Kindly raise your glasses to make a toast for the victors of Soulful Verses

Without any further ado, let's announce the winners. Hold your breath.

The grand winner of the Wingless Dreamer Spiritual Writing Contest 2023 is:

FARIS ALLAHHAM - SONNET OF ТЕБЕ ПОЕМ

Faris Allahham is a poet and student from Danville, Kentucky. He currently attends the University of Kentucky studying biology and Arabic. He will soon attend medical school in the fall of 2024. He enjoys reading both poetry and fiction, listening to music, working out, and playing with his cat.

A big round of applause for the first runner-up:

DA ANGELO - FRUIT BAT

D A Angelo is a UK-based poet with work in Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Sage Cigarettes, Flights of the Dragonfly, Impspired, The Amazine and Petrichor Mag. New work is forthcoming in A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Moss Puppy, SurVision and Skipping Stone Review.

Beat the drums for the second runner-up:

GAVIN BOURKE - HEALING IN THE LIGHT

Gavin Bourke grew up in the suburb of Tallaght in West Dublin. Married to Annemarie living in County Meath, he holds a B.A. in Humanities from Dublin City University, an M.A. Degree in Modern Drama Studies and a Higher Diploma in Information Studies from University College Dublin. His work broadly covers nature, time, memory, addiction, mental health, human relationships, the inner and outer life, creating meaning and purpose, politics, contemporary and historical social issues, injustice, the human situation, power and its abuse, absurdism, existentialisms, human psychology, cognition, emotion and behaviour, truth and deception, the sociological imagination, illness, socio-economics, disability, inclusivity, human life, selfishness and its consequences as well as urban and rural life, personal autonomy, ethics, commerce, science, grand schemes and the technological life in English and to a lesser extent in the Irish Language.

And standing oviation for our top finalists:

MIRANDA FERNANDEZ - FAITH

Miranda Fernandez is a lover of words and an occasional poet. For Miranda, poetry has always been a way to make sense of the world and herself—good words for both mind and heart to chew on.

SHAKHAWAT TIPU - IN THE LINE OF DARKROOM

Shakhawat Tipu is a poet, essayist and editor from Bangladesh. He has published eight titles of poems and a book on a famous Bengali sculptor Novera Ahmed and her art works. Recently he published two Bengali poetry books: `Snayujuddha' [Cold War, 2022] and ‘Razar Kangkal’ [The skeleton of prince, 2020]. His poems have appeared in Voice & Verse, Rigorous, The scribe, Rialta, The Haiku foundation, culture book and among others. Tipu's poems have recently been included in `Poets and Places' [Austin Macauley publishers, UK], and `Rebel Poetry anthology' [Back Room Poetry Press, UK] . He is a founder editor at a Bengali literary magazine pratidhwanibd.com.

MS SAHEB SK TANVI - VENERATION OR WORSHIP TO MOTHER

Ms. Saheb Sk Tanvi is a visionary persona who is an author,editor, keen researcher, short story writer and novelist by passion. She has contributed herself to paint the panoramic picture of the sufferings of "Women Society". She has sought solace in the lap of nature and in her poems the core relationship with nature can easily be seen. Ms. Saheb has composed many poems & short stories which are the blend of Classical and modern thoughts. She is free minded and spends her spare time by listening songs or reading books. Her broad research interests include the Growth & Structure of American English, Globalization of English language, a view towards Greek and Roman Mythology and the influence upon the classical author, Feminism and Culture etc. Follow her on Instagram @saheb_soyuz

RANA ZEESHAN SHAHZAD - THE SPRING

I am Rana Zeeshan Shahzad from Pakistan. I am writer since 2018. I am expert as a journalist and writer.

ZOE MAE HUOT-LINK - ONE LAST LOOK AT HADES

Zoe Mae Huot-Link was born and raised in Maplewood, Minnesota. An artist of many hats: she makes graphite drawings, illustrations, and watercolor paintings; sings and plays guitar; and writes poetry. She is a winner of the Manitou Creative Writing Fellowship of the Literary Arts Institute at the College of Saint Benedict. She studied ancient calligraphy and martial arts in China at Southwest University. Her work has been published by For Women Who Roar, The Antonym, and Grim & Gilded; among others. Find her work at https://zoemae.art, and at @zoemae.art on instagram.