It is with absolute delight to announce our poetry winner as The_Narwhalian_Devil with Doves of Gilded Cages.

Week 5 was all about contrast, and hat meaning we could derive from it, and Doves of Gilded Cages delivers with a short, simple piece that conveys a message much more complex than the words it uses to express it.

On the surface, it posits the basic concept of Freedom and Imprisonment,  but expresses a subtler and much more complex thought. The contrasts are drawn in many aspects that lend themselves to extremes, but still seem disconnected from, ideals of expression and control, space, and just a hint of the passing of time. 

Four simple stanzas - eight simple lines - seem almost suspended in a disjunct between clutching concepts of crystalline clarity and barriers. The tonal approach, the suspense between flow and pacing as compared to the meaning, and the simplicity of the form versus the complexity of the subject matter all serve in furthering that contrast that was central to this contest.

We think that this piece meets and moves beyond the criteria for this contest, and we recommend it as a quick read to all entrants.