Thought Lantern Poetry Star Awards Winning Entries

 Thought Lantern is proud to announce the winners of the Poetry Star Awards. It is our esteemed pleasure to have received such beautiful and heart-warming entries from our winners, and we are here to present and showcase these pieces for you. 

Our winners are - 

1. Dr. Romila Chitturi 

Winning Poems - 

Poem 1 - 

Title - Hope Beyond Fences

Across the river, across the sand, we carry our lives in a trembling hand. The sky is wide, the road is long, we walk with silence, we walk with song.

A border drawn by another’s pen turns fields to fences, homes to “when.” The language stumbles upon our tongue, yet hope is old, though we are young.

The sea remembers the boats that came, each wave repeating a nameless name. The wind is heavy with stories untold, of leaving behind, of futures bold.

Home is not walls, nor roof, nor stone; it lives in the heart, it travels alone. Wherever we rest, wherever we roam, we carry the seed, the dream of home.

Poem 2 - 

Title - Gold That Turns to Gray 

I wake in a world both sharp and dim, where shadows dance, and edges swim. The dream still clings like morning mist. Reality waits with a steady fist.

A door I opened is now a wall, A voice I heard was never a call. The sky in sleep was painted gold, but daylight speaks in tones more cold.

I chase the stars that fade at dawn, their silver trails already gone. Yet in the dust of waking hours, I find the seeds of hidden flowers.

Truth is a mask, dreams are a flame, both whisper softly, never the same. Between the two I walk each day, on paths that shift, then slip away.

2. Dr. Arwa Saifi 

Poem 1 - 

Title - Happiness Lies Within 

Amidst life's ebb and flow, we find,

Happiness in moments, undefined.

In the kindness shared from day to day,

Happiness blooms, lighting the way.

In laughter shared with friends so dear,

Happiness thrives, crystal clear.

In the warmth of a smile, in the love that we give,

Happiness is the reason we truly live.

In the simple joys of each passing day,

Happiness guides us along the way.

In the dance of life, in the smallest grin,

Happiness certainly lies within.

Poem 2 - 

Title - A Writer's Pledge 

In ink and quill, my power lies,

To paint the world with truth and guise.

Through prose and rhyme, I strive to show,

The beauty, pain, the highs, the lows.

As a citizen, I give my voice,

To advocate for justice, make the choice.

To stand for those who can't be heard,

Through every line, in every word.

So let my pen be a beacon bright,

Guiding souls through the darkest night.

As a writer, it's my creed,

To give back to society, in word and deed.

3. Akash Das 

Poem 1 - 

Title - Lost Childhood 

Those were the days, so sweet and true,

Where laughter filled the air, and childhood shone through,

Every heart had a new dream, a new hope,

Every morning brought a new beginning, and every evening a new scope.

Playing with friends, winning and losing,

Sunday's joy, with Shakti and Pokémon,

Searching for Pokémon in chip packets,

Racing to school, seeing who was the fastest.

The old lane, the cricket bat, and the rubber ball,

Roaming around, with friends, hand in hand,

Eating warm food, straight from mom's hand,

Those were the days, when life was simple and grand.

I want that childhood back, where friends were dear,

Where my heart used to flutter, with joy and cheer,

Life is far away, no matter how high I fly,

There's still a silent wish for a new childhood to begin.

Poem 2 - 

Title - Identification 

What happened? Humanity is being tested

In this world, names are being given

To every thing, every situation, every person,

But before life, and before the creator's creation,

Even God didn't know that these names

Would divide the world into fragments,

And because of these names, the world's trust in humanity

Would be lost.

Today, humans are wandering like planets,

Trying to prove their identity

For the certificate of humanity,

Still, we're surprised in this world,

Before the creation of the universe, from the first human to today,

No one asked, "How are you?"

They only asked, "Where are you from?"

Don't humans inherit God's principles?

Don't they inherit themselves?

This is a life of humiliation,

You say you've reached the moon,

Didn't God or anyone else create a door

For you to go from one planet to another?

Then why is humanity estranged from itself?

I ask, what are these certificates?

That forces a human to die,

What does humanity have to do with these certificates?

That even makes God stand in shame,

He might be thinking, " Why did I create this universe?

That has made me wounded,

This creation is on the verge of destruction,

That humanity has wounded.

