You are obviously very bright and your mind seems to be filled with ideas and brilliance! I love the passion that you poured into this piece. You blended raw emotion with vivid detail to tell a masterful story that kept the reader wondering. I love how you tied your journey into a broader theme of reflection and identity. The way you found yourself through seemingly simple acts like driving a car shows that you see beauty in a lot of things which is a great skill to have as a writer.

Your flow is wonderful! This piece feels very intentional, it feels like every line has a purpose and moves the plot forward. I think you did a beautiful job of capturing growth and gratitude while appreciating your loved ones. I think the description of flowers and puzzle pieces highlights the complex journey towards growth that you went on and these symbols strengthen your piece a lot. Great work!

I love the way you began this piece. I was immediately drawn in and wanted to know more. I wouldn’t expect someone to say that the loss of their father was the best memory, but the way you view his death is beautiful. The fact that his peace overrides your grief is so wholesome and shows how much love you have for him. You captured the bittersweet complexity of loss in a very straightforward and relatable way. Wonderful job!

This poem radiates love and appreciation! You provided vivid snapshots of the journey you took this year while also sharing what it means to you to have someone by your side. I love how you highlighted high and low moments, and then ended by sharing your gratitude for everything. Thank you for sharing!

I love the way you tied all of these profound moments together yet still found so much joy in the simplicities of life. The themes of your story are very intimate yet universal. You drew me in with the king sized bed for 2 and made me wonder how your story would end. You did a great job drawing the reader in and describing your beautiful memories. Good job!

Hi! I think that you captured the beauty of connection and family quite well and told a wonderful story. Seeing the beauty in children while also seeing the ugliness of the world around us is a feeling I can relate quite well to. The juxtaposition of these two feelings give your piece depth and make it easy to understand. Thank you for sharing!

I want to share this on my instagram story and was wondering if I had your permission 🙂 and if yes, would you want your name included?

Hi Takayla, I know that this contest is over but I just needed to take the time to come on here and tell you what your poem means to me. I read this over a month ago and I think about this poem ALL the time. I’ve read it to friends, to family, I even read it to my professor today. This is truly one of the best poems I’ve ever read while judging these contests, and I’ve read hundreds! Freeing ourselves from our hair is such a DEEPLY important right of passage in the Black community and the freedom you described in this poem is profoundly beautiful. The words you use make me feel light and ethereal, “But ion care none, I ran in tha rain today.” lingers in my mind every.time.it rains out. It’s seems like such a simple line but I see how important and moving this moment was for you. I can feel your freedom; I feel the way the weight lifted off your shoulders and in turn, some weight was lifted off mine too. At the end of the day, I just want you to know that I SEE you. I hear you, and I’m with you. You did an incredible job of moving me with this piece and I hope that you see how wonderful your art is. Please keep writing, I genuinely hope I see your name again soon 🙂 <3 If we ever open up an editors favorite/ fan favorite type section, I will be bringing up your poem first 🙂

This piece is so sweet! The line “But still I look to the sky each night wondering when that day’s gonna be” is a very cute ending. I love how much comfort you take from the sky and I think it’s cute that you give your worries to the universe and let the sky handle it for you 🙂 I’m really glad you shared your story <3

I love the idea of giving credit to all those who came before you! I agree with this attitude; I am the combination of everyone who has come before me 🙂 I love that your pride involves all the love around you and all the love to come. Thank you for sharing!

Aw, this poem is so cute 🙂 When you said “write, write, right?” I sat up in my chair a bit. I love your word play and I love how you wrote such a short and simply piece yet really made the most out of the space you had! With very little words, you made me feel uplifted and your story lingered in my mind. Thank you for sharing, and keep writing, writing, writing!

Awww, this is so adorable! I love that you started this poem by making it seem like the perpetual storm was a curse or something you could never escape, then ending it by saying that you aren’t afraid of the storm. Rather than changing the storm entirely, they changed your outlook and emotions toward the storm, and I find that incredibly beautiful 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

I really love the message behind your poem. You’re so right; we idolize things that lack importance and judge each other for the things that should matter, like standing up for what’s right. It’s beautiful to see that you’ve prioritized the sunrise and you’re starting to see life from beyond the lens we’re given 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

I don’t know how to explain this, but you really captured the golden hue with your words. All of your lines really feel like they’re the color gold and they all fit very warmly together in the poem. There is a very soft and sweet tone to your piece and it perfectly captures the idea of a golden lullaby 🙂 Thank you for sharing!

I love this reminder that unlimited time creates the space for eternal hope! I’d love to hear more about what inspired this piece and what eternal hope means to you 🙂

Aw, this is so cute! I love how much you love yourself 🙂 We’re often tricked into thinking that outside factors determine how much we deserve love, but really the most important love comes from within ourselves <3 Thank you for sharing!

This is such a creative piece! It’s obvious you’re an artist by the way you write, it’s very creative and kind of all over the place in a very methodical and unified way (if that makes any sense). I can feel the beauty in your chaos and you communicated that perfectly in your poem. Thank you for sharing 🙂

I LOVE this piece. You went from hiding yourself and avoiding where you’d stand out to fully stepping into yourself and appreciating your differences. I love that you ended this piece with yourself upon and throne, showing that you do stand out yet that’s the beauty of it. Really good work, thank you for sharing 🙂

Aw, this poem is super cute! It’s short and sweet but left me feeling warm and your piece is a nice reminder that peace is everywhere. I love how your story starts immediately with the action of a bird flying because it’s easy to imagine and had me quickly curious as to where you’d go with it. Thank you for sharing!

Congratulations! It’s so wholesome to see all that people have overcome and I’m glad you’ve gotten to a place where you can look back and know that everything is going to be okay 🙂 I love the endless hype you give your younger self and the beauty that resides within struggle. Thank you for sharing!