PLEASE this feature and these wonderful works of art, thank you!

After a year's worth of waiting, thanks to the never ending lack of real life drama,
finally,
I am pleased to announce the 
WRITTEN IN THE STARS- PROSE 'N POETRY CONTEST WINNERS!

_{PS the reason there are more honorable mentions for the poetry division than that of the prose is due to the fact that there were well over double the amount of entries}


PROSE DIVISION 1ST PLACE WINNER

God of War by TheTerrorOfTheDeep
 


After asking me my sign, he told me that we were a perfect match, Leo and Aries. I laughed, saying he reminded me of a different king in the sky, Cepheus. My answer to his asking of why should have been an omen.
“You are Cepheus, with your arms raised, begging the gods to spare your precious Andromeda.”
“Who does that make you? Andromeda?”
“The gods.”

Raw lines from a powerful piece that just claws at a reader's emotions!  


PROSE DIVISION 2ND PLACE WINNER

The History of Starlight by Chipchinka 

“I’ve seen those stars,” Máküs says.  “But I never learned them.  I looked at them as a child, as a teenager.”
“I did the same.”
“And now we’re seeing them at the same time.”
“And we’re seeing Regulus.  The Heart of Leo.  It’s our star, Máküs…yours and mine.”
“But it is four stars, you say.”
“Ours nonetheless: dancing around each other.  Two for you and two for me."

You can almost feel starlight bursting out of the hearts of the characters.  


PROSE DIVISION 3RD PLACE WINNER

constellations by miserabel 

The last of the signs is about harmony and swimming on, eternally attracted to the endless blue horizon, Neptune's loyal subject. Have you met her? No, and neither have I - but I imagine her hair to flow like waves and her hands to be the cooling pools whose touch invites you to rest.

Such lovely imagery and wording swirls about this dreamy piece


PROSE DIVISION HONORABLE MENTIONS

What You Learn From The Stars by linaket 
She, of Two by EvelynTaliette and
The Zodiac Races by IsleintheSkye  


  She, of TwoAbove me the forest canopy silhouettes the night sky in an elaborate  frame of reaching branches and fluttering leaves, now stilled.
The stars pause in their meandering for my view; the trees wave, revealing some and concealing others.
"Sidere mens eadem mutato,” as my father would say-- though the constellations change, the mind is universal.
I scoop my hands through the dark water, pushing my form along by the smallest gestures. A tree with roots firmly planted in the pond passes my floating form and the shade (just a temporary asylum from the moon’s gaze) recedes. There appears my fellow traveller, illuminating his way across the sky in increments just as I travel these wetlands.
Sudden wind slinks its way across my exposed skin (pink knees, bony shoulders, a sallow face-- almost disembodied above the opaque water) once again, in synchrony with the quivering leaves. Unforgiving, but I’m sheltered from its wrath; cocooned in dark water with the current c<da:thumb id="389774645"/>



POETRY DIVISION 1ST PLACE WINNER

Ruminations on a Fallen Star, Not Yet Fallen by AzizrianDaoXrak 

I cling to my stars, my Spica, my Vindemiatrix,
casting my peridot seeds into the waves, throwing
my gems away, like Cassiopeia, and I will come 
to harvest your crystal shoots in the fullness of time,
in summer.

The flow and superb usage of theme and constraints is what made this piece the undeniable crown jewel amongst all the other beautiful treasure trove of entries!


POETRY DIVISION 2ND PLACE WINNER 

The Sky Bull by TheLunaLily 

Cast your beauty into the sea; let it slip away. Sacrifice it to Aphrodite, or fair Persephone, but keep none for yourself. Beautiful are the divine, but blessed are the plain.

Above par phrasing combined with wonderfully woven emotion.


POETRY DIVISION 3RD PLACE WINNER

I am the Everybody by fllnthblnk 

I am a lion among lions, a major and minor
against the unknowns of every other constellation,
the unknown of each smile in passing, the unknown biography
of a hand I touch, calloused by labor instead of love,
or the small hands that will one day house the bone-deep ache
that arrives with age and disuse, 

A poem that subtly yet surely resonates within a reader's being.


