FPS: Villanelle of Regret Challenge Winners

Some feelings don’t fade. They repeat.

The Villanelle of Regret challenged poets to write into that return. To let regret, longing, and obsession build with each pass, rather than resolve. The strongest entries trusted repetition to carry the weight.

These are the poems that held.

🏆 Winners

Unwritten by M. A. Mehan

This villanelle hits hard with its evolving refrains about creative paralysis, especially the line 'my pen hovers o’er paper as white as the snow.' It's the relentless emotional pull that really lingers and sets this one apart.

Whip-Poor-Will by Mackenzie Davis

The haunting refrain in Whip-Poor-Will grabs you with its eerie sense of inevitable loss, as each repetition layers tenderness with a growing awareness of what cannot be avoided.

when the madness came by John Cox

The relentless refrain of "when the madness came and the prophets roar’d" haunts the reader, layering historical loss with grief, each repetition deepening the sense of ruin.

Lovesick Lament by Paris Rosemont

In Lovesick Lament, each return of “I’m slipping—losing track of things you said” tightens the sense of fixation, turning memory into something claustrophobic. The repetition does the work, letting grief and longing build without release.

craving beyond enough by Lamar Wiggins

The smart move in craving beyond enough is how “the first bite is heaven, enticing the ego” never loses its shine, even as its meaning curdles. That friction between pleasure and denial does the heavy lifting.

🎖️ Runners-up

• The Vagabond, Grief by Gabriel Huizenga
• Vapors by Morgana
• Words Left Unspoken by Dana Crandell
• Jealous. by Cathy (Christine Acheini) Ben-Ameh.
• You Did Not Cross My Path of Urgent Things by John R. Godwin
• The Virus I Carry by Sean A.
• A Domestic Regret by Marilyn Glover
• The Rats Keep Score by Paul Stewart
• This Was a Mistake by Aaron Richmond
• Tempus Fugit by Jessica Dowding
• Invisible Girl by Judey Kalchik
• Longing for Ruin by Luna Jordan
• A little boat drifting on the grey, grey sea, by Ella Bogdanova
• Wood and Rope by Caitlin Charlton
• Unspoken by Aaron Morrison

🏅 Honorable Mentions

• If Only by Cristal S.
• The Cycle Of Manmade Love by Kelli Sheckler-Amsden
• Ghost Stories by The Invisible Writer
• Oh Brother by Angie the Archivist 📚🪶
• Intersection by Sonia Heidi Unruh
• Mother of my Dreams by Lizzy Rose
• The Story of My Name by Adam Kolozetti
• Memorial Constellations by K.B. Silver
• Snare by ᔕᗩᗰ ᕼᗩᖇTY
• Echo for Narcissus by Rebbekah Vega Romero

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