Congratulations to all of the worldwide poets who contributed to our Second "VoicesNet Anthology International Poetry Competition".

Enjoy these top 3 poems from the winning authors. The list of all finalists from the poets selected for our publication follow the top 3 poems.

Until you must awaken, stay,
Until we meet some other way.
Now the dim and shadows keep
Careful vigil of your sleep,
For the Night is a blessing, nothing more,
A blanket of peace for men of war.

Lover's sin and lover's plight,
A cloak of dark for lover's flight.
In the heavens, sinewy threads of dew lay,
Sleeping sound, awaiting dawn, awaiting day.
But why can we not stifle the morn?
Why do we reside in a world of dark and light torn?

Darkness, now you see,
Is a new reality.
Escape into it's protective breast
Where you'll be forever safe to rest.
Smiling tears of dim eyes fall,
Tasting sweeter than honey, bitter as gall.

Stay but a moment more,
Listen sound to the shadow's lore,
The last things that you shall hear
Before the dawn awakens your fear.
So remember this, our slumber, our golden sleep,
For the dim, your heart it shall keep.

Open a solemn eye,
Whisper soft the lullaby.
Remember little of your sleep?
Recall little of your siesta deep?
The darkness is where I shall stay,
Until we meet some other way.

I am not da Vinci, no big deal
I may even find it a burden to draw a simple tree
But I could write all my desires, all your dreams, all we feel
Making you see the simple tree grew lovely

Pen is better than any filthy paintbrush
It captures something pictures fail to
It can ruin the smile of Mona Lisa's lush
It writes words, penetrating souls no famous painter can do

A poet's imagination is more colorful than paint
It enchants everything no rainbow can make
It can make you smile, make you pray, make you faint
It is real unlike paint exposing a piece's being fake

If a picture paints a thousand words
A word pictures a thousand paintings
It is, after all, mightier than medieval swords
It unties chords to build bridges, tickles hearts to uncover feelings

If a painted face could launch a thousand ships
A described one could launch a million
A poet brings out secrets a painter keeps
Words definitely gives us a little taste of perfection

Our emotions, sympathy, judgement and purity
Are all that matter in a world of rivalry
No painting, no poem could direct our lives
No painter, no poet could see the mystery our own world hides

Frailty shivers behind slabs of cement
Mighty ones marching refuse to relent
Overhead, wings drop bombs on the land
Deceived youngsters die by their own hand

Innocence lost, an astounding rate
Unsuspecting prey in a chaotic state
Wee ones cringe in horrendous grief
Eyes searching upward seeking relief

Kings demanding the right to defend
Death tolls mount even up to the end
Cells of hatred dot the land
Malady spreads with a flick of the hand

Leaders, as one, declaring their truth
Ignoring the price paid with their youth
Evil the crime, great is the cost
Unforgivable the act of innocence lost