THE FIRST POETRY PRIZE WINNER –
Summer 2022
is Soumya Shashikumar
of Ajax, Ontario – CANADA
“The Day Struggle”
a monolith on the edge
its towering strength teetering
ever so slightly
rubble collapsing with each breath
a little push
a little shove
a behemoth unraveling
layer by layer, brick by brick
chipping, whittling down on itself
but I, I cannot see
I cannot
for I am beneath
wobbling on the precipice
toes digging, veins revealing
holding, balancing the weight
on my back, my tears long dry from
the futility of it
but each day I draw in a lungful
and I lift, and I heave, and I grunt
and I, I step back
one foot at a time, one day at a time
it’s a battle of wits
Of sheer grit
a tussle between myself and my own mind
a step at a time, a few paces from the ravine
I cannot let go of my mountain
teeth on teeth, the pressure within
as broken bones renew twice as strong
I plant my hope firmly into the ground.
By Soumya Shashikumar
# # #
About the poet:
Hi! My name is Soumya. I have been writing poems and stories since I was a little kid – my first poem written in careful crayon on a Mother’s Day card back in August 1996. Writing has been a process of self-reflection and the yearning to describe inexorable feelings unto paper. My heart has always been between the musty smell of a new book and under the fresh ink of hurriedly scribbled paper. My hope is that my poems find purchase in someone’s life and they find kinship amid my words.
