Announcing the winners of our Small Moments poetry competition

Happy Sunday, folks. My thanks to the judges for turning this one around so quickly. These may have been short, but this was not an easy ask. Poetry is so very subjective, and it means different things to different people.

That was one of the reasons that this wasn't whittled down to a top ten before the judges got it - it was over to them to whittle it down further. It's a combo of me chickening out but also making other people work more, lol 😇 In all seriousness though, I'd like to thank the judges for their time and insights into what these poems evoked in them.

But without further ado, I will offer my sincerest congrats to Ascendent, who took the top spot with her brilliant take on 'what if'. The Shadow Life takes first place. Closely following on her heels was the beautiful erotic offering, Blind, from Katherine. And third place goes to Henke, with his gorgeous real take on what loving someone is. And Yet... takes bronze. I will be in touch with you all re prizes shortly.

This was a bittersweet one, because it's hard to see a lush poetry competition where we didn't get a masterpiece penned by Elliot, but I'm sure he'd be delighted with the array of talent on show, and in particular, our three worthy winners. Thank you to all who took part, whether just to try your hand, or as way of tribute. The next competition will be back to stories, and will be announced in the next week or so.

Jen x

Full top ten

1. The Shadow Life by Ascendant

2. Blind by Katherine

3. And Yet… By el_henke

4. I Have No Words by fillelapine

5. Love Is Blind by Piquet

6. Words On The Tongue by Obsolete_Fox

7. Make A Home With Me by LuceDevlin

8. In The Details by Sea48

9. What I’ve Kept For Myself by kistinspencil

10. The Stranger by Satinsmiles

congrats to you all

Congratulations all. As one who is fond of poetry, I enjoyed this comp. There isn't enough poetry in this world.

Congratulations to the wonderful top 3... as a non poet, it was nice to sit this out and just read and enjoy. And nice to see a new face on top of the pile. Congrats Ascendant x

Congrats also to fillelapine on 4th. Her poem really spoke to me.

Looking forward to the next comp already

Huge congratulations to the top 3 and everyone who bared their soul or in some way honoured Elliot by embracing their short-form creativity.

I managed to work my way up over half of them (some I haven't reached are in the top 10, d'oh) and there are some real gems in there.

That there was no shortlist demonstrates how much talent there is on this site, so everyone who entered should pat themselves on the back. And special thanks to the judges who had to read and rank every one.

Usual shouts out to Jen and the mods for keeping up with the deluge of entries, and everyone behind the scenes for keeping the site running. A superb competition.

I couldn't have said it any better than WW, but I want to offer my congratulations to the winners and say how honored I am to be in the Top 10. There were so many beautiful and incredibly moving poems in this competition.

A wonderful selection of highly varied poems, all united by common talent. Well done, all of you! And congratulations!

That's one sexy trio of poets on the podium! Congratulations to you and the rest of the top 10!

I am dumbfounded to be given a seat at this feasting table and offer my heartfelt congratulations to the three who sit at its head and the rest of the poets gathered.
Thank you truly to Jen, the mods, and all the writers who served up such delicious creations to honor Elliot's memory.

Congratulations to the winners and the rest of the top ten! There were so many great poems. I loved how this comp brought out the poets in our Lush community! 😎❤️

Congratulations to the top ten!

Wow! Shout out to the readers, judges, other comp writers, and to Elliott. Super sweet, humble and talented guy. This competition was an amazing way to honor him and I know he would love this.

So many amazing poems, so much variety in approach, premise, structure and meter. Well done, all who participated.

I want to congratulate the winners and say well-done to all those who took part. 😊

Congratulations! I thought the winning poem was so clever. I enjoyed taking part, not so much for the effort of sticking one word after another, more for a single moment while I was writing my entry on a train one morning. Looking out the window, I wondered how many others were writing at the same time, all over the world, doing something creative for its own reward. It was comforting thought, amidst all the bleak political news. So nice to be part of. I'm sure Elliot would have approved.

Congratulations to one and all who took the time and courage to enter the competition and to the winners, runners-up, and top ten stories. Well done everyone.

Well done to the winners and all those in the top ten - excellent choices all 😊! Thank you, Jen, for organising and thanks also to all those involved. I read some fabulous poems and I thought it was an excellent way to pay tribute to Elliot's passing.

Congrats and huge thanks to everyone who participated in this poetic homage to Elliot!

Congratulations to the winners, rest of Top Ten, and everyone brave enough to try to write poetry! I’m sure Elliot is smiling right now! ❤️

Congratulations to the top 10 and well done to everyone who entered 🥳

Congratulations to all the winners, and the top ten, and pretty much anyone who entered! It's not easy to open yourself up the way poetry demands, and it's even tougher to then post those emotions in a public forum... to be judged! I really enjoyed reading all these beautiful pieces.

Hopefully, I will get my future competition entries in before the final day. 😎

Is the nice Canadian boy still being offered for fouth place? 🤩 I am still over the moon at making top 10! There were so many good poems that I wouldn't have been able to pick any favourites. Congratulations to all that entered! 💖

Me logging into Lush five minutes ago:

Holy shiiiiiiet! Third place! Whoop whoop!

Congrats to all the top ten and thank you, everyone, for participating and judging. What a great tribute to an amazing poet. Y'all made that possible.

Well done to everyone who took part in the competition - authors, readers, judges and organisers. Lush competitions bring out the best in us. Speaking personally, competitions provide me with the impetus I need to write. Well deserved congratulations to the winners in particular and to my fellow 'top tenners'.

Congrats to all who placed up top,
The poems made my jaw just drop!

So many voices, strong and true,
Each one with something fresh to view.

A huge thanks to the mods and crew,
And judges for the work you do.

Honoring Elliot in every line,
A tribute heartfelt, let it shine.

This competition meant a lot to me,
I'm thrilled to share this company.

Excited and honored, what a run,
And truly, thank you to everyone!

Anna (Sea48)

Once again congrats to all the winners!

Quote by fillelapine

Is the nice Canadian boy still being offered for fouth place? 🤩 I am still over the moon at making top 10! There were so many good poems that I wouldn't have been able to pick any favourites. Congratulations to all that entered! 💖

Well, I'm not good, I'm not a boy (more of a Bear, actually), but I am Canadian … will I do?

Congratulations to everyone for entering and judging this contest. I've never been big on poetry so this gave me the chance to try something I normally wouldn't ever have attempted.

Congrats to Ascendant, Katherine and el_henke as well as the Top 10. Hoping I can read all the entries in the next few days, apologies for not getting to these sooner.

Thank you everybody for putting me on top, I didn't really expect to win (then again, I never do). And congratulations on everyone else too, there were some interesting entries, among those I had time to check