Happy Wednesday, readers, writers, and shark fans!
We hope that you’ve had a chance to explore our issues from last year and have been able to enjoy some of the weather. As important as winter is, I cannot hide the fact that I am pleased that it’s starting to get the tiniest bit warmer here. I’m also VERY excited to announce the winners of our December-January AND our February Poem of the Month contests!
Submissions for the December-January contest were accepted throughout the months of November and December, and submissions for February’s contest were accepted throughout the month of January. These many, MANY works gorgeously and unflinchingly looked into themes commonly related to fall, nature, and memories, and we were so honored to have a chance to read all of these pieces.
For those of you who would like to submit to one of Lit Shark’s Poem of the Month contests, you still can! Submissions are considered on a rolling basis, and it’s always free to enter. Submit here up to five poems or ten pages of poetry. If you want to be considered for our current contest (March), please submit by Monday, March 3rd! Submissions will still be accepted after that date, but they’ll be considered for the April Poem of the Month Contest instead.
December-January’s Honorable Mentions!
I read so many great poems during this round, and I accepted some for publication in Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition, both of which will come out early in March 2025, but there were two that I HAD to nominate for an Honorable Mention.
David Dephy – “The Gift”
This delicate poem speaks beautifully to our self-inherent gifts, the impact we have on the people around us, and what can inspire us anew when we feel like we’ve “lost” that gift. So much is said in just a few, quiet lines, and it leaves us in a place of comfort and warmth. This one will appear in Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
Desirée Flaming – “Full Moon”
This striking poem addresses the self, our place in the universe, and the many dualities our beliefs can carry. The ending speaks beautifully to how we might sacrifice something for someone else and how our perception of things can change with new experiences. It’s vulnerable, it’s raw, and it’s beautifully done. This one will appear in Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
And December-January’s Winner Is…
Amidst all of the wonderful submissions we received, including our Honorable Mentions, I am so pleased to announce that the winner of Lit Shark Magazine’s December-January Poem of the Month contest is Jonathan Chibuike Ukah.
True to our current times where things feel pretty bleak to some of us, and we are watching as some people, places, and things appear to degrade and erode, this poem addresses what feels like an implosion. There’s this sense of connecting to nature, to our ancestors, to the spiritual realm, grasping at anything that will help hold us in place and keep everything together. True to Jonathan’s form, it stunningly captures social and political issues while beautifully incorporating natural beauty. I’m so glad it found a home at Lit Shark Magazine.
About Jonathan Chibuike Ukah:
Jonathan Chibuike Ukah is a Pushcart-nominated poet living in the United Kingdom. His poems have been featured in Unleash Lit, The Pierian, Propel Magazine, Atticus Review, The Journal of Undiscovered Poets, and elsewhere. He won the Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest in 2022 and the Alexander Pope Poetry Award in 2023. His first poetry collection, Blame the Gods, published by Kingsman Quarterly in 2023 was a finalist at the Black Diaspora Poetry Award in 2023. He was the Editor’s Choice Prize Winner of Unleash Lit in 2024. He was shortlisted for the Minds Shine Bright Poetry Prize 2024.
“A Day to Remember” by Jonathan Chibuike Ukah
A Day to Remember by Jonathan Chibuike Ukah
Sometimes it’s the judgement day,
when my body is on fire for violating the truth,
when I walk under the clouds
clattering my head and heart,
rather than listening to the birdsongs
filling the neighbourhood with hymns of all flesh.
Never mind the sky withdrawing its head
or the eagles letting their wings drop to the ground,
stripped by the violence of the wind,
where fire from my body burns it down.
I have watched the demise of the night
with a sinking heart, a moaning voice,
but I know that this is the way to go
when the truth glides through the valley
and resurrects in my mouth as a lie.
My mother said it’s like the judgment day,
when the wind drifts towards the sea,
the mountains sink in their path to glory,
vultures disappear into the belly of the flower
and reappear as a grasshopper;
there’s the metamorphosis of smoke from dust,
wriggling into the grave to wriggle out as a millipede.
When I thought that I had kidnapped the wind
to pay the debt bound by a curse,
the ghost of my ancestors blinked at me
reminding me of how I clutch at shadows.
Here’s the day I took the wider road,
but that’s not how destiny wanted me to go
until I followed the narrow path paved with thorns.
Now, I celebrate the long-awaited triumph.
The road to glory is a forest of cobwebs and spiders,
where happiness begins, the lane is sorrow in the end.
