FPS: Letters to the Moon Challenge Winners

Welcome back, writers! Letters to the Moon invited poets to speak to something timeless and strangely intimate, a companion that feels both ancient and close enough to confide in on a quiet night.

What came in felt especially powerful. These poems glowed with honesty, longing, humor, mythology, and all the small truths we only admit when we think someone out there is listening. It was clear this challenge resonated with so many of you, and the strength of the entries showed it. The Fall Poetry series has been a joy to watch unfold, and we’re grateful for everyone who continues to share their voice on Vocal.

Here are the pieces that rose to the top.

🏆 Winners

Lunatic’s Ramble by G Saint

G Saint's piece grabs you with a voice that's intimate and raw. It turns the moon into both a confidant and an adversary, refusing sentimentality for a kind of dark humor and existential inquiry. It's not just a conversation with the moon; it's an unraveling, a candid push against sanity that makes you pause.

Almanac for the Homesick by Ella Bogdanova

Ella Bogdanova's poem wraps you in a voice so intimate and warm, it feels like a letter you were meant to find. The way she uses precise imagery and an urgent, confiding tone creates connection, making the piece feel both vulnerable and powerful. It's the kind of tender honesty that lingers long after reading.

Moonfern by Gina C.

Gina C. turns the moon into a tender, dreamt-of presence in Moonfern. The lush language and unique metaphors blend celestial with the botanical, creating an original voice that aches with longing and devotion. It's a letter that not only addresses the moon but transforms it into a presence that aches with longing and possibility, making it unforgettable.

Silence in Minor by Novel Allen

Novel Allen's Silence in Minor pulls you in with its quiet, intimate dialogue with the moon, using the night sky as a canvas for deep personal reflection. It offers a genuine sense of solace and reflection, embodying the moon as a comforting witness to inner turmoil.

Halo-Mist by Melissa Ingoldsby

Melissa Ingoldsby's poem turns the moon into a vivid, mythic force that you feel in your bones. It's a reflection on celestial connections that feels haunting and deeply personal.

🎖️ Runners-up

• Mother Moon by Kate Mueth
• Jax Traps the Moon by Mackenzie Davis
• I Broke Up With The Moon by John R. Godwin
• Woman by River and Celia in Underland
• Lunartic by Aaron Morrison
• Where the Waves Would Break by F Cade Swanson
• In The Open Abyss by Paul Stewart
• dear goddess on the moon, by Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA
• Perigee by Jessica Dowding
• Ancient Young Woman by Ariana GonBon
• If Only You Were Real by Stephen A. Roddewig
• Frosted Dreaming by Silver Daux
• Moon Gazer by K.B. Silver
• Forsaken by Hannah Moore
• Epistle To the Moon, Who's Heard It All by Imola Tóth

🏅 Honorable Mentions

• To: [email protected] by Raistlin Allen
• Waxing & Waning by Alison McBain
• A Candlelight Offering to Mōna by Sandy Gillman
• Gravitations by Corvus
• Empty City by Guia Nocon
• Long Live The Queen by Logan Stanislaw
• we used to howl at you by Daniel K
• Letter of Resignation as Goddess of The Moon by Lovin
• Penumbral Actors by Thomas Speer
• Ignored Light by Aimee Van Arsdale

Check out the latest on Vocal Challenges.