5 Days Poetry Challenge Winners Poetry Showcase
Thought Lantern conducted a 5-day Poetry Writing Challenge.
Our winners made a point of showcasing their poetry skills and creativity together and created a masterpiece over 5 consecutive days.
Under the English Category, we have three winners -
1st Winner - Dr. Romila Chitturi
Day 1 - Prompt - Whispers.
Title - Secrets in the Dark
In corridors where shadows breathe, A hush of secrets lies beneath. The night conceals what eyes can’t see, A veil of silent mystery.
Whispers coil through hidden doors, like echoes lost on ancient floors. They guard the truths we dare not name, A flicker, fleeting, without claim.
The stars look down with guarded eyes, as silence cloaks the world in lies. A secret pulse, a phantom call, Unseen, unheard, yet felt by all.
The dark remembers, though we forget, its secrets linger, cold and set.
Day 2 - Prompt - Urban Rhythms
Steel towers hum with hidden might, Neon veins ignite the night. Footsteps scatter, quick and loud, Stories merge within the crowd.
Engines roar, a steady beat, Echoes rise from every street. Billboards flicker, voices blend, A thousand lives that never end.
Urban Rhythms guide the flow, where silence dares not ever go. Concrete sings in muted tones, Bridges groan like ancient bones.
The city breathes, alive, untamed, Its pulse eternal, never named.
Day 3 - Prompt - Memories
A photograph fades in gentle light, its colors dim, yet spirits bright. The laughter lingers in the air, though time has scattered faces there.
Memories drift like autumn leaves, softly caught in tangled weaves. They whisper truths we cannot hold, Stories etched but never told.
A shadow moves where silence stays, A trace of long‑forgotten days. The heart recalls what eyes forget, A song that hums in quiet debt.
Though moments vanish, gone from sight, their echoes burn, eternal, bright.
Day 4 - Prompt - Nature's Echo
Title - The Voice Beneath the Sky
The forest hums with ancient song, Its cadence steady, deep, and strong. Winds weave tales through branches high, Clouds drift slowly, soft reply.
Rivers murmur, stones recall, The rise and fall that binds us all. Nature’s Echo calls the soul, A timeless rhythm, vast and whole.
Mountains guard their secret lore, Shadows dance on the valley floor. The dawn ignites with golden flame, Yet every day feels much the same.
The earth remembers, though we fade, Its voice endures, unbound, unswayed.
Day 5 - Prompt - Future Dreams
Title - Horizons Unwritten
The dawn unfolds with silver flame, A canvas vast, without a name. Steps are taken on shifting ground, where hope and vision both are found.
Future Dreams ignite the skies, A spark that glows in unseen eyes. They whisper paths not yet begun, And promise light when night is done.
The stars align in silent streams, Guiding hearts through endless schemes. Each breath becomes a seed of change, though time may twist, though fate is strange.
The road ahead is ours to claim, A story waiting to frame.
2nd Winner - Kiran Rao
Day 1 - Prompt - Whispers.
Title - Whispers of Bravery
They pinned the word brave
on men who marched in rows
toward machines that
count bodies, not names.
That would stop nothing.
I do not want the medal
for noticing the obvious -
That wars are loud acts of fear.
The brave ones, perhaps,
are the small refusals:
a hand lowered instead of raised...
The emperor is frightened, too.
through Mumbai’s morning arteries.
tracks answering like patient tablas.
A pair of manjiras wakes the compartment.
Ganpati travels second class today.
clapping softly past Thane and Diva.
on the roof above our heads—
Season’s Greetings
7:40 Dombivli–Dadar Bhajan Group.
The whole city has signed it.
Day 3 - Prompt - Memories
Title - Delivery from the Past.
In our village temple,
The priest’s son stood beside his father,
handing out teertha and prasada,
running errands
the way boys inherit small duties.
We once told his father that
the boy should also inherit the school.
Years moved on.
in a city that had no memory of that temple.
The young man recognised me immediately.
I did not recognise him.
and return as strangers.
Day 4 - Prompt - Nature's Echo
Title - The Echo I Asked For
When Bombay flooded in 2009
I remember feeling oddly heartbroken.
Not because I had lost someone
or anything precious.
carrying strangers to safety.
and gave me my chance?
and a few years of unfinished dreams.
Day 5 - Prompt - Future Dreams
Title - The Repair Shore
Bombay was the sea
where every small boat
believed it could conquer the tide.
and very little patience.
The waves were honest.
in restless water.
Now I stand beneath a lighthouse
built only for braving everything.
but to survive it again
3rd Winner - Dr Deepikha Barathan
Day 1 - Prompt - Whispers
A silent moan,
Amidst the worries,
Was it sadness?