POETRY DIVISION HONORABLE MENTIONS

Libra Veneris by Jade-Pandora 
because we're too afraid to fly in daylight by Hfeather53 
Regulus by MirachRavaia 
On The Threshold of Creation by LadyofGaerdon 
to call the skin the midnight sky by adeline-renee 
In star-crossed balance by brokengod--veins 
the tides of fate by flightlessheron 

Libra VenerisVenus– Goddess of air and light
Adorning colors of sunset hues
Of ivory, pink, and glowing blues
While she awaits the waxing night
To measure stars upon her scale
That judges beauty from each gem,
Each light to sit around the hem
Like cultured pearls upon her veil.
But Libra's house will never tilt
To sacrifice her pleasure dome
The palace that she calls her home
By chance to cause a rose to wilt.
Hoc quidem nunquam facies. because we're too afraid to fly in daylightjust when i thought i was home,
the welcome mat
turned to tacks beneath my feet.
i apologized for the blood
that crept into the cracks and stained your porch.
this isn't the redwood i had in mind;
but i think it's kind of beautiful,
in the same way
a moth can't find its way to the stars
from inside the garage so it
flicks its maddened wings to make a
ting, ting, ting
on a dying lightbulb.
"abyssus abyssum invocat,"
i whisper to the winged-dreamer
as she makes her way across my cheek.
i know she hears it as she
eases past my softly, parted lips.
ex glande quercus,
her wings thump morse code
against the rawness of my throat
and i swallow to quiet her pain.
hush, now shush. be still, my dear;
trees do not talk or bleed.
you've given your wings to grow with me
and we will reach the heavens.
we will be greater than the oaks
as our forest of hair plants us among the stars;
then, we will be home.
sister;
gemini,
hitched to the sky
with the veins of your wings
and stuck with the red of RegulusThe sky so close, heaven so far
and sand is white, white as your arms
Look through the bars
look at the stars
night covered the land with her charms.
What are the lines between the stars?
The lines of fate, like in your palms
Who wrote them there
in the thin air
the sky is clear as the night calms
The ram, the bull, the twins, the crab
virgin and lion - you and me
Farewell my love,
we'll meet above
between the stars we will be free
I'll be the lion's brightest star:
where no treason can quench my light
and when I fall
to you I call:
Morituri te salutant!
On The Threshold of CreationDaughter of Hecate,
I was born upon the threshold
of one year and the next:
a tiny earthen creature,
awash in a sea of stars.
Too late did I remember
Capricorn is the goat with
the tail of a fish,
and perhaps my legs were never meant
to tread upon the earth.
I've heard tell
that Saturn is the harshest master,
and will never be satisfied
by words alone.
In the beginning I was sure-footed
as the goat who glitters in stars above me,
ideas sprung full-grown from my head,
as Athena born from Zeus
Too late do I recall
that prophecy foretold,
Zeus' own creation
would surpass even him.
I'm still trying to puzzle out
whether my own creation
will surpass me, and live on,
or destroy me altogether.
Yet still I weave my words,
and endeavor to make Athena proud.
She beckons me home,
tall and stern from woven banner:
tempts me with promises of "Eureka",
and still I pray, to any who would hear me
that my living words will whisper
"non omnis moriar." In star-crossed balanceand I will learn
how to sew these skies together
when the constellations
unravel themselves
like a monsoon.
pillars of bones
and the quakes of every heartache
rests in the space
between my lungs
and my ribcage-
a home built to shelter
the song of the ocean
and the sweet silence of clouds
drifting above my irises,
against the downpour of waterforms
colliding in my veins.
[pluma, membrana-
nothing but the softness of dreams
and the heaviness of air]
I am a star-crossed lover;
a body who nurtures the mind
the heart
and the soul-
misers in a variety of matrimony
with this forsaken archipelago
whose plates have long ago been
separated by their unequal forces
scattered
seasoned
seorsum
then the climax
of life
came in slow motion
in vigorous verses.
unfolding
the beginning of the end,
flowers blooming from bone marrows
and the sounds
of heavy breathing
accendo
white dwarves
pour out into the open
scattered like debris,
the discontinuity of souls
in my palms
but only the m
<da:thumb id="378998814"/>



