A big congratulations to all the participants, this was another amazing showing from talented authors!

The theme for this challenge was Freedom, which could be interpreted any number of ways. And oh was it interpreted in a number of ways. I was impressed by the sheer variety in this challenge, and our resident judge @serejandmyself and I had quite the difficult time deciding. So congratulations to all artists for bringing your "A" game.

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1st Place in the Poetry Slam Challenge #2 is:

@naquoya

To Soar With Grace

@serejandmyself, our resident judge and prolific author (Check out their latest work "The Way We Do") had this to say about the first place poem:

Amongst another storm of great entries and yet another close battle of top 5, I did find a winner in my opinion. This winner is the poem “soar with grace” by @naquoya.

I picked it for a few reasons, one was the great use of language and the near to perfect flow the poem has. Not less, what mattered to me was the fact that the poet went out and found their own photographs to suit their words, which is always a great thing!

But most importantly, what I enjoyed was the idea of the poem. It has that something special about it when you read it out loud. You understand that it’s not a cliché (even thought the subject picked for the slam was a very common one) and the writer has a clear idea of what they are describing.

Congratulations @naquoya! And we'll try to get a little more unique next time @serejandmyself ;)

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2nd Place

@erikaharris

Yes To Freedom!

When I read this poem I was transported to a smoky, dark, 1950's dive bar in New York City, which isn't hard to imagine because it's where I live. The whiskey was strong and the beat poetry rained down from off the stage, where an artist ticked off the laundry list of cause and effect that comes with freedom, all in a rhythm that matched the cadence of my soul.

Okay, that's a little strong, but seriously, this poem gave me chills on a deeper level and had me saying Yes! to @erikaharris. Congratulations!

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3rd Place

@beginningtoend

Midnight Swim at a Desert Motel

There was something of an Americana feel in this piece. The call and response between wife and wolf, the thin fiber straws of moonlight vacuuming up thoughts, and the base sincerity of the moment are all what made this poem one of the winners for this challenge! Congratulations and keep it coming, we're all reading along!

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Honorable Mention

@girlbeforemirror

Nauru

Though there is something to be said of every piece entered into the challenge, this piece was especially poignant. It even broke the rules by not using original photography but, in this case, there is no other photography that could do justice to the topic this artist brought to us other than the actual drawings captured by those discussed in the piece. Thank you for this beautiful entry, and for putting a spotlight on a world issue in such a haunting and relevant way.

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I wish I could award each and every participant (myself included!) an SBD prize, because I truly appreciate the effort and artistry that each of you choose to share with all of us.

Special thanks to the contributors who are helping to continue fund this slam challenge:

@timsaid @prufarchy
@serejandmyself @papa-pepper

If you'd like to participate in some way, reach out to @prufarchy on steemit.chat. Of course, you can always donate by sending SBD to @prufarchy with "poetry slam prize pool donation" in the memo. All Slam Challenge SBD rewards go back into the challenge and make it possible to fund honorable mentions and bigger prizes! Prize winners please expect your prize within 24-48 hours!

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Make sure to follow to catch Poetry Slam Challenge #3. I was going to announce it, but I've decided to put it in your hands. You can put suggestions for the next theme in the comments below, and if that theme is highly upvoted, we'll go with the community! Make it good! The next Challenge will be announced once we've cleared that up.