A pleasant hug,
Amidst the crowd,
Was it happiness?
A smooth caress,
Amidst the cry,
Was it loneliness?
A pool of emotions;
Circling around the mind,
That is human beings!
Day 2 - Prompt - Urban Rhythmes
All green around,
The plants and crops,
Adding to beauty,
In the Farmland;
A Farmer sowing,
The seeds and brink,
Adding to growth,
In the Farmland;
A season to harvest,
A month to reap,
A day to prosper,
All the urban rhythms!
Day 3 - Prompt - Memories
It was a short span,
A period of months,
A period of weeks,
A period of days,
A period of hours,
A period of minutes,
A period of seconds;
Yet it lingers in the mind,
Yet it circles in thoughts,
Yet it twirls in the heart,
Reminding you,
Rewinding of love,
A worthwhile memory!
Day 4 - Prompt - Nature's Echo
The cold breeze,
The warm heat,
At the beach,
By the side,
In the evenings,
By the time,
Gives happiness,
Gives a peacefulness,
To whom all?
To what all?
To which all?
That's nature's echo!
Day 5 - Prompt - Future Dreams
Aim higher, Aim higher,
Start today, Start today,
Learn now, Learn now,
Grow up, Grow up;
Set your aim,
Target your goal,
Pledge your mission,
Prepare your vision,
Until you reach,
Until you meet,
Until you receive,
Until you celebrate!
Winner under Hindi Category -
Sushas Lahurikar
Day 1 - Prompt - Whispers
शीर्षक: दिल की फुसफुसाहट
तेरी फुसफुसाहट में ही सारे जज़्बात थे।
वो फुसफुसाहट दिल में हमेशा बस गई।
जब तेरी फुसफुसाहट ने छू लिया मेरा जज़्बात।
अकेलेपन में भी तुम्हारे होने का एहसास देती।
तेरी फुसफुसाहट से बातें करके मैं हल ढूंढ लेता हूँ।
ये एहसास ही मेरे जीने की खुशी बन जाता है।
और हर फुसफुसाहट मेरे लिए एक गीत बन जाती है।
मैं आशा करता हूँ. आज, शहर की सड़कों पर वो मुझे मिले।
जब रास्तों ने हमारा सामना नहीं कराया।
लोगों का बातों का टकराना, और मन का भी।
मुझे मेरी शांति मिलेगी?
मैं आशा करता हूँ. आज, वो शहर में चलते हुए मिले।
सफाई से मुलाक़ात नहीं कराई।
बाग़-बगीचों में खरखराता, हमारी लापरवाही में भी।
मुझे मेरा स्वच्छ, सुंदर और शांत शहर मिलेगा?
Day 3 - Prompt - Memories
सत्याग्रहियों की जागती हुई रातें।
याद है न—हाँ, याद है न?
तो अब जागो, स्वतंत्रता की रक्षा के लिए।
देश की अराजकता मिटाओ,
बेरोजगारी और महंगाई को हराओ।
भारत की एकता को सुदृढ़ बनाओ,
शोषण और आतंक का अंत करो।
उन्नत, शांतिपूर्ण, समृद्ध भारत बनाओ—
यही होगी देशभक्तों को सच्ची श्रद्धांजलि।
Day 4 - Prompt - Nature's Echo
शीर्षक: प्रकृति की आवाज़
जैसे अपनी कहानी सुनाते हैं।
धुएँ से ढककर वह उदास हो जाता है।
चुपचाप दर्द दे जाते हैं।
क्या इंसान प्रकृति को सच में समझ पाते हैं
शीर्षक: मेरा सपनों का ब्रह्मांड
ऊँचाई से मैं सबको संभालूँगा—
न शक्ति से, न भय से,
बल्कि प्रेम, न्याय और विश्वास से।
मेरे सामने ग्रहों के बटन होंगे,
जिनसे आकाश और मौसम बदलेंगे।
जहाँ ठंड होगी, वहाँ सूरज की गर्मी बढ़ेगी,
और जहाँ तपन होगी, वहाँ ठंडी छाया उतर आएगी।
एक बटन से हिमालय में ऊष्मा फैल जाएगी,
दूसरे से रेगिस्तान में शीतल हवा बहने लगेगी।
पृथ्वी के लोग मंगल की लाल धरती पर घूमेंगे,
और मंगल से पानी रेगिस्तानों तक पहुँचेगा।
यह सब मेरे सपनों का संसार है—
जो मेरे दिल में हमेशा जीवित रहेगा।
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