REMAINING TREASURE TROVE OF PROSE AND POETRY ENTRIES:

de stellisthe gently plucked strings of a harp
always remind me of the stars~
somehow the sound seems like an echo
of their sweet twinkling,
and it makes me forget that (actually)
they are only shards of broken sky,
glowing with the last remnants
of the gods’ fickle favor
oh naïve and mortal children,
do not think that the sky is so warm–
light and heat are just empty words here,
and the lonely cold of banishment
is much more tangible
imprisonetur inter sidera,
I long to feel the sea lapping at my feet,
to hear the beautiful, haunting sound
of the women’s weaving melodies
and race alongside the fleet-footed goddesses,
once again testing my mortal strength
against their inhuman power
but ah, it was that love for a challenge
that brought me to this dark, empty place:
a man of nimis superbiat,
I am now nothing more than a silhouette–
a simple outline, a constellation,
just a warning to the up-gazing mortals
that “pride goes before destruction,
and a Domina Mortis - The Lady of Death'Where is the lady of death?' they say,
As the whispers cascade through the room,
Domina mortis percutiet
When will she come out to play?
For her words bear the venom of many a sting,
Each step is a dance to your grave,
A look in her eyes tells a tale none forget
her voice sings the songs of your sin.
The lady of death is the mother of life,
Destruction gives way to rebirth,
Domina mortis vigilias,
Planets collide and bear strife,
Darkness and passion's child frolicking true,
As her blood coats the blade of her knife,
Her mystery lingers, yet you live in bliss,
Not knowing that she has seen you.
The lady of death awaits on the cliff,
Overlooking the star-spangled sea,
Domina mortis est vobis,
She feels every pulse, every shift,
Anteres speaks deep in her soul as she waits,
As her breath slows and limbs become stiff,
This life bears a burden; the die has been cast,
The victor of treacherous fate. IdealisticShe took a breath of fresh air and looked up at the sky. The stars were faint, but she could just make out the pitcher and water flowing from it. Next to it was the ever loving horse rising out of the water.
It was nothing more than a dream. Young, foolish, idealistic, what hadn’t they called her? Wrapping herself in clothes of the scholar, trying to prove the points that needed to be proved, while still trying to be friendly, it had all been a perfect attempt doomed to failure.
Perfect had died, but not the goals she had set for herself earlier. The knowledge she had taught would remain, even if she was one of the most eccentric ones there, according to most of the students.
The ivory halls of academia were fulfilling. Dreams as a child of changing the world had floated away, instead becoming those of studying in depth the way things were. It was comforting to not have to focus on what could be in a concrete sense, but instead only in the abstract.
People were capable of being n
Dead languages and bitter teaWe were directly opposed,
circling each other in a confining pool,
my mouth seeking yours, but only finding
the fragments of composure you left in your wake.
"Nunc scio quid sit Amor",
you said once, and I agreed with you,
then looked up what the hell you meant
as soon as I was alone.
We went stargazing when we were hungry
and fed ourselves with the names
and the glow of all the stars
that spread themselves out to tease us.
"This is what I see in you," you flattered,
pointing at the sky while the wetness of the grass
soaked into our backs.
"You're that string of pearls, right there,
hanging around the neck of the sky.
You are more than what I’ve been looking for,
more than anything I've ever tried to find,"
you painted stars and lies.
I left you job listings in the mornings,
and you told me my fortune,
in the bottom of my teacup.
We were directly opposed; I told you to leave if you wanted,
so on a night too cold for me to see the comfort in your dreams,
you left, gathering<da:thumb id="390842244"/>
a super nova's roaryour breathing comes heavy
as you whisper in my ear:
        "veni, vidi, vici,
        mi amor."
your fingers tangle themselves
into my mane, sending
trapped stars careening into
