The Fiction:

Several years ago warfare rocked the Galaxy on many fronts, threatening the collective rights of all sentients, unrest even spread to the farthest flung reaches of the Galaxy, where there was a grand uprising as an organization began to work their way throughout the outer rim in silence, purging those they viewed as lesser. The displaced from each of these, and many other Galactic happenings find a time to remember those who fought and those who fell, as well as what they fought for. In Kiast, the seasonal sprouting and bloom of the Lotus flower marks such a season, for the unified efforts of many who stood in opposition.

Every year in the waning week of The Gauntlet poems and photos are left in memorials around the Royal Lotus Ponds to let those still fighting or those lost know that they are remembered.

The Competition:

Write a simple Haiku about freedom and the steep cost to attain it.

• A Haiku is a poetic form that consists of three lines, with five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third.
• Syllable Counter A Useful Resource
• Haiku will be judged based on emotive impact, word choice, and overall flow.
• Submissions should be in .docx or .pdf formats unless submitted as plain text through the submission text box.