The winner of Synkroniciti’s first poetry contest–and it was a VERY competitive field–is “Wildflowers” by Courtney O’Banion Smith of Houston, Texas, USA, which tells the story of a young woman growing up in rural America. As she reaches puberty, the implications and dangers of unwanted and abusive physical contact become overwhelming but remain unspoken.
What made “Wildflowers” stand out was the vulnerability and the restraint of the piece and how the metaphors of weeds, ink and honeysuckle told the story without being obvious. Very powerful, not only for what was said, but for what was not said.
Thank you, Courtney for sharing your gift! We have also accepted two more of Courtney’s poems for the issue.
Please take the opportunity to check out her website. We will have more to show you during our February Artist Features.