the depths of the universe.
your mouth meets mine.
we explode into dark matter
as i caress your butterfly skin,
my unsheathed claws gliding down
your rope-tied spine.
                dulce periculum.
constellations dance across my body
and super novae bloom in the cracks
beyond time where lips and skin meet.
we roar at the night sky
as we rise from the lapping waves.
    omnis vir tigris,
but we are lions, ascending
to take our place among the stars.<da:thumb id="390438291"/> Their Faith was Written in the Stars
I’m dying. Pain is spilling from my stomach, my veins are bursting. The first thing that went wrong in my life and eventually lead to my death was that the act of an unknown man attracted me to him. But I can’t blame myself for that. He stood above a dead bird in the grass and took the corpse into hands. He tore the flesh and took out its heart, still beating. He gave me the heart.
“Look at it, it owned the sky once, but as soon as it stops beating it will own the piece of ground where it will lay.”
“A caelo usque ad centrum.” Back then, I was the only person alive who could only speak the dead language.
“Do you think that even in nature there are such rules?”
I could smell the sweet scent of a bird from him, and then I realized that he gave me his heart.
“What do you want in return?” I asked holding on to the heart.
You, he told me and took me home. And I stayed there. And learned to speak English. Our home smelled of oak and
<da:thumb id="389774645"/> The Love of a LionHe met her far from the golden plains of Africa, in the grey concrete jungle of the city. It was here, between the hulking towers of steel that he chanced upon the fair lady of his dreams. In a coffee shop with the logo of a green mermaid with two tails, he had found his lioness. She was no princess, nor a heiress to a vast amount of gold, she was simply an independent modern woman through and through. The way she had held herself and roared when the skinny latte she had ordered was served with full-cream milk, had somehow managed to capture his gaze. Maybe it was the fire in her eyes or the way her brown hair ruffled as she bared her teeth but he knew then and there that he needed to have her. This woman in front of him, who was unlike any other, was his lioness. 
With a deep draw of breath, he pushed out his chest and walked gallantly to the aid of this fine damsel in distress. Handling the situation with panache, he worked it into his favor, receiving both a free skinny latte f brachyuran lamentcancer's family:
chattel of the moon;
children of the sea
tid'ly soar and swoon,
pining to be free.
chattel of the moon,
pining to be free,
tid'ly soar and swoon;
cancer's family
dreaming on the dunes.
WRITTEN IN THE STARS - If the heavens allow it"Amor verus vetat mori? Nec solum amarum admonitio vobis? "
   The lioness mourns her loss of heart,
   Licking her reopened wounds,
   For her pride holds her back.
   Both literal and metaphorical.
     A sickle slashing her courage to pieces,
     Regulating any opportunities she might have with someone special.
   While she laments upon her perch
   She pines to be able to speak from the heart
      For it is a tongue she is not familiar with.
      She is a fighter by nature, not a lover…
She feared to love,
 Now she fears to fall out of love and worse…
  To not be loved in return.
   The bull,
   Strong, brave, and loyal…
   The quiet mysterious charm that she yearns for.
   Yet his heart was pierced in the ring.
   By a girl with a dagger and an eye for another…
  Midnigh WorshipSuddenly a tribe of cats stopped at crossroads
as if an order was given
all the cats like one cat
looked at the sky
there he is
with the King Star in his crown
Leo.
Their eyes unblinking, bodies rigid, tails saluting
they watch him.
We give in to curiosity because you say,
god, the world must be ending, why are those
epitomes of selfishness running in packs?
And we see the miracle for cats only
Regulus Caeli shining brighter than those cats'
lustrous eyes.
Now, look, a shadow fell on the sky
eclipsing third part of the heavens,
and look here, the cats begin to move,
going round and round in circles,
take my hand, so we don't fall,
