10%

Our 2021 Poetry Winners

Congratulations to our 6 poetry writers!

By FOREFRONT Charity

September 17^th, 2021

Celebrating Our Empowerment Poetry Contest Winners

FOREFRONT Charity proudly announces and congratulates the winners of our first ever-poetry competition under the theme of Empowerment. This poetry contest is part of our efforts to support the work in rural India to fund basic life necessities through the four pillars of water and sanitation, education, medical care, and empowerment.

The purpose of the poetry competition was to engage people around the world to think creatively about what empowerment meant to them. We wanted to inspire all poets and writers globally. Through this competition, we were able to engage with new communities, while also engaging our existing followers in new ways. We were thrilled to receive so many beautiful, heartfelt poems, and to have had the opportunity to work with the wonderful Ramesh Prabhu and Dr. Vicki Bismilla. It is our hope that after reading the winning poems, our readers will be able to walk away with a strong sense of what empowerment means to these writers, to them, and to the communities we at FOREFRONT Charity. work with.

Their poetry can be found on our partner, Desi News, website here. You can watch the live poetry reading recording here.

Now introducing our winners:

1st Place

“My Wealth, My Words” by Rachana Shah (India)

Rachana's interpretation of life manifests from her name (which means Creation, in Hindi and Sanskrit). She is a qualified Company Secretary with a degree in Commerce & Law. When she isn't writing/creating art/singing, she can be found tolerating excel sheets at her day job, whipping up slow delicacies in her kitchen, reading or getting outwitted by her 6-year-old. Most of her writing is dedicated to giving an unhurried expression to reflective insights she taps into from her interactions with the world and her inner self.

"Through this poem, I have shared my learning, that giving needs to be done in a way that doesn't take away from the dignity of the beneficiary. Economic problems are only one part of someone’s life. There are so many who neither have sufficient resources nor equal opportunities to grow and contribute to this world.

When we truly acknowledge and treat people from all walks of life as ‘equal’, we show faith in their ability to contribute their unique gifts to the world.

When we understand that everyone deserves respect and dignity without letting their economic situation taint our view of them in any way, we empower them to grow from their unfortunate circumstances and not let it define them or their lives. We encourage them to not expect any less for themselves than what they deserve.

It is also what empowers them to sustain their present hardships until they can rise beyond them and hopefully, even fill the shoes of being a benefactor to someone else someday.

I hope whoever reads this poem will find respect and acceptance, irrespective of where they come from. Each one of us can find it in us to feel worthy, and to not let our current circumstances alone define our growth trajectory."

“My Wealth, My Words” by Rachana Shah (India)

2nd Place

"Functionally Nonverbal" by Taylor Rae (United States)

Taylor Rae is a recently-reformed mountain troll who is trying out city living. She holds her undergraduate degrees in psychology and English literature from the University of Idaho. Her work has appeared in Flash Fiction Online, the Upon a Twice Time anthology, and Walled Women.

"The children I work with inspired this poem. I'm a freelance writer, but my day job is in pediatric behavioral therapy and early childhood education. I've worked with clients on all ends of the spectrum labelled "nonverbal." I've seen so many adults misunderstand that nonverbal means nonthinking or that they simply have nothing to say. There is undeniable power in the moment when a child first realizes they can use a speech device to get their thoughts out and someone will listen. I've worked with kids who came to me only saying one or two words or repeating others (echolalia) whose parents would have been happy to hear them say mom or dad. And within a few years, they were telling stories, communicating with friends and family, and learning that, no matter how they speak, they will be heard.

To me, empowerment is the simple magic of knowing that other people view you as a full, complex person with individual ideas, worries, dreams, stories, questions, and passions. It matters to me because I think we all yearn to be seen and accepted, not just tolerated."

"Functionally Nonverbal" by Taylor Rae (United States)

3rd Place

"[I Set Out In The Day]" by Tirumala Syamala Gangula (India)

Syamala is an IT professional from India who loves to write poetry and has a knack for photography. She is insightful, genuinely warm and intuitively devoted to depth. She loves to nurture strong and meaningful relations with people, enjoys thinking about the meaning of life and feels an intrinsic drive to make the world a better place bound by peace and filled with love.

And we honor our honorable mentions.

"New Song" by Jaakko Tikkanen (Finland)

"The Universe Whistles" by Isaiah Davidson (United States)

"Poem on Empowerment" by Kiara George

"The Universe Whistles" by Isaiah Davidson (United States)

Featured Poems

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!

Button Label

Villages Without Limits

Start publishing stories like this

Our 2021 Poetry Winners

Congratulations to our 6 poetry writers!

FOREFRONT Charity's 6th Annual Gala

Empowering Communities Globally

A Personal Note From Michelle

Reflecting on FOREFRONT Charity's Past 5 Years

Lessons from Lucy Yashoda, Our School Administrator

A Call to Action for a Better Today