NFSPS Poetry - 2024

First Published in ENCORE: Prize Poems 2024

Now available on Amazon.

I placed 1st this year for a free verse poem called “yesterday’s storm.” The theme? Write about a storm. This category contest #25 was sponsored by the Poetry Society of Indiana.

Another win this year was contest #34, Sponsored by Iowa Poetry Association, and published by NFSPS in 2024. I was awarded 2nd place for a children’s poem, condensed from a longer poem I’ve been working on since 2022. “The King’s Word,” a lyrical prose piece has become an allegory of sorts for our understanding that we belong to the King of Kings, no matter who we are.

Lord willing, I plan to publish the longer children’s story as a children’s gift book in a couple of years.

Although I’d like to share the words with you, if you wait a few months, I can post them with first rights to NFSPS and the Prize Poems 2024 published this year. For now, I will post the first few lines and a link to the collection of poems from around the country. You can find the title published each year on Amazon from prize winning poems chosen in March by a variety of judges.

If you like the opening lines, check out other poems in my PROSE & POETRY page.

yesterday’s storm

(Continued in first publication by NFSPS: Prize Poems 2024.)

Published on Dec 22, 2024 here in full on my website.

A Children’s Poem - Becoming a story of Belonging

An excerpt from The King’s Word.

(Continued in first publication by NFSPS: Prize Poems 2024, and republished on Sunday Dec 22, 2024 in a full blog post.)

One additional slice of inspiration:

I find poetry forms to inspire me to write with structure and learn the shape of an idea. There are more than 168 poetry forms according to Writer’s Digest, and more forms are invented each year.

Take a deep dive into poetry forms post called, List of 168 Poetic Forms for Poets, by Robert Brewer at Writer’s Digest. And then try out your favorite poetry contest. Below are screenshots of just a few of the names of forms you can learn about and try your skills.

There’s more to poetry than free verse or journaling your thoughts in an artistic format across the page like we used to do in school. Although if you like art and artsy poetry forms, why not try a blackout poem or an acrostic poetry form?

What inspires you to write poetry or prose?

To read more, and support poetry in the United States with the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, please click on the Amazon affiliate link to purchase a copy of ENCORE: Prize Poems 2024.

Prize winning poetry selected from over 3500 entries in the annual NFSPS Contest.