look up we will dance the dervish dance,
volvite, caelesties orbies,
maybe he will speak to us, too!
Stop!
Shooting stars falling, falling, falling,
unscheduled Leonids in August,
Leo is granting wishes to his faithful,
and I have a feeling tomorrow
it will be raining fish.
Pisces RisingThe crown of Olympus quaked
beneath the weight of a behemoth,
a beast of a god wreathed in
serpentine twists,
come a caelo usque ad centrum
to lay judgment at its feet.
As Typhon’s monstrous cacophony
echoed off stone and clouds, mother
and son fled ‘til water barricaded their way.
Then, aquatic mercies surfaced,
clad in scales like mailed knights
to aid mother and son in their flight.
Bound together by silk-strong threads,
they soared across the sea to African safety,
where mother and son and cowardly gods
listened to the roar of thunderous battle.
The ram fought the titan, and, in fine,
claimed violent volcanic victory.
Aphrodite, in reward, raised Pisces
de profundis ad astra,
to be admired eternally
and consigned to
memories of gods and men.<da:thumb id="383875382"/>
<da:thumb id="381897451"/> perfectioinky little fingers
trace lifelines in the sky
while pretty little toes
dance on humble soil 
the middle child 
-sighs-
sweeping chaos from her brow
simply to appease
the mighty lion's roar
the mantra 
of her bones
like blood that runs red
perfection est non facile
seeps from her veins 
staining virgin skin
a simple woman 
no more
still, my young virgo
starry eyed and 
hungry
(for knowledge) 
blows a kiss to the sky
as Mercury's messengers
spirit her away<da:thumb id="383946692"/>
They sayThey say
those born under the sign of Capricorn
need to be taught about emotions.
Prima Gedi shed its light upon me
and tried to teach me how to act but
faber est quisque fortunae suae.
I will not be controlled by stars.
They also say
-based on charts-
you and I are a perfect match.
I wish I could believe them but
the moon over your shoulders scares me;
this old moon will break my heart.
Ante bellum
I was innocent.
I had no secrets, told no lies.
But see, this silly little Capricorn
has caught a glimpse of paradise.
So let the stars support our union and
sic vis pacem, para bellum. The Age of PiscesWe are joined together
in a constant dance.
Circulus vitiosus
are we.
Together even time is balanced:
Within us lies
the equinox
during which
the people swim
as if to mimic our dance.
Covered by the waters
we are ensnared
it would seem:
Yet we are at home,
a mari usque ad mare
we swim.
It is our age!
Together we rule
and under us
all shall know passion,
we spread it.
Look above!
It is I.
Look beside you!
It is I.
Together we hear the cries of ad astra!
We shall bring you to the heavens,
we shall bring you back to earth.
Together all are our domain.
We see your sorrows,
dip your feet in the waters
and we shall bring you to sea,
we will swim in circles
and within the currents
you will know truth.<da:thumb id="379467890"/>
Scorpiussometimes,
i wake up with bits of Orion
still stuck between my teeth.
& i grin, remembering
the face of every lover
i’ve managed unscathed,
to crawl out from underneath.
‘ad astra’ inked into ankle bones
like little wings, Pluto’s underworld
ripe, coursing through my veins:
i stake claim to clavicles.
devouring shivers
between the constellations
of tongues & weak limbs,
i get off
on all the ways mere mortals
beg me to sacrifice them
to the heavens. To the StarsOh Aries my friend,
Who shines brightly over this nighttime sky and carries the messages of my spirit, my love, and my tender risings to the heavens. To the heavens above, there awaits the beckoning of the light shining out that I may be a part of it, that I may become part of it - united, as one, I will be complete, I will become a totalitarian absolution of the salvation that was meant to keep me going further, if not further than what is meant to be done. Herein lies the depth to which I would go, wherein I would die without the emptiness dwelling in the that speaks out the voice of the soul within.
