Haiku contests all must come to a close.

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With an end, a beginning.  Cycles.  Music.  Poetry.  All things really.  More so this set.  A phoenix.  The contestants doing their best.  Competing, sometimes generously, sometimes not.  Difficult to know, though probably a bit of both for most.  Hungry.  Not even competitive just with each other.  Trying to express what they see in your minds the best that you can, within the limits... or even trying to find a way beyond, or over, the edge.  Serious stuff.



Those in italics are my choice per poet.  I'll include a brief explanation for each. Bold and italics is the first, underlined is the next choice.

foam

I chose this one because it evoked my imagination.

It was a thrill ride for my mind.  Perhaps a dare?

Whistling wings rustled..
Skimming frigid waters, they reached
An edge I could not.

Nice and soft but very living.

A daily driver, sort of, reminiscent of all waking?

drifting on the edge..
a cold rain gently patters,
chases dreams.. I wake.

serendipity (aka Anonymous :)

This one just reminded me of an edge I have walked often.

I enjoy it, in a way, and fear it, a bit.

Prefer to go there alone, these days, when the choice is mine.

Walking the break zone;
Will the abyss consume me?
Live another day!

Living on the edge,
‘twixt habitats – ecotone.
Benefits from both.

Toes o’er empty air.
That’s a long ways down. Dare to?
Jacknife! At twelve, yet!

This one just... caught my attention.

A man, just not completely blind.

R-e-s-p-e-c-t...  Baby!

Cold steel, razor sharp.
A tool? Yes, but weapon, too.
Not just for soldiers.

becca

This one is spooky clear.

Been there, done that, t-shirt to show.

Thankfully, rainbows aren't what they used to be?

Scattered pieces lay
Rainbow colors call my name
one step, falling, free

I chose this one because I had to laugh.

Sailor's mouth indeed, and for good reason!

Tough call though, between the two.  For personal reasons.

sailor mouth I have
pain sears flesh, unforgiving
damn table edge wins

Amanda

I liked this one more, because it is an edge that is unique in this contest.

An edge within and without.

All have been on both sides, and witnessed from the outside.

Try to ignore it
Words smacking you in the face
Do not stoop as low

Bothersome, this one.

Quick trips to the local stores,

a little inattention or illness, or... and... 

More money in red
Another bill now past due
Soon to be bankrupt

Karl

Point of balance
Life's blade the fulcrum
Win slice, lose sliced

Night com, no reply
Clock radio, com box
Baby...back to bed.

This one was chosen for the starkness.

All edges have potential for darkness, few are of the infinite variety.

Not even death, if you have faith, is as dark as the darkest of places.

Event horizon
The darkest point one will pass
Oblivions edge

Tough call, as this one calls to my nature like few.

A want, perhaps need, in some parlance.

Once over the edge

The flight thus begins to free
Body, sprit Soar 

Rafeal

Left out in the cold
Not a stitch of clothe or care
Drifting, darkness bides

This one uses an edge to stay an edge.

It is unique to this set, at least as directly presented.
Dark, too, in so many ways.

Razor's steely edge
Draws the line that let's the blood
Hunger's pain released

 This one?  I think it's funny.

There is much potential for mayhem

in thought or fact in the notions.

Not being sure which you meant is half the fun, for me.

Nearing winter's edge
Tadpole wonders where he is
Wizened pond frog croaks

Okay...  So who did I pick to go the distance?

It will be foam.  I hate picking on her, I do.  And her poem wasn't really what I had thought I wanted.  But it opened the gates of my imagination.  I mean, I was there.  My imagination didn't even match with her story, at all, but it didn't matter.  My mind was happily in flight.  Over edges to edges, gliding and seemingly weightless.  Congratulations foam.  The rest?  A dead tie.  Ugh!  Twice!

Well... back to the standard edges of my life.