1st Place: "My Wealth, My Words” by Rachana Shah (India)
There are no cords tied around my wrists
even so, why do I feel so constrained
to open my palms, my heart, and let it flow
after all, we come from abundance
and to abundance we will go
Why does the shadow of having survived
with nothing,
still hold me back at the cuff
making incessant assumptions and calculations
if there is enough – if there will be enough
As I rummage into my pockets
to share,
loose threads of shame still prick at the seam
born from the look of unmistakable pity
as they handed aid, devoid of dignity
Kindred souls held my hand
and filled it with the inspiration to create
my wealth – my words
that hold the power of a prayer
infused with dignity and faith
I pray you discover your power,
your gifts,
and live with your head held high –
I pray my words empower your journey
I pray you reach for the sky
My wealth, my words
2nd Place: "Functionally Nonverbal" by Taylor Rae (United States)
functionally nonverbal
the forest speaks
in the scars and spools
bound beneath every barkskin,
the only heart in the world
that can be cut open and read
the stars speak
in concatenated waves,
carrying every atom from
the rivermouth of the universe
like fish in a cosmic current
the city speaks
in a roll of barbed wire,
spikes of sound broken
by long stretches
of metal silence
the married speak
in the same wordless
way the sun and moon
have agreed to share a sky
as narrow as a single lifetime
our children speak –
especially those who
do not speak at all –
in secret gardens tilled
by the question why
listen
language is older than words
it is the shared space between
you and I, two continents joined
by an ocean of infinite meaning,
but our raft is scrappy and strong
we make it across, one wave at a time
3rd Place: "[I Set Out In The Day]" by Tirumala Syamala Gangula (India)
I set out in the day and till the lands of other
under the heat, to fight world’s hunger.
Pots with traces of my every finger
know that my hands became thinner.
I know life’s every bitter flavour
and how it feels to be a slave of a grand gambler.
So, in hope that somethings may not take forever,
at night I worship my hands of honest labour.
What sets me apart from my neighbour
is not pain I endure but my will to empower.
Cause if not to bridge the gaps in the world,
what’s the point of life in aiming higher!