I am so pleased to announce that the winner of Lit Shark Magazine’s March-April Poem of the Month contest is none other than Megan Cartwright, who writes beautifully imagistic, striking, natural, and brief poetry.

Her winning poem, “Bones,” explores not just language and the power of words but our ever-evolving identities from the time we are born and on through to adulthood. It addresses our ongoing influences and shifting knowledge, and what I loved most, the surge into what we love most, what we want for ourselves, and what we believe we deserve. Though brief, this poem impressively tackles these complex concepts of self through gorgeous imagery in the form of fonts and fish guts, and it’s a poem I see myself returning to time and time again. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

For each contest, the winner will receive a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, and the one I created can be found below. Though the poem is about more than “just” language and the evolution of self, I loved this imagery so much that I wanted to emulate an expansion from the mind, blossoming and growing into something new. It’s also intentionally reminiscent, in some ways, of the very first broadside in this series, as we dive back into this project. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.