As you know if you’ve been following us, we had a contest for inclusion in our most recent anthology, Aurora. We received some fabulous entries, and awarded prizes for first, second, and third place following blind judging. The works of all of the three winners can be found in the book along with many other exceptional stories and poems.
I would like to highlight our first-place winner. Tara A Elliot. Below is Tara’s winning entry, one of three poems authored by Tara for Aurora:
LIGHT
Tara A. Elliott
For Lucille Clifton
i have finally learned
what it is to be human
it is Icarus
hearing the voice of his father
below and still
he turns
his face to the sun
If you’re not a “poetry person” you may be asking, “What’s so great about that?”
What is so lovely about Tara’s poem is the tension, and the tension is showing us what it means to be human. At once, we are Icarus, clad in homemade wings, attempting to conquer the sky. But, if we fly too high, the wax that is holding the feathers onto our wings will melt, and we will fall, and die.
But wait, we hear our father calling to us, we hear the warning; we can save ourselves!
And then, still, we strive forward, toward the sun. We simply cannot resist… so many things, the light, the beauty, the danger, the exploration, the quest.
And that, dear readers, is what it means to be human.
Now, go buy a copy of Aurora so you can see the other jewels Tara and others have contributed to this glittering collection!
beautiful poem. combines the glory and the tragedy of human. at least that’s my takeaway.