Winning Poem, Halloween Sonnet Contest: Magical Thinking, Coleman Glenn

Coleman Glenn lives in Bryn Athyn, PA with his wife and their six kids. His poems have appeared in Light, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, Blue Unicorn, THINK, and other publications. His first collection, A Little Light (2024), is available from Amazon in both the United States and Canada.

Magical Thinking

At nine, I knew that I could use the force
 to tap into the universe’s flow
 and nudge a floating object off its course
 or sense a stranger’s mental undertow.
 With passing years such fluid powers waned
 as oceanic childhood shrank to youth
 and surety of wish-fulfillment drained,
 revealing rocky hollows of the truth:
 we’re made of matter — severed flesh goes rotten;
 someday a person I can’t live without will die;
 when I go, I’ll be casually forgotten.
 These facts remain, unmoved, severe and dry.
 Some few stray swirling fantasies survive:
 Existence is. A child is born alive.

Comments

  1. Brent RaycroftNovember 1, 2024 at 1:06 PM

    Formally, emotionally perfect. Love the downward arc and saving couplet. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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