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Experience the thrills of the Weekly Poems Contest.
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January 15th, 2026
Under 25 Poetry Contest #11 – First Place
by Katelyn Kim
I didn't realize
The fragile glass vase
That is our living
No caution
Sticker to warn us
Of our eventual shattering
I didn't realize
That life could be so delicate
Until yours became broken pieces
From the green couch beside me
We would finger-draw on each other's backs
Flies buzzing around half-eaten popcorn kernels
Watching talking heads
On the screen, blabbering
But we weren't really listening
The wind would blow against your toffee curls
As we cycled to the sandwich shop
Laughing over first-grade memories
Like the time we sang off-key on stage
Nail-bitten fingers gripping the mic
As our wide-eyed class looked a tad horrified
Now finger-drawing on the cushions
Writing this piece before it hits paper
I notice even the flies that seemed to love us
Have lost their flicker, only one remaining
I'm sorry, I squashed it
Guilt as my palm rubs against its squishy mass
I know you loved life
I know you loved preserving it
But that seems hard to do when you're gone
Out the window I see kids playing
Splashing in gross rain puddles
Muddy, filthy, but somehow, they smile
Laughter is a strange sound
Natural, breakable
Like the risk of their bikes crashing
One's gleam of eye
In response to joy
One's sunshine
Could be another's misery
I forget other people's sorrows
Maybe it's too hard to remember all the time
One's joy
Is not as guaranteed
As another's
Somewhere in the world
Someone is grieving
But somewhere in the world
Someone is celebrating
For others to be born
And what's broken finds its glue
About the Poet
Katelyn Kim resides in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Read the poet's biography and Wax Poetry and Art publications
on Katelyn Kim's Artist Page.
Keywords: life, delicate, grief, celebration, friendship
Next in Wax Mag #9:
Seasons: Three Paintings
Paintings by Louise Maksymetz
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