Editor’s Choice winner for Best Poem

Gently Mad literary magazine announced on Sept. 8, 2025 that my poem “The Light Inside” was the Editor’s Choice Best Poem winner.
I feel happy as well as humbled and honoured.
My poem appeared in Gently Mad’s third issue which published in August 2025.

The editors-in-chief Serafina Piasentin and Julie Allan, in an email, wrote:

“We were impressed with your skill with weaving in allusions, creating a narrator voice that is impossible to ignore, and deftly conveying an important message in just a few lines.”

They posted the following on their social media channels:

The poem is very near and dear to me both for its message of hope and who it was written for.

If you or someone you know is in a dark place, I hope you/they find the way to the light inside.

Here is the poem:

To purchase a copy of the magazine, click here. You can also read the issue and previous Gently Mad issues by visiting this site.

Thanks for reading and for your support.