so today I will search out those
I want to avoid.

If I was truthful--
If I was honest--
I would admit,
that's not really what I want.

Let the haunting continue.
It's all I can do.


And there were some vivid images of night terrors in this poem by Emma (Lane Cove, Sydney):

Shadows in the darkness of the night,
Wavering in corners
making shapes on walls
A heart clenching with fright.

Lurking beneath the surface
Ready to pounce
A killer, a monster,
Waiting
Watching
Their presence unannounced

A flicker of white,
A flash in sight
An eerie face
Waiting in place ..