What was before, but is not now – Haunts the soul and robs the night of sleep. Memories, like photos, fade, or should But for the constant vigil we keep – We fan the flames lit in remembrance Until the smoke clouds our days, We chain ourselves to the past And wallow, like martyrs, in our pain.   What could be, but is not yet … Continue reading This Moment (3rd Place Winner of IDEAS Poetry Contest) By: Rebecca Graham

I had no wisdom And yet you taught me (Illuminated, beyond conditions) Water is clear to the bottom Where the fish swim Without moving And the sky is vast and boundless Where the bird flies away And disappears Just one word Of a poem is better Which if a man hears He is quiet This being that appears Then loses Every meaning The withered tree … Continue reading The Ocean (2nd Place Winner of IDEAS Poetry Contest) By: Ian Lambach

I. We are going to walk in circles, the rings of you didn’t call, you don’t want to talk, I will never see you again, the jagged jumping-to-conclusions, the five hour act unconcerned. It is an art. It is What Happens when we’ve been abandoned, when someone else has already burned the barn and killed the cattle. In an hour there will be a voice … Continue reading The Barn Burner (1st Place Winner of IDEAS Poetry Contest) By:Nicole Steinbaugh