1
1st Place
“Set In Her Ways”
Rick Leather
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
She wakes me with a whisper, soft as a breeze
A fresh cup of coffee and a kiss on my cheek
I’m lost in her lovin’ and I’ll never stray
I guess you could say I’m set in her ways
She holds our sweet babies like they’re diamonds or gold
When a friend’s heart gets broken, she’s there with her own
There ain’t one thing about her that I’d ever change
I guess you could say I’m set in her ways
Now its her way or the highway when she meets life head on
She’ll fight for what’s right when someone’s done her wrong
I fall deeper and deeper with each passing day
I guess you could say I’m set in her ways
She makes time to listen to what’s on my mind
And her touch does the talkin when we turn out the lights
From sun up to sun down she keeps me amazed
I guess you could say I’m set in her ways
I’m lost in her lovin and I’ll never stray
I guess you could say, I’m set in her ways
2nd Place
“All About Leaving”
Tom Waldenberg
Austin, Texas
By the time that I’d met you
I’d been running myself ragged
A trail of my mistakes
Stretching from here clear to the Atlantic
Like the fool that I am
I followed in others footsteps
Straight into the quicksand
Now I’m in up to my neck
My grandfather taught me how to save all my money
Like my father taught me how to throw it away
Northern women taught me all about leaving
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
I’ve been drunk since last December
And I don’t see an end in sight
Someday I might get sober
But not tonight
For the darker side of life
Is where I’ve made my home
May the coolness of your lips
Lay a blanket on my bones
My grandmother taught me how to stand up tall
My mother taught me when to walk away
Northern winters taught me all about leaving
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
The casinos on the coast
Shine like dreams in the night
I could make it for last call
If I leave with the last of the light
But forgiveness is a long road
To walk without a friend
I’ve been there before
And I can’t go back again
For I’ve taught myself almost everything I know
All the joys of love and the heartbreak
All my life I’ve learned how to leave
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
Maybe you could teach me how to stay
3rd Place
“Skeleton Keys”
Garry Morse
Colonial Heights, Virginia
A shoebox of letters
With photos inside
Spills out on my rug on the floor
They’re all that are left
‘Cept ashes and empties
After she walked out my door.
Those memories
Are the skeleton keys
To all of the places we’d been
And her sweet smiles
That never quite reached her eyes
Remind me of the pain she was in.
But memories are tricky things
They retreat, and they attack
You believe that you remember
But as you travel back
The mind is not a mirror
It adds, and it subtracts
Old memories don’t reflect
… they refract.
Now the writers are drinking their coffee
The poets are digging in deep
Street people keep on playin’ for free
I’m just hopin’ my soul will keep.
‘Cause even my parts are in pieces
Hanging ragged from some rugged cross
I walk on whiskey splinters now
My heart can’t bear the cost.
‘Cause these memories
Are the skeleton keys
To all of the places we’ve been
And your sweet smiles
That never quite reached your eyes
Remind me of the pain that I’m in.
Yeah, memories are tricky things
They retreat, and they attack
You believe that you remember
But as you travel back
The mind is not a mirror
It adds, and it subtracts
Old memories don’t reflect
… they refract.
A shoebox of letters
With photos inside
Spilled out on my rug on the floor.
4th Place
“Dirty Little Secret”
Sadie Hart
Nashville, Tennessee
You are always doin’ laundry
You are always cleanin’ house
You are always burnin’ palo santo
Must have bad vibes to clear out
You prefer me in the bedroom
But you don’t look into my eyes
Then I wonder why I’m starving
When all you do is feed me lies
I feel like a dirty little secret,
Little secret, that you keep
No one knows your dirty little secret,
Little secret, shame on me
Any time I have a shining moment
You are never by my side
Always wind up in your shadow
No matter how hard I try
Let me see behind your shiny image
Let me peek between your lines
I won’t go and blow your cover
It’s easy to deny the signs
That I am just a dirty little secret,
Little secret, that you keep
No one knows your dirty little secret,
Little secret, shame on me
First you sweep me off my feet
Then you sweep me underneath your rug
I was blind but now I see
This ain’t love
I’m just a dirty little secret,
Little secret, that you keep
No one knows your dirty little secret,
Little secret, shame on me
I’m just a dirty little secret,
Little secret, never tell
No one knows your dirty little secret
But little secrets don’t keep well
Honorable Mention
“We Are Yours”
Dana Wahlbeck
Largo, Florida
“Never Miss The Water”
Mick Evans
Bristol, Somerset, United Kingdom
“Why Does Goodbye Have To Last So Long?”
Joe Colavito
Ringwood, New Jersey
“All I Never Wanted”
Rick Leather
White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
“Gulf Coast Skies”
David McMillin
Chicago, Illinois
“This Old Heart Keeps A-Beating”
Paul Nunes
Fairport, New York
“(Rewriting) The Girl”
Matthew Tanner
New York, New York
“I Didn’t Cry”
Jennifer Middleton
Denver, Colorado
“Inventory”
Kerann Christophers
Morgan Hill, California
“My Praying Knees”
Patrycya Hill
Mooresville, North Carolina
