The Ontario Poetry Society

• 1st Prize: Ruth Latta, Ottawa, ON — "The Gnarled Pine"
• 10 HONOURABLE MENTION AWARDS: (In alphabetical order by last name)
• "Dandelions Don't Tell No Lies" by Charlotte Blair, Utterson, ON
• "nature's sonic boom" by Angie Conrad, Lethbridge, AB
• "Rite of Passage" by Alvin Ens, Abbotsford, B.C.
• "Newly Hatched Cicada" by Mary Anne Griffiths, Ingersoll, ON
• "Fence" by Herb Hagell, Cannington, ON
• "Rest, Relax, Refuel" by Halyna Koba, Hamilton, ON
• "The Nightmare" by Naomi Hendrickje Laufer, Toronto, ON
• "Lifeline" by Roberta McGill, Orillia, ON
• "Driftwood" by Irina Moga, Toronto, ON
• "The Promise" by Kathy Robertson, Kitchener, ON
• "Mud Puddle" by Stephen Kent Roney, Saint John, NB
• Many thanks to our Contest Judge, Ronnie R. Brown, for carefully reading every poem several times before making the final selections.
• Special thanks to all our members who took the challenge and entered this contest. Watch for our next Members Only Poetry Contest to be announced in 2026.

• 1st Prize: Rebecca Clifford, Caledonia, ON — "Les Tissues"
• 2nd Prize: Janet Edwards, Ottawa, ON — "The Dancee"
• 3rd Prize: Charlotte Blair, Utterson, ON — "Why is it that it's Always Women"
• 4th Prize: Jonathan Sprung, Belleville, ON — "Kiss"
• 40 Judge's Choice Awards (in alphabetical order by last name)
• "Music puts order in the melee" by Dave Bartlett, Parry Sound, ON
• "I took a walk with sad today" by Charlotte Blair, Utterson, ON
• "Call me the awkward optimist" by Charlotte Blair, Utterson, ON
• "Dreamer in the Subway" by Inez Caldwell, Toronto, ON
• "Waking with Mahler" by Inez Caldwell, Toronto, ON
• "Poem of the Eight Steps" by Sima Chen, Waterloo, ON
• "Black and White Photo" by Alison Colvin, Toronto, ON
• "Spring Brûlée" by Angie Conrad, Salt Spring Island, BC
• "grief" by Marie De Roy, Cochrane, AB
• "remains" by Marie De Roy, Cochrane, AB
• "at times a weed" by Neil Desborough, Thamesford, ON
• "a breath stirs leaves" by Neil Desborough, Thamesford, ON
• "An Asterism I Know" by Jacqueline DiRamio, St. Catharines, ON
• "Paramour" by Janet Edwards, Ottawa, ON
• "Tangled and Untangled" by Robert Ezergailis, Toronto, ON
• "A Wrinkle and a Scar" by Louise Fairley, Edmonton, AB
• "Pocket Treasure" by Melanie Flores, Toronto, ON
• "Urban War Zone, Ukraine" by Meg Freer, Kingston, ON
• "In the Bathroom" by Meg Freer, Kingston, ON
• "Tough Guys" by Meg Freer, Kingston, ON
• "Affair" by Mary Anne Griffiths, Ingersoll, ON
• "Starting Over" by Debbie Okun Hill, St. Andrews, MB
• "Snowy Cemetery" by Halyna Koba, Hamilton, ON
• "This and That" by John Krafchek, West Montrose, ON
• "At Crow Lake" by Ruth Latta, Ottawa, ON
• "Metamorphosis" by Sharon D Loduca, Oshawa, ON
• "At The Window" by Kim Mannix, Sherwood Park, AB
• "haptic" by Eamonn Mc Mahon, Vancouver, BC
• "Imaginary Life - Number 8.66i" by Husain Mehdi, Mississauga, ON
• "Everything Comes In" by Nicholas Minh, Oakville, ON
• "it would be so easy" by Sarah Moroz, Waterloo, ON
• "Trust" by Rosemary Nowicki, Richmond, BC
• "Force" by Lori-Anne Noyahr, Toronto, ON
• "Force" by Lori-Anne Noyahr, Toronto, ON
• "The Talisman" by by Lori-Anne Noyahr, Toronto, ON
• "As a kid who" by Sarah Sangster, Regina, SK
• "Some Poems" by K.V. Skene, Toronto, ON
• "Soap" by Jonathan Sprung, Belleville, ON
• "Zoom Zoom" by Keri Switzer, Grimsby, ON
• "Across from Me" by Renee Thompson, Ottawa, ON
• "Preserved" by Dianne Wey, Kitchener, ON
• Many thanks to our Contest Judge, David Stones. He read every poem several times before selecting the winning entries.