4. Suhas Lahurikar 

शीर्षक: खामोशी की गूंज

आज जो खामोशी में लिखने जा रहा हूँ, उसमें गर्व है।

यह खामोशी उन सभी लोगों के मन की है

जिनके बेटे/पति देश के लिए कुर्बान हुए हैं।

ये उन शहीदों के घर की खामोशी है

जो अपने बेटे की याद में शांत हो गए हैं।

ये खामोशी मां के आंसुओं के पीछे की है,

ये खामोशी पिता के मन के भीतर की है।

ये खामोशी किसी डर की नहीं,

ये तो बलिदान से उपजी शांति है।

इस खामोशी में तिरंगा लहराता है,

बिना हवा के, बिना शोर के।

क्योंकि बलिदान

कभी आवाज़ का मोहताज नहीं होता।

ख़ामोशी में भी उसकी गूंज सदियों तक सुनाई देती है।

 शीर्षक: चारों पर भारी

वो चार लोग आज भी याद आते हैं,
तो दिल कांपने लगता है।
शाम का समय था, मैं अकेली थी,
और रास्ते पर मंडरा रहे वो चार लोग थे।

एक ने इधर से रोका,
दूसरे ने उधर से रोका,
चारों ने मिलके मुझे छूने का
छोड़ा नहीं एक भी मौका।

मगर मैंने हार नहीं मानी,
मैं खड़ी हुई अपने हौसले के साथ,
वो चार थे सामने मेरे,
पर मैं अकेली ही उन चारों पे भारी थी।

क्योंकि मेरी ताकत सिर्फ शरीर नहीं,
मेरी आत्मा में भी आग जारी थी,
हर चुप्पी डर नहीं होती,
कभी तूफान से पहले की शांति होती है।

5. Priyanka Bhandarkar 

Poem 1 - 

Title - Two Peas In a Pod 

The indifference between the dusk and dawn, but save,

The stalactites and stalagmites formed long ago in the cave.

Failures and successes are two sides of the same coin,

Difficulties and happiness are like lines on the palm that rejoin.

The Morning Star and Evening Star belong to the sky,

The Apple that has gone up must come down with a sigh.

To Kill a Mockingbird, but these entities hold the same meaning.

Like the two peas in a pod, the same story gets resold.

The same envy from the same road like touches the shrine,

Two peas in a pod are aging like fine red wine.

They burst open to reveal a tiny little Thumbelina in engagement,

From the pollination of flowers to the last leaf of the arrangement.

I love the way and love the simple things that happen,

From the adult's perspective, these little things get sanctions.

Only family and friends can bring out this change,

Green, Green, Green, but not at all strange!

Poem 2 -

Title - The Spell

Once upon a time, there was a Banyan tree,

It was the haunt of  children and even ghosts 

For it grew tall and strong because of the rains 

The sun was its protector and the wind its best friend.

A Thing of beauty that branches of the tree grew long and loose

Like the hanging gardens of Babylon, the tree was a wonder.

To all the people who drew water from the well nearby,

And the wayfarers who stepped up to catch its shade as they passed.

A personification of beauty, the place most desired by children,

So that they could swing, play, and sleep along the run.

One day, the tree wept because it had no water to drink,

There came a storm that destroyed the branches that held the swings.

The people could do nothing, and the Gods did not forgive.

A Thing of beauty it was, removed twice by nature,

A fence found its place around with a board of honesty 

I read that it was a place where people threw garbage.

6. Ashima Syal 

Poem 1 - 

Title -  White Lilies

The white Lilies reminded me of the love we shared, the honest, tranquil love. This bond was intricate with blossoms of love and laughter, painted in the epiphany of the skyline. 

A mother's love can be only white, exceeding the uncanny desires; she binds unconditional love to life. 

The pampering, the fragility, the arc of anonymity, it is she who helps us find ourselves.

White Lilies keep smiling in the garden built in her heart, for her love never gets tired of narrating stories of the divinity she holds in her heart.

Let your mind be a white expanse she told me

" Let it not hold any grudges or vice." Only then will the white Lilies bloom in your life way before time.

Poem 2 -

Title - A Day in the Hills.

 A day in the hills left me in the abode of silence. 

I could hear only nature talking to me, opening up to me with the ruffled leaves of Autumn. 

I could feel nature healing its ground on me. 

The mahogany gave a smile so familiar that time seemed to just stop.

The pine forests unfolded all the secrets of nature's crew; the mist felt so much like dew. 

Just a day in the hills felt so new. 

The sun-kissed mountains never lie, it seems! 

  For me, they mirrored a temporary urn of faded memories and simmered hopes. 

 I could count on the stars in the clear sky; they somehow cleared my mind too, of the echoes of chaos of the unsaid hues, which often seemed blue. 

Just a day in the hills made me feel “ This is home”.