My friend, Aries, we are lost - we are not meant for this world when the Sun has set. For Saturn has bestowed itself upon the brink, calling out Venus in a reluctant alliance. Yet, we are meant to believe. We are meant to continue our lives as we pursue this search, this pursuit of happiness... For that is why Sheratan shines so brightly over the sky, blessing me with your eyes. Your eye LeoThis Lion of No Pride,
whose Sweat and Blood is Nocturne,
Mane shines silver
away from the Sun,
He's No King,
No Pauper,
No Star,
This Lion of No Pride,
Solitudo Carnifex,
Dishing the Relentless Embrace
Back To the Heavens,
This Lion of No Pride
Roars with Solar Flare,
Sun-Spot Burn Within Savannah
Stalking Gazelle Constellation,
No Zodiac to be Found-
just like the Killer,
This Lion of No Pride
Has Larvae burrowing through his Eyes,
Decrepit flies emerge
with more power than
those-
healthy, plush gnat
born within
lesser cadaver,
This Lion of No Pride
chugs Palm Wine and Etches Poems
in Red African Dirt from the
Night above,
around,
within,
landscape blended into cosmic mosaic-
could it be they are aligned,
star and land?
No.
This Lion of No Pride,
HAS NO PRIDE,
Nested on the brink of nothing,
around water-hole nebula,
This Lion of No Pride,
dies when he is born
and
is born
when
he dies,
This Lion of No Pride
fades when the Light is
cast upon him,
This Lion of No Pride.
and mars will dancei knew the sun
but he knew the fire.
smudged gold kisses strung like dancers round his skylight face -
he was a blur and he was a moment and we tried to catch him
our hands still smolder.
 retro cadere nequit
he crashes ahead to break through the fence, streamers engulf his wildfire
we follow, his sheep, for how could he mistake the way?
he craves the finish;
his whirlwind tints the edges of his vision crimson
as his horns blast away those sulky branches of uncertainty and hesitation.
 est furor eius
and we know those hand grenades lining his fleece will pave our paths
with bloody mars smearing the ichor out his eyes
yes i’ve met the sun
but he is a fire.
<da:thumb id="378774697"/><da:thumb id="378649792"/><da:thumb id="378654532"/>
lion boyi knew a boy with
eyes of gold & fire
in his footsteps.
he would roar to the
stars, declaring himself
as fearless as a king
& as regal as a lion.
"ad lucem,"
he would announce
every night when leo
would coax the virgin
from her radiant
castle.
five times around the
sun & loyal fangs bared
to shield his kingdom,
my lion boy
dances with flames. Aries - Written in the Stars EntryA fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi 
And over the edge,
just over the edge,
The whales and the fish wait for me to fall.
The wolves gather,
and I cannot shove them away or ignore them.
I must keep running,
I must keep fighting,
Constantly running through the stars,
but here I am at the edge of the sea,
with the wolves before, and the waves below.
Abyssus abyssum invocat
And I am in the middle.
I must remember now more than ever.
I am not just a god of War,
I'm an animal who's headstrong and heart sore. libraBetween Virgo and Scorpius
my love lies -
accompanied by orange giants,
faintly glowing in the night skies.
Ruled by Venus,
her loving is the brighest
in all of this galaxy
spelling it out for all of us
(small-minded egocentric idiots)
si vis amari, ama.
If you wish to be loved
then love.
And if we're wise we will see
our limits lie with stars;
sapiens dominabitur astris
which I translate to
my limits shall lie with you.
For you
I shall erase all limits
that dare stand between us.
(Because you are
my favourite constellation
the reason why I keep reaching much higher
than my hands have ever touched before.)
When I reach you,
let us kiss 'till we see the stars
behind closed eyelids.
I hope you're listening when I pray to your primary stars
for I promise I shall whisper sweet, sweet honey phrases
in your ear until I have lulled you to sleep,
laying my admiration out for you to walk on
- red carpets have nothing on my love,
and I will learn to sprout wings
to become what you


Thank you to everybody who participated in this contest, you guys all hold special places in my heart. I wish you all a happy, happy weekend! Winners, kindly expect your prizes from me within this weekend and the prizes offered by our lovely donors hopefully within the next week.



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