• 1st Prize: Lee Ann Eckhardt Smith, Richmond, ON — "What You Will Crave"
• 2nd Prize: Debbie Okun Hill, St. Andrews, MB — "When Floorboards Speak"
• 3rd Prize: Katerina Fretwell, St. Catharines, ON — "What a World"
• 5 Honourable Mention Awards (in alphabetical order by last name)
• "A Photograph of Maisie" by Roberta McGill, Orillia, ON
• "Spring Callouses" by John Morris, Ottawa, ON
• "Echoes and Prayers" by J.J. Steinfeld, Charlottetown, PEI
• "Against All Odds" by Tracey Thiessen, Oakville, ON
• "City Life and Street Reality" by Ed Woods, Hamilton, ON
• Many thanks to our Contest Judge, K.V. Skene, who read every manuscript at least 3 times.

• 1st Prize: David Stones, Stratford, ON — "The Old man and the Sea"
• 2nd Prize: Angie Conrad, Salt Spring Island, B.C — "The Yellow Wallpaper"
• 3rd Prize: Jacqueline Bell, Victoria, B.C. — "Pax"
• 20 Honourable Mention Awards (in alphabetical order by last name)
• "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" by Sruthi Amalan, Barrie, ON
• "Are You Experienced?" by Lorrina Belluz, Thunder Bay, ON
• "Broken Hearts" by Patti Cole, Toronto, ON
• "The Blues" by Gaiyle Connolly, Hamilton, ON
• "make me angry then call me mad" by Angie Conrad, Salt Spring Island, B.C.
• "And I Love Her" by Flora Dezsofi, Hamilton, ON
• "Cold Cold Heart" by Ruth Latta, Ottawa, ON
• "The Men Who Built the Titanic" by Roberta McGill, Orillia, ON
• "Just Blue" by Lisa Reynolds, Ajax, ON
• "The Sea Around Us" by K.V. Skene, Toronto, ON
• "Autumn leaves" by K.V. Skene, Toronto, ON
• "The sun also rises" by Laurie Smith, Windsor, ON
• "sitting in the park on my birthday" by Laurie Smith, Windsor, ON
• "Silver-Screen Romance" by J.J. Steinfeld, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
• "A Mythical and Astonishing Woman" by J.J. Steinfeld, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
• "Even If It Is Godot" by J.J. Steinfeld, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
• "Highway of Tears" by David Stones, Stratford, ON
• "The Dangling conversation" by David Stones, Stratford, ON
• "Much Ado About Nothing" by Peter Taylor, Aurora, ON
• "Appointment with Death" by Cathy Sands Unruh, Parksville, B C.
• Many thanks to our Contest Judge, Meg Freer, who spent many hours reading and re-reading all 131 poems before selecting the winners.

First Prize: "Quantum Sparks in the Tabernacle" by Josie Di Sciascio-Andrews, Oakville, ON

Second Prize: "Rock" by Barbara Hunt, Oshawa, ON

Third Prize: "Laundry" by Charlotte Blair, Parry Sound, ON

4 HONOURABLE MENTION AWARDS: (In alphabetical order by the winner's last name)

• "The Henge's Kiss" by Ronda Wicks Eller, Mitchell, ON
• "Daddy Says" by Robert Ezergailis, Toronto, ON
• "Prospector" by Susan Ioannou, Toronto, ON
• "Wanting to Untarnish the Past" by J.J. Steinfeld, Charlottetown, P.E.I.