Garbage Man - Laughable Love Poems, First Place

by Aleah F. Liebenau

I wake up at six a.m. every Monday to see him
The Garbage man
A jump suit full of different smells
Holes are his friends
Taking out his handkerchief
His sweat glands must be on fire
Drops to the pavement
I could almost smell it
Mayonnaise and cigarettes
His shoes don’t have any laces
Rope takes the place of lace
His chiseled chin sticks out
A divine cleft
He gives Jay Leno a run for his money
Stick seven coins in that slot
Each individual hair on his chest shows
Even the small red one in the back
Pure Perfection is not enough of a definition
A combination of George Clooney and John Goodman
Beautiful face with a little bit of secret
Pretending his belly is a trampoline
Jumping so high in love
He would jump with me
I hear my name
Looking down, he calls my name
Eyes in complete fright
Doe eyed, I hide
I can hear the garbage truck drive away
Missing you is a song lyric
But Mondays will come
And I will wait to smell your presence

Love/Hate - Laughable Love Poems, Second Place

by Lori Paulson

I hate valentines day
all the hearts, red, pink & white
Rose petals falling like trash
all the couples
so very lovey dovey
there's one now
trading chocolate kisses
walking hand in hand
happy as could be
A name called out
the man turns
another woman approaches
soft words of affection dripping out
she pauses seeing the first woman
They stare for a moment
He tries to retreat but
the grip on his hands
is too strong
They demand answers
to which he has none
but guilt.
I love valentines day.