Poetry & Selected Writing
A collection of poetry and selected writing by Leslie Berg, including published pieces, personal work, and poems currently under consideration by journals and competitions. These works explore the humor, heartache, wonder, contradictions, and connections that shape the human experience.
Poetry
Shedding Armor at the Threshold
A poem about vulnerability, the instinct to protect ourselves, and what it means to set that protection down long enough to be truly seen.
Published by Peony Magazine in the October 2026 special issue If We Must Fall, Let It Be Into Each Other.
The Place That Lives in You
An unpublished poem about Iowa, the people who make it home, and the way a place can remain part of us no matter how far we travel or how long we are gone.
Submitted to the James Hearst Poetry Prize 2027 , North American Review, September 22, 2026, and to The Missouri Review, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while under consideration.
The Autumn Peak
An original three-line sijo about an ancient mountain transformed by autumn, and the enduring strength revealed after its brilliant color is stripped away.
Submitted to the Sejong International Sijo Competition , September 2026.
Competition result: Not selected. The poem is now publicly available on Create Joy Studios.
The Hold Music Purgatory
A humorous poem about the absurdity of automated customer service, endless hold music, and the increasingly desperate attempt to reach an actual human being.
Submitted to the Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest 2026–2027 , Winning Writers, September 22, 2026. Winners will be announced August 15, 2027.
Prove You Are A Person
A humorous poem about password resets, CAPTCHA grids, forgotten security questions, and the absurd experience of having to convince a computer that you are human.
Submitted to the 2026 Drive Award , the engine(idling), September 22, 2026.
The winning poem was Grace Applegate’s “Paper Fish.”
The Bruised Decision
A free-verse poem about forgiveness, regret, self-understanding, and the difficult choice to stop building a life inside the place where we were hurt.
Submitted to the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest , Winning Writers, September 22, 2026, for consideration for the Tom Howard Prize for poetry in any style.
The Waiting
A personal poem about living in the uncertain space between diagnosis and the end, and the strange ordinariness of continuing to make plans while not knowing how much time remains.
Submitted to the 2027 Edwin Markham Prize for Poetry , Reed Magazine, September 2026, and to the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest , Winning Writers, September 22, 2026, for consideration for the Margaret Reid Prize.
The poem's individual page is publicly visible. Its competition submissions are documented here.
The People Looking Down
Written after looking at the world we have made, this poem reflects on suffering, division, compassion, and the ways we respond to one another in a world where tragedy, conflict, and outrage are constantly placed before us.
Submitted to the 2027 Edwin Markham Prize for Poetry , Reed Magazine, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while under consideration.
Are We Lost?
A poem about loneliness in an age of constant connection, the effects of social media and artificial intelligence, the dangers children face online, and what technology may be costing us as human beings.
Submitted to the 2027 Edwin Markham Prize for Poetry , Reed Magazine, September 2026.
The poem's individual page is publicly visible. Its competition submission is documented here.
Before the World Gets In
An unpublished poem about childhood innocence, imagination, and the desire to preserve wonder before the wider world begins to shape it.
Submitted to the National Poetry Competition 2026 , The Poetry Society (UK), September 23, 2026; the Tom Howard/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest , Winning Writers, September 22, 2026; the James Hearst Poetry Prize 2027 , North American Review, September 22, 2026; and The Missouri Review, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while these submissions are pending.
For All the Ways I Was Human
An unpublished poem about forgiveness, regret, self-understanding, and making peace with the ways we have hurt and been hurt.
Submitted to the National Poetry Competition 2026 , The Poetry Society (UK), September 23, 2026; the James Hearst Poetry Prize 2027 , North American Review, September 22, 2026; and The Missouri Review, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while these submissions are pending.
One Country
An unpublished poem imagining a world in which borders matter less than our shared humanity, and compassion becomes more important than division.
Submitted to the National Poetry Competition 2026 , The Poetry Society (UK), September 23, 2026; the James Hearst Poetry Prize 2027 , North American Review, September 22, 2026; and The Missouri Review, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while these submissions are pending.
The Weight of Almost
A personal poem about creating under the pressure of limited time, the ache of unfinished work, and the hope of leaving something beautiful behind.
The Parlor Guest
An unpublished poem about the difference between a welcoming outward appearance and the private suffering hidden beneath it.
Submitted to The Missouri Review, September 2026.
The poem will remain unpublished while under consideration.
Carry Quietly
Selected for publication in The Yellow Envelope Club, a worldwide mail club that sends curated creative work to subscribers around the world, February 2026.
Some Days
An original poem inspired by “Fairly Local” by Twenty One Pilots, exploring the tension between the parts of ourselves we show, the parts we hide, and the way identity can shift from one day to the next.
Castle of My Heart
An early poem by Leslie Berg, originally published in Sandscript in 1986 under her maiden name, Leslie Wilkinson.
My World
An early poem by Leslie Berg, originally published in Sandscript in 1986 under her maiden name, Leslie Wilkinson.
Demanding the Mind's Passport
A poem exploring creativity, imagination, intellectual ownership, and the expectations placed upon those who create.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
From Bare Butts to Bad Backs
A humorous reflection on growing older and the unexpected ways the body and everyday life change with age.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
The Expert of Everyone Else
A reflection on understanding, advising, and caring for others while struggling to extend that same compassion toward ourselves.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
The Gridlock of Devotion
A poem about workplace inequality, ambition, invisible responsibilities, and the emotional cost of continually placing professional expectations ahead of personal life.
Through the metaphor of a stalled commute, the poem explores the moment when choosing to stop becomes an act of reclaiming one's life.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
The Unseen Bridge
A poem about the relationship between an artist's intentions and a viewer's interpretation of a work of art.
It explores how colors, shapes, and emotions take on new meanings through another person's experiences, creating an unseen connection between artist and audience.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
The Weight of Empty Shores
A poem exploring sleeplessness, exhaustion, and the painful distance between a body desperate for rest and a mind unable to find peace.
Through the imagery of restless water, shorelines, and the passing hours of night, the poem reflects on the physical and emotional burden of prolonged fatigue.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
Where Autumn Feeds the Spring
A reflection on the changing seasons of human life, from birth and childhood through maturity, aging, death, and renewal.
Through the natural cycle of the seasons, the poem considers how endings nourish new beginnings and how the experiences of one generation continue through the next.
Published on Create Joy Studios in 2026. Not currently submitted to a competition or publication.
The Invisible Geometry
An original poem by Leslie Berg, with an individual public page on Create Joy Studios.
Also associated with the Free the Verse — Issue 20: Good Bones submission.
The Truest Poetry Ever Told
An original poem by Leslie Berg, available through its individual Create Joy Studios page.
The Sovereign Shield
An original poem by Leslie Berg, available through its individual Create Joy Studios page.
Death May Be Chasing Me, But I’m Running Toward Life
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
The Crossing
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
The Infiltration
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
The Thinker Who Handles the "And"
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
A Razor-Thin Coat of Gold
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
Pareidolia
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
The Midnight Snack
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.
The Black Ice Blues
An original poem by Leslie Berg. Its individual page has been created but is currently hidden from public view.