Humanism for Humanity: 2024 Poetry Contest Winners
Humanist Canada is proud to announce the winner of our 2024 Poetry Contest. Our theme this year is ‘Humanism for Humanity’. Thank you to our judges Craig Barlow and Zahra Tizmaghz.
First Place
Our Poet: Lynda Field-Newhouse
You Will Never Know
You will never know choice
Until you have none
You will never know pain
Until it consumes you
You will never know sadness
Until your heart is weighed down in grief
You will never know loss
Until you have been left in its wake
You will never know my journey
Until you have walked in my steps and I in yours
Until all of us meet in humanity
We will never know the truth in each other
Look inward, look fully until we recognize
You, me, they
Unique in our moments of possibility
Complex in our experiences
Values need not be eroded
Can we live along side
Or just on one side or the other
History is waiting
Holding its breath
Will we rise together
Will we fail together
Inertia the thief of momentum
Safety in autonomy
Mine and yours
The right to decide for yourself
The ultimate act of freedom
Second Place
Our Poet: Persian Nightingale
Forget Me Not
Boundless band of hues and shades
Dazzling flowers in the glades
Color of kindness, colour of care
Color of passion, colour of share
Dignity colour, self-respect
Color of ethic, fair direct
Tolerance colour, colour of just
Accountability, truthful trust
Color of rationale, colour of right
Humanism, heartfelt light
Red Campion , Forget-me-not
Common sorrel, dancing slot
Boundless band of hues and shades
Dazzling flowers in the glades
Dappled shade and morning sun
Fourteen moon formerly won
Darkness moments, timeless time
Except “now”, won’t cost a dime
Touch the ticking ,vibe to chime
Mourning doves , precisely mime
What you do, making a bind
Will remain in heart and mind
Boundless band of hues and shades
Dazzling flowers in the glades
Third Place
Our Poet: Ron Olinyk
the gravity of humanism
i understand every molecule
that spins and sparkles
like a nickel dancing
i know every orbit
of the moon and earth
and sun combined
we are the substrate upon which
the paint is spattered
and life has evolved in millions
by a force so powerful yet so delicate
as to define a supernova
or the curve of a leaf
no special actors here
this is just us, arms wide
without the chains of faith
we are still part of that dream
that started so millions ago
and though that dream has evolved
what defines us; our agency
is not invented gods and demons
but the essence and nature
of that eternal dream thread
the gravity of humanism
is to be held in orbit
by the strength of reasoning
we are more, we are better
than the things we fear