A Midwinter Night’s Dream by Evelyn Sprague - Poetry Writing Competition 2025 2nd Place

I was spinning,

Laid back in the middle of the merry-go-round.

The stars, 

As I spun,

Were like snowflakes-

Falling in flurries,

But never touching the ground.

For a moment, I too was a star,

Falling,

And my lips were chapped but I was smiling,

And those winter fireflies were spiraling

Higher and wider-

The universe expanding.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

And with human hubris I was convinced that in turn-

All that infinite beauty was watching me.

Stardust watching stardust-

Me with watery eyes-

From the wind,

Or awe,

Or the cold that painted my breath as clouds against a cloudless sky.

In the face of the expanse-

The ballroom where it's the lights-

The shining diamond chandeliers, that dance,

I let my spinning slow and stop.

I let myself feel small.

I let the tears pooled in my eyes gather up and fall.