LINA BUIVIDAVIČIŪTĖ - ON SERVICE (MY MOTHER’S ILLNESS) & PATHALOGICAL ANATOMY

Lina Buividavičiūtė was born on May 14, 1986. She is a poet and literary critic. Lina is an author of three poetry books in Lithuanian language. Her poetry is published in "Matter", "Masters", “Proverse poetry prize" contest anthologies, "Drunk monkeys", "Beyond words", "The Dewdrop", "The limit experience", "Poets choice", "HOW", "Beyond queer words", "Maudlin House", "Cathexis northwest press", "Poetry online" magazines and "Versopolis" poetry platform. Upcoming publications will appear in “New millennium writings”, "Cathexis northwest press", "Quillkeepers Press", "The Stardust review" and “Beyond words” magazine.



Our second prize goes to Anna Banasiak for her stunning trio of poems: Mother’s Hands, Cakes, and Eclipse,

Each poem stands beautifully on its own, yet together they form a quiet constellation—tender, precise, and deeply human. Mother’s Hands holds the ache and intimacy of generational care. Cakes is a rich sensory meditation on memory and nourishment. And Eclipse drifts into the celestial, exploring the shadowed spaces of love and loss. Anna’s language is spare yet evocative, grounded in the tangible but always reaching toward the metaphysical. Her work invites the reader to slow down, to notice, to feel.

This trio left a lasting impression—elegant, emotional, and full of quiet power.


ANNA BANASIAK – MOTHER’S HANDS, CAKES, AND ECLIPSE

I'm poet, writer, animator and occupational therapist. My poems have been published in New York, London, Surrey, Australia, Canada, India, Africa, China, Japan and Cuba. I'm the winner of poetry competitions in London, Berlin, Bratislava, gold, gold and silver in Kamena, gold, silver and bronze at All Poetry, poems of the day at poemunter, poems of the month at Poetbay, silver for surrealist poem, awards for fairy tales and more.



Lush, tactile, and dreamlike, our third winner John’s poem, Aromatic Gown wraps the readers in language as evocative as the title itself. Aromatic Gown is a meditation on sensuality, memory, and the way scent can carry us across time and feeling. With elegant phrasing and a painter’s eye for detail, John weaves a world that is as fragrant as it is haunting. This poem lingers like perfume in a quiet room—an experience more than a narrative, and one we returned to again and again. A beautifully immersive and original work. Kudos and bravo!


JOHN HUNTER – AROMATIC GOWN

John Hunter is from Ontario, Canada. With a diploma in early poetry reading and writing, John believes in continuing education, especially opportunities to improve his poetry writing. John enjoys walks in nature, time with loved ones, and reading. His favourite poet is Emily Dickinson. John’s poems have appeared in anthologies by Wingless Dreamer and Polar Expressions Publishing in Canada.

While the spotlight may fall on a few, the light of this anthology is made richer, deeper, and more expansive because of the voices that surround it. Our runners-up offered work that moved us, challenged us, and stayed with us long after the final line. Each piece carries its own gravity—its own way of holding truth.
To be chosen among so many powerful submissions is no small thing. These poems and stories shimmer just below the surface, adding texture and resonance to the whole.


LAUREN BROWN – WITHIN

Lauren Brown is a Senior English major with a concentration in secondary education at Stephen F. Austin State University. She writes in hopes of emphasizing and capitalizing off the awkward white noise that comes with growing up and creating/exercising boundaries. She is often told that she “has a way with words,” but argues that words have a way with her. Lauren believes that poetry is more than a hobby or an art; it is a way of appreciating and experiencing humanity. Lauren’s work has previously been published in the SFA literary journal, HUMID, #TeenWritersProject’s Quarterly Lit Zine Summer 2024 issue, and University of Texas’ literary journal Hothouse.


GYPSIE-AMI OFFBACHER- FERRIS

Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris lives in Southport, NC, USA. She is a twice published poet in Cameron Art Museum’s Writers Respond to Art Program and was awarded the Certificate of Completion for completing the 2021 and 2022 - 24 Hour Poetry Marathon. Her poem Wheels was chosen and published in the 2021 - 24 Hour Poetry Marathon Anthology. Her poem The Date has been chosen for publication in the 2022 - 24 Hour Poetry Marathon Anthology. Ami is also a contributing author in Spillwords.com, with six featured poems published to date and The Nature Of M/s published in Sacred Power, Living A Spiritual Power Dynamic edited by Raven Kaldera ©️2011 beginning on page 121. She is a returning published author in Whisper’s & Echoes, an on-line literary magazine as well as in 50 Give or Take by vineleavespress.com for her 50 word stories, Love as well as The Wedding and The Sleep Doctor & Visual Verse for her poem Mother Earth.


ROBIN DAKE - MYCORRHIZAL NETWORKS

Robin is a mother, daughter, friend, writer, and photographer. She has spent her career working as a journalist or non-profit manager while writing essays and poems on the side. Her work has appeared in Amaranth Journal, Snapdragon Journal, Amethyst Review, This I Believe radio program and in Trailway News magazine She lives in N.E. Georgia with two hoodlum cats.


AVA LOMBARDO - WORDS PRESERVED IN MY MIND, NEVER SAID ALOUD

Ava Lombardo is a fifteen year old aspiring writer from Canfield, Ohio. She has been writing since she was young, being published by Young Writers USA at the age of nine and again by WILDSOUND Poetry Festival at fourteen, receiving numerous writing awards in between her publications. She uses writing to express all emotions she has and explain every thought she has run through her mind. She hopes to one day publish a book and continue writing for a large portion of her life. She shares her work with those closest to her, but she one day hopes to share it with the world, changing it word by word. Instagram: avamlombardo


JAMES MEAD – UNNATURAL LIGHTING

James Mead is a veteran and recently graduated with a bachelor's of English from the University of Colorado at Boulder. When he is not writing poetry, he enjoys weightlifting, hiking, and thinking about stealing his neighbor's cat that hunts in his back-alley.


BARRY SCOTT BORING - MY RED-ROSY, STAR-SPANGLED MUM

B. Scott Boring recently retired after a 32-year career in public education where he taught English, Creative Writing, Public Speaking and Drama. He currently lives in Port Saint Lucie, FL. He joined the Morningside Writing Group in July 2024. Recently, he authored a short story collection about his parents’ birthplace, Bolivar, PA. Wingless Dreamer published one of these stories in Love, Laughter, and Christmas Letters where “A Christmas for Guzzies” took second runner-up. In February 2025, Wingless Dreamer published Awakening Within, and Scott’s story, “There’s One” took the grand prize. Wingless just announced that Scott’s poem “Forbidden Love” has been selected to appear in the anthology, Swept Away in February.