THE LIES ARE BEFORE THE FOOTHILL
By Melaina L. Mittel
3rd place

I want to tell you all a thing here
A tragic thing that defines my character
Something that awakens even in dusk’s dawn
Something that can make an ego out of itself
Something that can bring you and the others down
At the crack of daybreak
Something that defines my unfortunate selfishness
My story of the lie
that I have become

The girl who lies
Is the girl who never says goodbyes
Her power drains into the storming whirlpool

So here I am, Mel

The past lies
The future lies
The now lies

I walk to the foothill of a big mountain
Do I lie and stay before the foothill?
Or climb over the mountain to find my truth

The world is full of lies,
full of my lie
like the pandemic
it slowly takes my life away

Having two choices

One of truth
self-respect
dignity to others
and to one’s higher self

or

to bask in my lie
savoring that dark moment
which defines me before the world

As I approach the foothill
will I be dishonest
never seeing the worlds hero over it
to take it or leave it
to keep the lie
for all to see

So for me, Mel
my choice seems but one,
to silently remain in the darkness of my lie
and slowly sink in the eyes of the world

~

Overwhelmed
By Delilah Garcia
2nd place

the tap of a pen
repeating, repeating
my eyes shake behind their lids
repeating
pant seam pressed against my leg
repeat
stop
the shoe is too close to my foot
stop
my hair is touching my head
my glasses won’t stay up
and my sleeve isn’t right
my earbud won’t stay in uneven socks my charger is tangled i can hear the buzzing of the lights on the ceiling i can feel the electricity in the walls my phone is sliding down my desk he’s moving his foot out of rhythm and
i can’t take it anymore
stop
repeat
the tap of a pen

~

Self-sabotage
By Mariana Tablon
1st place

You know those king snakes that eat other snakes and end up eating themselves thinking it was another snake
It’s more common than you think
I feel like that sometimes like the effect affecting me was caused by well me
I feel like I stepped on my own shoelaces causing me to trip Yet i leave them untied
Or maybe like a record player, playing the same record Cause that’s the only one not warped
I feel like a parrot that picks their own feathers
The very ones that keep them warm
Or maybe a fly that’s stuck in the car
Avoiding every window and flying aimlessly
You know that’s called self-sabotage
The thing keeping you comforting and protecting
is the same thing killing you
But you repeat the same behavior because what if it changes Once just once
Like a hummingbird that crashes into the same window over and over Thinking one time it would change
For that once, you risk killing yourself
You’re the snake you’re afraid of