FuPo Poetry Contest
For Funny and Poignant Poems
First Place: “I’m Genderfluid Because I Wanted To Be An Immortal Jellyfish but Nature Said It Wasn’t Allowed” by Jade Wallace
Scientific metaphors are so effective because they expand the personal out to that realm of observable fact, in this case the type of jellyfish that has achieved ‘biological immortality’ by yo-yoing back and forth along a ‘normal’ life cycle. Perhaps it’s because I’m a sucker for said scientific metaphors, or maybe because I’m obsessed with transformative, long titles, but I couldn’t stop thinking of this piece, and in a strong field, it was hard to deny its power.
Second Place: “To the Owner of the Gray Volkswagen” by Zackary Medlin
I loved the surreal image of our inanimate ‘things’ becoming animate with agency and leaving us behind, and just how much that would change existence as we know it, while we seemingly sleepwalk through life in an extended case of highway hypnosis. Wonderfully weird and terrifyingly familiar, this is a great poem.
Third Place: “A Giant Cocktail” by Bree Rolfe
The conversational language and strong voice of this piece powers through all the way to the final, perfectly-toned word, which I don’t believe I’ve ever seen in a poem, and for how many poems I’ve read over the years, that is a feat. I loved this poet’s voice so much another of her poems was actually also a finalist—but this one with its disappointment fondant and wonderful turns captured the hearts of all of our editors.
Reader’s Choice: “The Ancient Greeks Had It Figured Out” by Harrison Gatlin
This poem does something I normally don’t like, it ends without punctuation. An implied ellipses that I couldn’t get out of my head, a conversational tone and heartbreaking ending. This is another tremendous and incredibly sad poem in a deceivingly simple package.
Reader’s Choice: “Commitment” by Ellen Steinbaum
Another science-y metaphor—I told you I’m a sucker for that. This lovely little love poem about cannibalistic cockroaches weaves science with very conversational language to actually make me think those dirty little bugs romantic, which is an amazing feat for any poem, let alone one as easy to read as this.
Ceiling 200 Contest
For prose under 200 words
First Place: “You’re gone, but the cannonballs still go off” by Heather Dobbins
This short piece has so much packed into it. The narrator’s loss and the metaphor of the ‘mines’ in the form of already-shot cannonballs laying in wait to shift course and devastate ruminated in my mind for far longer than its short word count. Dense, impactful and still accessible, I love this piece.
Second Place: “Lemons” by Cassandra Sigmon
While on the surface this piece reads as a flippant exchange about negative medical news, the subtle analysis of empathy and mortality digs much deeper, despite its seemingly straightforward and conversational language.
Third Place: “The Invisibles” by Mydhili R. Varma
A heartbreaking short piece about a child taken from their family and kept for almost two years (with no end in sight) in forced servitude told with a subtle hand—it calls to mind the horrendous fact that there are more humans enslaved today than at any point in history.
Reader’s Choice: “Morning at the Farm” by Michael Samra
From its ominous opening to the enigmatic but claustrophobic dream of being trapped in a hotel with no exits, this piece manages to find optimism in a world of seemingly senseless brutality.
Reader’s Choice: “Losing the Words” by Becki Lee
The human brain is an amazingly complex and fragile thing. “Losing the Words” shows the tragic and very human side of aphasia, and how important being able to (or in this case, being unable to) communicate is to a person’s psyche, and just how vital words can be. Having seen firsthand the frustration and sadness that comes with aphasia, this piece really hit home.