“A Day to Remember” Broadside Created by McKenzie Lynn Tozan
For each contest, the winner will receive a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, and the one I created can be found below. When I read this poem, I knew immediately that I wanted to imagery to center around that winding road, as well as the final turn in the poem of the road being “a forest of cobwebs and spiders.” I loved making this and hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
February’s Honorable Mentions!
Bob McAfee – “The Right Moves”
This poem was such a fun selection, not just for its playful and alliterative writing style, but because of its introduction to the new bird species discovery, the Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise. The poem is imagistic, smart, and quick-witted, and such a joy to read. This one will appear in Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
Leah Mueller – “Fire and Trust”
This stunning poem fixates on tragedy and the traumatizing, childhood moments that stay with us and shape us. Unlike the image of the rising phoenix that has become such a popular portrayal of empowerment, this poem leans into the pain and devastation of fire. It’s a lovely, lurking little poem that stays with you long after you’ve read it, and we enjoyed it so much. This one will appear in Issue 9 of Lit Shark Magazine: The Winter Edition, and we’re so grateful to share it with you.
And February’s Winner Is…
Amidst all of the wonderful submissions we received, including our Honorable Mention, I am so pleased to announce that the winner of Lit Shark Magazine’s November Poem of the Month contest is Barbara A. Meier, who writes stunning nature poems.
Barbara’s poetry is deeply visceral and imagistic, and it’s easy to become swept up and immersed in the world of her work. I especially loved in this poem the slow decent we experience literally into the forest floor as the persona depicts lying back on it and digging their fingers in, almost as if they were holding on as whole other worlds passed by overhead. To then depict something as rare and majestic as the “dodecatheon poeticum” makes it all the more special. I’m so glad it found a home at Lit Shark Magazine.
About Barbara A. Meier:
Barbara A Meier is a retired teacher who works in a second-grade classroom in Lincoln, KS. Her recent publications include: The Mersey Review, Piker Press, The Museum of Americana: A Literary Review, and Al Dente. She has been nominated for the Best of the Net and a Pushcart Award. She has three chapbooks published: “Wildfire LAL 6”, from Ghost City Press, “Getting Through Gold Beach”, from Writing Knights Press, and “Sylvan Grove”, from The Poetry Box. She loves all things ancient.
“Dodecatheon Poeticum” by Barbara A. Meier
Dodecatheon Poeticum by Barbara A. Meier
—commonly known as the poet’s shooting star or the narcissus shooting star.
To lie with the forest floor,
Pine needles stabbing from back to heart.
One hand on the litterfall, digging to the O layer,
filling my fingernails with the fecal dead,
the other on the scabrous pine, prying
the puzzle pieces adding to the L-organic horizon.
The 4 o’clock breeze rustles down the mountain,
scattering the canopy litter, blanketing my body in duff.
I become one with the detritus: a home for the worm,
leafhopper, millipedes, wood sorrel, trillium, salamander,
shaggy mane, and morel.
I settle.
Settle into the senescence of you?
Composting with the creatures and litter?
Or go with the new growth of Dodecatheon poeticum?
Shooting up from the humus of my mind,
rich in purple pink blades,
stars encased in gold crowns,
meteors of black purple falling through the sky.
I wear the robe of green velvet leaves,
emerging from the dark earth
rising up to greet the spring sun.
“Dodecatheon Poeticum” Broadside Created by McKenzie Lynn Tozan
For each contest, the winner will receive a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, and the one I created can be found below. I loved the references in this poem to the Dodecatheon Poeticum as well as other striking, immersive moments in the poem, like “pine needles stabbing from back to heart” and one hand on the litterfall, digging to the O layer.” I wanted to create an image that implied looking up the way I assumed this figure was, and I wanted the night sky to harbor as unique of an experience as the one found in the poem. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.
On the Lookout For the Next Winner!
If you’d like to be considered for our March Poem of the Month, please submit your poems for consideration as soon as possible! The absolute deadline is Monday, March 3rd, 2025.
One winner will be selected, and they will receive $20, a unique digital broadside of their winning poem, mentions on our social media and our website, and a feature in our next issue of Lit Shark Magazine.
Honorable Mentions will also be considered, and they will receive a mention on our social media and website, and they will be featured in the next issue of Lit Shark Magazine.
Submitting to the Poem of the Month contest also counts as a general submission, so even if your work isn’t selected as a winner or honorable mention, your work may still be picked up for an upcoming issue! With it being free to enter, what do you have to lose?
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