Prompt: “If you could give an acceptance speech for any superlative award, what would the award be and what would you say?” For reference, in American high school yearbooks, “superlatives” are designations such as “Most likely to succeed.”
accepted with a trembling hand,
the size of her knuckles
revealing, like rings in a tree,
the years it took to qualify.
Uncertainty and fear of failure
shaped the hands
that were once soft and supple;
holding the hands of her children
steadied her from falling.
The hands of another
chipped away at her essence;
but still she stood.
When finally the storm moved on,
she stood alone in the forest,
the sunlight of her freedom
blinding her before
stirring her back into being.
The award is this:
Most likely to survive.
Poetry by Melinda K Zarate
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Written on 2026-06-11 at 20:41
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Superlative
The award is darkly tarnished,accepted with a trembling hand,
the size of her knuckles
revealing, like rings in a tree,
the years it took to qualify.
Uncertainty and fear of failure
shaped the hands
that were once soft and supple;
holding the hands of her children
steadied her from falling.
The hands of another
chipped away at her essence;
but still she stood.
When finally the storm moved on,
she stood alone in the forest,
the sunlight of her freedom
blinding her before
stirring her back into being.
The award is this:
Most likely to survive.
Poetry by Melinda K Zarate
Read 28 times
Written on 2026-06-11 at 20:41
Tags Self
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
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