WINNER

A Sonnet for Zane Gonzalez

By Kevin Fan

Than Zane Gonzalez, never has been seen,

a greater kicker, nor a greater man.

A field goal must be kicked? He's scored nineteen.

Have faith in Zane, for send it through he can.

And just how well can Zane Gonzalez kick?

A record setter, Arizona State.

Then signed by Cleveland, their round seven pick.

A pro at last. But what would be his fate?

In overtime, he missed a kick; they tied.

Onto the next, he missed to right and left.

The Saints kicked, scored, won. Four, had Zane sent wide.

Our hero found himself of job bereft.

But our messiah, by the Browns so spurned,

to Phoenix, like the Son reborn returned.

Runner-Up

The Cotton Candy Sky

By Sena Çelik

I remember

Once, you sent me a regular picture of the sky

There were nice colours

You really liked it

You said it was a picture from that day

I don't even remember the picture properly

Because those chats are deleted now

Like erased memories

Never to be recalled.

I deleted those chats

Exactly so I won't be able to recall

To not have an “attachment”

Though sometimes I wish

I wish I remembered it more accurately

I remember a bit

It wasn’t striking on a first glance

But I really liked it

still so beautiful

truly meaningful

I liked how you described it

called the sunset pink cloudy sky

the cotton candy sky

I liked that you shared it

Made me think of you as a dreamer

I like your dreamy

Normally I don't like cotton candy

But your choice of words made me have

slightly less negative feelings about it

Your choice of words had always affected me.

I try to change that.

I think I do have more control now

Yes, I erased the only attachment you sent me

Yet my attachment remains a bit, so

Whenever the sky is filled with beautiful clouds

And there’s a pink tint

I think of you.

I still recall.

I think of how you’d enjoy it

And if I had shared that moment with you

I imagine we would both cherish it

Cherish something as “simple” as the vast sky

The beautiful sky

The beautiful colours

The beauty.

We could’ve gotten excited like this.

Could’ve been.

I don’t mind as much as I used to though.

I slightly mind, life moves on.

Doesn’t it?

And I’ll give you a smile now.

It’s basically winter now.

The sky is often white

Or grey.

As we get deeper into winter

The cotton candy sky becomes more and more rare

And I don't remember you as much.

But I am reminded that

Even though this was an end for us,

with that will come new beginnings.

We shouldn’t be afraid of endings

To make space and embrace the new beauties.

I am reminded that

it is just winter, which means

Spring will come around

And I will find

More beautiful cotton candy skies

That will be labelled differently

Lived differently

Shared differently

And that there will be

beauty

That I can watch, that I can see

With someone who is new to me.