Frostwritten

Last month, I entered poetry.com‘s June poetry contest.

There was a poem I had been working on ever since I went to see Whisper of the Heart, a Studio Ghibli classic from 1995, when it was released in theaters last year.

There is a scene in the film where the lead character, a young, aspiring writer named Shizuku, worries that she has no hidden “gems” inside of her. Nishi, a grandfather figure, advises her that it takes hard work, and lots of polishing, to make your gems sparkle – they won’t be perfect from the outset. If you’ve not seen the film, I HIGHLY recommend it.

I drafted this poem while taking a walk on the rail trail in my home town of York, PA – and then polished it over a few months, here and there, until this version sparkled.

And I came in first place!!!

Please read, and let me know what you think! Check out the other poems, as well – there were a lot of gems in the contest.